I have had the 27.5 x 8 All Terrain KO tires on my Syncro for about two
years now, and I am very pleased with them.  They are noisier than street
tires, but still quiet by off-road tire standards.  Off road performance is
also quite good in all but gooey mud.

They handle well, corner solidly, and provide good stability in cross winds.
I have noticed that the inflation pressure can have a pronounced impact on
steering "feel" and how well the Syncro tracks down the road.  (Over filled
and it feels like driving a bicycle with the handlebars turned around
backwards, underfilled, and it gets mushy and cornering suffers).

They also look great, the tread life is pretty amazing, and they are a bit
bigger so that the speedometer actually reads accurately now.  There is a
slight change to overall gearing, and climbing up some hills required
downshifting that I used to be able to barely do in 4th gear.   However, in
a Syncro Westy, you are carrying a lot of weight and that change of gearing
is probably more dramatically felt.  The nice thing is that I can now cruise
at a (real) 70 mph all day long and still be in the "all green" area of the
tach.  Overall, I highly recommend them as an "upgrade" for Syncros with 14"
alloy wheels.

Brent Christensen
Santa Barbara, CA

----- Original Message -----
From: "developtrust" <developtrust@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 12:00 PM
Subject: Important tires question: B.F. Goodrich tripple sidewall

> One of my front Michelin X One tires blew the sidewall when I hit a curb
in
> a supermarket parking lot.
>
> Winston Tires wthat put the wrong tires on the vanagon said they will
> replace the tires no charge.
>
> I'm considering the B. F. Goodrich 27- 8.50-14 tires which are tripple
> sidewall and pay the difference in price ($102 versus $50.)
>
> I know that Al Knoll (Pensioner) has B. F. Goodrich 15" tires. Does anyone
> else have experice with the 14" B. F. Goodrich tires.
>
> If these will work with the alloy wheels on a vanagon I am going to pay
the
> difference and get them unless the wisdom of the list can steer me to a
> better tire for the vanagon camper.
>
> I HAVE ONE DAY TO DECIDE.
>
> Thanks in advance for the help you all.
>