The speedo in most Vanagons is optimistic to begin with so putting on
larger tires will probably make the speedo MORE accurate. This has been
my experience on several 2Wd and Syncro Vanagons. The odometer on the
other hand is usually very close and the larger tires make it read fewer
miles by a few percent. I run 215/75/15s on my 82 Westy and my 87 Syncro
Camper. This is the largest size that can be made to fit in the spare
tire well. The gearing is changed noticeably and the engine turns lower
rpms at any given true road speed. I prefer the Michelin LTX MS in this
size as the LTX ATs make more road noise.

mark

Christopher Gronski wrote:
>
> I'm in a situation where I'm now shopping for new tires. Initially I wanted to stick with the stock 14" wheels and go with 205/70R14 Michelin MXT's (or LXT's if they are available). Now I'm thinking about larger wheels so that I'd have the option of installing a big brake kit. Has anyone had any experience with these kits? Are they any good?
>
> My next question is about 15" or 16" wheels. It seems like speedometer and odometer error would start being a big problem. ............
>Can you adjust the spedometer / odometer settings? Do you just live with it? What width can you go up to with 15" wheels? Is 235/75R15 the >max? Are there 205/70R15's for the Vanagon? Any comments from 15" owners?
>...
> Thanks,
> Chris Gronski
> '80 Westy "Pokey" - SLOPOKEY