

| Subject: | Re: Michelin's new tire designs |
| From: | Greg Potts |
| Date: | Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:37:50 -0500 |
Hi John, Stiffer sidewalls would be a plus for a Vanagon or Baywindow. But the "tweel" introduced in 2005 is apparently a lot noisier than a traditional pneumatic tire, which would be a minus. I think the biggest problem for the "tweel" will be distriution. By design, it incorporates the bolt pattern and rim offset along with the traditional tire parameters of diameter and tread width into the product specification. The extra layer of complexity will make the product much more model-centric than traditional rubber tires and this certainly won't help its entry into the market. OTOH, all it would really take is for one major manufacturer to adopt it as standard equipment in a popular model.... But hey, if they can make an affordable winter tread in 5x112 ET35 29"Diameter 7" width with a 1500lb load capacity; I'd run them on my wolfsburg. I wonder how those compressible spokes work with snow, ice and salt thrown at them at -30C??? Happy Trails, Greg Potts 1973/74/79 Westfakia "Bob the Tomato" 1987 Wolfsburg Weekender Hardtop www.busesofthecorn.com www.pottsfamily.ca John Rodgers wrote: > This staggers the imagination. > > http://www.shadetreemechanic.com/michelin_new_tire_design.htm > > Would anyone want these on a Vanagon?? > ------------------------------------------------------------ + To unsubscribe from the Vanagon List send an e-mail to + listserv@gerry.vanagon.com with SIGNOFF VANAGON + in the body of the message. ------------------------------------------------------------
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