Bongo Fury

I think I know the answer to this will be "it'll be OK don't worry about it"

Bought some tyres for the new 17" rims, they are 235/45 17, giving a diameter of 25.33", this is slightly smaller than the 195/70 15 normally fitted to the Bongo front, which have a diameter of 23.76".

Just wanted to run it by everyone, I'm pretty sure it's ok as it's only a 1.68% reduction in diameter.

Basically the speedometer will read 68.85mph at 70mph.

I've just convinced myself, "it'll be fine"

Can't really comment on the size, but are they load rated at least 96?

Yep, they are 97 rated

Most tend to run the same size all round.... defaulting to the 215/65/15 for ease....

This calculator shows based on the above...which is the rear tyre size, that 225/50/17 is the closest fit and these come in at 98's or..... you could run the 225/55/17 which will be slightly out on the speedo but allow for 101 load rating.....

Have a play and see

Also check against your sat nav that your speedometer is accurate to start with, I have 215x55x18" fitted which are a larger circumference than the standard 15" wheels and tyres and I'm reading 64mph when I'm actually doing 60mph on the sat-nav,
thought about removing the needle on the speedo and refitting to try and correct the error. I know that the sat-nav readings can be slightly out depending on satellite position but it is a pretty constant 4mph out.

Hi. My Bongo has 195 /70 R15 C Load range D up front and 215/65 R15 96 H at rear...Am I legal? If I would like to use the same tyre size front and rear what size should I go for?
I have no idea how this works, please don´t be to technical and mechanical, am a dummy

thank you

jsalcar wrote:Hi. My Bongo has 195 /70 R15 C Load range D up front and 215/65 R15 96 H at rear...Am I legal? If I would like to use the same tyre size front and rear what size should I go for?
I have no idea how this works, please don´t be to technical and mechanical, am a dummy

thank you

Those sizes are standard..... so yes perfectly okay.... the best option is to plump for the 215/65 all round for ease really.....
The thread really was focussing on upgrading to 17" wheels and which tyres match the same as the 215/65/15's as they drive the rear wheels...on both 2 & 4 wheel drive... In essence....if you where to opt for 17" wheels...the closest to standard are 225/50/17 with a 98 W XL rating or you could opt to have the speedo slightly out and go for the 225/55/17 101W XL rating.... whichever both are load legal but only one gives the better fuel consumption figures....

Mark Elvin wrote:I think I know the answer to this will be "it'll be OK don't worry about it"

Bought some tyres for the new 17" rims, they are 235/45 17, giving a diameter of 25.33", this is slightly smaller than the 195/70 15 normally fitted to the Bongo front, which have a diameter of 23.76".

Just wanted to run it by everyone, I'm pretty sure it's ok as it's only a 1.68% reduction in diameter.

Basically the speedometer will read 68.85mph at 70mph.

I've just convinced myself, "it'll be fine"

Isn't 25.33" BIGGER than 23.76"?

mikexgough wrote:

jsalcar wrote:Hi. My Bongo has 195 /70 R15 C Load range D up front and 215/65 R15 96 H at rear...Am I legal? If I would like to use the same tyre size front and rear what size should I go for?
I have no idea how this works, please don´t be to technical and mechanical, am a dummy

thank you

Those sizes are standard..... so yes perfectly okay.... the best option is to plump for the 215/65 all round for ease really.....
The thread really was focussing on upgrading to 17" wheels and which tyres match the same as the 215/65/15's as they drive the rear wheels...on both 2 & 4 wheel drive... In essence....if you where to opt for 17" wheels...the closest to standard are 225/50/17 with a 98 W XL rating or you could opt to have the speedo slightly out and go for the 225/55/17 101W XL rating.... whichever both are load legal but only one gives the better fuel consumption figures....

Thank you Mikexgough...so that little letter at the end is really important? H or C what is the difference and what is the legal one for the Bongo?

Thanks again.

J

The letter is the SPEED rating, the number is the load rating and "C" means "Commercial" or van tyre construction.

This should explain it all ......

http://www.blackcircles.com/general/sidewall

225/55 R17 are fitted to our Bongo and are preferred to the 225/50 R17 that were on before.
We went for Nankangs - a load rating of 101 plus they're Suv tyres which are great off road.
Final bonus is speedo is bang on accurate.

Hello,

I have decided to put same size tyres up front and rear. I am now using normal tyres up front and snow tyres at rear, because I had a pair of snow tyres and thought it would be a waste of money not using them. Before I did this, I asked for advice at the garage and they said that it would not be a problem using snows and normals at the same time. However when went to Spain in the summer I almost had an accident at the motorway doing 70 miles per hour, the Bongo started zig zaging at the same time that other car was overtaking me, I almost lost the control of the van. I was very lucky nothing happened, although it left me shaking for a week, it was scary. I am going to drive from Inverness to the euro tunnel in October and I am debating if I should change the tyres again, different sizes front and rear and use either 4 snow tyres or 4 normal tyres.

I have to say that the van was well loaded when that incident happened, 5 adults and two children plus a lot of luggage. I also noticed that the steering wheel vibrates more that it did before I made the changes. Is this normal or am I just over reacting after losing confidence driving the Bongo, I am afraid of going over 60 now.

I took the van to the garage to check suspension, just in case this was the problem, but everything s in order.


Your advice and views on this would be very much appreciated.


Thank you.

I'm no expert on tyres but snow tyres are designed to be used in snow (and other cold conditions). Doing 70mph on a dry warm motorway probably wouldn't be advisable! Also they will wear out very quickly.

Mixing winter & summer tyres is not recommended, nor is running winters in the summer:

http://www.national.co.uk/information/winter-tyres.aspx
Do I only need to replace two tyres?
•To get the best results from your tyres, you should fit a set of 4 to your vehicle. A combination of winter and summer tyres could result in unpredictable handling.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/sa ... he-uk.html
Winter tyres are not really suited to all year round use though – summer tyres will give better performance when temperatures are higher and roads dry – so you'll need two sets of tyres if you're going to choose specialist tyres for winter.
Winter tyres must be fitted in sets of four. Fitting only one pair will affect the balance and stability of the car.

I'd look at changing your garage if they advised it would be ok. It may also impact your insurance if you are involved in an accident & found to have tyres that are not being used as the manufacturer intended.

roosmith wrote:I'm no expert on tyres but snow tyres are designed to be used in snow (and other cold conditions). Doing 70mph on a dry warm motorway probably wouldn't be advisable! Also they will wear out very quickly.

The first bit is right, the rest is completely wrong.

No they don't wear out faster and I have used them all year round for 5 years now and in all conditions I have driven in they have been as good or better than ANY "summer" tyres I have ever used.

I have also used "summer" tyres all year round and would NEVER do so again.