I replaced my '85 Westy springs with Go Westy springs, replaced bushings
with urethane, and replaced the shocks with Konis adjusted to three half
turns.  I'm using Hankooks @ 45/50psi.  Ride couldn't be better/world of
difference from before.  Don't lower that sled; stiffen it.

Karl Wolz

|-----Original Message-----
|From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]
|On Behalf Of Scott Daniel - Turbovans
|Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:52 PM
|To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
|Subject: Re: New tires
|
|fwiw,
|I'm driving an 85 Westy GL a customer just got..
|near showroom condition ..best I've ever seen........paid
|almost 14K for it.
|
|it's got nearly new  Hankook RA08's on it.  185 R14C D load
|range ( 8PR ) tire pressures are adjusted to 38 front 44 rear..
|and by golly ..
|I am always saying D load range tires are too harsh on the front ..
|but these do not seem to be that way at all really.
|Didn't drive it very far..
|but overall ride and handling ........'not bad' ..
|although ..
|it is very 'boaty'..............any swevring and it feels very
|top heavy and leans a lot ..
|like it wants to be an 'understeering pig.'
|
|I told him we can fix that.
|the first thing it needs..
|as do all 85 Weekenders and Westys .........is normal hieght
|front springs.
|I have changed two of them to GL front springs..
|so they sit level ( they are almost 2 inches too high in front
|stock ) ..
|and that will help quite a bit.
|
|Ride with these tires is good, no harshness in the steering wheel ...
|like front tires do not seem too stiff..
|but being so high in the front, and 'jsut 14's with same size
|front and rear tires ' ...
|it's quite 'boaty' yet.
|
|fwiw ..
|I am always suprised when people apparoch vanagon tires like
|it's all about 'being a truck' ..and 'carrying a load' ..
|one guy was even talking about if he was going to carry say 70
|% of the tires max load ..
|he would adjsut tire pressures to 70 % of max allowed pressure.
|
|I say 'what' !!??
|I have always been a sporty driver first, truck driver last..
|( I've raced in Baja and all that ) and I always and only tune
|for handling..
|i.e ..............good straight line tracking, good 'turn in'
|and good cornering stability with not too much understeer.
|When I do have a huge load, I up tire pressures of course..
|and don't expect it to handly too sporty then either,  of course.
|
|they really are 'sports vans' .....
|they have a sporting type suspension ......coil springs, rear
|trailing arms, A-arm front suspension ( so do Lamborgini's )
|rack and pinion steering and more ..
|That ain't trucks in my world !  They're true 'sports vans' .
|
|lol,
|scott
|----- Original Message -----
|From: "Don Hanson" <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
|To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
|Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 6:29 PM
|Subject: Re: New tires
|
|
|> Last fall, I did get a second set of wheels with some used tires
|> already mounted.  Two passenger load range regular tread
|tires and two
|> Hakkapellita snows, but not the proper ones...they were sold to the
|> lady as "these should do the job" but the load range was 'passenger
|> car'....
|>
|>  I just went ahead and stuck them on my Van because I wanted to save
|> my good snows for a trip south...and I figured, what the
|heck, driving around
|> my local area, if I had a flat, I could deal with it.   All
|but one of
|> those
|> passenger-rated tires developed bulges or tread seperations within a
|> month or two.
|>   That could have been because of their age or because the
|tire wasn't
|> up to my driving conditions, which include dirt roads and
|sometimes a
|> substantial load...
|>
|>  So for my usage, I think I like the stiffer sidewalls and the best
|> load range available.  I don't really care about the ride
|smoothness,
|> but I do care about tracking as straight as possible in gusty winds
|> and around sinuous highways...and I don't like having a tire
|develop a
|> tread bulge or other problems when I am driving far from
|home or carrying a big load...
|>
|>  I have found the Hakkapelittas went an amazing distance before
|> getting thin, and on dry pavement a lot.  I think I got about 35k
|> miles from them...hard to say for certain as I had those
|others on for a time....
|>  Don Hanson
|>
|> On Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 6:55 AM, The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com>
|> wrote:
|>
|>> > If snow driving is really an issue you should use the
|Hakkapelittas
|>> > for all four. Especially since the Hankooks are not that
|good even
|>> > for rain.
|>>
|>>
|>> I second Dennis's opinion that there is no substitute for snows in
|>> all 4 corners if you are in a region where snow is common. No
|>> all-season tire - not even the Hankooks - can compare with a good
|>> directional snow tire when driving on snow and ice. The
|Nokian snows
|>> are an excellent choice (although we don't carry them). We
|carry the
|>> $99 Kumho Power Grip 185R14 directional snow tire for the
|more budget
|>> minded -
|>> http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=185KC11
|>>
|>> I should add that snows are not necessarily a good
|year-round choice,
|>> though (unless of course you live in a climate where they're
|>> necessary). The rubber compound that gives a snow tire its
|extra grip
|>> also wears faster, so you'll chew through tires faster than if you
|>> used all-season tires during non-snowy months. I picked up a spare
|>> set of used Vanagon wheels for my Westy so I could have two sets of
|>> tires/wheels - a set of Hankooks and a set of snows
|>> -
|>> and swap them out in the winter. The investment in the snows is
|>> largely offset by the fact that their use prolongs the
|lifespan of my
|>> Hankooks (which are now only on the van 8 months a year), so in the
|>> long run the only real cost was the used wheels.
|>>
|>> Finally, I must respectfully disagree with Dennis regarding the
|>> Hankooks in rain. While they are only a so-so snow tire
|(which is the
|>> case with any "all-season" tire), I have always found them to be
|>> extremely sure footed in rain. In fact I would say they're
|among the
|>> best I've used on wet roads (and I've used many over the years).
|>>
|>> As always, you can find our article on choosing the right Vanagon
|>> tire at http://busdepot.com/details/tires.jsp
|>>
|>> - Ron Salmon
|>>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
|>>   www.busdepot.com
|>>   (215)  234-VWVW
|>>
|>> _____________________________________________
|>> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT
|>>
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