Wheels and Tires

There are lots of opinions on wheel and tire packages. A very thorough examination of options can be found at Larry Chase's site http://www.roadhaus.com/tires/guideline.html but we will add our two cents worth to the conversation.

14" - You have either 14" steel or alloy wheels and are comfortable with them or don't have it in the budget to buy new rims. Our advice is to go with the Michelin 195/75/14 LTX MS - Ideally, 205/70/14 has the wider foot print and was the tire size of choice but no tire manufacturer makes that tire size any more in a light duty truck tire load range C rating. The alternative sizes to retain the same outside diameter so as not to disturb the gear ratios, distort the speedometer readings, or change the driving characteristics of the vehicle are to either use 185/14 or 195/75/14 . Of the two, the 195/75/14 is wider, and of the available tire manufacturers who make that size, we find the Michelins to have a perfect balance of having a slightly aggressive tread design that works great for normal freeway driving but can handle a little dirt and the Michelins have a beefier look to them too (I hate when Vanagons have really narrow tires on them - they just look unsafe). Now if you are trying to raise the vehicle then you can go with 27x8.5x14's . These are old school tire size designations which simply describe in inches diameter / width / rim size - too simple. These are 1.5" taller than stock, will tend to have a fairly aggressive tread pattern, and may not fit in the spare tire area. Going with a taller tire will cause your speedometer to read marginally incorrectly (it will show a lower speed than you are actually traveling). Taller tire, besides giving greater ground clearance will allow you to travel faster on the freeway for the same RPM's, working the engine less. The other side of the equation, however, is that you will loose momentum and have to down shift sooner when climbing a grade, and it will take marginally more effort to get rolling from a dead stop. www.tirerack.com lists BF Goodrich, Bridgestone, and Kumho as options for this tire size, and any of those would be acceptable.

15" - Our favorite rim is the South African Rhein alloy. We like the South African rim because it is made by an original equipment rim manufacturer for VW of South Africa specifically for Vanagons and has VW's stamp of approval for this application. It has the correct offset and is a good looking rim. Depending on whether you want to retain the stock outside diameter of the original package or whether you want to end up taller, the tire sizes that we recommend are the 205/65/15 for stock height and the 215/75/15 to be taller. Although there are other acceptable tire manufacturers, we always feel that you cannot go wrong with Michelins, both tire sizes again being offered in the appropriate load range C. We like the Michelin Aegilis 205/65/15 but this is more of a fair weather / freeway tire while the Michelin LTX/MS 215/75/15 is a great tire option for the taller tire and works well both on the freeway and with a little off road or rough weather conditions (unfortunately Michelin has recently discontinued this tire and we are reviewing other options at this time to recommend) .

16" - We are aware that other vendors promote the 16" rim option, but we have never climbed on that train. We have always felt that the rims are a little wider than necessary spraying water and mud up the sides of the van unless you add mud flaps and rubbing against the door panel of the sliding door when it is open. Also, tire options, although coming close to correct weight ratings, do not have the correct load range C rating. However, with that said, we do offer 16" rims upon request for those who are set on 16".