Bongo Fury

Hi, this is my first post, sorry it's such a well covered area.
I drive a 4wd '97 V6 2.5 petrol. (Goes like a dream)
I think I've read all the posts referring to tyres but i'm still a bit confused.
This is my set up.
Front: 195/80/R15 96s (that's diameter 27.3 in / circ 85.7 in / revs/mile 739)
Rear: 215/70/R15 98s (thats diameter 26.9in / circ 84.4 in / revs/mile 751) also it's very worn and leaking air!

The door post says i should have 195SR15 and 215TOR15 98s

When i saw the different sizes i had a bit of a panic and got on to the forum. There are a couple of posts which show that some bongos have these tyre mesurements exactly printed on their door posts (but as an unexplained option on the 3rd and 4th line) so i feel a bit better about that. I can anyone tell if the difference would do damage to my 4wd

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... e&start=30
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... e&start=30

Today i went to kwick fit (only place open on a sunday) to get new rears, not only did they not have them but they quoted me van tyres at about £160 each or cheap tyres at £110 each for the 215's! They said the prices were hight because the the tyres were unusual sizes but that if i went for a wider tyre it would be cheaper. From what i've skimmed on the forum i might be better off buying 5 new wheels for the less than the posh van tyres. I only have the space saver as spare.
Am I right in this? Any advice welcome.

PS. i'm getting less than 20 mpg. Could this be a factor?

I bought 4 mazda 16" alloys off of Ebay and booted them with Avon van tyres for £325
The alloys cost me £180

jimiselvis wrote:Hi, this is my first post, sorry it's such a well covered area.
I drive a 4wd '97 V6 2.5 petrol. (Goes like a dream)
I think I've read all the posts referring to tyres but i'm still a bit confused.
This is my set up.
Front: 195/80/R15 96s (that's diameter 27.3 in / circ 85.7 in / revs/mile 739)
Rear: 215/70/R15 98s (thats diameter 26.9in / circ 84.4 in / revs/mile 751) also it's very worn and leaking air!

The door post says i should have 195SR15 and 215TOR15 98s

When i saw the different sizes i had a bit of a panic and got on to the forum. There are a couple of posts which show that some bongos have these tyre mesurements exactly printed on their door posts (but as an unexplained option on the 3rd and 4th line) so i feel a bit better about that. I can anyone tell if the difference would do damage to my 4wd

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... e&start=30
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... e&start=30

Today i went to kwick fit (only place open on a sunday) to get new rears, not only did they not have them but they quoted me van tyres at about £160 each or cheap tyres at £110 each for the 215's! They said the prices were hight because the the tyres were unusual sizes but that if i went for a wider tyre it would be cheaper. From what i've skimmed on the forum i might be better off buying 5 new wheels for the less than the posh van tyres. I only have the space saver as spare.
Am I right in this? Any advice welcome.

PS. i'm getting less than 20 mpg. Could this be a factor?

Hi jimi from bitter experiance i can tell you get used to the love affair with the petrol pumps i dont know what precise mpg i get but i get on average 430 ks to a tank but i can only ever get 55 ltrs in on average aswell, does do better on runs forget town driving reminds me off my dads 4.2 twin tank triple su carbed jag there a reason why the old jags had twin tanks as to tyre my rating in door post says the same, reckon all v6s do but im guessing, when i changed my tyres i noticed they were 92 fronts 96 rears. Didnt think they did a v6 4 wheel drive thought they were all 2 wheel rear drive maybe there is hope for a manual v6 somwhere yet

I have read somewhere that if your tyre pressure is wrong you can lose about 13% fuel economy. Forgive me if the exact percentage is incorrect, but my point is that is the pressure is low you use more fuel. I know you said yours was a V6 and I don't know what average mpg is for this baby, but I would have thought the issue of mpg would be similar.

Other V6's will surely be along soon. Add V6 to your title and they will spot you..

All the best and enjoy your Bongo

One more thing. Where Are you from .. Can't see your location...

Hi Jimi
A V6 4WD are you sure,thought they onlly 2WD.
If as i suspect its 2WD then 215-65s all round 40f - 45r is my preference

PS
Go to Pro-Tyres i got 4 KUMHO tyres fitted for lees than £240-00

you're right! it is only 2wd, I can't believe i've been driving around thinking i'm in a van equivalent to a subaru impreza, braving slippery wet fields and generally behaving like i'm driving a sporty land rover. It feels as stable as a 4wd, i was convinced! In my defence there is a big sticker on it shouting 'Full time 4 wheel drive' on the side. That does help with the tire fear. Thanks for all the advice. I dread to think what the mpg would be if it were 4wd!

jimiselvis wrote: It feels as stable as a 4wd, i was convinced!

Interesting point that. One of the less frequently flagged up 'nice things' about the Bongo is that its mid engined and I think that makes it very nicely balanced when cornering. Its certainly a lovely handling car considering its a top heavy, narrow wheelbase 2 ton bus. The mid engine is also a lovely radiator when you take a winter drive and want to picnic in the car. These are actually highly desirable features. I've fitted an over ride switch to the engine bay scavenger fan so that I can hopefully neutralise the second of these features when driving on hot summer days. We'll see! Am I off thread? Must be by now, isn't it, eh?

Welcome to the world of the V6
Around town 20mpg is good
On a run you are looking at 25mpg, if anybody sez that
they are getting over 30mpg look for the salt and take a pinch.
The bottom line is how heavy is your right foot,mine is a divers boot,
I just love to hear that V6 burble and snarl. I get about 20mpg overall

Don't forget to factor in that petrol is less expensive than diesel at the moment, I suspect fuel costs per mile aren't that much different.

Petrol is certanly cheaper than Somerfield's veg oil just now.

If only the v6 would run on your local newsagents home-made cider... That would be one wobbly bongo! No matter what size tyres it was on! (bob knows )

I have a V6 also, it was fitted with the same tyre setup as you when it arrived. 215/70/15 rear and 195/15 front.
The tyres has loads of tread but they were starting to crack.
So I bought 4 new alloy wheels from http://www.alloywheels.com for £250 and 4 new Nankang 215/70/15 98H tyres from http://www.mytyres.co.uk for £150 and some locking wheelnuts for £12 off ebay.
Then spent another £30 on getting the tyres fitted and balanced, so in total it was £442 for 4 new tyres and alloys.

By the way on a recent run of 260 miles i worked out that i got 26mpg which isn't bad.

Dozy old mikeonb4c wrote:Its certainly a lovely handling car considering its a top heavy, narrow wheelbase 2 ton bus.

Dandy has reminded me I meant to say 'narrow track', not 'narrow wheelbase'. Woops

Now, where did I put that article about the History of the Narrow Wheelbase Landrover