Tyres - which ones?

coventrycraig

Guest
205 70 15's is what Im after.

What tyres do you think are good and what are rubbish.

Got to get 2 for the front of kontiki. Been buying tyres for previous cars/vans off ebay - but cant find any at the moment.

cheap tyres are Nexen, Forcum, Westlake etc.. - Do I avoid are pay Out!

Craig
 
for the speed of most vans and campers 99% of tyres would be ok I guess, I have part worns on mine, no need to fit anything more expensive
 
But stopping distance might be quite important in a heavyish camper! - Its nothing like stopping in a newish car! - plus all the wet weather we get
I was also thinking, when parking on grass - you have more chance of getting of with proper grippy tyres.

Craig
 
Tyres are an emotive subject it seems..

Stating the obvious but they are the only contact between you and the road a fact often overlooked in my opinion when people are trying to save a few quid.

The problem is we all know that premium brands cost an arm and a leg because of the brand.

On several vehicles ( not the camper to be fair ) I have used Hangkook's on the recommendation of a tyre fitter I know in Leeds.

A massive company, nowadays they can be found on new cars (ford as an example ) But they are more cost effective than Michelin Pirelli etc.

I have always found them decent and not skittish in bad weather

Maybe worthy of investigation

Channa.
 
I've had some Bridgestone winter treads fitted for about 80,000kms (2 rotations) and they are approaching the end of their safe life - maybe another 5 to 10,000 kms in them. Been very happy with them, aggressive tread which is good on dirt and wet roads. Probably travelled about 9,000kms on dirt roads which equates to about 15-16,000 of bitumen roads.

Quite a few tyre websites around with selection criteria to help guide you. 100% aspect ratio tyres gives a softer ride eg 205R15, but may not fit into the wheel arch or maybe increase gearing to much.
 
Hi Craig
I use Continental Vanco's - not too expensive and quite hard wearing with decent grip.
HTH
Frank
 
tyree

I use Barum Vanis.... same tyre as the Vanco, made in the same factory with different name on the side..... same size as yours..... £50 each fitted at my home all in
 
That's worth knowing! are they the same compound though? Having worked in the rubber industry for thirty odd years, I know that different customers often specify their own compounds, so though they look the same, they could be vastly different in performance wet grip, wear properties etc. Then again......
The Barum tyres fitted to some Eastern Bloc bikes had a horrible reputation in the wet, although they seemingly lasted forever.
 
motorhome tyres

Sorry I cannot recommend any as I have never had to replace any (yet!). However, I have a MR2 and when I got it, it was fitted with cheap budget tyres with a soft compound. I found them so good for me, my driving style and grip that I have replaced them with cheap (budget) tyres. I am not known for saving money on items like tyres. But the grip these gave me including in the snow was fantastic. I would however advise against 2nd hand tyres though, you just don't know what they have come off.

Jon
 
I haven't had to replace my camper's tyres yet, but i've always had Colway's fitted to my off roaders. Cheap as chips remoulds (35 quid for a 235/75r15) and great performance. At one time Colin McRae's Impreza wore Colways.
 
Each to his own, personally the two things I won't skimp on are tyres and brakes, if they don't have a name that I know and trust then I won't buy them.

I had a bad experience of remoulds many moons ago and although I accept that manufacturing processes are a lot better now as far as I'm concerned remoulds are a no no.
I might take a gamble on some "unknown brand" parts, and I'm quite happy to get some parts from a breakers but not tyres or brakes.
Frank
 
I have just replaced five Michelin 215/70-15 Campers tyres on my van. They were almost unworn and mostly free from cracking (one had slight cracks if you looked hard enough. But they were 2002 production which made them seven years old. There were two factors in deciding to replace them, a) their age and b) the moment you showed them any wet grass they didn;t want to know.

Having decided to move them on, I checked the load index and was shocked to see just how close they were to the maximum axle loading (only 30kg over the axle load limit). So I decided to go up a size to 225/70-15 ( I am aware of the speedo implications BTW)
the reason I did this was to give me an extra 90kg per tyre increasing the load redundancy to 120kg per tyre just to make me feel better.

I have changed to Vredestein Com Winter, as I like the chunky tread pattern. I have been warned that they will not last as long as the Michelins, but I don't regard that as too much of a problem as the Michelins tread outlasted their usable life anyway.

If I have any problems, I let you know, cost for five tyres fitted and balanced etc, £500.00
 
I've just been outside to look at the tyres on our van, which are still the ones that came from the manufacturer. It is 4 years old, and we've done 37000 miles.
The tyres are Mitchelin 225/65 R 16cp. Can any of you guys explain what these mean...compared say to the 225/70 - 15 quoted by 'Tco'
and can you tell me what the 'speedo implications' are that you spoke about ?
Our tyres look ok, and passed the MOT without any problem back in March, but I would be grateful for points of view from you guys,

Jackie :)
 
Can none of you guys offer me the advice I'm looking for here?? I felt sure I would be overwhealmed with suggestions...this is a genuine query!!

Jackie :)
 
Have a look at the tyres thread started by Garth. Some very useful links for info on the thread.
 
Jacques le foot said:
Can none of you guys offer me the advice I'm looking for here?? I felt sure I would be overwhealmed with suggestions...this is a genuine query!!

Jackie :)
Click to expand...

Hi Jackie,

I will have a go:)

The 225 is the width of the tyre in mm. The 65 is the height of the sidewall of the tyre in a percentage of the width, called the aspect ratio. 65% of 225 = 146.25mm The "R" means Radial tyre. I think the CP may stand for Camping Tyre:confused: The 16 is the wheel rim diameter in inches (I know a mixture of metric and imperial, but that is how it is:D)

There is also another important number which you haven't quoted like 115/109(made up numbers!) called the load index. This is the maximum load or weight you can put on the tyre looked up from a table. i.e. 115 = 1215Kgs. Ignore the figure after the / this the the load for twin wheels, usually a lower figure.

So two tyres = 2430kgs max weight of load on rear axle. Ideally the max permitted weight of your M/H on the rear axle should be 10% lower to allow a safety margin.

There is another code in small print somewhere that determines the date of manufacture.

Well you wanted to know didn't you:)
To simply: going wider say 215 to 225 at the same aspect ratio of say 70 will give a higher load index number (more weight carrying capacity) This is your answer to why people do it:). Wider again to 235 and you will need a lower 65% aspect ratio. to keep the rolling diameter similar, or the speedo will be out.

Motorhome Tyres for Load & Grip
Motorhome Tyre Test Comparison

HTH
John
 
Speedo's come 'out' as standard, going up a size or 2 would probably make them accurate. They always err on the safe side.
 
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