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In my two week quest to find the right tires for my 1983 Westphalia, I had
the following email exchanges with a
Kumho tech support man. I'm copying them into this message for those who
are interested. Kumho does make the 857 in 205/75/14 size but unfortunately
seems to be out of them at the moment. I'm waiting breathlessless for the
boat to come in...could be this week, could be next month, sez Kumho.
What a frustrating trial this has been just to find tires for my car. Not
one tire store(out of almost 10) has called me back with information. I did
go to Sears tonight and kept the poor salesperson at her computer for 25
minutes as we went through every single tire in the possible Vanagon sizes
(185 R14, 195 75 14, 195 70 14, 205 70 14, 205 75 14). And they had a
Michelin XC LT4 on the wall so I could see it was a very good looking tire,
probably perfect for my needs. But Sears charges extra for
mounting/balancing, stem, tire disposal which together with tax add about
$25 to the retail Michelin price of $110.00. If anyone can steer me to a
discount Michelin tire store, anywhere in the Los Angeles area, but
especially WLA and the Valley, I'd really appreciate it.
John
Kumho emails below:
John,
The 857 and the 852 will provide equal traction for the conditions you
are talking about, and both have 10/32" of tread depth. The tread design of
the 857 will provide better on-road handling over the 852 in wet and snow
conditions. Traction for off-road conditions would be comparable to a
passenger tire. If you want optimum off road handling, I would suggest an
All Terrain tire over our tires.
The 857 is the next generation of small, commercial grade tires. The only
difference between the two is sidewall construction and tread design. The
tread design of the 852 has been basically the same for 2 decades, so it was
time to move to a more modern design. If you have any other questions please
advise.
Aaron
From: jbclem [mailto:jbclem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 5:01 AM
To: Aaron Smith
Subject: Re: RE:857 question
Hi, thanks for your reply. I have one other question: I've seen photos of
the 852 and the 857 and there is a difference in the thread design. The 857
has a straight center groove and the outer grooves look, in the picture, to
be less agressive, and not as deep. Could you comment on the differences,
especially considering my need which is a tire that will help me when I
cross a creek everyday and sometimes get stuck in the mud on either side.
I live on a dirt road, but most of my driving when I leave the creek and
dirt road is highway driving. I'm looking for a tire that will help with
the mud but won't been too noisy on the highway. I drive a 1983 VW Camper,
and the 852s were been recommended by other VW camper owners when they were
available.
Is the 857 an improvement over the 852, and why is it...or is it a
marketing compromise. It would help if you could enlighten me in this
matter. Apparently I can get an 852 from Atlanta if I want to spend the
extra money for shipping costs.
Thanks again,
John Clemens
----- Original Message -----
From: Aaron Smith
To: jbclem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 10:37 AM
Subject: RE:857 question
John,
The 857 is a replacement for the 852. It is marketed as a trailer
tire due to it's load capacity, but the tread is designed to provide good
traction for truck applications. It will work in mud and snow, but has
never been tested by U.S. DOT, so there is no M&S rating. Tread depth is
10/32"
I have talked with several people that have installed the 857 on their
VW vans, and I have yet to hear any complaints. Hope this info helps, any
other questions please advise.
Thanks,
Aaron Smith
KUMHO Technical Support
330-670-2644
-----Original Message-----
From: jbclem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jbclem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 10:13 PM
To: techsupport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: New Comment has been received
New e-mail has been received from
JOHN CLEMENS
jbclem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
,Malibu,CA 90265
Comment:
I'm trying find Kumho 852 tires for a 1983 VW Vanagon camper. I'm told
that the 857 is a replacement, but on your very frustrating website it is
listed as a "trailer" tire. Could you tell me what the differences are
between these two tires? Are they M + S rated? I notice a difference in the
center thread design between the two, but I can't find the information about
the thread depth for the 852. I'd like to find a tire as close to the 852 as
possible, if the 852 isn't available. Thanks, John
Kumho
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