Is 215/35/18 safe on these vans?

[aulday]

I have a set of 7.5x18 wheels I'd like to chuck on my hi top.

2 tyres need replacing and the other 2 which are fine tread wise are 215/35/18. They come from my car and I want to know that they'll go on fine.

The PCD is 100 so I'll get adaptors for that.

Do I have to take weight and or profile into consideration here?

Here they are on the car: http://www.aulday.be/Pics/P1010075-s.jpg

muchio gratio

[aulday]

They have 84 load rating also.

[dash]

They have 84 load rating also.

No then.

[aulday]

Does anyone know the front and rear axel weights of an average t25 high top campervan.

I'm thinking 93W on the back, and if the front only weighs a ton then the 84W's will go okay on the front, I don't see the necessity of commercial high payload tyres, on a camper with a few things in it.

I can't really afford 4x 100+ rated tyres. so if I can find the weights I'll be able to judge it.

Thanks

[AdrianC]

I can't really afford 4x 100+ rated tyres

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're trying to run the van on a shoestring, are pimprims and ultra-low profile tyres your highest priority? I mean - even if a set of tyres costs you £400, they'll last you 20k miles or more - so cost you a couple of pence per mile. Now work out your fuel cost and other costs... Even expensive tyres are _DIRT_ cheap.

A quick look on mytyres shows 215/35 18 as only being available in fairly low load ratings - nothing over 84 - and nothing C-rated at all. I'd be lobbing those rims on fleabay and rethinking.

[aulday]

Yeah I know.

I don't want to lob them cos I'd loose out too much.

I'm seeing people with weighbridge results for front and rear axles, both under 1000KG's.

Extract from member BMEC: "A cheaper method of getting the exact weight on each axle is to ask the guy who is doing the MOT. There is a weighbridge built into the latest rolling roads used for the brake testing bit of the test. Last time I had mine done it showed (with just me on board) a front axle weight of 892 kg
and a rear axle weight of 776 kg. My original handbook shows a max front axle weight of 1200kg and a rear max of 1300kg."


The manufacturer recommendations are for panel vans with potentially massive payloads. My camper will have 2 passengers and some of our stuff at max. So I don't want to spend all this money changing wheels and tyres for the sake of some over rated figures.

If the weight is under 1000K's each end then you'd be okay 84W's. I'd still prob get 93's for the rear but at least I could keep the 2 I already have.

Im not so much being tight as I am being resourceful and sensible. I prefer real values than guidelines (with a bit of a safety margin on that)

[Roland]

As you say above the axle loads are 1200 front and 1300 rear.

Unladen weight (with driver) varies between 1395 to 1900 depending on model and a GVW of 2390 petrol /2460 diesel.

If that helps you decide at all.

[AdrianC]

...and a GVW of 2390 petrol /2460 diesel.

2550kg MAM according to the German logbook for our '88 2.1 Westy. Gawd knows what it actually weighs, with "two plus some stuff" in, but the back suspension definitely started to sag once fully packed...

OK, that's a fully-stuffed Westy, and most will be a chunk lighter. Even so, it's a big ol' lump of wagon, and I'd not be wanting to trust it all on some tyres that just happened to be on some wheels that just happen to be makeable-fittable.

If the tyres are a bit borderline in load rating, then you'll soon know - they'll chew through the tread very quickly indeed.

[aulday]

I think I'll load it up to our maximum possible load. Drive it down to the public weighbridge and see what it weighs on the front and back. Then decide what's a safe rating on either end.

Taking into account that weight ratings are likely to be pretty safe margins from the manufacturers. I'd not go over it, but would be happy near it.

[kevtherev]

I had my High top weighed it's an Autosleeper.
With full tanks and a weekend of gear it weighed in at 1985 kg that's without the folks sitting in it

Kerb weight is all well and good... thing is, standing still, it's OK to fit car tyres, but once all that weight starts to shift around when cornering them car tyres will heat up fast and won't be able to dissipate it fast enough, eventually they will lose grip and shape, eventually the tread will separate from the band.

I think no lower than 95 is the limit here

[aulday]

Could they not give you front and rear end weights.

And as for moving, surely they rate tyres with the premise that the load they are rated for will move. It wouldn't be valid otherwise surely, as they are tyres. And that's their purpose..?

Surely they rate a tyres max load on the condition of it starting, stopping and cornering?

[kevtherev]

you can't measure the forces involved when cornering because there are too many variables.
Tyres are designed to stay in shape and remove heat efficiently if used within specification.
Stepping outside of the spec invites forces on the tyre it was simply not designed to cope with.
A fully loaded van can carry 2.4 tonnes the tyres recommended are there to keep this weight under control.
Suffice to say the load ratings are there for this reason...
Caravelles were designed to carry people, so there tyre load ratings are lower, because the van is not carrying the same weight as a panel van converted to a camper.

By the way if VOSA stop your van and weigh it, and if they find you are overweight on the back axle (over 1300kg ) you can expect a heavy fine and points.

[aulday]

I'll get the front and rear axles weighed when I'm fully loaded.

Then I'll get tyres to suit those loads. Sound right?

For example the guy I quoted above had a front axle weight of 892 kg, and a rear axle weight of 776 kg. So he could probably safely have 500KG tyres on each corner, as none of the axles reach 1000KG's

[aulday]

I doubt I'll exceed 1300KGs on the rear of my camper.

And as long as the tyre rating is above the axel weight, divided by 2 wheels. It should be fine as it's within the specification of the tyre. Unless I'm missing something

[kevtherev]

in my opinion you are but it's your van ..