Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, pretty much decided on going for 8.5x17 Borbet A wheels for my van - does anyone know what size of tyres I should go for (with a 60mm drop).

I have read that 225 40 on the front and 255 40 on the rear might do it but I'm not sure. In addition, should I be looking at tyres that are a certain rating (in light of the weight of the van - its a high-top)?

Any help / advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Weight rating on tyres is a bit of a difficult one with Type 25's, especially with low profile tyres. If your van is going to be used for carrying very heavy stuff and you are going to get near the GVW (gross vehicle weight) then be warned, most low profile tyres are not up to the spec.. so be it on your own head.

That said, on 8.5 X 17's the stock size on Boxsters (they run the same size rear wheel) is 255/40/17's. These may be a little wide for the front but you should (just) be able to open your sliding door passed the rears providing the offset is correct. If you can get slightly narrower front wheels, I'd go for 7's or 7.5's and run 205/55/17's. Again these are Boxster sizes (aswell as most 17 inch cars) so they are readily available.

One more to think about before running out and buying wheels and tyres... moving away from stock sized wheels and tyres means that you are lowering your overall wheel/tyre O/D. This has an effect on your gearing. You will loose top speed and gain (slightly) in acceleration. I'd do a little bit of math first to work out how much you are loosing.

Nick

Load rating of 97 or above will be safe, in the unlikeley event of a blowout resulting in a crash the insurance co. will be interested in that figure