New Tyres

[McFlurry]

Got my new shape V reg in April and lovin it. Took it to France and discovered a slow puncture. Kept it topped up till i got back to UK and then took the "silver fox" to National tyres.
Then the bad news, screw in tyre too close to the rim to be fixed. 2 other tyres deemed illegal and hell why not change the 4th so that they are all the same, suggests the mechanic!
To be honest I thought the exisiting tyres were a bit crumbly looking although they looked like the tread was fine. The fitted tyres were polarbears or something, a snow and mud tyre and had 215's on all 4 wheels.
I didnt really know what the cost was going to be although 4 tyres was always going to be expensive, so my question is did I get a good price on tyres at £75 a tyre. The mechanic told me that they have loads of these 215's as they are for KIA Sedonas and they have some sort of deal to supply tyres for KIA.
Also since changing the tyres I could not believe the improvement in handling and the lower road noise, just hoping it does something for consumption!
So where is the best and cheapest place in the UK for Bongo tyres

[nfn]

There's a fact sheet on tyres in the member's area -- I believe there is some debate about using 215s on all 4 wheels. It's difficult to gauge the quality of tyres, so it's hard to know whether you got a bargain. You need to make sure that the load rating of the tyre is high enough -- from memory it's 96 at the back, 92 at the front. In the US there is a requirement for manufacturers to provide information on traction, temperature the tyre can withstand, and treadwear on the tyre wall. 'A' ratings are the best, and are generally found on mid-priced tyres and above. I recently got Nexen tyres for my bongo from e-tyres, £50 per tyre fitted. They have the US grades on the tyre wall, and have 'A' ratings for traction and temperature. Their treadwear rating is 400 -- which is about average, with lower numbers meaning that the tyres are softer and will wear out more quickly. E-tyres initially had some trouble coming up with tyres with high enough load ratings -- the Nexen's are 96 at the back, and the 195s at the front of my bongo are well over the minimum load rating at 98. Like your experience, my bongo now has much less road noise, and rides and steers better. I think it was still on its original tyres until this year -- they were absolutely knackered. My only complaint about the new tyres is that they have a tendency to pick up shingle off my driveway, then let it go once I get up to speed on the A11 -- so don't drive behind me on the A11!

[paul9]

So where is the best and cheapest place in the UK for Bongo tyres

not sure if they are the cheapest in the uk,but £39 fitted and balanced at wheelquick in wigan seems a reasonable price to me.

[dandywarhol]

Just paid £53 each for Continental Vancos at Viking Tyres - various depots

[malabar]

We had the same scenario - puncture, then found the tyres were 'snow tyres' on our N reg. We got ordinary, nothing special, new tyres, and paid £200 the set. (On the Isle of Wight.) Geoff. says if you got Michelin posh ones you did OK. Main thing - enjoy the improvement!
Malabar.

[ebygum32]

Tend to go for decent tyres not cheapest as they are the things that are keeping me on the road, first ran some Khumos and got over 50,000km on them not run bridgestone duelars 694 from mytyres £55 per tyre did look at the michelins but had none in stock hence duelars plus like the chunky tread

[platty345]

245/45 18s, 70quid a corner fitted and balanced @wheelquick,

[M 80NGD]

[quote="nfn"]There's a fact sheet on tyres in the member's area -- I believe there is some debate about using 215s on all 4 wheels. It's difficult to gauge the quality of tyres, so it's hard to know whether you got a bargain. You need to make sure that the load rating of the tyre is high enough -- from memory it's 96 at the back, 92 at the front. In the US there is a requirement for manufacturers to provide information on traction, temperature the tyre can withstand, and treadwear on the tyre wall. 'A' ratings are the best, and are generally found on mid-priced tyres and above. I recently got Nexen tyres for my bongo from e-tyres, £50 per tyre fitted.

Hi nfn,I also have Nexen tyres on the front of my Bongo and have the original Bridgestone tyres on the rear. The Bridgestones are starting to crack,due to the weight,(I think!) so I might put Nexens on the back. I might even consider putting "van" tyres on the rear,as these have a decent load rating and deeper tread. They last longer as they are made for commercial use. I know they are "louder" when travelling,but I think I can put up with that!

[dandywarhol]

When I picked up my van over 2 years ago it had Argentinian Fate 195s all round - absolutely lethal!!

I soon changed them for 205 all round GoodYear GT2 reinforced which were like night and day and lasted about 20,000 mls. As they wore down to about 3mm they had a bad habit of "tramlining" and got a bit harsh. After a 2500 ml eurotrip I was kinda shocked to see a thin white line on one bit of the tread of the offside front - CANVAS imbalance had caused the tyre to patter and worn a flatspot on it.

Found a local Viking with a deal on 8 ply Continental Vancos at £53 each so I fitted a pair..................the Bongo's now transformed - and I think better than the GT2s when they were new. The 8 ply sidewall has sharpened up the steering - no more tramling and a less harsh ride and no imbalance. On the wheel balancer they were more "true" than the GoodYears. As for (streaming!) wet grip - unbelievable! Even trying to "encourage" the front to slide in a wet corner by giving a handful of extra lock the front just gripped!
V. Happy - just got to save for a couple for the rear now