Bongo Fury

Went to look at a Bongo tonight for a mate who's thinking about buying one.The tyres fitted to it are almost new but were 195/80 on the back and 215/70 on the front.Having read the tyre fact sheet I would have thought this wrong,on mine they're same size all round but I'm still a little confused as opinions seem to vary quite a lot as to sizes,profiles etc.Is wider on the front a real no no?

Well it all depends...

Is this a 4WD Bongo? What size rims are fitted? i.e. standard steel 15"x6" or some other after market rims?

The standard profiles are 195/70 front and 215/65 rear but the crucial thing for the 4WD Bongo is to have the same circumfurence of tyre front and back to avoid transmission problems. If it's 2WD then it's not an issue.

Check out a tyre size calculator for more info

My 4WD Bongo came over from Japan with 215/65R 96H tyres on all round despite having 195/70 front and 215/65 rear marked on the door pillar. It would seem that Japanese drivers are also puzzled about what size to have the spare wheel after throwing out the useless skinny spare which is only a get you to the garage wheel as it has both load and distance limits on its usage. That said many people with 2WD Bongos happily drive them with having 195/70 front and 215/65 rear. But I have no idea what size they use for a spare.

That said an awfull lot of Bongos are run with larger tyres, the main factors being the load rating and the rolling circumference of the wheels. With a 4WD you can chew up the differential if you get it wrong. Never heard of the wider tyres being put on the front wheels rather than the back wheels before. It would seem that someone has got it badly wrong.

Tony

philpdr wrote:Went to look at a Bongo tonight for a mate who's thinking about buying one.The tyres fitted to it are almost new but were 195/80 on the back and 215/70 on the front.Having read the tyre fact sheet I would have thought this wrong,on mine they're same size all round but I'm still a little confused as opinions seem to vary quite a lot as to sizes,profiles etc.Is wider on the front a real no no?

Neither size is correct according to my plate on the door pillar it should be 195/70 on the front and 215/65 on the rear.

But as said for UK conditions the same size all round make life easier and is probably more appropriate.

I use 215/60 on 16" rims.

Thanks for the replies,It's a 4 wheel drive with standard 15 inch steel wheels.

In that case you should go for 215/65R 96H tyres on all round + another one the same for the spare which could be a second hand one like mine. Throw away the skinny spare if it still has one as at 15 to 16 years old the tyre will be well past its sell by date never mind the limits on its usage. I have heard of someone having a blow out when trying to use one of these skinny spares as a normal tyre.

Tony

MountainGoat wrote: 215/65R 96H tyres

Or better (i.e. higher number) - it does not have to be exactly 96H mine are 98W