The reason for going to a larger wheel and still have the same rolling
circumferance is that you now have a lower profile tire, hence much less
flex in the sidewalls, provided u choose the right tire. You also have a
larger contact patch to the ground.  I put 16" wheels and 205-55-16 tires.
on my 87GL. I've tried all kinds of tires at 14" but they could never track
as good as my 16"s

regards
Ken
87GL
----- Original Message -----
From: t obrien <calwestfalia@NETSCAPE.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 5:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Re: New 15 wheels]

"shawn a. zenor" <nomad@RT66.COM> wrote:
> If you end up with a 15" wheel, with the same circumfrence of a 14" wheel,
> than what the heck is the point of having the 15" rim?  I assumed that the
> reason for going 15" would be for bigger diameter wheels for lower RPM's
at
> speed.

The difference is about 10 MPH in hairpin turns in a 92 Toyota PU truck. The
difference in stability in a +1 oversize tire is unreal.
The Vanagon, unless you have souped up the engine would not be able to take
advantage of those lowered RPM's. You would find yourself downshifting just
to
maintain  speed on the highway.

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