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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 2:08 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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vwwestyman wrote: |
Ha ha, I have the Grabber tires, and have often wondered about that, as I currently have no spare tire!
But I haven't actually removed a tire and thrown it in the trunk to see.
I have a wheel I could probably use, but I think it is actually from a Bus so I don't know for sure. I honestly haven't thought about it when I've got time to do it! |
Well I pulled the front wheels to start working on the front suspension.
There is no chance that the General Grabber would fit in the front trunk location. _________________ Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing |
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hylomatt Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2016 Posts: 378 Location: Florida
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 3:46 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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Okay, thanks a lot Dave. |
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nikita Samba Member
Joined: September 16, 2007 Posts: 531 Location: California
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2017 7:24 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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Another possible almost stock size tire, 195/75R14 Firestone Winterforce from Tirerack, $52.25 plus shipping each. The diameter is close to the 185R14. The tread pattern is not quite as aggressive as an all terrain tire. |
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hylomatt Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2016 Posts: 378 Location: Florida
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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 8:23 am Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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I'm working towards putting the same General Grabbers onto my '78 Bus.
I've long wondered if going from 25 inch tires to 27 inch tires has reduced the top speed in my underpowered Thing, by changing the gearing and reducing the torque. I put those on after it had sat for 25 years, so I had no experience in driving on stock-size tires.
So I'm considering putting the current Grabber tires onto the Bus rims, and getting something closer to stock size for the Thing.
As a bonus, it may well be quite a bit less expensive to buy a different set of Thing tires, vs a second set of Grabbers.
I like the looks of the Cooper tires. I may have to think about those. Did you put one on the spare? Does it fit in the trunk OK?
I was also looking at the Winterforce tires. My understanding is that a winter tire doesn't last nearly as long in the summer, but perhaps on a light Thing and with not putting zillions of miles on it, it is a non-issue.
I'd probably not ever drive it in snow much, but do like to go out on mud occasionally. _________________ Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing |
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hylomatt Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2016 Posts: 378 Location: Florida
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 9:10 am Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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Yes I have 5 including the spare and it fits under the hood perfectly. I can upload a pic in a few hours when I'm home again. |
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50352
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 9:48 am Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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vwwestyman wrote: |
I'm working towards putting the same General Grabbers onto my '78 Bus.
I've long wondered if going from 25 inch tires to 27 inch tires has reduced the top speed in my underpowered Thing, by changing the gearing and reducing the torque. I put those on after it had sat for 25 years, so I had no experience in driving on stock-size tires.
So I'm considering putting the current Grabber tires onto the Bus rims, and getting something closer to stock size for the Thing.
As a bonus, it may well be quite a bit less expensive to buy a different set of Thing tires, vs a second set of Grabbers.
I like the looks of the Cooper tires. I may have to think about those. Did you put one on the spare? Does it fit in the trunk OK?
I was also looking at the Winterforce tires. My understanding is that a winter tire doesn't last nearly as long in the summer, but perhaps on a light Thing and with not putting zillions of miles on it, it is a non-issue.
I'd probably not ever drive it in snow much, but do like to go out on mud occasionally. |
On my transporter, I drove year around with "winter only" Nokian on one axle and the over hyped Hankooks on the other. The Nokians lasted as long as the two pairs of Hankooks. On my T-181 I now have Toyo 195/75r14 on the front and Michelin Ice on the back. I suspect I will toss the Michelins due to age long before the tread is used up. |
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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 11:41 am Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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Wildthings wrote: |
vwwestyman wrote: |
I'm working towards putting the same General Grabbers onto my '78 Bus.
I've long wondered if going from 25 inch tires to 27 inch tires has reduced the top speed in my underpowered Thing, by changing the gearing and reducing the torque. I put those on after it had sat for 25 years, so I had no experience in driving on stock-size tires.
So I'm considering putting the current Grabber tires onto the Bus rims, and getting something closer to stock size for the Thing.
As a bonus, it may well be quite a bit less expensive to buy a different set of Thing tires, vs a second set of Grabbers.
I like the looks of the Cooper tires. I may have to think about those. Did you put one on the spare? Does it fit in the trunk OK?
I was also looking at the Winterforce tires. My understanding is that a winter tire doesn't last nearly as long in the summer, but perhaps on a light Thing and with not putting zillions of miles on it, it is a non-issue.
I'd probably not ever drive it in snow much, but do like to go out on mud occasionally. |
On my transporter, I drove year around with "winter only" Nokian on one axle and the over hyped Hankooks on the other. The Nokians lasted as long as the two pairs of Hankooks. On my T-181 I now have Toyo 195/75r14 on the front and Michelin Ice on the back. I suspect I will toss the Michelins due to age long before the tread is used up. |
Good to know about the winter tires. So I wonder which one would have better mud/old dirt road grip then? A couple years ago I impressed Jeep owners at the local Off Road Vehicle park during the Jeep Jamboree with the Thing's capabilities. I don't want to lose that.
What about thoughts on the extra 2 inch diameter tires being a contributing factor to the car's highway speed abilities and possible slight overheating?
I know that the taller tires should theoretically give me a higher top speed due to taller gearing, but if I've lost some of the torque potential I may have more than made up for that with the loss of torque. Make sense?
For the overheating comment, on a hot day last summer, I had issues with it vapor locking while driving for a while. _________________ Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing |
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50352
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 2:01 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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My tranny gives me Bug engine speeds out on the freeway while still having fairly low gearing in the lower gears. Seems to be a great combo. I have never noticed any overheating, but I seldom put a lot of miles on it at a stretch either. The engine which I assume is fairly stock, with at most a mild cam upgrade, seems to do very well with the 4th gear gearing.
If you are going to be spinning the tires off road I would worry about the winter compounds holding up very well. |
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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 2:34 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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Wildthings wrote: |
My tranny gives me Bug engine speeds out on the freeway while still having fairly low gearing in the lower gears. Seems to be a great combo. I have never noticed any overheating, but I seldom put a lot of miles on it at a stretch either. The engine which I assume is fairly stock, with at most a mild cam upgrade, seems to do very well with the 4th gear gearing.
If you are going to be spinning the tires off road I would worry about the winter compounds holding up very well. |
Good point. I bet the softer winter compound would be more susceptible to being torn up by mud and rocks.
I believe I've got the stock Thing transmission and engine. Just wondering if going back to shorter tires would make the torque a little more available at highway speeds. It really would be nice to be able to go from 55 to even 60. 65 would be great!
If that couple inches of diameter don't actually make much of a difference, then I'll keep the Grabbers on the Thing.
But over in the Bus forums I have read comments about the concern of too-tall tires reducing torque availability and reducing cooling fan speeds.
Put another way, I've seen folks warned that a "freeway flyer" transmission isn't the best idea on a 1600-powered Bus because you lose some torque and cooling and make the engine actually work harder and hotter. With taller tires, have I inadvertently created a "freeway flyer?" _________________ Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing |
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EDragnDean Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2005 Posts: 1148 Location: Vancouver, WA
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Al Capulco Samba Member
Joined: October 31, 2005 Posts: 532 Location: Northridge, CA.
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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The General Grabbers are only 1.3 inches taller than stock tires. At 60 mph you are actually going 63. I just put a set on mine and don't notice a difference from my old stock tires, except they ride a lot better. |
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hylomatt Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2016 Posts: 378 Location: Florida
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 4:45 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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Here are the photos.
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50352
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 4:49 pm Post subject: Re: tires for stock 14 rims- I read sticky |
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vwwestyman wrote: |
Put another way, I've seen folks warned that a "freeway flyer" transmission isn't the best idea on a 1600-powered Bus because you lose some torque and cooling and make the engine actually work harder and hotter. With taller tires, have I inadvertently created a "freeway flyer?" |
Not sure exactly what constitutes a Freeway Flier transmission, but have been under the impression it has longer gearing than a stock bug tranny. The bus is pretty heavy and the longer gearing of the FF would probably be detrimental in most circumstances, but this doesn't mean that running somewhat larger tires on a Thing would be overly negative.
I do know that the present 002 tranny I have in my Bay which I had built specifically for use with 27x8.5r14 tires gives me lower gearing in 1st-3rd gears but close to the same 4th gear gearing with the tire diameter taken into consideration as the 091 I had in there previously did when run with stock size tires. |
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