14" Tire Options

[pvfahrer]

[bettingonvans]

I deliberated hard about which 14 inch tires to get for our 2wd 1990 westy and decided that because they are light truck spec tires I was more than comfortable with 27x8.5r14 grabbers. I tried to find something rated correctly and there’s nothing readily available, and best I could tell at the time, LT tires do not require the ~9% derating that passenger tires require, though I am ready to be wrong about that conclusion.

I weighed our 2wd westy at a weigh station in Idaho at just under 5000 pounds. That was with about 300 pounds of person (spread across three!), half full sink water, 6 gallons of extra fresh water, 10 gallons of gasoline and everything we needed for living in our van for 3 months.

We’ve had these grabbers for about 10 months and have put about 13,000 miles on them on all manner of road/off-road situations. Huge rocks, sand, loose dirt, washboard garbage and massive potholes all across the country and I could not be happier with them. Peloquins TBD helps.
_________________
1990 Westfalia, GW2.2, Peloquins TBD

[danfromsyr]

ok here's the cheapest I've seen a 'rated' tire.. a flippers dream.
or a local run around van.

205/70/14 XL 98TR rated tires. (speed T for pass cars speed R for trucks) 4ply-reinforced
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-NEW-205-70-14-SENTURY-TOURING-70R-R14-TIRE-29242/192496961965

currently listing at $42 ea delivered
but
ebay has a %20 code = (JUSTRELAX) for the holiday weekend ($50max savings)
bringing them down to $33.60 ea delivered.


here's the discount tire spec sheet on them
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/sentury-touring/p/29242

[jeffsab]

[danfromsyr]

they have a [get coupon] button on the ebay home page.
it's likely tied to a cookie or something.

maybe


I dunno.
_________________

[termuehlen]

The General Grabber AT2:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=...;tab=Sizes

Is now the General Grabber A/TX. Still available in 14":

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=...tab=Survey
_________________
1988 Westfalia automatic Subaru OBD1
1986 syncro tintop wbx

[rblake3]

How about these Cooper Discovery tires. M+S, 99 load rating. Potential to use them all year round but extra points for winter.

https://www.tires-easy.com/225-70-14/cooper-tires/discoverer-m+s/tirecode/90000002983

Anybody have these???

How are they in the dry???
_________________
90 Vanagon Carat Wander Wagon
88 16v GTi
01 1.8T Beetle
94 Miata
Vanagon H4 E-Code Lighting Upgrade page

[dhaavers]

^^^ Sweet tires. I'd be running them now if they'd been available last spring.
They were my second choice after the NLA 14" Vredesteins...ended up with
General Grabber AT2's which are fine for what we do in the summer but leave
me wishing for a real 4-season tire if/when I need to pull out the van for winter.

Get'em while you can!

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[Buellboyxb12x]

Ordered four of the Cooper Discovery tires last night. I will post an update once I get them installed on MY '85!

[danfromsyr]

not endorsing cheap tires but some times some people just need to roll.

Looks like the cheap Sentury tires are off fleabay but now there's some Lionharts for less than $50 ea shipped.

$188 for 4 X New Lionhart LH-501 205/70R14 98H XL All Season Performance Tires

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-X-New-Lionhart-LH-501-2...2692840935

_________________

[HOPS]

[vanagonjr]

[jlrftype7]

[Tbob]

I have several vans and trucks, keeping them all shod with adequate tires is a chore, and at times an unneeded expense. I generally run General grabbers on my Vanagons, and have been very happy. I put my first set on 6 years ago, and have about 30,000 miles on them. I am starting to get minor weather checking on them, and will replace them soon. The tire guys all say 6 years is all the longer one should safely use tires anyway, seems mighty short duration to me, but experience seems to bear this out. As an aside, I have a pair of Sears Guardsmans I bought sometime back in the 70's. They are holding up one end of one of my parts vans now. Still hold air, still no weather checking, wouldn't drive on them, but kinda interesting no weather checking at all.
Thanks to Dan from Syracuse, and his post alerting me to the Sentury tires on sale. I bought 5 of them for just over $200 shipped to my door. I needed a cheap set of tires to mount on rims for a spare set, to mount on whatever needs to be rolled and sometimes be driven. I put them on my 73 as temp. tires. They are made in Thailand, and since I mount my own tires, I could tell they have a reinforced sidewall. I installed a set of Goodyear Wrangler A/t's on my wifes winter beater (Ford Ranger 4WD), and it was night and day just how thin the Goodyears were compared to the Sentury. No scientific test there, just an observation. The Goodyears were the non LT variety, as nothing ever gets carried in the bed. I have Volkswagens vans to carry the load when needed!
The Senturys are obviously road tires, little siping and no lugs or cleats. I bet they would be lousy in slippery situations. They balanced out within 1/2 ounce each. I got almost no miles on them (10?) before I had to leave for the Gulf Coast, leaving the 73 in storage in Nowhere, In. They seemed to handle ok, not as stable as the Grabbers in the couple of turns I took, but no vibrations, wobbles or bounces. I think they will serve just what I need. Thanks, Dan!
_________________
1969 Deluxe, owned since 1973
1973 Westfalia, owned since 1983
1980 Westfalia, watercooled conversion
1985 Westfalia, stock!
1986 Westfakia, Audi I-4 conversion
A couple of trucks and a couple of Jeeps

[Buellboyxb12x]

A couple of quick pictures of the Cooper Discoverers mounted on MY 85. Only a couple hundred miles in so far but much better handling and ride than the old RA08’s.

[Marshj]

[IdahoDoug]

Now that it appears nobody can ever, ever, ever get these, I have to post them just to irritate you all:

Special mention to Dan for finding them!!
_________________
1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[danfromsyr]

Irritates ME more than anyone...

really liked them.

Grrrr..
_________________

[dhaavers]

Doug: When the he!! did you learn to post pics...???!!!???

J/K...I tried to get into a set of Comtracs last spring...no joy.
Same story re: Cooper Discoverers, so I ended up in General Grabbers.

They've been good everywhere I've gone, but I'd feel better having the
"all-weather" coverage of the Coopers or Vredesteins...oh, well...

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[danfromsyr]

there are limited qtys of these 14in Starfires left too