Tyres! Tyres! Tyres!!

[inna bongolia]

Hi Bongo People.
Need to change out two front tyres prior to MOT in Sept.Easy thinks I.Read wot you got and search for similar.Two days later after reading posts.Of which there are many. I am an enlightened man.I have finally allowed the penny to drop and realize that my current wheels do not meet any criteria of the specs or the views of the forum in general.
Have had the Bongo ( Bertha ) for two months.She is awaiting repairs to her tailgate and am slowly getting to know more of her thanks to you kind folk and your forum.

So far I have changed out both main and leisure batteries and found the majority of locations of where the main bits are.I love the thing to death.
She has 16" Alloys but they are fitted with 205/55/R16s all round.89V front and 90V rear. Checking all the charts there is no way I can match up any of the recommended requirements with this set up.Have got the option of a couple of 215/60/16s that meet load specs. the existing rear tyres are nearly new.Could I live with putting them on the front and the 215s on the rear until such times as I replace the fronts and have 215s all round or change the whole set up now?I have also got my eye on four 225/55/16s but not to sure on this one.

Sorry for the long winded post

[bongomountainbiker]

When i got my 17's i went to a great local tyre place. The guys there worked out the circumference and recognised the greater load requirement and matched up a set of tyres for my van. It wasn't cheap mind you, and i got it discounted at mates rates, but they knew exactly what they were on about.

When you fit non standard wheels its hard to get the different size tyres to meet Mazda's recommendations for understeer. If your running 16's and you have the at least the min width tyres (more likely to be wider with alloys) then all will be ok if all tyres are same size / circumference.

Hope this helps

[francophile1947]

Your current tyres are too small and way under the load required - your speedo will be reading 4.3% fast.
The 215/60x16s are about the right size but, if you have a 4wd, will cause serious damage to your viscous coupling if mixed with your current tyres.
225/55x16 are only 1% too smal, so should be OK.
Load index should be at least 92 front and 96 rear.

[inna bongolia]

Thanks Mountainbiker.Thanks Francophile.
Did not initially realize just how complex tyres and fittings thereof can be.Having read the posts over a couple of days and checked out Trevor & Maxheadrooms Links I am a little wiser.Must say though in defense of the chap I bought it off.There are a couple of pretty reputable websites that quote the current configuration as that recommended for the mazda bongo.
It was the load values that made me look deeper.I just could not find a high enough spec above 94 on a 205 set up.Not only that but the van did not feel correct in relation to the speedo.I thought at first it was me.Going from a low 323F to a higher vehicle was just a question of adjustment to ones instincts.
You have a really helpful website going here and I like the way the more seniors relate to each other and actually mean what they say.You get the sense of camaradre and believe me thats pretty rare these days.
Its a great mix of the older steadies and the younger { hey lets try that }
It really does show to us Newbies !
Mines a two wheel drive by the way Franco.Black,Tinted and had a shunt up the rear! She's got prospects lad, ahh tell thee.

inna bongolia

[spen68]

Hi guys, I'm new here! I've just got a 4WD Bongo with 17" alloys and am trying to work out the right size tyres to fit. The current ones at 215/45/17 look too small so I imagine my gearing is way too low and the speedo miles out!

Can anyone confirm what size the bog standard wheels & tyres are? I've googled it and found this:
Tyre size, front: 195 / 70R15 92s
Tyre size rear: 215 / 65r15 96s

So using this useful link (found in another post) - http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html , and assuming the standard wheel size info is right, I should be looking for either:

Based on standard -> 215/65/15
215/50/17 (2.1% fast - speedo 60 = 58.
225/55/17 (1.2% slow - speedo 60 = 60.7

Based on standard 195/70/15 ->
195/55/17 (1.2% fast - speedo 60 = 59.3)
195/60/17 (1.8 slow - speedo 60 = 61.1)

So, assuming I want to go for the same size front and rear, which 17" size is the best choice..? I'm leaning towards 225/55/17 but to be honest all these variations are making my head hurt!!

Any advise would be greatfully received

Cheers, Spen

[francophile1947]

According to that website, 225/55x17 will be doing 61.7mph at 60 - the 60.7 you refer to is actually 215/55x17.
To be honest, most Bongo speedos read faster than actually travelling, so I would go for the 225/55x17 - that's what I'm considering fitting myself.

[spen68]

Ah yes, that's a typo.. I was thinking 215 because the existing tyres are and the standard rears are so I know they'll fit.. Presumably 225 should fit too?

The other thing I'm trying to get my head round is not getting a tyre size that suits the road but buggers up off road grip. I don't expect the off road performance of a Land Rover but still it would be nice to think I could get out of muddy field if it comes to it... Any thoughts on that??

[testrun00]

I'm after some 17" alloys aswell seen the rubber to wrap round'em on ebay .Price seems reasonable and LOAD RATING IS 98!!!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=010

[trevd01]

I'm after some 17" alloys aswell seen the rubber to wrap round'em on ebay .Price seems reasonable and LOAD RATING IS 98!!!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=010

What about the spare? You cant use one of these, unless you carry two spares, they only sell them in pairs anyway. So you will need a symmetrical tyre 215/65, on a 15 inch steel, I suppose. (Unless you want to trust an X year old spacesaver!)