Club 80-90 Forums

Have just got a syncro bought off my brother...Wesfalia, 16", German import, and in quite good nick. I have limited mechanical experience, but i do know it now needs a new tyre on the front, and I am worried that I might need to invest in 4 after reading forum advice! I am not planning to do much off road stuff, but do tow a racing dinghy , and need tyres that don't let me slide around on wet grass too much, but are OK on motorways. Any advice, and deatils of where to purchase around Stafford area?
Would like to refrain from doing this...

http://www.break.com/index/icy_roads_in_portland.html


Thanks!

Gaz

id buy five if i was you. rotate them and all that. you could always sell it to me for £500

jed

take the prop off, and forget about off roading, you'll save a fortune

a few bolts and its off

How bad are the other three tyres, if they've all got plenty of tread, buy a couple that match up well enough in size & style, put them both on one axle to start with and ... if the others are well worn too then thats a different matter.

Tread should be within about 2~3mm of each other, front to back, but i wouldn't go using a micrometer - you'd have to drive a long way at full speeed on tarmac for it to do any harm.

One economical make you might look at is the Kumho range, truck rated, Mud & Snow, or ATs - check the rating is suitable. Think 750Kg is the rating you need - about 1650 lbs.

Good luck with it!

Only studded tures or chains would stop those Oregons sliding about on that surface, but why does that first one keep giving it boot fulls of welly instead of giving up and running for cover

HarryMann wrote:How bad are the other three tyres, if they've all got plenty of tread, buy a couple that match up well enough in size & style, put them both on one axle to start with and ... if the others are well worn too then thats a different matter.

Tread should be within about 2~3mm of each other, front to back, but i wouldn't go using a micrometer - you'd have to drive a long way at full speeed on tarmac for it to do any harm.

One economical make you might look at is the Kumho range, truck rated, Mud & Snow, or ATs - check the rating is suitable. Think 750Kg is the rating you need - about 1650 lbs.

Good luck with it!

Only studded tures or chains would stop those Oregons sliding about on that surface, but why does that first one keep giving it boot fulls of welly instead of giving up and running for cover

Measurement around tyre is much more important than tread depth if your running different makes. I had a TT in last week with a knackered rear transmission, had 4 mich pilots on with almost identical tread depths but front and rear had different patterns, when i measured the difference between the two types it was exactly an inch around the tyres. The owner lost interest when i pointed out it was going to be into thousands to repair.

I do an 2003 A4 quattro which the owner put 2 cheapo tyres on the front, i pointed out the error to him but he knows better than me and audi, that was about a year ago. It came in recently for an mot and he said it has funny vibrations. Imagine a syncro with the rear diff lock on, thats what this thing is like all the time. Again customer had a very worried look when i guestimated about £5k for a gearbox, the i told you so bit did not help

Colway AT's on my 16, cheap as chips (god I hate that saying)

road noise no worse than any commercial spec tyres I've had on previous vans

ok in dry - wet off road situations, useless on deep wet mud, they just clog too quickly

google Sowden Tyres, doubt you'll find them cheaper

Good point Andy, its the TRC that matters, the Tyre Rolling Circumference, but for identical tyres about 2-3mm diff is what VW originally quoted I believe.

Cheers for advice and help!! Much appreciated.
Gaz

Hi Gaz, i was the chap you spoke to in the field at Dubfreeze from Derby.

Having seen your tyres i'd seriously recommend you get the prop off.

I'd like to know if your VC is still working after running on those tyres. I changed my VC this weekend and replaced all 5 tyres with Michelins.

I've made a specific effort to get a digital tyre inflator with automatic cut off so my tyres will now be rotated every 2000 miles with the pressures changed to suit.

Hi Ian

Hope you got back ok from Stafford. Will take your advice and go and see my mate at the garage this week.

Cheers

I've made a specific effort to get a digital tyre inflator with automatic cut off so my tyres will now be rotated every 2000 miles with the pressures changed to suit.

Well you've lost me there Ian

If you are worried about money then you shouldnt be trying to run a syncro and especially a 16" on a very tight budget..
Its not because these vehicles reqire regular amounts of big cash.. its because they have all reached a "certain" age/mileage that means money has to be spent..

Deffinately take the prp shaft off if the tyres are all uneven.. but it may be that the VC has gone in any case.. (does it try and stop on tight turns?)

Not too worried about the money (but dont tell the wife!), but didn't want to throw money away or waste any! The van doesnt try to stop in a tight turn, so hopefully VC is OK. Not all the tyres are worn, only one which will need replacing in the near future on front drivers side, which got me a little worried as it would probably be a little unbalanced with the others at the minute (which have loads of tread left). Disconnecting prop sounds a good idea if it is a simple job....off to see a mechanic mate!

BFGoodrich A/T's - can't go wrong, what you spend extra you get back in length of life and toughness.
If you can't afford these go with Andy BBB suggestion of Colways, still an A/T just a remould version.
Oh, and get five!

Andrew

Mmm.. if the tyre is very low and you dont have scrubbing, then I would think the VC is actually defective.. it would show up very quickly if it was working correctly..
It would be better to buy a set of 5 of whatever (the colway AT's are good if you are not charging about over lots and lots of miles) then get a new VC, I can see little point in buying a 4wd and it not being able to do what its supposed too.. it would be better to sell it and buy a 2wd to eliminate the additional running costs it could incur.....

Suggestion, go look through lots of old posts on here and see what you might, or might not spend money on in the next year or 2 of ownership...
It will actually be quite scary.....