Changed from 235/75R15 MT to 215/75R15 AT

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slobbo
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Changed from 235/75R15 MT to 215/75R15 AT

Post by slobbo »

I just took the plunge and invested in 5 brand spanking 215/75R15 All Terrain for the Syncro to replace the 235/75R15 Mud Terrain that I have had on it since I bought it. What a difference. The drive train always felt stressed with the MTs on. The van would bog down as soon as you took the foot off and it was always slow to drag it up to speed.

It is like a new vehicle now. It pulls away cleanly and without reving hard and it'll coast to a stop rather than feel like its just driven through glue. The van also moves along now at speed without the need to have your foot flat to the floor.

I should see a marked improvement in fuel economy as well which should go some way to recouping the initial expense.

Their is one downside though. I lost a wee bit of ground clearance. :o(
Cheers
Rob.

You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.
1987 2.9 litre VR6 powered Syncro - Westy wannabe.

My site - My obsession - http://www.aircooledcrazy.com
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poshbuggers
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Post by poshbuggers »

About to do the same thing.

The loss of accelerating power, poor fuel economy and sludgy feel are OK for offroad fun but it has become tiring day to day.

I think a smaller tyre is a good compromise for road use.

'90 Syncro Hightop. Ex-BUPA/Rowan ambulance with 2.0L GTI power and some curious windows.
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slobbo
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Post by slobbo »

You won't be disappointed. I umm'd and argh'd for ages wondering if it would make that much difference but it has turned a chore into a pleasure. I am more likely to take the van now instead of my Jeep.

Next step TDI - but that'll be after the 2 bays are sold.
Cheers
Rob.

You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.
1987 2.9 litre VR6 powered Syncro - Westy wannabe.

My site - My obsession - http://www.aircooledcrazy.com
VW Xmas cards - http://www.ceinwen.co.uk

Russel
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Post by Russel »

Well rob i have been telling u this for whot? 8 months now.
:shock:

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Post by andysimpson »

What gearbox does it use?

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slobbo
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Post by slobbo »

Yeah I know Russel but £500 is a lot to spend on a set of Tyres when their ain't nowt wrong with the tyres you have (from a functional rather than performance perspective).

Andy - I'll check the gearbox code tomorrow.
Cheers
Rob.

You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.
1987 2.9 litre VR6 powered Syncro - Westy wannabe.

My site - My obsession - http://www.aircooledcrazy.com
VW Xmas cards - http://www.ceinwen.co.uk

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Ollie
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What kind of MTs did you have on?

Post by Ollie »

Many people say the BF MTs are pretty good on normal road.. I am about to get new tyres myself, but dont know if I should be sensible and go for ATs even though Id like to get MTs :)

Ollie

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Mudlark
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Post by Mudlark »

I have BF MT's on the Tristar which I drive daily in town; a little road noise, but perform well in every other way considering.
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poshbuggers
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Post by poshbuggers »

I'm a bit torn at the moment. :roll:

I'm currently running on a mix of Grabber and BFG 235/75R15 AT's

They perform well offroad but there is considerable on road noise and the fuel bill has shot up/acceleration and top speed decreased a lot from when I had the van 14" rims and tyres on.

What's the best compromise? I was wondering if a 225/70R15 AT would be a better deal for me?

'90 Syncro Hightop. Ex-BUPA/Rowan ambulance with 2.0L GTI power and some curious windows.
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89syncrolee
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tyres

Post by 89syncrolee »

hi think you have made my mind up on tyres, just 1 thin i alway thought the 235, 215 no refered to the width so why does it loose ground clearance are they both 15/75 or is the m/t chunkkier than the a/t i have been dithering on the tyre wheel thing for ages thanks lee
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Russel
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Post by Russel »

Slobo's van was built by myself and is quite modified.A standars van will not fit 235 75 15's.there will be body and suspension interference.
A 215 75 15 has a smaller diamiter therefore loosing ground clearence.

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peasant
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Post by peasant »

The first number (215 / 235) is the width in mm, the second one (60/70) is the wall height in percent of the width (roughly)

Proper tyre calculators make it easy to calulate the height/circumference.

Personally I drive normal road tyres on the original rims 195/80/14 ...but I don't do any heavy off-roading and I didn't want to loose too much performance from the little that the jx has to offer.

195' s look quite a bit better than the standard 185's while performance doesn't really suffer. My speedo is pretty much on the dot exact now, though.
Ex German army Syncro for sale

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slobbo
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Post by slobbo »

I like that "quite modified". Russel has done an amazing job on it. Had a few teething problems but the guys down at Syncronutz have been brilliant and very fair.

If you want to upgrade your Syncro give these guys a call.

If you want a full breakdown of my van then have a look here

http://www.aircooledcrazy.com
Cheers
Rob.

You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.
1987 2.9 litre VR6 powered Syncro - Westy wannabe.

My site - My obsession - http://www.aircooledcrazy.com
VW Xmas cards - http://www.ceinwen.co.uk

Russel
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Post by Russel »

Thanx for the nice words.
As to the quite modified,compared to my soon to be made public new project that one is only quite modified the new one is very modded.It has a fender to hub centre mesurement of 57.5cm :shock: a standard syncro is aprox 47cm and a lovely set of 235 85 16 jungle treckers fitted.
But it will be a little while still. There has been one sneek photo released but you would have to know were to look. :lol:
Russel

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Post by syncroand101 »

Russel at Syncro-Nutz wrote:There has been one sneek photo released but you would have to know were to look. :lol:
Russel

Found it!!

http://www.syncro-nutz.com/projects/pro ... ad_16.html

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