David,

You'll also find that with almost any tire, it takes a couple of
hundred
miles to get the best traction.  The manufacturers put a mold release
on
there that takes a little while to wear off.

Greg

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
Behalf Of
David Kao
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 9:26 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Crappy traction Van..

A couple of year back I put on a new set of tires purchased from
Costco for
my Westy. As soon as the first time I pulled the brake a little hard
the
Westy was like skiing on the freeway. I immediately realized that it
was the
new tires that made it skid. Even today the Westy is still more
likely to
skid than my 84 is. It has something to do with the tires. It's a set
of
Kirkland brand tires.
The tire's spec met the requirement for Vanagons.

I believe you will find your Van's traction different if you have a
different set of tires on it.

David

--- Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET> wrote:

> I bet at least some of my traction issues stem from the fact that I

> have an Inline 4 motor transplant motor in my 84.  Dunno the weight
of
> the WBX motor, but the Cabriolet  4 banger seems incredibly small
and
> compact, which probably makes the rear end on my van a bit lighter.

> Also, that motor is laid over to the left at a pretty steep angle,
> which further loads the left rear over the right rear, I bet.
>   Don Hanson
>

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