What TIRES fit? The ultimate tire thread!

[llilibel03]

I have more tire questions

Say you have BFG KO2s (I'm thinking 215/65r16) and they're rated 65psi. The door placard on your van says 39psi front, 48 psi rear. How much would you inflate them? If you're inflating them less than 65 psi, say you do 40-50, how much load carrying are you losing? And if you take those partially inflated BFGs up to 10,000 feet (psi goes down) and the temp goes down 35 degrees (psi goes down) what then?

Am I over thinking this?

What if you have a properly load rated tire but it's rated for 44 psi and your door placard says 39-48. Can you safely run them at 44 all the time? Would they be overinflated as temp rises? Why did some vans have 40 psi on their placard? Tin tops?

I apologize for stirring this post again.
_________________
87 syncro tintop
90 gl tin top
85 westy 2.0 tiico automatic (present)

[levi]

All good questions.

You lose considerable load carrying capability when you drop the pressure.
To know exactly how much, any tire manufacturer will send you a chart showing just how much their specific tires are rated for at any psi.

But the drop off is steep, so when you know you're carrying more, air up.

Never air up above the max pressure when the tire is cold.
They are designed to safely handle more pressure as the tire heats up though, so you don't have to do something like monitoring and bleed out.

As far as the door jamb, man that's a can of worms.
You'll get plenty of anal folks who insist you ABSOLUTELY have to run the same pressure shown on the jamb, but tire technology has changed dramatically in the last 30 years.
In my opinion, following exact pressures is like doing the same on a model t Ford, especially when some tires are max 65 and some are max 44.

Read, and choose your path.
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[crazyvwvanman]

The BFG LT215/65R16 has way more max carrying capacity than is required by the weight of our vans so it doesn't need to be inflated to its max.
The needed pressure versus weight carrying capacity of a given tire can be looked up.
If you locate the appropriate inflation table for the tire in question you can match the max rated weight of each axle/wheel to the pressure required to safely support that weight for long drives.

For the BFG Load D 103 LT215/65R16 the inflation table I have lists about
42 front
46 rear
to carry our vans when fully loaded to the allowable weight.
Some people overload their vans and would need more pressure.
Most people would be able to use less.

Mark

[vwwestyman]

Is there a site to find these charts? I've never seen one posted before.

I'm no expert, but have long figured that the pressures on the door placards are only applicable if you are running the exact same type/style/size of tire that came with the van. And that still doesn't take into account that tire technologies and such are different so an "exact" tire may still have somewhat different needs.

If I'm honest, my tire pressures are a bit of a guess... Based on the idea that
1) generally speaking, higher pressures will result in less rolling resistance (and therefore better mileage)

2) lower pressures will generally result in more comfort

3) too high of pressures may result in reduced contact surface and therefore less control in certain situations

4) too low pressure risks weight carrying ability and may result in less control in situations such as wind

5) generally speaking, even wear across the tread surface is an indication of appropriate pressure, while too much wear in the middle is an indication of too-high pressure and too much wear on the outer edges of the tread is an indication of too-low pressure.

For me, all this ends up boiling down to me usually keeping the pressures on my Bus' tires somewhere near the top end of the max listed on the sidewalls, with the fronts being a little lower than the rears and if I'm thinking about it, I'll usually bump it up a bit closer to the max if I'm going to be doing a lot of highway/interstate driving.

You can get an idea if your pressures are appropriate by going over to a nice clean flat parking lot. Take some chalk and draw lines across the tread surface of the tires. Then drive a little bit and observe where the chalk has been worn off. Like I said in point 5, if the edges of the chalk are gone but some is left in the middle, boost the PSI a bit. Lower it if the middle wears off an the sides are still there. When the chalk wipes off evenly, you know that you are getting pretty darn close.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[Jake de Villiers]

[riceye]

[creative native]

I am looking for advice from my fellow Bus drivers.

After nearly two months of waiting for the GoWesty 16" black steel wheels to be restocked, purchased and delivered, they have arrived today.

Now that I am at the point of having to make the decision on which tire to buy, it seems none of the local tire stores have my first choices (Continental Vanco Four Season, Hankook Dynapro) in stock and am looking at having to wait up to another week to have them in stock. I was offered the option of a NITTO Crosstek 2: 215/70R16. Speed rating T, load index 104, ply rating XL. I have been hoping to find a tire with a minimum ply rating of C, but I'm hoping some of you can make a reference on this tire. I noticed this brand is not on the Samba recommended & available tire list.

The 14" Uniroyal Laredos I have been running on my Bus have been good tires with a C ply rating. After realizing these tires simply need to be replaced, I have avoided long trips and at this time of year, that is killing my spirit. I do not want to risk a blowout on a narrow mountain road and veer cliffwards. I'm quite anxious to drive my Bus all over these beautiful Appalachian mountains, but also don't want to put the wrong tires on my wheels because I did not want to wait a little longer.

[bobbyblack]

[flomulgator]

A load rating of 104 is at least as good if not better than C.
Nokia WR Van in 215/65-16 have load rating of 107 which is equivalent to E I think. That tire is an year-round tire with winter traction focus if that’s why you like the Vanco 4 season
_________________
She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro!

[creative native]

"A load rating of 104 is at least as good if not better than C."

Flomulgator, This was one of my considerations and I am glad that you mentioned it. Thank you very much. I chose these Nittos and will have them installed on my new 16" wheels tomorrow.

[flomulgator]

No problem. The tire-rating system is a total mess that needs a group like ASTM to create a completely overhauled, worldwide-harmonized system. 215mm x 0.65 aspect ratio on a 16 inch wheel (215/65-16)? What European genius though codifying mixed measurement systems was a good idea? The American inches-based system was far more intuitive but has fallen victim to a global market. Load Ranges vs. Indexes are just as bad and antiquated! Just look at the tremendous amount of effort individuals on this forum expend figure out what tire is safe and comfortable to run and then how much air to put in it. It's absurd! Clear, logical standardization would immensely benefit everyone.

But since I'm not a Benevolent Tire Dictator, the best I can do to improve the situation is offer this (attempted) explainer that I found:
https://www.discounttire.com/learn/load-range-load-index
_________________
She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro!

[creative native]

I am here at NTB having my new tires installed and they are concerned that the 215/70R16 will be too big for my Bus. Are any of you running this size who can verify that this size will work? Other than my new 16" wheels, everything is stock.

[flomulgator]

2WD or syncro? lifted or stock? 215/70 16 should work if your wheel center to metal fender distance on the front wheels sitting on flat ground is something like 18.5 inches or greater. Others out there probably know how far it needs to be better than I.
_________________
She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro!

[creative native]

Thanks Flomulgator. Mine is an otherwise stock 2wd. We mounted the tires and evaluated them. They definitely fill the wheel well, but I think there's enough clearance until I buy the GoWesty lift springs. I don't plan on four wheeling soon.

[crazyvwvanman]

Those are big tires and I would expect they are going to rub at times. Most likely when you hit a bump while the front wheels are turned, like driveways.

Mark

[SlalomVan]

I found a good deal on General Altimax Arctic tires in a 185/70R14 size with a load index of 92, a load range of XL and a max inflation of 51 PSI.

I have a tin top with the stock VW alloy rims on them. The van is light by comparison to most other vans and is not loaded down with cabinets or other gear. It has just the rear bench seat and the two front captain chairs.

What are the general thoughts on this set-up?
_________________
1989 Vanagon GL - 2.1 (White - "Northlake" Totaled/Gone)
1988 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg (Orly Blue - "Poulsbo" - Sold)
1989 Vanagon G - 2.1 (White - "Kingston") - Full rebuild underway - Last on the road in 1997

[bobbyblack]

Start again. 99XL or C minimum... At least if you understand you have the equivalent of a 1 ton truck you're driving... Many states require tire shops to put properly rated tires on, you might just get half way, with all tires OFF your rims when they say "Hey, we cant' put these tires on your VW", and you'll sit there wondering what to do... I'll say frankly, it happened to me.
_________________
'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[levi]

99 xl is really not required, although a lot of us see it as a personal requirement, myself included.

Vw did send out vans with as low as 97, so I think we can safely say that can at least be considered reasonable.

Especially since he's talking about a lighter tin top.

Of course, the ride quality is going to be better with less sidewall flex that comes with the higher load rating.

Wallowing in corners and such crap is something that I like to avoid.

Honestly, if I lived in an isolated part of the USA, without much traffic, no twisty-turnies, some place like Kansas and never left there, well hell, 94 is good to go.

But otherwise for travelers and folks who live in Seattle for instance, there's no way I'd run less than 97 and I'd really want more.

Just my weirdly strange opinion.
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[creative native]

First report on the 215/70R16 Nittos: I am trying to reach past the excitement of having new wheels and tires on my Bus and make a genuine assessment of these tires. It does feel as if I have lost a slight amount of power; perhaps from simply pushing larger wheels and tires, however, the slight height lift and ride performance is at least a fair trade. The ride feels stout (it has been a windy day and even highway drafts didn't shake the Bus), but it is nimble enough to far surpass the performance of my 14" alloys with Uniroyal Laredos around winding mountain roads, even when they were brand new. I made sharp turns and drove over a speed bump a little faster than I normally would to test how much clearance I have in real life. I didn't experience any rubbing, but still, I ordered GoWesty's 1.5" lift springs today.
I am grateful to all of you who gave me advice and ideas along the way in this tire purchase.

[davevickery]