The 6" wide alloy wheel is still acceptable for a 185 series tire. Outer
tread wear may be slightly increased but this will be offset by the high
pressure this size tire requires to support the weight of the van. The
real question is why would anyone want to ride on a skinny-hard, low
traction tire? The only advantage here is reduced rolling resistance.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of JordanVw@AOL.COM
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 1:24 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Discount Tires (and Snows!) for Vanagons / Vredestein vs.
Hakka

In a message dated 12/17/04 1:18:35 PM Eastern Standard Time,
vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM writes:

>
> Be aware, however, that there are a few different Vredesteins that
have high
> load ratings, and they are not all the same. In a 185R14 non-snow
radial,
> for example, they make both a Comtrac and a Sprint+.  According to my
> contact at Vredestein technical support, the newer Comtrac is a much
better
> tire than the Sprint+ in all respects. The Sprint+, although still
> available, is an older design.
>
>

BTW, people keep mentioning 185's...  185's are fine for steel wheels
but
..IIRC  the alloys require 205's..   am i correct?    reason i ask is
that a
friend of mine just bought tires for his carat with the factory
alloys...he
ordered michelins from tirerack.com  and they sent him 185's..  they
told him that's
all they had...(which is total BS)  i told him that the alloys require
205's
but he mounted the 185's on his carat alloys anyway...  so how will his
van
handle now?? (it used to have 205's on the carat alloys)

chris