I've kept 14" steel stock wheels on my topless westie.  Aftermarket alloy
wheels can be broken easily when using your van on bad roads or off road.
I've been running Asian tires (14") on both the Vanagon and my 5000# Astro
AWD van....Go Form brand, got mine from a Tire Factory, one set, and from
Tires easy, online.
   The Goform ad  copy says they used Hankook technology... The tires are
essentially like the Hankook rao8 that is Vanagon appropriate, but
half-price.  Hakkapellita are noisier and rougher.
On Apr 30, 2016 11:37 PM, "Stephen Edwards" <chibicyclist@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

Can someone point me to a concise explanation of the pros and cons of 14”
versus 15” wheels & tires?

Having lurked on this list for years, I know there have been many
discussions about this, and I don’t mean to start a whole new one, but I’m
having difficulty navigating the archives (there are such a LOT of them!)
and TheSamba’s tire threads tend to be either uber-technical or just
unsupported opinion, with not enough in between to be really helpful.

I’ve always run either 185 or 195 R14’s, and gotten decent mileage and
handling, but on the highway the ride is hard and unforgiving. My wife and
I are planning some very long trips after she retires (including, we hope,
from here to the other end of Canada’s famous Dempster Highway, as well as
some logging roads in Northern Ontario) and I’m wondering if it’s time to
invest in some 15” wheels to soften the ride.

Thanks,

Steve Edwards - currently running a 91 GL with Subaru 2.2 engine, rolling
on Nokian Hakkapellitas in Chicago, IL