Why not just get the General Altimax 205/70-14 from Tire Rack or a local dealer? Has the ratings needed and a great price. Really replaces the original fitment and has the M+S rating so it can be legally used in snow conditions. 

Dennis 

Sent from my Windows Phone

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike S
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 8:22 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: And now - still trying for NEW TIRES - HAKKA

> At 08:01 PM 3/7/2011, Jim Arnott wrote...
> 
>>Or minimum 99 or minimum 109. You choose. I don't find 93 anywhere.
>>
>>100 seems like a safe compromise.
> 
> Yawn.
> 
> VW considers the Vanagon a light truck. When they originally spec'd
> tires, light truck tires were rated by ply ratings (6PR, 8PR, etc.)
> and/or letter load ranges (A, B, C, etc.). The spec'd a 185/14 6PR/load
> range C.
> 
> For passenger car tires, they spec'd a reinforced tire. "Reinforced"
> (the term "Extra Load" is also used) in this context only means that
> the tire is specified to have a significantly greater load handling
> capacity than a standard passenger car tire of the same size.
> 
> All of those ratings, PR, letter load range, and "reinforced" (or
> "extra load") modify the load rating of _the base tire size_. That is,
> a 6PR rated tire of one size might have a different load carrying
> ability than a 6PR rated tire of a different size. Those ratings still
> appear on modern tires only for backward compatibility with older
> specifications. (i.e. for someone looking for a 185R14C 6PR light truck
> tire or a 185R14 reinforced passenger car tire)
> 
> The more modern system uses numeric codes to indicate the actual load a
> tire can carry, _irregardless of the size_. A 97 (1609 lb) rating can
> occur on tires of different sizes. This makes things MUCH simpler,
> especially if changing tire sizes. When using this system, the PRx,
> reinforced, etc. ratings aren't needed.
> 
> Passenger car tires need to be derated 9% when used for a light truck
> application (because light trucks have a higher center of gravity, are
> expected to be loaded near capacity more often, etc.).
> 
> Reference:
> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=195
> 
> For use on a Vanagon, a passenger car tire must be load rated 97 (1609
> lbs). And that is exactly what VW used when they provided passenger car
> tires as original equipment on the Vanagon, toward the end of its life.
> When derated by 9%, that 1609 lbs becomes 1464 lbs. That is the closest
> match to the GAWR-rear (2866 lbs.), without going under. The next step
> down, a 96 (1565 lb.) rating, would derate to 1424 lbs., too low for
> the Vanagon's actual weight rating.
> 
> If VW were spec'ing tires today, they would say use a light truck tire
> of load range 93 (1433 lbs) or greater. That exactly matches the
> GAWR-rear (maximum rear axle load) rating of 2866 lbs. Or, use a
> passenger car tire of load rating 97 or higher, which when derated
> properly, is as close as you can get without going under.