215/65/15's all round ?

[BongoBongo123]

Just bought 4 Maxxis AP2's, I had disks and pads done so may as well take it up to maximum stopping efficiency !

[BongoBongo123]

Just had the Maxxis' put on all round. Did a little short drive round and they feel a little different to what I had on there
(Nothing special they were Arrowspeed Quik Fit own brand and were brand new when we bought the Bongo)

A little more spongey feeling which is entirely expected due to the softer rubber formulation of an All Season tyre.

Was wet and they felt fine to me.

As a side story I did have some hassle with 2 out of 4 tyres turning up mis shaped. One had a side wall bending out 2cms over a 15cms area and a weird looking weld on the side and another had a dent in the tread/steel belt. As they are at the budget end I visually inspected them before
getting them put on, I suggest you do the same. Not sure if the online outlet have a storage or QC issue, after a bit of phoning and emailing 2 new ones came today and they are all ship shape now.

It feels good to have new tyres on ! Euro B rating wet grip is good for a such a value tyre, pleased.

[Bob]

Nice one.

Well, four really.

[al & chris]

We put same size all round on for 10 years we had bongo, never had any problems. We put them on as with 195 front wheel size we could only get van tyres plus wear on edges was quite bad. This disappeared with same size all round.

[mikeonb4c]

Its 2 years since i fitted my Maxxis

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=73056&hilit=Season

Still loads of tread on them, Bongo has always felt v surefooted with them on in both wet and dry. Very happy indeed and as long as price remains competitive I'll be sticking (to the road) with them

P.S. Interestingly, I couldn't find my old post searching for the word 'Maxxis' but a search on 'season' got me there. Bongo Fury Search Engine definitely loses traction on the bends

[BongoBongo123]

Yes I had a very deep think through the pros and cons of them and decided to have a go with the Maxxis. They had a lot going for them. I think it is wise to do a bit of QC with Chinese tyres that are not made under licence froma Top Tier European brand. (Maxxis is owned by Cheng Shin Rubber), a visual expection does no harm, especially if you buy online and get them put on by a local place as to find out you have a dent in the tread area that bumps along would be annoying, time consuming and costly getting the tyre back off and having an odd summer tyre on a set of all seasons (which may technically be illegal). Initially the company that sold them were not helpful and when that comes to tyres that your life depends on it is NOT good enough.

I paid £14.40 per tyre for fitting which seems about right.

One thing for sure you cannot knock the price given the good reviews online and here. They look nice and chunky and I look forwards for going on a lonegr run soon. It is reassuring to have the softer compound that does not harden up below 7C so wet stopping in cold but not icy conditions should be good.

You can read about the parent company at that popular rag "Rubber News" Although the focus is India in that article.

https://www.rubbernews.com/article/2017 ... ire-plants

[BongoBongo123]

Having driven around on these for a couple of 100kms I am very happy with them. Without any doubt the grip on roundabouts and cornering compared to the Arrowspeeds is far superior, especially noticeable in the cold/wet which we sure get plenty of this time of year. They feel good. Thanks for all the information shared on them. Steering feels marginally heavier (not a problem as to me it felt very light before) due to the soft rubber/powerful grip.

They really feel like they glue you to the road. I have a sneaking suspicion they may increase fuel consumption a bit but I think that is worth it for the extra grip given as we have no ABS on ours.

Out of interest for those with experience how do these tyres feel in the summer ? I imagine being quite soft rubber if we have a roasting hot summer again they will make the Bongo feel a bit more boat like ?

[mikeonb4c]

Good news bb123 - i've found the Maxxis feel just fine in summer, and i've not noticed any change in fuel consumption. But (as you too have noticed) it is the greatly increased confidence they give me in the wet that i've appreciated most. Cant put a price on that. Fantastic!

[BongoBongo123]

Thanks, good to know Mike, I suspect that last summer was a little out of the ordinary and we will get a more typical 24C average with occasional hot spots. And yes wet especially, is when you need to feel there is some grip there, so far so good.

[BongoBongo123]

I actually just ordered another Maxxis AP2, my reasoning is if one pops (easily done on a kerb alone, I punctured a tyre side wall on a kerb just parking up) it might be a bit of hassle waiting to get hold of another. So I will keep one at home so if the worst happens I have one that can quickly go on and still have a matching set. I suspect they may not be that common in most tyre places and would need to be ordered in.

You might get charged and arm and leg in a tough spot for an all season tyre.