That web page is funny!  I wonder if that "modest" gentleman has a lawyer,
because if one of their wheel/tires every fails and causes injury to someone
they're going to need a good lawyer.

Cheers,

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of Todd Last
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 11:29 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: GoWesty wheel / tire package

Amen to that!

Todd
'88 Westy

Joel Walker wrote:

>>The guys at GoWesty claim that once you go to 15" tires, that
>>
>>
>you don't need
>
>
>>to use reinforced tires anymore...see:
>>http://www.gowesty.com/wheelstiresinfo.html
>>The hydroedge tires are supposedly pretty incredible, but are
>>
>>
>they right  to
>
>
>>run on our vanagons?
>>just looking for some opinion on this.
>>
>>
>
>when i read stuff like that, i just remember all those snake-oil
>salesman in the past ... too many words, when a few figures would
>suffice. like the info that is stamped into the sidewall of the
>tire, and is required to be there by federal law. why not just
>present the data on the tire and let the customer decide for
>himself? cause they want to sell the tire, not give you a chance
>to change your mind. mercedes specifies which tires are required
>for their cars ... why not tell us what the specs of that tire is
>and let us decide?
>
>statements like this "Common sense would indicate what we have
>proven by TESTING: The wider and lower profile tire is INHERENTLY
>stronger and more stable than a narrower and taller tire. No
>reinforcement required. End of story!"
>make me think of a snow job. MY common sense tells me that ANY
>tire with reinforcement is inherently stronger than any other
>tire without it. and as for a wider/lower tire being "inherently
>stornger" is bullshit ... if that were true, why aren't the
>18-wheelers and passenger aircraft running such tires? because,
>in my experience and opinion, it ain't so ... tires are designed
>for particular purposes and uses. and driving/work environments.
>and STYLES. gee ... like big white letters. oh, but the white
>letter tires are inherently stronger than black walls ... they
>must be; they have to be to keep them letters stuck on there. ;)
>and it's thicker at the letters!! yeah, that's it! :)
>
>i tell ya what i've learned over the years about tires.
>
>1. if it don't say it on the tire itself, whatever the
>salespeople tell you is bullshit and is designed to separate you
>from your money.
>
>2. just cause it looks good don't mean diddly.
>
>3. wider tires are much more likely to hydroplane in wet weather,
>unless the tread pattern is specifically designed to get rid of
>the water. period. no matter what brand of tire it is.
>
>4. lower profile tires are much more likely to be damaged and
>allow the rim/wheel to be damaged than a taller tire, reinforced
>or not. there simply isn't enough sidewall to act as a cushion.
>
>5. if you stray too far from the original tires that came on the
>vehicle from the factory, YOU are taking the risk, not the tire
>salespeople or the factory or anybody else.
>
>6. tire salespeople are high-school dropouts and just plain
>morons 99 times out of 100. the reason they are selling tires is
>cause they can't hack it behind the counter at McDonald's. and
>usually they are fast-talking morons. the faster someone talks
>when trying to sell me something, the faster i want to get out of
>there. it's a tactic ... designed to confuse the buyer.
>
>1500 lbs, eh? let's see how strong that is. that is MAX LOAD,
>yup. but ONLY at MAX PRESSURE. and those are stamped on the side
>of the tire. which means you can depend on the 1500 lbs ONLY if
>you put the maximum allowed pressure into the tire. which is
>likely gonna make it ride really rough. max pressure usually does
>that.
>
>and 4 wheels times 1500 = 6000 lbs. but the vw-supplied sticker
>(in the driver's side door jam) lists the gross vehicle weight as
>5200 lbs (about). that INcludes the basic vehicle, full fuel tank
>(96lbs of gasoline), oil (1.175 gallons at 6lbs/gal = 7lbs) and
>coolant (4.5gallons at 8lbs/gal = 36lbs), plus max load which
>combines passenger (150lbs per designated seating position or 7
>times 150lbs = 1050 lbs of people) and luggage weight.
>
>so assuming you're not overloading your bus, and your weight is
>at 5200 lbs, why, you've got a whopping 800lbs of safety margin!!
>for things like cornering and braking .. you know, stuff that
>heats up the tires more than just running down the highway.
>that's a big old 15percent margin.
>if you used a tire that had a 1600lbs max load, at max pressure
>the load could be 6400 lbs. now you've got a 1200 lbs margin, or
>23 percent. more is better in this case.
>
>sure, you can use a 1500 lb-rated tire ... IF you don't load your
>bus heavily or full of people and luggage.
>after all, it is YOUR bus. you can pretty much do what you want
>with it. but in my opinion, you'd better be  aware of the
>abilities of the tires you've got on it.
>
>and if you have a camper, you've already lost several hundred
>pounds of cargo carrying ability .. my 87 camper weighed in at
>4220 lbs, with me in it and a full tank of gas. and a 50-lb
>toolbox. and the oil and coolant, of course. :)
>plus the camper is a bit heavier up top, and will put more strain
>on the tires when cornering and stopping.
>
>and just so you don't think it's really bad with vw buses, try
>looking into a winnebago or some such RV ... the weight of all
>that carpet and kitchen and bathroom and such puts most of them
>within only about 600 lbs of being overloaded. add two people and
>clothes and food for a week and water and gas and presto, you're
>overloaded.
>and what tires do they usually run? BIG Muthas! NOT low profile
>wide tires. hmmmmm. :)  wonder why?
>
>you can have good looks and snazzy style. or you can have safety.
>maybe you can find a tire that lets you have both.
>but LOOK at the info on the side of the tire before you buy it.
>then decide for yourself ... don't let someone else decide for
>you. it's your bus. and your life.
>
>good luck!
>unca joel
>
>
>