Re: [VB] tires 4 15" rims

["MICHAEL TURNER" <airmike@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was gonna try and stay out of this tire stuff, but can't resist throwing 
my two cents in.
Regarding tires on 15 in. rims for a bus, I went thru this drill about three 
years ago
on my stock 1963 15 window bus. I've heard / read many of the same 
statements I'm seeing now.
My experience was this. I wanted to stay stock. The original tires VW 
supplied with the bus
were bias ply, 6.40-15. Back in the day and for many, many years the bus ran 
on these tires with no problems.
When bias ply went away and tubeless tires with new markings and 
specifications came along, there seem to
have been many new directions for consumers to go, in replacing tires. Some 
wanted wider tires for handling reasons, others wanted
higher or lower profile to raise or lower their ride, and others were 
concerned about weight.
Basically, I just wanted to stay with what Volkswagen had provided. I wanted 
tires that didn't throw my speedo off, and also
tires that fit the spare tire "tub" on my walk-thru bus. Additionaly, I 
desired original appearence, and of course I wanted to meet
the weight requirements. I looked around a bit and eventually I purchased 
stock tires
from Coker. 6.40-15's bias ply manufactured from the Firestone molds. I've 
been rolling on these tire's for three years. This include's
several trips from Whidbey Island, north of Seattle to San Diego and one 
recent run into Wyoming (yellowstone) and back.
I probably got around 10 maybe 12,000 miles on them in that time. I've had 
no problems whatsoever. They fit the spare tire
"tub" perfectly. Also I've paced my bus against my daughter driving a late 
model car with a good speedo. Not calibrated,
but since the car was only a year and a half old, I'll go with it. Anyway, 
the bus speedo was right on. I can shift gears now on the bus using the 
"tick" marks
on the speedo, I'm lovin' it! I'm running stock tire pressures for my bus as 
called out in the owners manual. As far as handling I've had no issues.
I haven't been blown off the road yet by any 18 wheelers. You know, a bus is 
a bus. When it gets windy I slow down, but so far, for me, the wind has been 
a non issue.
And as far as the weight rating thing, these tires exceed my max gross 
vehicle weight by almost 800 lb's. So I think I'm good to go.
All in all I've been very satisfied with my stock, bias ply, 6.40-15 tires. 
But, like that "groovy" old tune by Sly and the family stone, 
there's...."Different strokes for different folks."
I can only tell you my experience. However, when I read, or hear of folks 
measuring the diameter of their tires, or can't get 'em to fit in their bus 
storage areas, I have to smile.
I once even had one fella suggest to me, early on, back when I was thinking 
of purchasing a non-stock tire size. (I was concerned because the non-stock 
tire wouldn't fit
in the spare tire area and I didn't want to have the spare laying around in 
the rear somewhere taking valuable space.)
"you should get two big tires for the back, then a slightly smaller size 
pair for the front." he exclaimed with enthusiasim. "plus one for a spare.
Even if it doesn't fit in the spare area, it won't take as much space as the 
larger one. Then," he continued,  "if you have a flat in the rear, just put 
the smaller tire there and
get the larger tire repaired as soon as possible. No sweat G.I., huh?" he 
grinned. I recall looking at him and smiling back. "Yeah, G.I., no sweat."
Like I said, different strokes for different folks.
Have fun with those tires.
Mike Turner

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