Two questions??
1) Will the adj seat hardware go onto the right side front?
2) 15 inch wheels. How about using wheels and tires off a dodge caravan for our aeros? They seem to be perfect. Has anyone tried yet.. There are lots of carajunks around to get them off of. The bolt pattern is good the height is good and the offset is like 3/8 difference. Tire is a tad wider like 1/2"..Could this be the holy grail for us...I was just amazed that the bolt pattern is spot on.


Dick

 

1) I did coplete seat swap. Yes, this seat fits. But it is not easy to inscrew torx bolt the seatbelt lock held with
2) Dodge/Crysler Voyager rims are wider and a lot of dirt spilled on door handles. Especially front doors handles. The same issue like with H3. Wanna ride the dirty van?

 

Live on dirt road don't care. Plus the tires/wheels I have are only 3/8 offset towards the outside. Came off of 2000 carajunk. I don't think 3/8 is gonna do anything different but I will check. Thanks for the reply..

Dick

 

Here's the scoop. The tires don't stick out any more at all but they slightly rub on the lower a arm..at full turn left and right. I think with a grinder that won't happen.. Other than that they are a good match.

Dick

 

What about the fuel filler tube prtrusion into the rear wheel well on the drivers side. Does that rub when you go over bumps?

AS stated, I already discovered the holy grail in tires. And they fit a 14" rim. More rubber between the wheels and road means smoother ride. 6 ply means weight handling is excellent. Firm rubber means long tread life and more even tread wear. Agressive sipes mean excellent snow traction. Offroad tread pattern means excellent dirt and mud traction. And the exact rubber formula means excellent dry and wet traction too. Only two downsides, price and noise. But no rubbing, no modifications needed at all. Its what I run, and at a treadlife of 80,000 miles even with a lot of heavy hauling, they are an excellent value. I never got more than 40,000 miles on any other tire, the weight of the van causes accelerated sidewall wear, and if you overpressure them, ride quality goes down.

The tire I use is Cooper 27x8.5 R14 LT, which is made under other brand names too. You can go with the BF Goodrich 27x8.5 R14 LT 95R, Grabber AT 27x8.5 R14. There are some other companies making this sized tire, but most of the rest are very, very aggressive offroad tires.

One of the great things about this tire is even though the weight rating seems the same as the other 14" tires, this is a mandatory rim rating that is the limiting factor. The tire will handle heavy loads (an Aerostar counts as a heavy load) better and at higher speeds without running the risk of overheating and blowing.

I do wish the Aerostar could better handle 15" wheels, but in order to do that, it needs larger wheel wells and additional clearance that it just doesn't have. As it is if you go with 15" wheels, you either have to use low profile tires, which are generally no the best for weight, ride quality, or outside wear. You are also generally limited to 4 ply. If you go with larger heftier tires, you run into rubbing.

 

I'm driving with the tires and wheels from the carajunk..Backs are great I put 1/4 spacers on the front to kick the wheel out all is well and it rides just as before.

 

Good to hear, but how do they wear? Its not just Aerostar that tend to be hard on tires, tire shops like minivans in general because they don't get the full life out of the tires. Their weight causes the tires to wear unevenly.

 

Don't Know how they will wear as theyare snow tires..On my nice 96 it has Michelin's on it. Prob has 50 k on the tires and they are wearing perfectly. Prob 30k left on the tires.
Tire wear has alot to do with the tires. Some cup real bad and others don't.Of course the front end has to be right..Most soft rubber tires wear like crap on the aeros..

Dick