I think its important enough to share.
________________________________________________________________________________
“What are the tire requirements for Busses, Vanagons, and Eurovans? Why can’t I use standard passenger car tires?”
The VW Bus, Vanagon, and Eurovan have unusual tire requirements because they are very heavy vehicles sitting on comparatively small tires. While most modern vans and SUV’s use 16 to 18 inch tires (which can handle more weight), most VW vans use much smaller tires. This puts more strain on the tire’s sidewall and therefore requires a tire especially designed to handle this. Most passenger car tires are simply not designed to handle the weight of a VW van, and do not meet VW’s specs for safe use on a VW bus or van.
Starting in the mid 1960′s with split-window busses using 14″ tires, and continuing through the Eurovan, Volkswagen specifically required that the tires have specially reinforced sidewalls, designed to handle the heavy load of the vehicle. These special “sidewall reinforced” tires were supplied with your VW Bus or Van when sold new, and the warnings on the door jamb and in the manual clearly advised that only similar replacement tires be used, for safety’s sake.
Standard-load passenger car tires are simply unsafe for use on VW vans. This is agreed upon by both Volkswagen and the U.S. Department of Transportation. According to U.S. D.O.T. tire safety standards, a Light Truck tire used on a VW bus or van (which is classified as a light truck for tire purposes) must be able to handle 6% above the van’s maximum load capacity. But if the tire is a P-rated (passenger car) tire, its load capacity specification must FIRST be reduced by 9% to determine its Light Truck load capacity (again, as per the U.S. D.O.T.), and then the 6% safety margin deducted from that number. If you do the math, based on the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) of a Bus or Vanagon you get the following minimum acceptable load ratings: 1520 lbs (load index 95) for a light truck rated tire, or 1670 lbs (load index 99) for a standard Passenger car (P) rated tire. For a Eurovan, Volkswagen recommends more stringent guidelines, advising a minimum load index of 100 (1764 lbs).
Then the tire must handle the recommended inflation for your VW van. This is especially an issue with Busses and Vanagons, which require unusually high rear-tire inflation on most years (as high as 53 psi, depending on the year and the tire size). See the inflation requirement noted on your door jamb or owners manual, and compare that to the maximum inflation rating on the tire’s sidewall. If the tire’s rating is lower, it cannot be properly inflated when used on your van.
So for safe use on a VW van, both the tire’s load capacity and its inflation capacity must exceed those required for your van (as noted above). This rules out virtually every standard-load passenger car tire on the market – which is precisely why Volkswagen themselves say not to use them. Look for the terms “Sidewall Reinforced,” “Load Range C“, or “Load Range D” on the tire. Most tires that carry those designations will have sufficient sidewall strength for safe use on a VW bus or van, but you should still check the exact specs to make sure.
These specs can only be used to rule out tires that are unsafe for your van under any conditions. They cannot be used to rate the quality of the tire. Among those tires that do meet these specs, there are still huge differences in handling, traction, comfort, and reliability, just as with any tires. More on this later.
“What’s the worst that could happen if I use standard passenger car tires anyway?”
It’s not always easy to find appropriately rated VW Bus and Vanagon tires, and in some places they are quite expensive. So many people “cut corners” and put passenger car tires on their VW vans. Even some over-eager or inexperienced tire store salespeople will claim that a passenger car tire “will do just fine” because they simply don’t have the correct tire that you need or don’t want to order it. This is easy for the salesman to say, when he won’t be the one whose life is riding on those tires.
The truth is, using an insufficiently rated tire on your van could literally kill you.
A picture tells a thousand words. Take a look at the ones above. They’re from a customer who decided to save a few bucks, and replaced his worn but correct LT rated tires with just-barely-below-spec passenger car tires (rated at 98T). He agreed to let us post them here to warn others about his experience.
Right off the bat, he writes, ‘I felt a sort of wallowing ‘marshmallow’ feel while driving through corners or in sidewinds” that hadn’t been there with the old, correct tires. This is a strong indication that the sidewall is flexing due to the Bus, Vanagon, or Eurovan’s weight. But you may or may not notice it. Some underrated tires will exhibit this effect more than others, and some drivers notice it more than others. Many drivers don’t notice it at all because, having never had the correct tires, they think their van is supposed to handle like that. (They are often utterly amazed when they switch to the right tires and discover what their VW was capable of all along!)
Within a few thousand miles, not just one but two of his tires had developed visible signs of sidewall failure (see upper picture on right). Fortunately these occurred on the outside sidewalls, so he noticed them. If they had happened on the inner sidewalls, he wouldn’t have noticed them until the next time he found himself lying under his Vanagon. He realized he had a problem, but before he even had a chance to go back to the tire dealer, one of his tires blew out on the highway. The sidewall that blew out wasn’t even one of the two he’d already noticed, but a third one. The lower picture on the right shows what it looked like after the tire blew. Fortunately it happened to be a rear tire that blew out. Had it been a front tire, and/or had it occurred in the rain or under other adverse road conditions, he might have rolled his Vanagon and been killed.
We’d like to stress that this is not a criticism of the particular brand of tire pictured. This is not the tire’s fault. It is most certainly a fine and perfectly safe tire… when used on a vehicle that it is meant for. No tire can be expected to be safe or reliable if you put it on a vehicle that the tire manufacturer, the vehicle manufacturer, and the National Highway Safety Administration all agree is too heavy for the tire. That’s what the ratings are for!
But there’s a second issue, too. Even if we ignore the sidewall issue entirely, according to the AAA underinflation is the leading cause of accidents due to tire failure. It also reduces performance, causes the tires to wear out prematurely, and reduces gas mileage (which can be costly, at today’s fuel prices). If you use a passenger car tire on your VW van, you will be forced to underinflate it, because its maximum safe inflation capacity (which is stated on the sidewall) will almost certainly be too low for your vehicle (as specified on the door jamb, fuel filler flap, or owners manual). This forces you to keep your tires underinflated all the time … dramatically increasing your risk of accident, according to the AAA and others.
Will every underrated tire fail catastrophically within a few thousand miles? No. People go thousands of miles on the wrong tires without a blowout … which creates a false sense of security, particularly if they don’t notice the ride difference. But you may be just one panic swerve away from a nightmare that could change your life. The sudden changes in direction that may occur if you are taking evasive maneuvers – avoiding an accident – put an inordinate amount of weight on a single tire. If that tire is underrated to begin with, but just managing to hang on during normal driving, the sudden shift of extra weight to its sidewall can easily be the “straw that breaks the camel’s back.” At the very moment when you most need your tire’s stability to avoid the accident, it can flex badly enough to cause you to lose control of your van, or blow out, or suffer bead separation (which means that the sidewall flexes so much that the tire literally pops off of the rim). A blowout can be hard to control even under normal driving. If it happens at the very second that you are already swerving to avoid an accident, the results can be deadly.
Using a underrated tire, just like not wearing your seat belt, is playing a game of Russian roulette. All it takes is one time. The next time you get behind the wheel could be the one time when the seat belt, or the properly rated tire, would have saved your life. Tire safety is not a place to take chances and cut corners. A correct tire doesn’t cost much more than an incorrect one; in fact, the price difference for 4 tires combined is hardly more than the cost of a tank of gas. Is it really worth risking your life, and those of your passengers and loved ones, to save a couple of bucks?
“Can I safely use standard passenger car tires if I upgrade to 15″ or 16″ wheels and tires?”
No, despite what some retailers would have you believe. Volkswagen’s own engineers have been very clear about this, throughout the entire history of the VW van. Several versions of VW vans, from the 60′s through the present-day T5 (the successor to the Eurovan, not sold in the U.S.) have come factory-equipped with 15″ or 16″ wheels. As tire sizes have increased and tire technology has improved, Volkswagen has indeed tinkered with some specs such as recommended inflation. But never – not once, not even on the brand new VW vans sold today in Germany with 16″ tires and the latest tire technology – have they wavered on the requirement for extra-load tires. If using a 15″ or 16″ tire meant that reinforced tires were unnecessary, Volkswagen would have stopped using them long ago. Car manufacturers love to cut costs. Volkswagen could have saved a fortune over the last decade by factory-equipping their vans with standard-load tires once the wheel sizes hit 15″ or 16″… had they felt it was safe.
“So does this mean that any tire that meets the above specs is okay for me to buy?”
No. It just means that the tire meets the minimum acceptable specs. There are still better and worse tires. You will also want to consider these factors:
“Truck-like” ride. The original tire that VW used on the Bus, Vanagon, and Eurovan was not a truck tire, but a specially designed passenger car tire with a higher load rating. However, many currently available tires that meet VW van specs were actually designed for use on delivery trucks. While they may be safe for use on VW vans, many of them sure aren’t comfortable. They make your VW drive like a delivery truck, with a bumpy, noisy “truck-like” ride.
Tread design. Some extra-load tires have an aggressive tread pattern that may be good for use on an SUV if you’re off-roading, but can produce irritating “road hum” when driven on the highway. Others hydroplane easily on wet roads, or slip easily on snow and ice (even if rated as “all season” or M&S, as those standards are fairly lax). Of course, if you live in an area that that gets winter weather, there’s no substitute for a dedicated snow tire (preferably on all four corners of the vehicle). The better snows tend to use a directional tread that “pushes” slush out of the way, and often are made of a silica compound for better grip.
High Price. Some tires that do meet VW specs and handle well are very expensive.
Age of the tire. The tires used on a Bus, Vanagon, or Eurovan are used on used on almost no other vehicle, which is why they can be hard to find. When you – or your tire dealer or mechanic – do locate a set, it is entirely possible that it has been sitting on the tire wholesaler’s shelf for quite some time. That is a bad thing because tires wear out from age, even if never mounted. Over tiime, the adhesive bond breaks down between the various layers of the tire’s internal laminate structure – a phenomenon known as thermo-oxidative degradation. Therefore tires older than 6 years are considered a safety risk. In Europe, tire and car manufacturers actually require tire replacement after 6 years, regardless of use. While there is not yet such a law in the U.S., after some recent studies involving tire failures and fatalities, the U.S. Government has now issued an advisory against using old tires, which may be the first step toward a law. You can identify the production date of a tire by reading the last four digits of the D.O.T. code, which indicate the week and year of manufacture. For example, if the last 4 digits of the D.O.T. code are “0508,” then the tire was made on the 5th week of 2008. While you probably won’t find six year old tires on your dealer’s shelf, consider that if the tire is even just 7 months old when you buy it, it’s already 10% through its useful lifespan. This is even more of an issue if you don’t put lots of miles on your VW van, as age, not treadwear, may be what eventually does in your tires. Of course there will be some lag from factory to dealer, but obviously you want to minimize it. So check the date codes before plunking your money down. Or better yet, buy from a specialist who turns their VW Van tire inventory regularly, so you never have to worry. We happen to know of one.
Quality. Remember the scandal a few years ago regarding Ford SUV tire blowouts? Those tires met the minimum requirements for use on those vehicles. But this alone did not make them high quality, or even safe. The same applies to some tires for VW busses and vans. Even if a tire supposedly can be used according to the manufacturer, this does not mean that it should be used. As new, less experienced tire manufacturers from China and elsewhere flood the market, quality may become even more of an issue. Not long ago, one tire importer went out of business because all of their Chinese made tires were recalled and they did not have the finances to support the recall. Even with the best of intentions, remember that most tire retailers have no experience at all with VW vans. Consider the following reports taken from the Type 2, Vanagon, and Eurovan mailing lists:
“I bought a 79 Westy that had [a commonly found generic discount brand] reinforced tires Load Range C on them, and couldn’t figure out why my Westy behaved so badly. Took it to my local tire store, and they showed me 3 of the 4 tires had started to separate, and you could feel the bumps in the tread where the inner belts were coming apart. These tires looked like they had at least 1/2 their tread left.”
‘”This [well known tire from a major German brand] is a common tire on the Eurovans (and is also sold for busses and Vanagons). My opinion is that they should be outlawed. Horrible in the rain, prone to belt shifting and tread separation. As for the ride, remember kiddy bicycles with the solid tires? And don’t even think of using them in snow.”
“If you’re looking for a very aggressive reinforced sidewall snow, these [expensive snow tires] are them; however I’d think long and hard again before buying them, as I think they are almost too aggressive for day-to-day driving.”
“My [tires from the leading U.S. brand] lasted forever, but what a horrible ride. And they were like bicycle tires in the snow.”
“I spent the summer driving and taking care of 15-passenger vans on rough gravel roads in rural Alaska. The vans had a variety of different brands of tires, including [a brand sold by a major warehouse club, rated as suitable for Busses and Vanagons]. They were by FAR the worst of all the brands we had on our vans. They typically had to be replaced due to tread separation, and this would take place LONG before they should have been “used up.” If one of them encountered a rock or a pothole – a trivial event for most tires – it would spring multiple pinhole leaks in the area of the impact.”
The conclusion? Immediately rule out any tire that doesn’t meet the minimum safe specs for use on your Bus, Vanagon, or Eurovan, as outlined above. Then choose wisely among the ones that do, remembering that those are only minimum standards. Is the tire well regarded? Is it well suited for your comfort, driving style, and climate? Don’t pay more than you have to, but stick with a quality tire. After all, there’s a lot riding on it.
“Who are Hankook and Vredestein? Why does the Bus Depot recommend their tires?”
Like Michelin and Continental, both Hankook and Vredestein are original equipment suppliers to Volkswagen. This means that VW has chosen these companies to build the “genuine VW” tires found on brand new Volkswagens, which says a lot about the quality of their tires. In fact, out of hundreds of tire manufacturers, only a select few can make that claim. Both companies also have a long history of making high load capacity tires such as those required on VW vans. So the quality is there. What isn’t there is the high price. A good set of Vredesteins or Hankooks will hardly cost any more than a set of “bargain brand” tires, making them an excellent value.
The Hankook and Vredestein tires that we offer are designed with highway comfort in mind. They can handle the weight of your Bus or Vanagon without giving it a “truck-like” ride. Most other tires in their price range drive like truck tires, because they are truck tires.
Hankook has been making sidewall-reinforced tires for nearly fifteen years. Besides providing tires to Volkswagen, Hankook also makes original equipment tires for other European and Asian vans that have similar load requirements to VW vans. In recent years, Hankook has also made quite a name for themselves in the performance tire market here in the U.S.. Hankook’s RA08 tire is nearly 40% cheaper than the comparable Michelin Agilis, yet in a recent test comparison in the German magazine ProMobil-Extra it outperformed the Michelin in every single handling test they performed (wet and dry handling, wet and dry braking, and aquaplaning).
Vredestein is a very highly regarded tire manufacturer from Holland whose tires have consistently been top rated by the automotive press. They supply Volkswagen with tires for German market Passats and Golfs, and their tires are also commonly found on other European makes such as Volvo and Jaguar. Their snow tire was recently reviewed in the German magazine ProMobil-Extra as the best you could buy, outperfoming much more expensive tires from Michelin and others.
“What tires should I buy for my 1964-1979 VW Bus?”
We recommend the Hankook RA08 all-season tire, and the Kumho Power Grip snow tire, for all Busses that have 14″ factory wheels. Both are the correct size for your Bus, and are specially designed to handle its load capacity. But unlike many other high load range tires, which are hard-riding truck tires, these are designed for passenger use and highway comfort. Both Hankook and Kumho are OEM suppliers to Volkswagen and have a proven track record with regard to tires for VW vans. Click here for more info on why we recommend these brands.
The Hankook RA08 185R14 All Season Radial is the most popular VW Bus and Vanagon tire on the leading VW enthusiast forums, and for good reason. It has a fifteen year track record, excellent wear and handling characteristics, and is the only all-season tire in its price range to be made by an O.E.M. supplier to VW. Although the RA08 is about 40% cheaper than the Michelin Agilis, in a recent track test comparison in the German magazine ProMobil-Extra it outperformed the Michelin in every single handling test they performed (wet and dry handling, wet and dry braking, and aquaplaning). It is an excellent value and we recommend it highly. Click here for more specs and to order.
The Hankook RA08 195R14 All Season Radial is a slightly larger version of the above tire, It is preferred by some customers who have alloy wheels, but will also fit the stock steel wheels for those who want a little more ride height and/or a slightly wider tire.. Compared to either a 205R70 or a 185R14, it is about 1/2″ taller. It is about 1/3″ wider than a 185R14 but about 1/3″ narrower than a 205R14, so just about midpoint between the two. (Before ordering, please see the note the gray box to the right on how this may affect your speedometer calibration.) Click here for more specs and to order.
“What tires should I buy for my Vanagon?”
Unlike most extra-load tires, the tires we recommend for your Vanagon are not just designed to handle your van’s weight, but are also designed for passenger use and highway comfort.. Hankook, Vredestein, and Kumho are OEM suppliers to Volkswagen and have a proven track record with regard to tires for VW vans. Click here for more info on why we recommend these brands.
Note to owners of Vanagons with factory alloy wheels: Vanagons that were factory-equipped with alloys originally came with 205-70R14 rather than 185R14 tires. This size is just slightly wider and shorter than the 185R14 found on all other Vanagons. However, the 185R14 is still a proper fit for your Alloy wheels, and meets all VW and tire manufacturer specifications for this use. There are several advantages to using a 185R14 rather than a 205-70R14 on your Vanagon. One is price; the 185 series is much cheaper for identical quality. Also, there are performance advantages; the 185R14 profile is slightly narrower, which translates into better grip on snow or ice and a reduced tendancy to hydroplane on wet roads. Finally, it has a slightly taller sidewall, which provides a little more cushioning for a smoother ride. Therefore we recommend using this size on all Vanagons, with or without Alloys (although we do have a slightly larger 195R14 Hanook available as an alternative if you want a bigger tire).
The Hankook RA08 185R14 All Season Radial is the most popular VW Bus and Vanagon tire on the leading VW enthusiast forums, and for good reason. It has a fifteen year track record, excellent wear and handling characteristics, and is the only all-season tire in its price range to be made by an O.E.M. supplier to VW. Although the RA08 is about 40% cheaper than the Michelin Agilis, in a recent track test comparison in the German magazine ProMobil-Extra it outperformed the Michelin in every single handling test they performed (wet and dry handling, wet and dry braking, and aquaplaning). It is an excellent value and we recommend it highly. Click here for more specs and to order.
The Hankook RA08 195R14 All Season Radial is a slightly larger version of the above tire, It is preferred by some customers who have alloy wheels, but will also fit the stock steel wheels for those who want a little more ride height and/or a slightly wider tire.. Compared to either a 205R70 or a 185R14, it is about 1/2″ taller. It is about 1/3″ wider than a 185R14 but about 1/3″ narrower than a 205R14, so just about midpoint between the two. (Before ordering, please see the note the gray box to the right on how this may affect your speedometer calibration.) Click here for more specs and to order.
The Vredestein Comtrac 205R14 Radial is listed as a recommended tire on vanagon.com. It’s a higher load rated version of the tire that Vredestein supplies to Volkswagen for 2005 German market Passats and Jettas. Like the Hankook, it is designed for comfortable highway use despite its higher load rating. This tire is marketed as a “summer” tire, and while it is comparable in snow/ice to some “all season” tires (U.S. standards for calling a tire “all season” are very lax), it is not as good in snow/ice as the Hankook. This tire is the same width as the stock 205/70R14 tire originally used on Vanagons equipped with alloy wheels, but 0.96″ taller. (Before ordering, please see the note in the gray box to the right on how this may affect your speedometer calibration.) This tire is not an optimal choice for Vanagons with steel wheels, but is well suited for the slightly wider alloy wheels. Click here for more specs and to order.
“What tires should I buy for my Eurovan (or my Vanagon with larger-than-stock wheels?”
Volkswagen recommends a load index of 100 or higher corresponding to tire capacity of 1764 pounds) for Eurovans. With regard to Vanagons that have been upgraded to 15″ wheels, some suppliers would have you believe that by moving up from to a 15″ size you no longer need reinforced tires. However the facts do not bear this out, as even on the Eurovan (which is not much heavier than a Vanagon, and comes equipped with 15″ or 16″ tires) Volkswagen continued to require extra-load tires. In fact they have required this on all VW vans since the 1960′s, regardless of tire size. We offer two tires for Eurovans (or Vanagons with larger wheels mounted): a 15″ tire, and a 16″ snow.
15″ Tire: The Vredestein Comtrac 205/65R15 Radial from Holland is listed as a recommended tire on Vanagon.com. It’s a specially designed higher load rated version of the tire that Vredestein supplies to Volkswagen for 2005 German market Passats and Jettas. (Its 102 load rating exceeds all VW requirements.) Unlike many extra-load tires that ride like truck tires, the Comtrac was specifically engineered to combine high load capacity with passenger car handling and comfort. As a result, it handles and drives like a passenger car tire, with very low road noise and excellent resistance to hydroplaning. While the tread pattern on the Comtrac is similar to that on some other tires that are marketed as “all season” or M&S tires (because U.S. standards for this rating are very lax), Vredestein rates this as a “summer” tire. This tire is the stock size for a Eurovan with 15″ wheels. It also happens to be the same height as the stock 14″ wheel found on Vanagons, making it an excellent choice for Vanagons that have been upgraded to 15″ wheels because it will not throw off your speedometer reading. Click here for more specs and to order.
16″ Snow Tire: The Hankook Winter iPike 225/60R/16XL high-performance studdable snow tire with a specially designed sidewall that makes it well suited for Eurovan and Vanagon use. It combines their SCCT (Stiffness Control Contour Theory) sidewall with a V-shaped directional tread pattern very similar to that used on Nokian and other comparable high-end snow tires. The result is excellent cornering and load handling combined with unparalleled winter weather traction. Its 102T load index well exceeds VW specs for Eurovan use. This tire was highly rated in the German ADAC tire test. It’s also an excellent value, costing no more than others charge for comparable quality standard-load snow tires. Click here for more specs and to order.
Important notes:
Please read your van’s owners or service manual and any tags on the vehicle before purchasing tires. While the information listed on this site is well researched, we cannot be responsible for any consequences arising from the use of tires that differ in any way from those specified by Volkswagen for use on your van.
195R14 tires are slightly taller than stock, and this will affect your spedometer reading slightly A 195R14 tire will make it read about 2.5% too low (so if it reads 60 mph your actual speed is about 61.5 mph). A 205R14 tire will make it read about 5% too low (so if it reads 60 mph, your actual speed is about 63 mph).For this reason, even though these tires meet VW specs (with room to spare) in all other respects, since their size differs slightly from the stock size we must specify that you “use them at your own risk.
