Japanese Tyres - Are they legal?

[sajseven]

Our new lovely blue Bongo ( ) has some Japanese tyres on it. They're in brilliant shape, but we hear that we may have to change them. This seems like such a waste because they've hardly been used (they have so much tread!). Is there any possibility that we could probably keep them, or wouldn't they pass the MOT (over 10 years old, so no SVA).

The tyres are labelled as the "Goodyear UltraGrip IceNavi Neo". They look (and the name sounds) like they are winter tyres. The Bongo is a 1997 4WD 2.5D Automatic just in case that matters at all. Would it be worth asking an MOT person? Thanks!

[westonwarrior]

mine passed ok with japaneese tyres

i wouldn't mention it to the mot'er in case they see it as an easy sale of 4 tyres

[nfn]

From the name, those certainly sound like winter tyres. They may be perfectly legal in the UK though -- I believe that tread depth is all that they check at MOT. It could be the case that insurance companies won't pay out if you have an accident using winter tyres, so this would be worth searching out.

[scanner]

Kumho tyres are from Korea and quite legal and I've had Goodyears made in both New Zealand and Argentina that were legal - so why shouldn't Japanese Goodyears be legal?

The Mot-er will only look for damage or wear, not where they were made.

[sajseven]

Not so much the Japanese part as the winter tyre part. I'm not worried about the MOT'er trying to make money out of us... he's a friend. What I'm more intersted about is the insurers. We have LifeSure... does anybody know if they will cover winter tyres?

[scanner]

Not so much the Japanese part as the winter tyre part. I'm not worried about the MOT'er trying to make money out of us... he's a friend. What I'm more intersted about is the insurers. We have LifeSure... does anybody know if they will cover winter tyres?

They don't refuse to cover people who use Summer tyres in winter............and that can be far more dangerous.

[sajseven]

We've just looked up what the Mazda-recommended load-ratings for the tyres are. Am I correct in saying that the tyres should have a rating of at least 92 on the front and at least 96 on the back? In which case, these tyres are all rated at 94. Is this okay, and will it make too much difference, or is it just a big ?

[madmile]

Your japanese tyres will need to have a JIS mark to pass an SVA and be of the correct load and speed rating, but dont neednany tread . For MOT just tread etc, but unlikely to check anything else. If you only need an MOT then check for correct load rating, and if OK dont say anything to put any doubt in the testers mind.

[roosteruk]

A competent MOT examiner, should check that all tyres are the same size at least and also there are no Radial/Crossply crossing, as well as tread depth and damage.

[scanner]

We've just looked up what the Mazda-recommended load-ratings for the tyres are. Am I correct in saying that the tyres should have a rating of at least 92 on the front and at least 96 on the back? In which case, these tyres are all rated at 94. Is this okay, and will it make too much difference, or is it just a big ?

If it's noticed it could be a fail for the ones on the rear.

I did read that somebody on here got a fail on insufficient load index, but I think it was a lot bigger difference than that and on all 4 wheels.

[madmile]

Your 94's are OK on the front, but not quite up to spec on the rear. In the real world it probably wont make a difference, but try telling that to your insurance company once they are trying to get out of paying you!
Personally I wont sell a vehicle with underated tyres (traders obligations etc) and mostly I find that the japanese ones if they have been sat around for a while - have cracked and deformed walls and quite likely to be difficult to balance - easier just to put on new in 90% of cases.

[Peg leg Pete]

When we got our bongo the tyre tread looked fine, but they were cracked up in the tread, they were potentially dangerous, we changed them for Michelins, handling is far superior

[CarlosFandango]

Peg leg pete; what michelins did you buy please? Thanks Andy

[kit]

Hope this helps clear up any uncertainties....for tyres to be legal in the UK i.e. MOT/Insurance they HAVE to carry the european symbol marking, which is identified by being a letter E displayed within a circle on the sidewall of the tyre.
Don't make the common mistake of thinking "phew" I got it through the MOT as your insurance would be declared null & void in the case of an accident in this country and indeed Europe wide...just not worth the risk

[sajseven]

I know that this is probably off-topic, but does the rear foglight have to be on a separate switch to the front foglights to pass an MOT/SVA? I was hoping to use the original switch, but I suppose that may not be possible?