narrow off road tires for syncro

r.e.wing_fc3s · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:59 pm Post subject: narrow off road tires for syncro

im looking for some aggressive narrow tires for my syncro. Please dont ask why or suggest that wider is better, i have my reasons. For one thing the syncro 16 which i want my van to be(come) came with 195 or 185 16's. I also want to be able to use aggressive chains. there seems to be very few if any choices, esp. in the states. Ive seen quiet a few vids in europe of syncros with narrow aggressive off road tires.

i have the bfg at 195 75 14 on my 2wd van. nice but i want something more aggressive. So from those bfgs it jumps way up to 205 80 16, kumho road venture which look great and im sure are plenty aggressive. but im not into being a syncro poseur and im afraid those would whack the gearing all out and thats no good when g becomes 1st. Eventually id love to have the cash to get a powerful motor and regear the diffs and trans but thats a long way off. So is the only option to preserve the crawl with the 195 75 14's? Maybe im answering my own ? if so, sorry.

So im going to edit this first post and include a list of what i think is a narrow-ish <205 tire suitable for syncro's and vanagons looking for some off road capability. i have not checked the weight rating in these tires. im including tires that seem available here. sorry, no euro fantasy.

195/70 r15 nokian wr c van- not dedicated off road, good all season. assuming 185/80 r 14 these are .4% larger diameter.

195/65 r16 nokian wr c van- 1.3% larger

195/75 r16 nokian wr c cargo- these are the closest ive found and like. was impressed with a similar tire i had on my 15" rims, but 7.3% larger

205/75 r15 yoko geolandar a/t-s- recommended by sambistas as a good alternative to the bfg a/t

195/75 r14 bfg all-terrain t/a ko- I have these on my 2wd and have been pleased with them. there have been fewer trade offs then i would have imagined. i would buy again.

185/65 r15_205/70 r15_205/75 r 15_205/80 r16- pirelli scorpion atr- recommended by sambistas as capable on/off road.

205/80 r16 kumho road venture- what looks to be a dedicated off road tire. someone in the seattle area has these on their syncro that i saw at the marymoor pk gtg. Do want.

205/75 r 15 general grabber at2- love the name. i am that general

205/75 r 15 toyo open country- i think these arent being made anymore but are still available.

185/r14 recip mud terrain. The current ultimate tyre i just found in europe. probably not available here but im checkin. crazy agggresive.
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Reference Automotive: NW Washingtons Vanagon Specialist. (360)366-6965. referenceautomotive.com

240Gordy · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:05 pm Post subject:

205s are narrow, i had 265s on the rear of my van.
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jerrydog411 · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:28 pm Post subject:

Are you willing to change wheel size? ... you want it to look Syncro 16-ish?

Here is a great 195/65R16 ... whether a
'aggressive' enough looking ... up to you. That said, I know people who run these and go pretty much anywhere!

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11901&group=3.01&name=Nokian+WR+C+Cargo

syncrodoka · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:30 pm Post subject:

First of all what size rim?

Tall skinny tires are actually kind of hard to find. They handle poorly also but you already know that.

Phishman068 · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:36 pm Post subject:

The larger the tire outside rolling diameter (regardless of 14'',15'', 16'', etc) the less usable the G gear will be.
Essentially if you want it to run the same way it currently does with the stock 185R14 tires, you can run around 29'' tires and 5.83 ring and pinions.
Running the 29'' tires without the grearing change makes it less usable in G.

I did like the 29'' tires on my WBXer powered syncro though, aside from the G gear being too high. Not for everyone, but I liked it.

Keep in mind that the factory syncro 16'' wheels are very narrow, part of why they tried to use narrow tires.
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Vango Conversions · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:54 pm Post subject:

check out tire rack. They have a pretty big selection and let you shop by size. i don't see much that you're looking for though. I think those 14" BFG are about as close as you'll get. I don't think they even make anything that narrow for a 16" rim.

levi · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:08 pm Post subject:

It is too bad that the 195 75 16 is so common in Europe, and almost non-existent in the U.S. of A.
Only one I know of is Nokian, and it isn't an aggressive looking tire.

Then as noted, the 205 80 16 which is a huge jump up from 195 75, an additional 1.5" in diameter and pushing the % diff over the stock diameter to about 12%. Oooof...
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r.e.wing_fc3s · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:22 pm Post subject:

i dont care what wheels i use. it seems like those are actually easier to find then the tires. Right now i have 14" stock steels and 15"s.a. steels which i bought because i had a nice set of hakkas given to me. now the 15" wheels are kind of useless, the hakkas wore out and the only 15" tire thats anywhere close to the right size are new hakkas/nokian which i might do just to be able to use the wheels. They dont make a true off road tire for the 15" size though. Looks like i may have to stick with the bfg's Confused

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Reference Automotive: NW Washingtons Vanagon Specialist. (360)366-6965. referenceautomotive.com

r.e.wing_fc3s · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:26 pm Post subject:

r.e.wing_fc3s · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:01 pm Post subject:

Just compiling options from nokians site

195/70 r15 nokian wr c van- not dedicated off road, good all season. assuming 185/80 r 14 these are .4% larger diameter.

195/65 r16 nokian wr c van- 1.3% larger

195/75 r16 nokian wr c cargo- these are the closest ive found and like. was impressed with a similar tire i had on my 15" rims, but 7.3% larger then stock? any experience out there with this size? Seems borderline for g gear range.

Ideally if i had the cash id get the wr c van 195/70 r 15 for winter use, so i didnt feel like i bought wheels im not going to use. then go with the bfg 195 75 14 for the rest of the time, on the wheels it came with. unless folks think that the 195/75 16's would still maintain an acceptable g-range which im sure is perfectly subjective. awesome.
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Reference Automotive: NW Washingtons Vanagon Specialist. (360)366-6965. referenceautomotive.com

ragnarhairybreeks · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:47 pm Post subject:

Hi,

I like the skinny look too, and if I could I would go something like 205/80 16, but I don't have a 5.43 RP Smile

Here is what 195/80 14 Nokian H. CS look like.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I'm not sure if the CS is still available though.

alistair
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peaceful warrior · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:28 pm Post subject:

r.e.wing_fc3s · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:02 pm Post subject:

sweet photo. looks like were scenery neighbors. ive never seen that tire size before 195/80 14. where did you find them originally? those would do the trick nicely.
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Reference Automotive: NW Washingtons Vanagon Specialist. (360)366-6965. referenceautomotive.com

RGS Paul · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:13 pm Post subject:

I have Pirelli Scorpion ATR 205/75-15's on right now. Great tire and handles most situations pretty well. I had the 205/70-15 before and they worked pretty well, but the load rating was a little low. Pirelli also make the same tire in a 205/80-16 that I lust over but don't have the trailing arms or wheels to make it work.

*EDIT* Added picture, not the best but it is one I had handy *EDIT*

Paul

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ragnarhairybreeks · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:42 pm Post subject:

IdahoDoug · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:51 pm Post subject:

Offroad, there's a lot to be said in favor of skinny aggressive tires - particularly for a vehicle with no power to spare. I like the classic and businesslike look of skinny/talls as well.

DougM
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ragnarhairybreeks · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:17 pm Post subject:

Mark's 16" syncro (http://www.bustoys.nl/) has to me the nicest looking wheel tire combo.
Mark is a Samba member, I'm sure he won't mind me linking to a pic of his van.

205/80 16" 104T Michelin Synchrone, on original VW 16"x 5,5 ET 36

It is a bit of a tease, I doubt you can get those tires here in NA.

alistair
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'86 7 passenger syncro, converted to westy pop top, project still in progress
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94, now gone...
https://shufti.blog/
Old address still works...
http://shufti.wordpress.com

Vango Conversions · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:56 pm Post subject:

I just did a quick search for "vintage jeep tires" and this is what i came up with

http://www.tirewiz.com/store/pc/NDT-Military-Jeep-Tires-c122.htm

Pretty bad ass and unique I'd say. actually it looks like the load rating is pretty close to what the vans need too, they just might work. Who knows how they'd handle though, I bet they're bias ply

sure look cool though

r.e.wing_fc3s · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:46 pm Post subject:

syncrodoka · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:51 pm Post subject:

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


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