Tyres again

carol said:
Cheers Oppy, I'm only bothered about safety and performance - trouble is the lesser known brands don't have as many fans or testimonials. I'm in a quandary now! :rolleyes2::rolleyes2:
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I'm sorry Carol, but that's the fear factor that they rely on. You will find that all vehicle tyres sold within the EU (including the UK) have to conform to the same standards, I fail to see how a tyre costing twice as much can out perform a cheaper one built to the same specification no matter what the advertising blurb may say
 
It's been suggested that I could actually get a 215 instead of a 205 if that would give me more options. What do people think? Are there implications? Apart from cost, obviously.
 
carol said:
It's been suggested that I could actually get a 215 instead of a 205 if that would give me more options. What do people think? Are there implications? Apart from cost, obviously.
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You could indeed :) My LT standard tyres are 195/70/15 and I replaced them with 215/70/15 (many change from 195 to 225).
Implications...
Your engine will be revving a little less for your chosen cruising speed (the reason why I changed as the LT Dually is very undergeared)
Your acceleration will be slightly impaired (would you notice in a campervan?)
Your Top Speed will be a little higher (again, would you ever find out?)
Your Speedo will over-read less and possibly actually under-read. (going from 195 to 215 my speedo is now about 3% under-reading. I use the Sat Nav warning generally anyway as the speedo is in KMH).

Overall, I would go for 215 anyway over standard 205 for reason #1. I fitted oversized tyres on my VW T4 for that very reason and the revs at 70MPH dropped around 300 RPM - that make cruising a LOT quieter.
 
That's so interesting! Btw, as I've just said to someone, how do I know the tyres I have on are the correct size anyway when it's not bought from new?
 
carol said:
It's been suggested that I could actually get a 215 instead of a 205 if that would give me more options. What do people think? Are there implications? Apart from cost, obviously.
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It is only slightly wider but to give a definitive answer we would need to know the wheel width, the wheel width is the distance, in inches, from bead seat to bead seat across the barrel of the wheel, you can usually get away with going up or down a size or two but I think you are on the maximum size, it used to be stamped on the wheel somewhere (for eg 5J/6J/7J) but I don't know if it still is, if you post your base vehicle details someone will be able to find out, I think yours is a peugeot but the model type and year will be needed, 205 are the maximum size fitted on 6J rims and if that is your size then 215 is too wide

What tyre widths fit to my wheel/rim?
When replacing OEM tyre with a wider aftermarket tyre, width of the rim should be taken into account because each rim width corresponds to only a few tyre widths.
For example, appropriate tyre widths for 6.0" rim are: 175 mm, 185 mm, 195 mm and 205 mm. The minimum tyre width 175 mm designates the safe tyre width, 185mm and 195 mm are ideal tyre widths and 205 mm is the maximum tyre width. The maximum tyre width is not ideal because the tyre tread is wider than the inside rim bead. Equivalency table presented below may help you to make a rational decision about tyre dimension you need for a given wheel/rim dimension.
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If you look at this chart you would need 6.5J rims to fit 215 tyres

tyre size.jpg
edit:
added picture of wheel size stamp on a steel wheel
wheel size.jpg
 
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carol said:
That's so interesting! Btw, as I've just said to someone, how do I know the tyres I have on are the correct size anyway when it's not bought from new?
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It is a good question as most vehicles came with a number of options as well. The Tyre Pressure sticker on the B Pillar or Door will be a quick and simple place to start with. See what is listed there - and if only one size, there you go :) If multiple options, is the size you have fitted listed?
Many on-line tyre places list a size when you put in the registration but to be honest, in my experience it is often wrong - but worth a quick go just to see maybe? try https://www.blackcircles.com/order/reglookup

Where I live, I see a lot of people bucking the typical trend on their sporty motors and instead of going for low-profile "rubber band" type tyres, they are getting the higher profile ones as they are much better at absorbing pot hole jolts and reducing buckled wheels
 
Curiouser and curiouser! And I just thought tyres was tyres! It's all very informative.
 
I emailed Autosleeper a while back about the possibility of fitting 225 tyres on my boxer based motorhome this is what they said.....

"It would be possible to fit the 225 tyre onto the existing 6J wheel rim without any problems. Indeed, Peugeot do this for some versions."

the reason I wanted to change was that the standard 215 tyres need very high inflation pressures for the 1900kg axle load moving up to 225 would allow a lower pressure for the same loading
 
carol said:
Curiouser and curiouser! And I just thought tyres was tyres! It's all very informative.
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A lot of people fit wider tyres without problems Carol, I honestly doubt you would have any problem with 215's on your van, you are not driving a sports car on the limit are you and when tyre manufactures give advice they give a blanket statement to protect themselves without any consideration of the vehicle type, I posted the tyre manufacturers advice so that you can decide for yourself, personally on a motorhome I would not worry and fit the ones readily available
 
Carol your base vehicle is a relay . It will have had as original specification Michelin I am 100% sure of that.

Alternative brands but still a decent tyre and were recommend to me by my tyre fitter who has since retired was Hangkook .(never heard of them) This week advertising on the hoarding at the Champions league and now standard fit on a lot of Fords but not as pricey as other brands.

Perhaps due to riding motorcycles and having a motor trade background the only contact between you and the road is the tyre matters not whether a £300 runaround or top of the range Bentley so not an area you should skimp on

I spent a bot of time with Michelin product guys and they gave a demo about tyres and how the budget brands often distorted under load reducing footprint on the road and how the tread pattern is scientifically designed to disperse water prevent Aquaplaning etc..SO whilst budget brands shouldn't be dismissed I would do my homework.

Ripped tyre wall on any tyre is easy done with our roads which can make replacement an expensive exercise

Good grip goes with longeivity, and tends to be a softer compound so don't last as long riding around on two wheels has taught me that

Channa
 
carol said:
It's been suggested that I could actually get a 215 instead of a 205 if that would give me more options. What do people think? Are there implications? Apart from cost, obviously.
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Heres a handy site to get a visual impression of changing tyre size. I doubt you will have any problems going up to a 215, but as already mentioned you do need to know the width of your current rims i.e., 6.0J or 6.5J. You also need to make sure a larger tyre doesn't rub anywhere, you can just do a visual check with wheels on full lock both ways. I'd be most surprised if going up to 215 would be any problem, it's too smaller change.
For what it's worth, on my vans I always fit the biggest (tallest) tyre I can with no modifications. Going up to 215 is a minimal increase, and if it gives you more options it's well worth considering.


Tire Size Comparison

Just to add, a 215/70 tyre is not only wider, it is slightly taller too.
 
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I've found one, Pirelli Scorpion Verde all season but can't work out the load rating. Something I'd not been aware of until this exercise! I need 104/106 I think. Going up a size would give me more (expensive) options but haven't got my head round it yet. Apparently there's something on the weight plate in the van and I'll check the van handbook though that's never much help as there's usually lots of asterisks relating to different models etc!

Thanks again everyone for being so helpful.
 
carol said:
I've found one, Pirelli Scorpion Verde all season but can't work out the load rating. Something I'd not been aware of until this exercise! I need 104/106 I think. Going up a size would give me more (expensive) options but haven't got my head round it yet. Apparently there's something on the weight plate in the van and I'll check the van handbook though that's never much help as there's usually lots of asterisks relating to different models etc!

Thanks again everyone for being so helpful.
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That tyre on 15" rim has a load rating of 96, far too low I would think. 104/106 sounds more like it, but I wouldn't want to guess, it's too important.

SCORPION VERDE™ ALL SEASON - SUV tyres | Pirelli
 
Well if you look at car tyres you will see that some budget priced tyresyou would have shied away from fifteen years or so ago are now considered top notch, price doesn’t always mean better or worse.

Have they changed designation naming as I know M&S tyres as mus and shale, were used for light off reading purposes as well as on road?

Winter tyres will definitely wear quicker than normal (summer?) tyres, there are three main types, normal, winter and all year but they may not do them in the sizes you want so you have to compromise. At work they change between summer and winter with two sets for each van, I don’t have space or inclination for that myself.

Manufacturers tech departments will give you the proper information not marketing hype. Which ones did you get Oppy as I am going to get mine checked out soon, not sure if I will need new this year yet
 
Load rating is something that is so often forgotten about as well, so good it is being discussed :)
In the VW Transporter world, appropriate load ratings of Tyres - AND Wheels! - tends to be optional and secondary to looks for far too many people :(

How to tell the minimum load rating ... look at the VIN plate under the bonnet - should be probably 4 weights (in KG) -
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) - max weight of vehicle when loaded;
GTW (Gross Train Weight) - max weight of vehicle and trailer combination
Front Axle Weight
Rear Axle Weight

Which is which in the above is not labelled typically, but the axle weights will be the 2 lowest of the four listed.
Take the greater of those two lowest numbers as that will be the axle with the heaviest load, divide by two and that is the maximum possible LEGAL static load on the tyre.
Then use a table like this - Load Index & Speed Symbol - Info - Bob Jane T-Marts - to find the load rating that matches the weight.
Always nice to go up as a safety margin as well as driving forces and jolts will increase the load.

PS - if you see a tyre with two load ratings (say 104/106) it is the higher number that is important unless you are running dual wheels at the rear.
 
Certainly slim pickings for an all season van tyre on 15" rims. Loads more choice on 16"

How about these? Not checked prices but premium brand so won't be cheap.

VanContact™ 4Season
 
wildebus said:
Load rating is something that is so often forgotten about as well, so good it is being discussed :)
In the VW Transporter world, appropriate load ratings of Tyres - AND Wheels! - tends to be optional and secondary to looks for far too many people :(

How to tell the minimum load rating ... look at the VIN plate under the bonnet - should be probably 4 weights (in KG) -
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) - max weight of vehicle when loaded;
GTW (Gross Train Weight) - max weight of vehicle and trailer combination
Front Axle Weight
Rear Axle Weight

Which is which in the above is not labelled typically, but the axle weights will be the 2 lowest of the four listed.
Take the greater of those two lowest numbers as that will be the axle with the heaviest load, divide by two and that is the maximum possible LEGAL static load on the tyre.
Then use a table like this - Load Index & Speed Symbol - Info - Bob Jane T-Marts - to find the load rating that matches the weight.
Always nice to go up as a safety margin as well as driving forces and jolts will increase the load..
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Good advice, it should be remembered that motorhomes are always in probability a greater vertical load on a tyre than its commercial equivalent. We know that because we may have 300 kg load available for chattels were the commercial stable mate can carry 1.5 tonne

I ran Sprinters for a while with Continental Vancos fitted and definitely handled better the van loaded as opposed to empty.

Carol re Pirelli you cant go too far wrong as Nabsim suggests brands improve but Pirelli have been consistent for years If I pick up a car with Pirelli on end of conversation possibly might be better choices but Pirelli is not a BAD choice if that makes sense

Channa

PS - if you see a tyre with two load ratings (say 104/106) it is the higher number that is important unless you are running dual wheels at the rear
 
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