Can the perceived differences be supported by test data, or are these
the feelings of the user?

So far as the claimed benefits (better cornering) of low profile tires
on big wheels, I thought we were talking about a van here, not a
"performance" vehicle.  For many of us, it is specifically a van that is
driven on back roads with all that implies, and on city streets with
attendant poor street maintenance.  How much loss of tire/wheel
integrity in the face of rocks, chuckholes, and the like is there?  The
thinner the tire (lower profile), the greater the likelihood of bruising
the tire and or bending the wheel when hitting a rough patch.  Any
argument with that?

How fast do you drive your vanagon around corners?  If it loses
stability because the stock wheels and tires "lean" too much, maybe
rethinking the cornering speed would be in order.  In talking with a
young man who was at Discount Tire having his Nissan xxxZ equipped with
big wheels and something like 35 aspect tires, I learned that he finds
that the only safe way to drive with such tires on city streets is to
drive exceedingly slowly to avoid tire and wheel damage when hitting
holes and objects.  He just likes the look, and plans to run his car in
trials on tracks.

I know you are not putting 35 aspect tires on your vans.  But, removing
metal from wheels that were designed for a sedan in order to make them
fit ............... .  Hmmmm.  Just wondering.

Dave Mc

On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 12:28 PM , Bob Stevens wrote:

> On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 7:38 AM, Dave Mcneely  wrote:
>
>> I am forever amazed at the propensity of folks to change something on
>> a
>> vehicle from the way the engineers designed it, and dismiss any
>> concerns
>> about safety of the modification with faith that it will "be ok."
>>
>> Why do you guys want different wheels from the ones that VW put on
>> the
>> van?  In what way do you think that your choices are better?  Just
>> curious.
>>
>> Dave McNeely
> That's easy. Drive my van now compared to driving my van when it had
> OE 14"
> wheels/tires.
> Even with the Michelin Agelis, or the OE MXL's, or Continental's.
> Absolutely
> no comparison in stability.
>
> bob
> '87 Syncro Westy
> w/ CV900 wheels/BFG T/A KO 225/70-16
>
>
>>