For owners of vans with 14" or 16" wheels, I have two really nice snows to
offer this year.  (Sorry, no 15" bargains to be had this year; I'll try
again next winter.) Both are directional-tread, silica compound snows
similar to the Nokians, but for a lot less money. Both come from OEM
suppliers to Volkswagen, and exceed ALL Volkswagen specs for safe Vanagon or
Eurovan use (which is quite rare).  They are only $99 each.

In a 14" size, I am expecting a shipment of Vredestein 185R14 snows soon,
which were highly rated by the German magazine Pro-Mobile Extra (over the
Michelin Agilis Snows, among others). I have been using Vredestein snows on
my '89 Westy, and have been amazed not only by their winter performance, but
also by the fact that they have as quiet and comfortable a ride as a summer
tire (which cannot be said of all snow tires). In fact I left mine on my
Westy straight through the spring completely by mistake, simply because they
drove so well in dry weather that I forgot I hadn't changed them!
Supposedly these are on their way to me from Vredestein in Holland. I'll
post a note here when they arrive.

For those with late model Eurovans, or Vanagons with 16" aftermarket wheels,
I also have (in stock now, after a 2 month wait!) a small quantity of
Hankook Icebear W300 225/60R/16 XL Extra Load snow tires, which I brought in
based on several glowing reports on the Eurovan list. These received 2 out
of 3 stars on the German ADAC test, and were reviewed on the Eurovan list as
being better than the Nokians.  These run $132 each at 1010tires.com etc.

Quantites are limited on both of these, as tire manufacturers don't seem to
think there is a U.S. market for snows that fit VW vans. :-(

Link:

http://busdepot.com/details/tires.jsp

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

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