Subject: Re: Vanagon Tire Guidelines Report

My spin on tires....

Personally I feel the most important thing for a vanagon tire is sidewall
strength... this ain't no CAR... what you're driving here is a giant
sailboard.... you are driving a 6'x16' =  96 sq.\foot wing.... No way around
it... you're sailing/flying. If the wind is from the front, it's a giant
rudder... if it's from the side... it's a wing/sail and you're kicking the
rudder (the steering wheel) to keep it on track. Depending on the side wind
strength and gust... will depend on how much steering wheel wrestling
(rudder dancing) you'll be doing. Add to that non-reinforced sidewall tires
and... you'll be doing lots more fancy dancing.

I find my Syncro is better than my old 78 westy, because it has more weight
down lower on it's center of gravity (with the extra under carriage, drive
shaft and fwd gear). I loved the continentals tires that used to come
standard on our buses. They had good sidewall strength. Once a large tire
dealer in Toronto talked me into some tires he called "super Michelin tires"
perfect for you van..... I bit... took them out for a spin and found myself
wrestling the wind like crazy... I took them back and made him replace them
with the correct  (VW recommended) tires I ask for in the first place... he
ate the cost... I cut my losses.

Knew an old guy and his wife, bought his first westy (used)... They thought
"Boy this is going to be fun". Drove down to Fla. in April through heavy
thunderstorms and high winds...... Frigging FREAKED out... did a 360 in a
snow storm along the interstate by Lake Erie... wrestled the sucker all the
way across the big open bridges of the Fla. Keys... got to Key West and
dumped what he called   "the worst thing I've ever driven".  They are still
scared of those "terrible things"...... All it needed was the correct tires
(and maybe new shocks)... his lost.. someone knowledgeable gains....

It's funny tires are like some kind of manly thing... you just can't tell a
man anything about tires... he already knows it all.

I find it's like music.. some guys enjoy playing a cheap guitar made out of
plywood... while others can tell (and will pay) the difference in a carved,
tap tuned spruce top.

Larry... thanks for all your work... it's always good to see someone apply
their passions....and.... hey we get the passion fruit.

RR