Correct tyre size

[Frannie]

Hi, new to the forum, have just picked up our new bongo a 95 2wd 2.5td...all seems fine made the journey back approx 70 miles fine, have had chance to take a better look round today and have noticed the tyre size differs to that in manual, at the moment it is running four michelin 205/55/16s are these the correct size? I,m not sure what size the rims are? there are no markings to alloys, the problem is two of the tyres(front and rear passenger side) have damage to the shouldrs ie split/small tears.where they,ve been kerbed..should I replace them at approx £90 each =£180 plus vat etc or replace all four with the correct sized tyres albeit with a cheaper brand.

Secondley;on our return journey we tried to plug a dvd player into the cigareete lighter which did not work the machine although lighter got red hot, also tried the spare lighter socket at rear of vehicle which also did not work, plugged the dvd into my volvo lighter and worked immediately any ideas what could be wrong....

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, by the way love the bongo..

regards frannie

[madmile]

I dont think 16's are a standard size, so as long as they are all the same size and correct load rating then I would stick with the size you have - by the way welcome to the forum .

[westonwarrior]

Hi and welcome to the forum

If the tyres are 16 the wheels must be

The tyres, for the correct size the rolling circumference is the important thing.

The cigarette sockets seam to be a bit weak, the rear one badly so when it come to power.

I ran a better wire through and used an extension socket to power such things and my kitchen.

If you do, make sure its properly fused and I put a switch in to isolate it when not in use

[mister munkey]

Welcome Frannie!

Tyre sizes sound about right. They won't be the same as the book says as standard wheels are 15 inch & you have 16's on but 205/55's are about right. One thing to check though is the Load Rating on your tyres. After the 205/55/16 bit there should be a letter (speed rating) then another number. This should be 92 or more for the fronts & 96+ for the rears. More important than you would think on a 2 ton van. If they don't match up, change the lot asap. 16 inch tyres with the right load rating are readily available for around the £50 mark.

Lighter socket trouble is a mystery though, the wiring to the rear socket is famously under engineered & tends to melt under load but the fronts are generally okay.

Someone will be along with a theory before long though . . . .

[missfixit70]

Make sure the front tyres are above a 92 S & the rear tyres are above a 96 S (can be H which is heavy duty).

The lighter socket sounds like it's maybe a different polarity? Ie positive & negative wired differently, could be wrong, but it's wierd it just got hot & did nothing. I suppose it could just have been oxidised & therefore not a very good contact & so heated up & maybe blew the fuse so it didn't work at the rear? can you check it with a multimeter?

[jaylee]

Hi Frannie,

Some times with lighter socket peripherals, they need to be jiggled to make sure they make the right contact for the power supply.
If as you say the cigarette lighter works it could be your CD power source is not quite sitting right to make the correct contact.
I have one charger unit that needs a bit of coaxing in this way..


Hope this helps..!

[daveblueozzie]

the ciggy socket wiring is, to be honest crap. and not meant to do anything other than what it is designed for.

[mikeonb4c]

Welcome to Bongoland Frannie and hope you enjoyed the drive home. As stated above, get the tyres sorted as first priority. It sounds suspiciously like the walls may be cracked as the tyres are insufficiently rated. You don't want a blowout on your new 2 ton Bongo.

[scanner]

Mine has 16" rims and I've found the best size to be 215/60-16 as they match the original rolling radius with a few % have the right load rating and mean the speedo and Odometer should be close to accurate.

I can't see that 205/55-16s will have the correct load rating for the rear as the highest I can see are 94's you need at least 96's
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m4b0s291p0

As stated already in another thread I have these (in 60 profile) fitted and in the recent "climate change event" found them to be truly excellent.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... 15/65_R_16

However I think Doone (Mrs "Allans of Plymouth" - Bongo Specialists) has said that they consider the 215/65-16 to give better a better all round ride/handling balance.

Re: "Cheaper"
Remember those 4 small patches of rubber are your only contact with the road.

[stilldesperate]

Hi Frannie,

I have 215/65 x 16" on mine, The alloys are from a Mitsubishi Pinnin (Shogun-type 4x4).

They are about 5% bigger diameter than the standard 15" tyres, but this drops the rev's slightly at motorway speeds, helping fuel consumption a little.

I'd echo the other posts on correct load rating, having had a blowout on the French motorways.

SD

[Frannie]

Wow, thanks for the help everybody, have had close look at tyres and they are 205/55/R16 91V....so looks like I need to change them and go for a set of 215/65/r16..92+front & 96+ rear...as for the cigarette lighter I will try and take a look at contacts etc.

regards Frannie

[scanner]

Wow, thanks for the help everybody, have had close look at tyres and they are 205/55/R16 91V....so looks like I need to change them and go for a set of 215/65/r16..92+front & 96+ rear...as for the cigarette lighter I will try and take a look at contacts etc.

regards Frannie

Yes and quickly before you have an accident and the chance that your insurance company might notice.

My advise is don't "economise" by buying cheap tyres, I won't any more, too much depends on those tiny patches of rubber.

After fitting these http://www.einsehen.de/reifentestcom/cg ... t||seite|1| I'm convinced that decent tyres are worth every penny.

[cheffy34]

I can't comment on tyres apart from check inside your door post for load index, my van is rwd and recommends 98 rears not the always mentioned 96 there is nout about the fronts on mine prob because no power to the front wheels no drive shafts etc you see as to the rear socket twist and fiddle when plugged in usually got mine working mine was the same bin it and replace it it will end up dying anyway. i replaced mine with a universal one cost me a fiver