UPDATE: YET ANOTHER Car Talk puzzler (also VW related)

[KTPhil]

From 20 years ago:

[HarrysRatBug]

Except it's not the width of the tread but actually the section width (outside sidewall to outside sidewall)!

[Dusty1]

I have

tons, tons, tons

perhaps literally tons of old VW tires.

Starting with 40- plus year old metric sizes I have a set of four Dunlops, a set of four XZX rip Allstates? Whatever the Sears house brand used to be. Then there's a mixed set of XZXs front, Sumitomos rear all in black plastic garbage bags in the loft of my barn.

I could likely scrounge up a few complete sets of Pneumants. Those were Cold War era East German manufactured, illegal to import to the U.S.. Yet... every VW I bought on the '80s had at least one Pneumant for a spare.

I have a very ratty set of Goodyears I use as "roll arounds". They were mounted and balanced 50 tears ago. They never lose air. Anything that gets parked for a while gets parked on the Goodyears. Anything that gets flat towed gets towed on the Goodyears.

When we get into NOS...

I have Michelins. I have Klebers. I have a set of four 5.60-15 Mobil snow tires NOS in the wrap.

Next death wobble Super Beetle I sell as "one owner" could easily go on near NOS tires. It's only four bolts per wheel.

.
.

[mukluk]

One problem with the puzzle solution logic is that they did continue to make bias ply tires with the old style markings and still do to this day, though their popularity declined drastically after radial tires and P-metric markings came into the mainstream.

Another problem is the assumption that the previous owner (hippie) would've sprung for brand new tires as the need arose. Since we know that hippies are quintessential cheapskates, it'd be perfectly normal to guess that the cheapest used tires available were begrudgingly purchased from a junkyard when the old ones could no longer be patched.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[markswagen]

l like the suggestion that the further a vehicle is driven, the more rust it will have on it.
back in the day, people didn't drive the distances we do today, not even close.
it could very easily be the original mileage on that bug.
my westy had 114k miles on it, when l bought it, it was 31 years old, l've doubled it's mileage in the 12 years since l've owned it
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markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310

[oprn]

I doubt that the question is about the age of the tires, I'm thinking the puzzler is that the rim size has been retained in inches while the tire width is now expressed in metric units. I have no idea why...
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[finster]

[kpf]

Then in the 70's and 80's, Michelin sold tires that used metric rim sizes!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_TRX
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1971 Super Beetle

[markswagen]

anyone else out there had to fit one of these to a rim, l ruined more metric tyres that l will admit to, they have two beads that seal the tyre to the rim, one like a conventional tire, the additional bead was a very very soft rubber, and tore EXTREMELY easily.
l mostly found them on these visions of automotive nastiness
the rover moaestro

and the rover montego

[busdaddy]

I had a set of TRX's on a Honda in the early 80's, they were the cool stuff in the day.

Early US tire sizing is goofy too, like 30 x 5 yet the rim isn't 30", and another tire on the same truck was 28 x 5 and looked just like the 30 x 5.
Aircraft tires of the 20's/30's were even worse, 27" S.C. or 30" S.C., the rims for those were around 15" X 8".
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
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[finster]

[markswagen]

just the same a most off road tyres today, l see off roaders all the time with, 37's, 40's, 42's there's a youtuber with 54's, l'm pretty sure it's not the wheel rim diameter they are talking about
just the same as those aircraft tyres of almost 100 years ago.

[KTPhil]

...and another. Please reply to my question at the end.

[finster]

I have seen mention of it before as there's this video claiming to do it...and yet there's an obvious bit of editing so you don't see the crucial moment.

Link


it would not be as described in the puzzler, 'he begins to turn the wheel really fast'

much easier to use a pull cord on the generator pully - I've done that...
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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[busdaddy]

Sounds like work, I'd rather push, or better yet maintain the charging system so I didn't get in to that situation.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[oprn]

[wagen19]

[KTPhil]

[wagen19]