Alloy wheels and tyres

Aquaholic · Post by **Aquaholic** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 10:52 pm

Hi All

I am about the take delivery of my first bongo. What to add some alloys from the start.

Have my eye on 17inch wheels with 225 50 17 tyres. Had a sneaky look at a couple of alloyed bongos in a local car park Not much help one was 205 65 16 and the other was 225 40 18.

Is there anyone out there with 17 inchers on a tyre of 225 50 17

I have read all the fact sheets on this site but would be good to hear from someone who has been there!

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:02 am

Yep - I got some of those and great they are too. They are off the Bongo at present and I'm riding on standard 15" steels , which do give a softer ride. However, the 17" alloys were not at all bad and they look the biz. I shall be restoring them and putting new tyres on and keeping them for Sunday best.

Mike

Aquaholic · Post by **Aquaholic** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:02 pm

Hi Thanks for the advice I cna now buy with confidence

Looking forward to tryign this Bongo thing about which you are all so fanatical

Happy Shopper · Post by **Happy Shopper** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:42 pm

I've got 17" wheels with 225/50's

You can have a look here:

http://images14.fotki.com/v387/photos/8 ... 1170110078

Mine had 15" steels on when I got it but only 195/70's all round and never felt quite safe. Much MUCH better on 17's

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:33 am

Thats weird Happy Shopper cos I am very comfortable on 15". Probably cos I'm a plodding old git these days.

Which reminds me - one word of warning on 17" and better cornering. The guy I bought my Bongo off said he was disappointed that the 17" tyres only looked as thought they were going to last 6k miles or so (they only had 3mm or so on them by the time I bought the Bongo). And they are more expensive than the 15" tyres. Could the rapid wear be because the better cornering / 2 ton van combination means you scrub rubber off fast? So need to bear in mind possible expense of 17" wheels. Whats your experience Happy Shopper?

Mike

madmile · Post by **madmile** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:38 am

I have one with 215/55/17's . Possibly a little taller than standard, but drives well. More importantly 98 loadrating and £50+VAT each.
3000rpm was closer to 80mph than the 75mph it would be on standard rims.

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:44 am

Thats interesting madmile - where did you get tyres at that price!?! And maybe you can get better fuel economy (just a tad) with bigger circumference?). Have you formed a view yet about how many miles the tyres will do before they wear out?

Dago & Mrs D · Post by **Dago & Mrs D** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:31 am

If it's any help, I had 15" steels fitted with 215 65 R15 4ply tyres and had done just over 26,000 miles, still with plenty of thread left on them. I have changed to 15" alloys fitted with 8 ply 195 70 R15.
Certainly the ride is much firmer using 8ply, but it'll be interesting to see how the mileage goes.

Indigo · Post by **Indigo** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:36 am

and to represent the total opposite end of the scale, my bongo is proudly wearing 255/35/20's at £350 for a fitted pair !

ride is a bit bouncy tho, although we were used to that with the delica we had before, when we have the time, inclination and spare cash we'll probably look into upgrading the shocks

Alloy wheels and tyres

Alloy wheels and tyres

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