What TIRES fit? The ultimate tire thread!

[xoo00oox]

Wow! Not even 100 miles and that happened? Were you able to see what poked the hole in the tire?

[Steve M.]

[Jake de Villiers]

Wow! A new low in cheap Chinese rubber...

Bummer.
_________________
'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

[xoo00oox]

That sucks, So- Are you just going to toss them out because you can not trust them and buy another full set of tires?

[Steve M.]

[Steve M.]

[tomtom50]

Needed new tires for my '86 syncro, and it got way more complicated than I expected. To save people trouble I'll share the best options I found and also where to get the best information.

T3 Technique has a pdf at their site
https://t3technique.com/pages/technical-pages
Super info on the hardware and studs if you go with larger wheels

http://oldbluesblog.com/files/VanagonTireSpecs.pdf
http://www.roadhaus.com/tires/guideline.html

Solid basic info of what is a VW compliant tire, 9% de-rating for passenger tires, what VW delivered OEM, correct tire pressure, etc.

I am surprised GoWesty sells non-compliant Michelin tires (95 load rating), they do not have the passenger tire load rating required by VW, 98 for 2WD and 99 for 4WD. For the most part name brands don't have the load rating. I stuck with compliant tires:

14 inch (stock wheels)
Vans came with 185R14 and 20570R14 tires. The 205R14 are an inch wider than 185R14. 205/70R14 are harder to find with the load rating, but they do exist:

$58 205/70 R14 98T XL BSW GT RADIAL TOURING VP PLUS (Discount Tire). 98 load rating, reinforced sidewall (XL). What's not to like? 98 load rating de-rated 9% is compliant for 2WD but 17 lb shy for Syncro. A passenger car tire, some say that means squishy, but is that true when you get reinforced sidewall? VW delivered Vanagons with 205/70 R14 reinforced sidewall passenger tires.

$108 205/70R14 102/100Q, D (8 Ply) Maxxis Bravo UE-168 (priority Tire). I bought these. Van tires fully compliant for Syncro, the only ones I found that are not the inch narrower 185R14 size.

Yes, you can buy compliant 185R14 tires from bigger brands:
Hankook Vantra 185R14 102R D1 BSW
YOKOHAMA Y356 185R14 101 D1 BSW (a summer tire)
Nokina Cline 185R14C 102/100 S
I didn't go for these because 185R14 is an inch narrower, but they are all truck/van/commercial rated tires that meet VW spec. The 9% de-rating does not apply for these, these are heavy duty tires well over the needed load rating.

Lots of people say you really should go to 15 or 16 inch wheels. My mechanic told me it is easier to find the load rating in tires with the bigger rims. Not so! In 215/60 R16 the big brands are 95 load rating, well under specification.
Priority Tire has a $82 Milestar WEATHERGUARD AS710 SPORT 215 /60 R16 99H XL BSW that has the load rating. I really wasn't seeing big brand 16 inch tires with stock rolling diameter and a compliant load rating.

In the end I was leery switching to bigger wheels because so few options in a load rated tire. Perhaps the many rep[orts of spongy 14 inch tires is really about inflation pressure? Here is the "silver sticker" info for Vanagons

http://www.roadhaus.com/tires/Silver%20Sticker%20Info.html

43/48psi for 185R14 and 36/43 for 205R14C 6PR/8PR. 43/48 psi in a truck tire may have its downsides, but spongy with lots of sway doesn't seem right.

[AKZog]

End of Winter UpDate:

We had a very icy and snowy winter this year and I ran these tires and had zero issues with getting around. Lost a little mpg but that’s to be expected.
I was zipping up into the backcountry and able to stop quickly on glare ice.
The vanagon was outperforming many of the AWD and 4WD vehicles on startups and corners.

Was very happy with performance and cost.
https://images.simpletire.com/images/w_460,f_auto,...rce-cv.png

[DeadSetMonkey]

Hey all.

Currently have Rheins with BFG AT KO 215/75r15.
Great setup, except for the loud tires.
No rubbing, great snow/dirt performance.

Finally going to get 16in CLKs fitted with BFG AT KOs.
Was planning 225/70r16.

I have the appropriate lug nuts from T3, center caps too.
Will drill out the CLK holes to 37/64 to fit the OEM mounting bolts/studs.

My Syncro has the GW 2in lift and Burley UCAs.

Anyone have this setup? feedback? rubbing?
Would 215/70r16, or some other size, be better option?

Cheers all.
_________________
----------------------------------------------------
'90 Syncro Westy 2.5Subi Turbo, BFGs 215/75/15 Rheins

[do.dah]

[TomInAlaska]

215/65r16 Falken Wildpeak Ats on Ronal R28 wheels in 16x7.5 ET35 using 7mm spacers in the front from T3 and the snap-in-the-centerbore 8mm spacers in the rear that came with the wheels when I bought them. Clearance on the sliding door is about 1/8-1/4".

Incidentally, I also had some 225/60r16 studded tires over the winter and had no clearance issues with the door but never actually thought to look or measure. Tons of clearance to the balljoints up front, by the way.
_________________
'73 Super Beetle (resto-mod/rally look, 1776)

'84 GL adventure van project (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

[zoti]

[Alaskaberrys]

Hi All,

I'm looking to replace the tires that came with my Doka from Europe - 205/80R 16's that have a pretty aggressive tread but sadly are getting old and starting to show their age (retreads to boot). I'm 80% dirt/mud/sand roads here in the spring, summer and fall so I've been looking for a similar tire - but hard to find knobby 205/80's for 16". Found these Achilles Desert Hawk X-MT 205/80 R16's at SimpleTire.com.

Question - my rims are cast 7.5" and these are to fit 5" to 7" rims. Is trying to fit them on a rim 1/2" a very common practice? Terrible idea?

My guess is the current Ecológico 205/80 R16's (made in Portugal) that I've driven over 15k miles on without issue over the last 5 years are not to be mounted this wide as well - the sidewall is very flat from rim to tread, but I cant find any info in them to verify that.

Thanks for any advice.
_________________
'91 Westfalia, Bordeaux Red Pearl 2.1L 2wd Auto
'91 T3 Syncro Doka, Escorial Green 1.9L TD AAZ “Gremian” (to provoke, irritate, exasperate, vex...)

[Mckinleyvillian]

[Mckinleyvillian]

[Brideau]

Hey all, first post here. About to do a 6000km round trip, and decided to swap out my BFG KO2's for some Nokian Outback APTs.

Was planning to use 215/70R16 100H on the front and 235/70R16 106T on the rear since I have more clearance in the back, but because of some supply issues I ended up going with the 235's for both front and back.

I have had my suspension upgraded and have a Subaru 3.3L engine swap so no issues on the power front. Have only have one issue with rubbing so far on the front when I went through a large dip. Will report back once I get on the road with these tomorrow.

Can post other photos if people are interested in seeing how this fit up close.

[campism]

[Brideau]

[whatmepanic]

Hey all looking to upgrade my tires on my '81 Westy that's got the original engine and rims. What would be the best tire. It's a sort of daily driver (I have a 10 mile commute when I have to go to work) but it's also the campmobile and we do take it off-highway.

Thanks.

[tomkat73]