Chris,

My Westy is the basic camper, i.e. no stove, kitchen sink, or fridge.  The
minimum tire recommendation by VW is a 'C' ply.  The previous owner put some
Michelin MX4 tires on the front with a max load rating of just over 1300
lbs. at 35 PSI.  Although they too felt OK at the time, I didn't know the
difference until I replaced my tires with Firehawk R4S, 27x8.5 14, 'C' ply,
rated over 1500 lbs. at 50 psi.  They were $67 each at www.tirerack.com.
Man, what a difference!  These big and meaty tires ride smoothly and handle
nicely.  The steering is much better.  I run 50 psi in all the tires, all
the time.  I mounted them with the white letters facing out for that
pseudo-Syncro look.

I would never consider mounting anything less than a 'C' ply on any Vanagon,
Westy or not.

Chris,

'85 Westy.
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf Of
Christopher T. Berchin
  Sent: Friday, May 18, 2001 11:11 AM
  To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
  Subject: Tires - how critical on non-Westy?

  Certainly my intent is to get a high load rating and proper pressure
handling when it comes time to change the tires on my "new" Vanagon.  With
all the talk about tires on the list, and all the folks who say, "My God,
you're going to die with those tires!" I was wondering how critical this is
for the lighter non-Westies.  I'm not totally thrilled with the tires on
mine (simply because the max psi rating is only 44, so I'm running the rears
at that instead of the 49 called out on the bus' sticker), but the van feels
ok while driving.  I'm just a little paranoid since I drive over minefields
instead of roads here in MI.

  So do the non-Westies have a little more cushion regarding load rating
than the Westies?  Thanks.

  Chris

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