I'm about to replace my (no-longer-available) Michelin XCD light truck tyres with something.
Does anyone have experience with any of the following?
Michelin Agilis
Diamondback TR645
Bridgestone R263
Any other (185R14 light truck) recommendations?
Humourous suggestions (such as using passenger car tyres) also welcome.
TIA
Peter Hill
1975 Type 2 Double Cab
modulus.com.auObviously for your bus??
I've a customer car here now with Bridgestone R623 and it was terrible to drive after a front end repair and align, so I checked the rear align, it was 6mm toe in, so reset and best I got was 3mm toe in and its way better but still twichy in the rear. I'm yet to see if I can get the rear closer to zero, but I feel the tyres are contributing to the poor handling
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
matberry wrote:Obviously for your bus??
Yep, for my '75 double-cab pickup.
hth
Peter Hill
1975 Type 2 Double Cab
modulus.com.auIs there a specific reason for light truck tyres only? A set of 4 passenger tyres can accommodate 2400kg GVM load rating in most circumstances.
We use Kumho KH18 for the 91V load rating for the limo which has a GVM 2450kg
LOL (for humour)
Toyo h08 From reports a good tyre. I had the Yokohama equiv. good as well.
matberry wrote:I've a customer car here now with Bridgestone R623 and ... but I feel the tyres are contributing to the poor handling
Thank you, I'll steer clear of those (pun intended).
Peter Hill
1975 Type 2 Double Cab
modulus.com.auWhy do you want light truck tyres? (I don't get the joke)
Check out Toyos.
Stay away from Michelin Agilis.
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
helbus wrote:Is there a specific reason for light truck tyres only? A set of 4 passenger tyres can accommodate 2400kg GVM load rating in most circumstances.
We use Kumho KH18 for the 91V load rating for the limo which has a GVM 2450kg
LOL (for humour)
Peter,
Thanks for the information. I guess from the load rating the limo must have 15" wheels? Unfortunately the best-fit 14" (195/60R14) only has a load rating of 86H, i.e. 530 kg per wheel. My fully-loaded GVM is 2350, i.e. 588/wheel. I don't *intend* to fully load my doka, but it is easier to overload a single-cab or double-cab than a Kombi.
That's one of the reasons for my preference for LT tyres. Second is that VW fitted transporters (from '71 on) with "commercial" grade radials (i.e. 185C14) for the same reason. Thirdly, when I first got the doka it was fitted with passenger radials and was rather "wallowy"; once I fitted Michelin LT tyres and set them at 42 PSI (290 KPA for you mod3rn folk) the stability improved markedly.
I'm sure if I went up to 16" wheels with low profile passenger car radials I could get both the sidewall stiffness and load capacity required, but I'm attached to having steel wheels rather than aluminium.
Peter Hill
1975 Type 2 Double Cab
modulus.com.aukaiisons wrote:Toyo h08 From reports a good tyre...
Thanks kaiisons - that looks like a good candidate, with a 102/100S rating which is 850/800 kg per wheel.
Peter Hill
1975 Type 2 Double Cab
modulus.com.auI've Toyo Tranpath MP4 215/65R14 94H on my Doka on 6" rims.
The standard tyres are 205/70R14 but are near impossible to buy with a decent load rating.
The light truck and C rating are old ratings and don't really mean much nowadays. They are not even written into Australian standards.
Light truck usually means stronger less flexible sidewalls and shit handling in the wet.
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
The upshot - after searching diligently for comments, I managed to find negative comments and experience for just about every tyre of the right size ever constructed.
I am trying Diamondback 185R14C 102/100N tyres on the front. They were $89 each, fitted and balanced, and so far, so good. The ride quality is good, directional stability is good. I'm sure that ultimately they will lack cornering grip compared with some of the other options available, but it's not a race car. The one thing I haven't found out yet is whether the wet grip, especially braking, is up to snuff, but it hasn't rained since fitting them two weeks ago.
hth
Peter Hill
1975 Type 2 Double Cab
modulus.com.auGood point, it's not a race car. If you drove fast enough to question the tyres grip I think your in the wrong vehicle. I have bought at least 6 sets of 185r14 lt tyres over the last 10 years and one thing I know is that more expensive tyres DO NOT last longer than the cheapies. I got over 90,000ks on a set of $78 cheng shin (or whatever they were) and I never matched that on dunlops or bridgestones. This may not be true with 4wd tyres but for normal use light truck tyres its just not worth the extra $100+ for a set unless you have performance upgrades.
Hi
Ive had some terrible experinces with light truck tyres on my Hi Lux work utes, the worst were Goodyear G800, in the wet you were never sure what was going to happen when you went around a corner or applied the brakes.
Im using Kumho 857 in 205 x15, they are very good in all conditions but we never let them get anywhere near the wear indicators.
My ute is permantly loaded and weighs 2.5 tonnes.
Steve
Years ago I was travelling from Byron to Sydney with the wife and four kids in my '74 Microbus downhill at 100kmh with a fully loaded box trailer with our camping gear in it. I had only been on the road for about 200k.
Bang, Bang! I lost both rear tyres. If it wasn't for the added weight at the back with the trailer and some drag keeping us straight, I reckon we would have run off into the bush and been killed. No joke.
On inspection the new Bridgestone car tyres had failed and had flailed around under the rear mudguards and caused a huge amount of damage from the flapping.
When I contacted Bridgestone they said that it was my fault (of course) that I had run the tyres under-inflated. This was of course not correct as I was anal at keeping my pressures higher around 40psi even if it meant a little hard ride. After replacing the two tyres and back on my way, one of the front tyres started to delaminate but I felt it going and I had to replace both the front two as well before I got home.
I was somewhat upset and aided with a letter from a country tyre dealer I confronted Bridgestone in Sydney and they advised in the end after some pressing that it was a bad batch of tyres. They paid for the tyres and the body repairs. However they did say off the record that you should not have used a 2-ply radial car tyre on the Kombi. Even though there was NO recommendation against it.
I immediately proceeded to remove the Bridgestone and go to Dunlop LT tyres and never regretted it. Nor did I notice much difference in the handling.
1303Steve wrote:but we never let them get anywhere near the wear indicators.
x2
After wearing out quite a number of sets of LT tyres on 1 ton utes, I have never worn any of them to the wear indicator. Way too scary.
I can recall one incident (vividly!) when this practice saved me from an accident on the freeway.
The (not quite) worn out tyres I use on the trailers where they perform excellently.
viiking wrote:However they did say off the record that you should not have used a 2-ply radial car tyre on the Kombi.
What a load of BS!
What did your Kombi come with?
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
LT tyres have stiffer side walls. The idea is that this will give you better stability while cornering or in side winds. It’s kind of like using a larger rim and a low profile tyre. I had LT’s on my stock ride height bus and loved the difference. The tread pattern was very uninspiring (firestone cv2000) but they were quiet and fine in the wet weather. Pretty sure the owner’s manual specified LT’s too. The other thing that made a big diff was tyre pressure. I can’t recall what the specified numbers were but rear was about 10 psi higher.
The idea is that they have stiffer sidewalls so that the mongs driving them can hit gutters.
Stiffer sidewalls = poorer handling. As you corner the sidewall cannot flex so it acts like a hinge and reduces the amount of rubber on the road.
The owners manual would not specify LTs as they were never fitted from factory.
Tyre pressures are the same whether they are LT or not.
The factory knows best.
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
AA003 wrote:Stiffer sidewalls = poorer handling.
🙅
Google this ^ AA003
And here... pg51 :
Can't see why you should not fit light truck tyres to a light truck.😁
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
bus914 wrote:AA003 wrote:Stiffer sidewalls = poorer handling.
🙅
Google this ^ AA003
And here... pg51 :
You have a US Kombi then.
Australian Kombis had Uniroyal Steel Cats.
German imports (1977 on) had Continentals.
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
HappyDaze wrote:Can't see why you should not fit light truck tyres to a light truck.😁
Is a Kombi a light truck? What about a Microbus?
I'll go for safety. (Handling, braking etc.)
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
AA003 wrote:HappyDaze wrote:Can't see why you should not fit light truck tyres to a light truck.😁
Is a Kombi a light truck? What about a Microbus?
I'll go for safety. (Handling, braking etc.)
Suggest you read ALL of the first post.....in particular, the last paragraph.
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
Sorry Greg I don't understand what you mean.
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
AA003 wrote:Sorry Greg I don't understand what you mean.
That's OK , AA03.....I often don't understand what I mean.
😂I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
HappyDaze wrote:That's OK , AA03.....I often don't understand what I mean.😂
It's an age thing. I am beginning to understand what you mean.
😂
(I hope it's not a Southern Highlands thing!)
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
