14" tire options?

[regis101]

I stopped by to look at these today.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/searchTiresByVehi...amp;cs=205

1653# 50 psi 98t XL Reinforced tire. The one I looked was made in March of 2013.

What I did not see were the red and/or yellow dots. I barely saw a blue dot with some Chinese characters but don't know what that meant.

I'll have to email GT Radial USA for info.

I've spent enough time and money on tires that exceed the VW req's and wanted to try these lower end of spec tires.

* fired off an email about mounting specs on steel and aluminum rims. Hopefully I get a professional answer. Anything less and I'll have to pass.
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Peace, Regis

[devesvws]

firestone winterforce 215/70-14 will they fit both oem steel and alloys on a 91 carat?? my use will be very little and under 55 mph. anyone use them???
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THE FEW THE PROUD THE ORIGINAL VW WATERBOXER -> looking for a original 91 vanagon owners manual with 1991 on the cover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmuiG2tUsP4&feature=share https://picasaweb.google.com/101290228103300323836/BostonBobFlywheelVideo#5543000332201103922

[dhaavers]

^^^ They'll "fit" fine, but they're a passenger tire with an adjusted load rating of 86.

If you're looking for a winter tire, consider:
http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_1172_1406/nokian-tire-185r-14-hakkapeliitta-c.html

Better options out there. Please don't skimp on tires...
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[davevickery]

215/70R14 96S SL None 1565 lbs. 44 psi 12/32" 23 lbs. 5.5-7" 6.5" 25.9" 804

THe load rating of 1565 needs to be downrated by 9% so 1424 lbs PER TIRE.

The Gross Axle Weight Rating of a 2wd vanagon, camper or tin top is 2866 (in the rear, less up front), or 1433 per tire. You are taking your life into your hands by getting a tire that is 11 lbs short of the MAXIMUM load of a 2wd vanagon.

Oh and keep in mind the 9% downrating is an extra margin of safety for the occassional overloading of vans and trucks (that didn't exist when the vans were made). Or that modern vans, suvs and trucks go faster and corner harder than our 70's technology.

Be afraid of your tires, very afraid. Explosion, death, babies, responsibility, danger, roll over, catastrophic.

In fairness, if you can find a C load tire that you like, you are better off, but you are probably o.k. with a quality brand 96 rated tire that inflates to 44 if you keep the inflation above 35 and don't drive on them for a decade and don't overload your van regularly.

[regis101]

Update from my above , Feb 28, post.
Pulled the trigger on five of these yesterday. A bit under 4 hun out the door.

The quick math for air pressure has me at 40 fr and 43 rr.
These are mounted on Alloys.

I was pleasantly surprised with them. Quiet. Track well. Not to quishy in the twisties.

I spent many $ and much time over the years with C & D range tires with various diameters from numerous vendors in 14's and 15's.

These lower end rated tires make for a nice ride. The 195 Herc's are D's and rode well but hard. These tires seems to compliment the Carat springs with OE shocks to help absorb road shock. I first noticed this when pulling into my driveway at the arrival angle whereas the tires glided over the 2" street/curb bump without jarring the steering wheel. Other roadway imperfections are more absorbed through the tires that I am familiar with.
Basically, these tires help to not bounce off the bump stops as I had experienced with a C or D tire.

I need some more miles for a more experienced review. But It is nice to have at least one, 205/70r14 98T XL tire out there . Sheesh.
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Peace, Regis

[dhaavers]

[regis101]

Sorry. This is the short version that brings up all of their 205/70's.
I chose the GT Radial

* sorry , dead link again. America's tire. GT Radial*

I almost had a handle on 205/70's through Nexen with a 100 or 102 rating but
that tire was lost into cyber space. I emailed Nexen but never heard back.

Kept my eye open for a long time and this is the best I found.

I did find some others on the internet, Land Sail , like on page seven, Black scorpion or something something.

The GT Radial tires I'm trying out were at the store.
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Peace, Regis

[JoeCanuck]

Before I got some 15" wheels, I was going to go with these tires;

http://www.generaltire.ca/productdetails.php?id=grabberat2

.....in 27x8.5R14.

Now that I have 15's, I'll probably still go with these tires but in 215/70r15.

They seem to be a well regarded, reasonably priced tire...often on sale up here in Canadia.

[regis101]

I believe my target PSI for the GT Radial tires using the long version comes in at 35 fr and 47 rr.

I used the Roadhaus chart for the 205/70r14 OE 97 1580# 40 max psi.
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Peace, Regis

[tjet]

I just put a set of hankook ra08 on my syncro. The sizw is 195r14 from tires-easy.com. Really nice 8ply tires

[regis101]

I ran a set of those with Vanagon alloys on a 78 Westy. Nice tire, imo.

I can't remember the psi I settled on but I would pump the fronts until the steering just started feeling good then added a coupla lb's from that to the rear.
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Peace, Regis

[regis101]

I'm in the Bay Area. If anyone wants to try the Herc 195's on stock steelies,
lemme know. I have five mounted ready to roll.

Mi driveway es su driveway
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Peace, Regis

[denwood]

Finally got around to taking some decent pics. General Grabber AT2 in 27X8.50R14LT - http://www.generaltire.ca/pdfs/grabberat2.pdf

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Cheers,
Dennis Wood
The Grape

[devesvws]

[alnvilma]

Regis101,
Do you have power steering?
I have to agree with your assessment: my new GT Radial tires respond very well. They are quiet, firm on the cornering and resilient enough to remove the harshness I had on my old RA08s.
I'm running 36/45 but w/0 PS, it's just as much a handful as the old 'truck' tires. Maybe I'm just getting frail in my old age...
Happy with my decision to buy these tires. Near as I can figure, they're made in Indonesia.
As an aside: my used Rogue came with some unknown Chinese cross tour tires and they surprised me as well with quiet & aggressive performance. (and yes, I've had Michelins and many other high end tires)
Oh: someone else said these are 96SL@44psi. Not so. They're 98XL @ 50psi.

[erdonline]

Well, there are a lot of tire threads here, of course. I picked one to add to that was somewhat recent and on topic.

I put General Altimax RT's in a 205/70-14 size, with a 98 load rating on my 14" alloy rims on my '84. I very much like them, and now I need another to replace one with a damaged sidewall. I can't find one anywhere. The ones I have now were manufactured in 2013. I've looked at quite a few places online. I see the Altimax RT, but it does not come in the size and load rating I need.

Has anyone sourced such a General Altimax recently?

Thanks,
Ed in CT
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'85 Vanagon Westfalia
'84 Vanagon 7-passenger
'98 Mexican air-cooled Beetle

[erdonline]

So, having no luck finding any of the General Altimax RT 205/70 14 (not RT43) with a 98 load rating, I looked for other brands in that size.

I had no luck at any of the major online tire sellers. I finally came upon allstarmotorsports.com, which has Sunny, Black Lion, Constancy, and Lionhart brands of that size and load rating for between $67 and $90 shipped, and tirecrazy.com has one called Cilerro BH15.

None of them have a similar tread pattern as the Generals, so I have to decide if I want one odd tire or buy a second and have Generals one one axle and the off brand on the other.

I'm also tempted to get the Rhein style wheels from Van-Cafe and go with 15 inch tires, but this is an expense I wasn't planning for, and I'd be left with my 14 inch alloys and three good tires. I hate these decisions.

So if anyone is looking for 205/70 tires for their stock alloys, check out the two sources I mentioned above. I can't make any personal recommendations about the tires, as I don't have any experience with any of them, but at least there is another source for the size some of us use, with a good load rating.

Ed
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'85 Vanagon Westfalia
'84 Vanagon 7-passenger
'98 Mexican air-cooled Beetle

[djkeev]

Considering the age of your tires and the cost of all new wheels and tires...... I'd run an axle of each.

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[erdonline]

[rblake3]

I have a Carat with 15.5" from hub center to fender lip. Standard height for the Carat model. I still have 14" rims with Michelin LTX tires which were PERFECT but of course no longer made.

What is the preferred all season tire nowadays??? Can only find Conti Vanco on Tirerack which are not good for rain or light snow. I don't think the jeep tires on the blue van above will fit the Carat.




Appears like 14" LT tires are going the way of the dodo.
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90 Vanagon Carat Wander Wagon
88 16v GTi
01 1.8T Beetle
94 Miata
Vanagon H4 E-Code Lighting Upgrade page