Hi David,

What pressure are you running those tires at??  You should be running
according to the numbers on the door frame, NOT the max pressure on
the tire.

Too high a pressure means a much smaller contact patch meeting the
road, and that is definitely going to affect braking.

BTW, I have lugged a waterbox and an inline 4 across a garage floor,
the weight difference didn't seem that significant.

Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato
www.pottsfamily.ca
www.busesofthecorn.com

On 4-Sep-07, at 10:25 PM, David Kao wrote:

> 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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