I just ended up with some 225/55 R 16 tires...
like jetta studless winter tires... Very common size.

for road and street use ..they look pretty good on a Syncro Doka. 16
inch genuine VW/Audi steelies.

  ( now that I think of it...it's For Sale ...1.9 AAZ TD very tight
engine....$ 15,800 , located southern Oregon )

it's not prefect..runs well, and is a real Synco Doka. Needs some
things..starts and runs great.

On 3/19/2014 7:27 PM, Jeff Schwaia wrote:
> There is a middle ground between highways and rough rocky roads...
>
> Perhaps fire roads or graded roads?  Also, snow?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Alistair Bell
> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:16 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
>
> For a syncro that is actually used on anything but highways I think it is
> folly to use 55 profile tires. You need sidewall depth to reduce the chance
> of rim damage when you use your syncro on rough rocky roads.
>
> Alistair
>
>
>
>> On Mar 19, 2014, at 4:04 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
>> Again,
>> If going for the expense of new heels, I would go right for 16 or if
>> handling real important 17 inch wheels. Many more handling and
>> performance tire choices including XL versions. To get more rubber on
>> the road you need to wider and to get a better footprint you need to
>> go softer. The 225/60-16 is amongst my favorite compromises. Due to
>> ready availability of the AR95T wheel I have been installing some
>> 225/55-17XL tires. Awesome handling. For Syncros I have also used the
> 235/55-17XL.
>> Dennis
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of Jack R
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:00 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
>>
>> I'm running the Heavy Duty Bilstenis on my 84 Westy.  With the Yoko
>> 185/14's "D".
>> Ride is not good, cross winds are still a big issue.  Camber is off
>> slightly, negative.
>>
>> Everything is solid, shocks have less than 10k miles on them.
>>
>> So, are you saying the 15" GW tires would be the best for my rig?
>>
>> Thanks for the guidance on the Tirerack "Passenger" tires!
>>
>> Jack R.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:18 AM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
>>
>> what shocks do you run ?
>> very significant factor.
>> I never thought Heavy Duty Bilstenis were 'magic' ( like they can be )
>> on a vanagon until I ran them with 15 inch wheels...then they got more
> magic.
>> I don't think 14's can work very well on vanagons, in general.
>> my fav size is 27 X 8.50 R14 LT.
>> a guy owes me a full set of four ..
>> my good vans run 15's with dedicated front and rear sizes. ( 2WD of
>> course ).
>>
>> I make do with stock springs , though I've had to juggle things around
>> here and there.
>>
>>
>>> On 3/18/2014 5:49 PM, Ralph Meyermann wrote:
>>> My stock westy springs with the 185/75/14 D tires were very harsh on
>>> pot holes, smooth hwy ran nicely. So far with the 1.5" lift
>>> progressive springs and LT 215/75/15 bfg all terrain KO are a huge
>>> improvement. Making the 14's seem like solid rubber. We'll see more
>> further down the road.
>>> Velma 82 1.9L AAZ TD Westy
>>> On Mar 18, 2014 7:37 PM, "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <
>>> scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> ditto ..
>>>> all the 14 inch tires I have seen with either C or D load rating
>>>> have had max cold pressures of 55 or 65 psi..repsectively.
>>>>
>>>> I don't think you are in 'real danger' actually.
>>>>
>>>> and it would really be neat if list members could drive various
>>>> vanagons with various tires on them, to feel the difference..
>>>> and The Difference in how vanagons ride and handle can be VAST.
>>>>
>>>> Members who own and operate a couple or more vanagons have an idea
>>>> wut ah'm talkin' 'bout.
>>>>
>>>> Some vanagons are desperately understeering pigs.
>>>> Some ride way too harshly in the front due to D load tires there.
>>>> some 'change direction on pumps' way too easily due not having
>>>> proper front-rear tire pressure ratios, and so on.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> On 3/18/2014 4:22 PM, Jeff Schwaia wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Those tires are not for a Vanagon.
>>>>>
>>>>> Passenger tire, 93 rating for the sidewall.  Not safe.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>
>>>>> Jeff
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>>>>> Behalf Of Jack R
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 3:54 PM
>>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>>> Subject: Re: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and
> Men.....
>>>>> Tires are good for about 10 years... give or take, depending on
> storage.
>>>>> I'd opt for fresh tires.  My current 185/R14 D Yoko's are not very
>>>>> smooth on the road, and 7 years old.
>>>>>
>>>>> Tossup between going to the GW 16" or just replacing the 14" with
>>>>> the tires below.
>>>>>
>>>>> Anyone try these from the Tire Rack... after rebate, seems like a
>>>>> great deal.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&
>>>>> tireModel=Defender
>>>>> &partnum=07TR4DEF
>>>>>
>>>>> Load rating should be enough, pressure good to 44 psi.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jack R.
>>>>> 84 Westy
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>>>>> Behalf Of JRodgers
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 4:41 PM
>>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>>> Subject: Tires and Wheels - The best laid plans of Mice and Men.....
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, I've been planning an upgrade to 15 or 16 inch wheels and
>>>>> tires for my Carat restoration - but my main priority is getting
>>>>> the thing on the road
>>>>> -
>>>>> not so much having the bigger wheels ad tires - but I was going to
>>>>> go for it
>>>>> - in part because it's getting to be a hassle to get the 14 inch
>>>>> tires in my area without having to ship them in, paying freight in
>>>>> addittion the tires, and ultimately having to pay someone $20 or so
>>>>> to mount each one.
>>>>>
>>>>> Well - yesterday I learned I could still get my fav tire - the
>>>>> General Altimax RT 98C in a 205-70/R14. So, I opted to get one more
>>>>> set and wait until the next round of tires to upgrade to a larger
>>>>> size. Given I'm dropping a bundle to get the engine and tranny
>>>>> working, plus some other stuff, I ordered the tires. I just picked
>>>>> them up. Installed, mounted and balanced -total cost of a set of 5
>>>>> (4 on the road and one spare) included
>>>>> -
>>>>> taxes and all - $430.00. or $81/ea, I could not beat that with a
>>>>> stick anywhere.
>>>>>
>>>>> Hip! Hip! Huzzah!!   Dennis Haynes for putting me onto the General
>>>>> Altimax in the first place!!
>>>>>
>>>>> And one more thing about Dennis!
>>>>>
>>>>> I have a Dennis Haynes receiver hitch on my '88 GL - and that thing
>>>>> makes one heck of a fine jacking point for getting the rear end up
>>>>> off the ground with one Jack.
>>>>>
>>>>> Careful there Dennis - let;s not get the bighead over this.
>>>>>
>>>>> But seriously  - it worked great for that purpose.
>>>>>
>>>>> Happy Motoring Everyone,
>>>>>
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>>>