Bongo Fury

Hi all,

I am after some advice, please be gentle with me

We bought our bongo - Bertie, last summer, his has a set of 17" aftermarket alloys on him at the mo, much as these look pretty sweet, i'm driving around with no spare, a slow puncture and tyres that are pretty much on the verge of need replacing!

the speedo is a fair way out which goes without saying, and i'm struggling to find out where i could get a spare 17" for the Bongo from!

Having looked at the price of tyres to replace the ones i have, its not far off the price of a deal with a new set of 15" rims and tyres as a package. I'm thinking not only will this sort the speedo and milage out but handle better also.

I am on the understanding there are 2 variations of wheels? which would i be looking for and how do i find out? Also any recommendations for places / sites that sell new rims for Bongos? Tbh i'd rather have something aftermarket that look real nice than standard Mazda alloys. Bertie is a '95 model

Thanks in advance for any help and advice guys and girls

FWIW..

I have 17" alloys, off a Nissan, very nice, cost £150 for the set from a dealer.

The spare is a factory 15" wheel with a 'non-bongo-standard' size tyre: I can't remember what size it is (there is a tyre size calculator out there somewhere) that makes the spare have the same 'rolling radius' (within 2%, if I recall) as the 17" wheels/tyres. Therefore I can run the spare without too much difference from the other wheels..I hate being without a real spare.

I run 17" Avon Ice Tourer tyres, about £80 each, plus the spare which is a cheapie.

Derek

ah thats helpful, thanks, I do have a 15" steel rim with a dead tyre which is way off the size of the 17's, - hence its in the shed instead of in the bongo, thats an option if i drop the profile size then, i'll have a nose for the calculator, thanks again for your reply.

This place is excellent for all things Bongo
http://www.wheelquick.co.uk/
I too have a set of 17" wheels and tyres I feel it handles the same but looks far better, have you considered part worns?
The speedo is very easy to fix

What size tyres are fitted to your 17" wheels? - that may be why your speedo is way out.
The 15" and 17" wheels should be the same size, if you have the correct tyres fitted
Tyre size calculator here http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html

The tyres are massive, they look massive too, not nice lol! They are 235 x 65 R17 !

Ideally what size tyre should i be running on a 17" in peoples opinions?

Thanks again to everyone for their help

ant n jodie wrote:The tyres are massive, they look massive too, not nice lol! They are 235 x 65 R17 !

Ideally what size tyre should i be running on a 17" in peoples opinions?

Thanks again to everyone for their help

Those tyres are 11.5% bigger than the standard 215/65x15, so no wonder your speedo is way out You will also be travelling faster than your speedo says, which is actually illegal
I used to use 225/55x17, which are 2.72% larger than standard and made my speedo more accurate than the standard size.

francophile1947 wrote:

ant n jodie wrote:The tyres are massive, they look massive too, not nice lol! They are 235 x 65 R17 !

Ideally what size tyre should i be running on a 17" in peoples opinions?

Thanks again to everyone for their help

Those tyres are 11.5% bigger than the standard 215/65x15, so no wonder your speedo is way out You will also be travelling faster than your speedo says, which is actually illegal
I used to use 225/55x17, which are 2.72% larger than standard and made my speedo more accurate than the standard size.

wow thats a hell of a difference! explains why it is so far out!

TBH i have been using a sat nav for a speedo, but i know that doesn't solve the legal issue!

Well i know what i'll be doing next pay day!

Another silly question alert

......bare in mind i got the Bongo with these wheels and tyres on......... what speed and weight rating am i looking for (mine is a 4 wheel drive if this also should make a difference with my choice?? )

Thanks again

You'll get great mpg on a long flat run with those tyres on a diesel with its surplus torque, so not all bad. I was tempted (still am) to do that with my 17" alloys. How do they look - got any pics?

ant n jodie wrote:The tyres are massive, they look massive too, not nice lol! They are 235 x 65 R17 !

Ideally what size tyre should i be running on a 17" in peoples opinions?

Thanks again to everyone for their help

I think mine are the same size.
I just re calibrated the speedo its a 20 min job and very simple, they look much better too

winchman wrote:

ant n jodie wrote:The tyres are massive, they look massive too, not nice lol! They are 235 x 65 R17 !

Ideally what size tyre should i be running on a 17" in peoples opinions?

Thanks again to everyone for their help

I think mine are the same size.
I just re calibrated the speedo its a 20 min job and very simple, they look much better too

Sorry just been out to check I have 235/55/17

There's a useful tyres in the members area: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... /tyres.pdf

One of the good Tyre Calculators for future reference

How do you go about recalibrating the speedo as I think the arch gap needs reducing a touch on ours?