suggestions for new tyres on stock wheels for a 2L bay kombi.

Unless your doing something out of the ordinary with your Kombi, stick with anything that is within spec. ie 185R14. Preferably load range D, but load range C will also do. (Can't remember the weights off the top of my head).
They need to be light truck tyres both because of the load carrying capacity of the kombi, and the stiffer side walls aid handling, especially in cornering & cross winds.
I don't know of any particular tyre to avoid, as most seems OK these days. Just DON'T get passenger car tyres.
You can pick up a suitable tyre for as low as $85 if you look out for the specials.
Happy hunting.
Andy.

thanx for the info, i think the current tyres are just car spec.

I disagree. Light truck tyres are for light trucks and drive like light trucks. The rubber is too hard and they dont grip. Generally they are noisey tread patterns too. I'm obsessive about tyre noise... yeah yeah its a noisey VW I'm driving and beyond 60kmh wind noise drowns out everything, but every bit counts. Apart from Kol the wood cutter, who loads their kombi up to capacity more than once in a lifetime anyway.

Pirelli P400 195/75 is what I am using now. They're very good in wet and dry. They do get a little bit noisey when pushed hard in cornering, a bit like a dead wheel bearing, but im assuming most people wont drive like me and wont find that out. On the other hand when pushed to extreme they screech loud before letting go and can be entertaining to watch the passengers. They're also wearing reasonably well despite the torture I give.

PROS: grip, quiet.
CONS: not the cheapest, not the best wearing.
ZANY: you can have the blue stripe mounted on the outside if you really wanted to!

Run 40 PSI all round in a kombi.

I'm with Chris, passenger vehicle tyres are better, and I also run pressures of 35-40psi.

I ran light truck tyres before I changed to 15" wheels purely because I wanted the chunky wintertread pattern and the highest profile possible for ground clearance, mine were 195R-14's. I used to run even higher pressures in these when carrying a 'load', up to 50psi.

So do you guy's notice any handling problems with those tyres? I can tell the difference particularly in cross winds. Mind you the only Kombi's I've driven with passenger tyres have been junkers that usually have el cheapo no name tyres on them.
Just another point, are they legal? (Mind you, neither are the 4WD tyres I use when bush bashing).
Andy
:beer

Hi

Im have had some bad experices with light truck tyres. My stupid company who are supposed be road saftey advocates made a ruling a few years ago that all Toyotas utes must have light truck tyres, even the extra cabs that came with car type tyres from the factory. It was like driving a shoppiung trolley in the dry and in the wet was like driving on ice. If your car is late enough to have a trye placard make sure you dont fit the wrong tyres. Ironically when I checked into it with the RTA there was nothing to stop my company putting light truck tyres on a vehicle that was supposed to use car type radials. I now have a Rodeo work truck and the light truck tyres on it are very good.

1302Steve

What Tyre? can of worms really, my camper had 195/75 all round but my wife complained about the heavy steering at low speed, even around small roundabouts, & I had to agree, so I went & bought a pair of $89 Indonesian 185 x 14 Light Truck tyres to stick on the front, just to try. They have a car like tread & the differance was amazing, the steering is much lighter & steering response much quicker. I was dubious at first about their roadholding ability, especially in wet weather, so as soon as it rained ( a rarity in Sydney) I took it out & pushed it hard around corners did panic stops, etc & they were OK, so even though they look dicky I will be sticking with them. LT tyres have improved heaps over the last 5 years or so.

Yeah I don't mind light truck tyres. I've had both kinds: good & bad.

some US info, not entirely correct here in Oz.

http://busdepot.com/busdepot/details/tires.jsp 

I use Hankooks car tire, I can't remember the numbers though...they have a slightly larger rolling diameter than the "stock"...$100 each, I ve had the front set since 97" (yes they are a liitle worn)