123 wagon winter wheels
Stupendous Man
came from? Steel wheels are fine, winter isnt a fashion show.
I have an 82 300TD wagon and am looking forward to another winter in the
Sierra Nevada mountains. I live in a rural area and take a winding one-lane
road to work through numerous deep canyons. I have used "spike spiders" for
the last two years on the rare instances when the car won't just plow
through, and have found that normal chains work better when it's really bad
out there.
I am looking into another set of wheels for studded snow tires, and am
considering a size change. The wheels are a 5 on 4.5 pattern, and proper
tires have a 24 inch diameter.
Has anyone tried a set of narrower wheels from something else, and of larger
diameter? I think a 26 inch tire is about all that will fit. The reasoning
is that a narrower tire will be better at finding the road beneath the snow,
and the surface pressure will be higher, helping the studs to dig into the
ice. taller will keep the oil pan and fuel tank a bit higher, reducing
"sledding".
Since the car weighs so much, those tires should be rated for a light truck,
but I cant search that until I have a wheel size.
I am also considering altering the hydraulic control mounting bracket so
that I can pull a cable and raise the rear fuel tank a bit higher out of the
snow, that would have helped a few times.
--
Stupendous Man,
Defender of Freedom, Advocate of Liberty
Happy Trails
try mid-70's VW van ones. When I wanted fatter tires for softer ground
and jungle mud on the vans I used to use in SE Asia, I found I could
use the Merc steel wheels from the 80's/90's sedans that every Merc
owner was dumping for alloys. I was buying new ones off just-purchased
cars for S$5 each.
==========
On Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:49:00 -0800, "Stupendous Man" <sp...@trap.com>
wrote:
Roland Franzius
I once had size 225 15 65 with 15" rim on my W123 (needs special
allowance and may be used with together a front spoiler only to hide the
tire her in GER).
But because of the fragile front axle and stearing construction I
changed to 195 65 15. Better direction stability, grip and a bit of
higher mileage. The 225 tires wear out the steering box gearings until
you have about 2 inches play.
--
Roland Franzius
Tiger
tire size... Yes, they do recommends on size skinnier for winter
performance.
From there, you can determine the width of the wheel required for that tire.
I would choose 14" wheels if possible but tire sizes are getting limited for
14" wheels. 15" is recommended and tirerack do have those 15" wheels you
need for $100 each new.
I highly recommends Nokian Hakka snow tires. I have been use Studless tires
for decades and they are awesome. Nokian last far longer than any other
tires I have known.
In your case, you need to decide if your state allows spikes... if so, it is
probably to you benefit to buy the studded Nokian tires.
Stupendous Man
news:4aff11b5$0$31277$607e...@cv.net...
You are the Man, Tiger. I will prowl the yards down in the Valley for 126
wheels.
The availability is why i want 15 inch tires. It took me two months to get
delivery of a set of 14s rated to carry the weight of a VW camper.
I have done well with the 300TD on Uniroyal Tiger Paws, but the 14inch
winter selections are not good. Studs are legal in CA, and CHP guys on the
Grapevine north of los Angeles are amazed when i show up with them in
winter, but let me go where citiots fear tread/
Tiger
for $99 a wheel with lugbolts so don't pay too much for old wheels.