That being said, the BFG has come out most recently again with a size that would appropriately fit the bus. 195 75 R14.
I love the aggressive tread and how generally bad-ass these tires look. They will be the perfect contrast to the humble appearence of the bus as it sits today. It will sit higher and demand the respect that it deserves.
These aren't ordered yet and I plan on doing a post around all the tires and resources that I found to research the appropriate choice. I've learned a lot and want to share. For now, I'll leave you with the picture above.
Update: 10/22/2011
I've ordered, bought and installed the tires. They're AWESOME. They have a D load rating and it's probably the most stable ride I've had in a bus. I still need to upgrade the front sway bar and replace the front shocks but just with these new tires on there, they've so improved the way this bus drives, I'm more than content for a while.
Here's a picture of the bus in the garage with the tires:
...and here's a close up of the tire:
Handling is excellent.
Road-noise is louder than passenger tires but not loud enough to be annoying.
Price was probably a little more than I needed to spend but these tires are going to last a while so I'll get my money.
I'm happy with the purchase. This bus is kinda like my truck so the aggressive tread is appropriate.
Tip: When I had the tires mounted and balanced, I had them put the weights on the inside of the rim instead of the outside. They (Discount Tires) referred to this as Static Balancing. I don't like seeing the weights like I have on my other bus.
Casey
6 comments:
Casey, do you know the load rating of the BFGs? I want to get these tires also for my next set.
Volkster, they are a Load D rating!
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/name/all-terrain-t-a-ko-tires
If you go to the above URL and look under specs, you'll see that depending on size, they vary between C and E. the 14's are D.
I have BFG All-Terrain TA/KOs on my truck (Chevy Suburban) and they are awesome. They are aggressive tires and work great in snow. They have also worn well - but I also make sure to rotate them every 8K miles or so. The tire noise is not as bad as you'd think for such an aggressive tread. Not sure how they'd look on a VW Bus, but I recommend them either way.
I would be concerned about road noise. Driving a vw bus is a noisy affair, if the windrows are down there's the wind noise, the engine is noisy even when it's running correctly. I love the vw bus but it's a noisy ride in the best of times.
Do you really need that type of thread design for mostly driving on the road or highway? I'm sure in snow you need it but for everything else I'm not so sure.
Bridgestone used to make a great tire for a vw bus. I used to own a set for my 1980 Westfalia, really great tires.I think they were a truck tire.
Hey John,
I agree with your points. However, the bus is loud already so these aren't really going to be the thing that I hear most so I think they're okay. I had them on my jeep and the noise was there but it wasn't like mudding tires or anything.
And the aggressive tread? Snow and rain is a plus... But it's really because they look bad ass. The cost is the same as the yokohama 356's I put on the other bus. I realize my desire is a bit vain. :)
This just fit with what I wanted this bus to look like.
Thanks for reading!
This is great info!!! thanks...
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