> The Volkswagen spec is a tire that has REINFORCED SIDEWALLS 
> or a LT rating. <snip> 
> I am really happy to be reading this discussion. I have looked at 
> every tire on every vanagon I come across, And while all have 
> been LT or reinforced tires i have not seen one tire with more 
> than 2 sidewall plies - they all seem to be 2+2 tread and 2 poly side 
> wall.

Due to improvements in tire technology, the tire's sidewall ply RATING may
differ from the ACTUAL number of plies. (Depending on the technology used,
fewer plies can go further now than they did 25 years ago when the standards
were written.) You have to go by the rating, not the actual number of plies.
If the tire is listed as "load range C," "load range D", 6PR, 8 PR, or
"sidewall reinforced," it will generally meet VW spec (check to be sure,
particularly in terms of inflation capacity), regardless of how many ACTUAL
plies the sidewall has. However, do not simply go by whether the tire is
marketed as a "light truck" tire, as this technically means nothing and the
tire can still be passenger-car rated. 

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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