chelboy
Guest
Anyone know correct pressures?
wints
Full Member
- Posts
- 414
- Likes
- 243
I posted this about a year ago:
This info may be of use to others:
Rang Michelin today on 08453661535 and spoke to a very nice lady, Vicky, re tyre pressures.
My tyres are michelin 215/75/16 XC, and axle loadings with Vicky's recommended tyre prssures are as follows:-
rear axle 2220 kgs 80 psi (at 2100 kgs still 80 psi)
front axle 1780 kgs 55 psi (1700 kgs 53 psi)
The rear at 2220 kg and front at 1780 kg are fully loaded as weighed at a builders yard (ticket supplied to be used as evidence in case of being stopped) just prior to going to Spain for the winter. The weights in brackets are more representative of say a w/e away.
In my Hymer handbook the recommended pressure is 80 psi for all the tyres, but as seen above, Michelin correct (contradict ?) this for the front tyres.
Hope that helps.
regards
Allen
Smaug
Guest
I was looking at the Michelins on my Fiat Carrioca 635 the other day & they have 80psi marked on the side walls. However this takes no accont of axle loadings, does it?
Deleted member 3011
Guest
That is good to hear because several months ago it was reported that Michelin were just telling all motorhome owners to pump them up to the maximum sidewall pressures.
You need a couple of things before you can determine the correct cold inflation pressures.
First is the brand and size of tyre. Then you will need the load rating or some other way of making sure you are talking about the right tyre. Last thing you need is to load the MH up exactly as you do for an average trip - and that includes the co-pilot a- and get each axle weighed on a weighbridge. You need to do this because every motorhome will be packed differently and may have extras that add to the weight and alter the front-rear balance.
Then you can look up the load/pressure tables for that exact tyre and that will give you the recommended pressure.
Best not to ask your local tyre jockey.
Nosha
Guest
I reported this on here a few years ago, as the base vehicle (Fiat) had a sticker saying 70psi all round, which I knew could not be right as even the original chassis plate gives different axle loads.
Again like you we had Michelin Camping tyres fitted, so stuck it on the local VOSA weigh bridge (FOC) and emailed Mich' with the size and loads - they came back with 60psi fronts & 65psi rears - MUCH more realistic. Sold van after almost 6yrs, 35k miles and with VERY even tyre wear!
Again like you we had Michelin Camping tyres fitted, so stuck it on the local VOSA weigh bridge (FOC) and emailed Mich' with the size and loads - they came back with 60psi fronts & 65psi rears - MUCH more realistic. Sold van after almost 6yrs, 35k miles and with VERY even tyre wear!
wints
Full Member
- Posts
- 414
- Likes
- 243
As I recall, Vicky at Michelin, said that they didn't / wouldn't give me a load/pressure table as it may be misinterpreted, but that they had no problem giving out the exact info over the phone.
By the way Tony, I noticed on your location (top right) that you might be in Oz at the moment, is it really only 5 deg there today, as quoted on the BBC olympic promo 6pm news ?
regards
Allen
Deleted member 3011
Guest
Yes it is winter here so it could be only 5C here today somewhere in Oz, but equally likely that it is below zero in the south of Tasmania, 25C where I am parked today in the middle of the Great Sandy Desert (but close to zero at night, or perhaps true that it is 35C just a few hundred km north. Big place covering 2 hours of time zone and from near tropical monsoon climate across the north to Mediterranean across the south to bloody cold in Tasmania.
forecast for tomorrow
Sydney 10°C 20°C Mostly sunny
Melbourne 9°C 14°C Rain
Brisbane 11°C 22°C Possible shower
Perth 3°C 18°C Mostly sunny
Adelaide 9°C 14°C Showers
Canberra 3°C 12°C Clearing shower
Hobart 5°C 13°C Rain developing
Darwin 19°C 31°C
Alice Springs -1C 18C
Back to the subject.
Probably good that Michellin won't give you the load tables - but rather futile since they are readily available on the web - because it is true that there is a lot more to a tyre than just the size and the tables can be rather confusing. However the important thing is they WILL give you their exact recommendations provided you give them the ACTUAL axle loadings and that often can mean you can run the front tyres at least a few psi lower. This not only gives you better traction but allows the tyre to act as a useful part of your suspension so that the usual bumps and cracks in the road are largely absorbed by the tyres rather than by the shock absorbers which is rather too late to be fully effective.
As an example, out here in the desert the roads that are not deep sand or actual sandhills are often horrendously corrugated and one of the major problems is shock absorbers failing in a fairly dramatic way as the recent Mercedes factory 4WD we'll-show-the-world expedition up this same 2000km road that I am on at the moment found out. All but one of their fancy 4WDs came to an abrupt halt several hundred km earlier with catastrophic failure of the shock absorbers and they were held up for a long time while replacements were flown from the other side of Australia. Most embarrassing because it also meant they didn't read the advice on how to survive driving the Canning Stock Route - which in summary reads #1 let the tyres down, #2 drive to the conditions, and #3 carry spare shock absorbers. Doh! Doh! and DOH! Three strikes and they were out.
On the other hand, yours truly, being in a self-maintained, near 20 year old obsolete vehicle and without factory technicians, support vehicles and the world press to watch every move, is plodding along at 15 to 35kmph with tyres at half highway pressure and carrying two spare shock absorbers - which I shouldn't use because mine are running lukewarm. The Merc shocks were running red hot.
Obviously corrugations and sandhills are not something most European motorists would ever have to contend with, but to the limited extent that applies, it is sensible to run the tyre pressures according to the TYRE manufacturers recommendations rather than slavishly following a plate that was affixed to a bare chassis or the MH plate which was put on before you added three extra batteries, two solar panels, a motor bike and 4 cases of cheap French wine and a heap of cheese - or what the corner tyre changer reckons is close enough..
mark61
Full Member
- Posts
- 9,240
- Likes
- 19,036
Half of me thinks M-B did that on purpose. They got more publicity by breaking down :lol-049:
Who in their right mind overloads vehicles then hammers them across corrugated roads. The 2 vehicles with no breakdowns were on 16" wheels and AT tyres, all others on 18" and lower profile road tyres, probably 48 psi +, what a joke.
I have met 2 of the drivers that were on the trip, inexperienced they are not.
Who in their right mind overloads vehicles then hammers them across corrugated roads. The 2 vehicles with no breakdowns were on 16" wheels and AT tyres, all others on 18" and lower profile road tyres, probably 48 psi +, what a joke.
I have met 2 of the drivers that were on the trip, inexperienced they are not.