Andrew -

I agree that any suitably sized tire designed for a heavy vehicle will carry
the load, but -

The important thing for people in the US to remember is that there aren't
many P sized tires (P185, P205) for passenger cars that have a load rating
and handle the pressures which  VW recommends.

The door sticker on my '87 Westy says 185R14 39 psi front 48 psi rear.  For
the 205/70R14, you can run 40 in the rear, but the recommended load rating
is 97.

The Conti's look like a decent tire, but their recommended max pressure is
only 40 psi.
By comparison the 185/70 Michelin Agilis has a load rating of 99, 1609#
capacity at a max pressure of 54 psi.

Especially with a Westy, which is tall and heavy, a stiff tire running at
40-50 psi on the rear will make a significant difference in the way it
handles.  Yes, I know that tire technology keeps changing, but I would have
to have a good reason to wander too far from the door sticker.

Have fun, and play safe!

- Mike Finkbiner
'87 Westy
Moscow, Idaho
(who drives on a lot of Forest Service roads, and likes his Kumho 852 Light
Truck tires)

Date:    Fri, 23 Mar 2001 11:12:35 +1200
From:    Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: Reinforced Tires - was Yokohama Tires Revisited

>Chad -
>
>There has been a lot of talk about reinforced tires over the years.  Could
>you take a look at those and see what the maximum pressure and carrying
>capacity is?  Do they also have a load rating number?  It would be a two or
>three digit number like 95 or 103.
>
>I've always been curious about how they compare to the light truck tires I
>have been using.  The door sticker on my Westy says to use 185/14 PR,
>(which
>I assume means reinforced) or 205/14 97 (load rating 97 ~ 1600# carrying
>capacity).

ANY tire designed for a really heavy car would be suitable loadingwise for
a Vanagon. Mercedes S-Class (which these days run low-profiles) or even an
old Galaxie landbarge. You don't need ill-handling truck tires.

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com