Ed Berroth writes:
>Nate, The  tires actuelly are about the same rolling radius, so the speedo is
>the same and the gearing is unchanged.The part I appreciate most is the
>handling.The sidewalls stay stiff(6 ply rated) so no wandering like the 4 ply
>tires(CAVEAT VANAGONERS...DONT USE A 4 PLY NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!) and more
>rubber on the road for cornering and,especially,snow(try them in a Montana
>blizzard w/ 2 feet on the ground...more rubber is better rubber)and they seem
                                    ----------------------------
This is contrary to the popular wisdom that, in snow, its better to have
narrow tires.

>to be wearing great(28k mi w/ less than 1/2 wear. Im not sure if they will
>fit on a stock vanagon rim...mine are 5.5x14 and they sit perfectly square on
>the rim.Ive tried Michelin MXL, MXV ,Yokohama 008, 352 ,Pirelli P77, Uniroyal
>and these maximas.Hey they are just great.Also, finally I could run the tires
>at 44 psi when my westy was loaded with.....hang-on....5 adults,3 children
>all luggage and 12 pairs of skis(1 snowboard) for 1800 miles in December San
>Diego to Banff(yes I am a liitle NUTS)........Whew what a load......

Is this trip correlated with the 2ft of snow in Montana?  If so, then the
good traction is more likely due to all that weight.  Of course, all snow
is not equal.  Two feet of fresh Montana snow (light and fluffy) is much
different than frozen hard packed snow/ice which is around after the plows
have been through.

Tom Ervolina