15" Radial Tires - Sizes and Vendors

['40's guy]

I have a 1967 bus with a 1600 DP, RGBs and a big nut transaxle. The trans was recently rebuilt but I don’t know what the gearing is. The bus has 15” wheels instead of 14”. I have 205/75R15 tires mounted. I have reason to believe the speedometer is accurate. I generally drive around town, and don’t venture onto the freeway, so I am not concerned about how fast the car will go. What bugs me is that I am typically going about 30mph around town and the engine sounds like it wants me to shift from 3rd to 4th. I don’t have a tachometer, but it’s noisy at that speed and sounds like it’s spinning pretty fast. The owner’s manual says 3rd gear is good to 45mph. No way! If I do shift into 4th at that speed it is lugging a bit, so I just put up with it in 3rd.

Here is my question: will I notice a significant difference if I change from my current 205/75R15 tires to 215/75R15 tires? According to the calculators, the 215s turn only 16 revolutions per mile less that the 205s. Will I see any practical difference in RPMs?

Thanks.

[cdennisg]

[mandraks]

agreed. It just is loud. they absolutely go 45 in third. and that is without overreving it.

put a full interior in it and it will quiet down. still same revs, but it won't kill your ears anymore.
maybe the exhaust could use some help too?

if you don't go anywhere on the highway, it may make sense to use a slightly smaller tire that allows you to get in 4th.
_________________
regards

Uli

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'53 3-Fold Oval, L35 Metallic Blue, looking for a narrow hatch panel

[earlywesty]

Unlikely, but it could have the 'mountain gear' ratio reduction boxes. That might effect shifting points.

['40's guy]

I appreciate this good feedback. Thank you all for responding.

[Larmo63]

I’ve posted these before, no rubbing or issues. My SC isn’t a speed demon, but these take me everywhere.

_________________
Lawrence
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‘61 Mango Green Single Cab
'62 Pearl White Ragtop sedan
'66 Ruby Red Cabriolet
'86 Porsche 911 Carrera

['58 Single Cab]

I might as well contribute in trying to keep this thread up to date. My Cooper Discoverers in 195R15 are way past due for replacing (44th week, 2006 date code). They have been an excellent tire in that they took me everywhere and never let me down.

Not many to choose from in the US in 195R15... Linglong, Thunderer, Otani, Westlake, Cosmo. The last one I looked into a little closer. Cosmo appears to be a US family owned company that's been around since 1942. The Cosmo El Jefe Van II comes in 195R15. Curious if anyone has run them yet? They are fairly inexpensive at $82 each.

https://cosmotires.com/product/el-jefe-van-ii/

...but then I see Larmo's last post and dammit, those BFG all terrains in 215/75R15 sure do look nice...

[cdennisg]

['58 Single Cab]

That pic is from today. I put less than 1000 miles on it per year. It's stored inside a windowless garage that is typically between 60 and 80 deg F all year long. I mounted them when they were brand new.

We hear horror stories of tire failures but I agree with you. Those failures are probably missing key details of how the tires were not taken proper care of.

[EverettB]

[cdennisg]

[Don66bus]

I was having trouble finding any tire shop to supply 205 75 15 radials for my 66 bus. Finally, I went to the tire companies, found a tire of the right size and load range (1609 pounds max), looked up the company's local contacts, and had that store order me the tires. They are Hankook Kinergy. They look OK; haven't got them mounted yet. That's the next step: finding a tire shop that will deal with 15 inch VW rims.
I had Cooper Discovers of the same size and load range that have served me well for 7 years. They probably have several thousand miles left but I am contemplating another long trip and do not want to run out of rubber while travelling.

[Don66bus]

Well ... the Hankooks have no specific sidewall stiffening. I just finished a 1000 mile trip, though, and they were quiet, very comfortable (cushy even), and handled fine. My major reservation is that they flex so much that moving around in a parked bus while camping can get the bus rocking (no, not front to back caused by bed antics but side-to-side when getting up from the table). I will see if I can actually get proper light truck tires locally and compare.

[cdennisg]

[Lind]

[cdennisg]

[Don66bus]

Regarding passenger car tires vs. light truck tires:
- I have been running passenger car tires (load range 1600 pounds +) for fifty years now and have never had a problem with their capacity. I do distance, I carry loads, I do some back roads. They work. It may be that light truck tires work better BUT
- Up here in Canada, I cannot find any tires to fit my 15 inch rims that are in the 195/75/15 to 205/75/15 range. I go to big tire companies and say "What have you got in 205/75/15?" and they say "Nothing." So, if I can find in some obscure garage or website a tire that fits, I try it out. So far, all have been good. The most recent, Hankook Kiinergy, work well dynamically but bug me when I am camping in the bus. Maybe I will go down to standard 14 inch rims so I can tap into the range of tires sold for Vanagons.

[Lind]

[Alan Brase]

[Brendel20]

So I took Lind up on both of his suggestions....bought his front sway bar kit and upgraded my tires to the thunderer rangers he linked above. Holy cow did it make a difference in the handling around corners and overall feel of my bus. If you are on the fence on either of these upgrades, do it. Both will be going on any future bus I may encounter. Thanks Lind!