Budget tyres or posh tyres (1 Viewer)

bernardfeay

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Nov 18, 2009
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We have a Hymer Exsis front wheel drive on a Fiat chassis. Right from the start our front wheel grip has been rather poor. If the road is wet and steep we can expect wheel spin long before it would happen in a car.

My natural inclination is to buy budget tyres. But should I be looking at brand, tread pattern or some other specification?

Any tips on bargain tyres is also appreciated.
 

Deckard

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Mar 26, 2013
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We have a Hymer Exsis front wheel drive on a Fiat chassis. Right from the start our front wheel grip has been rather poor. If the road is wet and steep we can expect wheel spin long before it would happen in a car.

My natural inclination is to buy budget tyres. But should I be looking at brand, tread pattern or some other specification?

Any tips on bargain tyres is also appreciated.

I assume you have checked everything else first, tyre pressures, axle weights etc?

Its now a requirement that all tyres come with an economy, wet grip and noise rating so you can check much more readily before buying. (details on the AA website)
 

steveclecy

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Have you done any axle weight checks? Sounds like your front axle is underloaded.

Steve

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bernardfeay

bernardfeay

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thanks vwalan but we do love our van, with all its foibles.
 

vwalan

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cant help with tyres not even sure any are better to have , its an engineering fault really .
seen so many have to back down country lanes because of a sharp bend on a steep hill.

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bernardfeay

bernardfeay

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Have you done any axle weight checks? Sounds like your front axle is underloaded.

Steve

You might need to see a picture of my wife and I, we do what we can to keep a good load on the front. Other than that, not sure what I can do to increase the front axle weight.
 

sdc77

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Why don'tyou go get weighed and check the axle weights.. You can check out tyres for ratings (water... Noise etc..) at somewhere like blackcircletyres. Com
There was a recent thread on weights that linked to a list of public wrighbridges
 

steveclecy

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You might need to see a picture of my wife and I, we do what we can to keep a good load on the front. Other than that, not sure what I can do to increase the front axle weight.

I would not be so personal.....

Weight to the rear of the rear axle, as well as overloading that axle, will take weight from the front axle. Imagine putting a heavy weight on a tow bar, as it is so far behind the rear axle it "lifts" the front axle - transferring weight.

The engineers on here can produce a diagram and a formula to show the transfer.

Steve

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Oct 5, 2012
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is giving the few square inches (less in the wet) of contact patch with the road and your MH to the lowest bidder a sensible option? ......Personally I don't think so:Doh:
 
Feb 16, 2013
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IMO for what it's worth , I know there is plenty on here who will disagree but you are never going to wear posh tyres out before there age says they want changeing so you might as well put the cheapest genuine tyres on, not rubbish tyres mind
 

vwalan

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you will wear them out if you go on a trip. i wear mine as far as possible . touch n go for coming home sometimes . campers are for using thet arent ornaments .

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TheBig1

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Nov 27, 2011
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M/S mud and snow tyres will give most grip, especially if you drop the tyre pressures. the problems with M/S tyres is quicker wear and more road noise.

you dont see a landrover wearing slick road tyres very often for good reason. so if a 4x4 designed for muddy conditions needs chunkier tyres, your heavier motorhome is going to be rubbish in mud with slick road tyres
 

pappajohn

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you will wear them out if you go on a trip. i wear mine as far as possible . touch n go for coming home sometimes . campers are for using thet arent ornaments .

I went on a trip once.......talking rabbits, a dog wearing a bowler hat, people with no face......scary as hell :roflmto:



average miles for a set of tyres maybe 20,000 miles in normal use (no fiat wheelspin)....thats one hell of a long trip.

that could equate to maybe 10 years for some folks
 
Jan 28, 2008
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I went on a trip once.......talking rabbits, a dog wearing a bowler hat, people with no face......scary as hell :roflmto:



average miles for a set of tyres maybe 20,000 miles in normal use (no fiat wheelspin)....thats one hell of a long trip.

that could equate to maybe 10 years for some folks

anyone only doing 2000 miles a year shouldnt be allowed to have a motor home

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vwalan

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the clue is in the name motorhome .
i know i,m only trying to encourage some to use their vans more .
anyway pappa .i tried sniffing coke but it kept spilling over my t shirt .found it much easier to drink it .
or do your shoe laces up you naughty boy. then you wont trip.
 
Aug 29, 2010
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I put a new set of Michelin Agilis M/S tyres on in February to replace some Michelin XC Campers. £500 fitted at home by Event Tyres with very chunky high pressure valves. Much better grip, quieter and more comfortable. But they do seem to have more flexible sidewalls (though higher weight rating), so even at the Michelin recommended pressures they appear a bit bulgy. I am assured that this is ok and as intended. The softer compound is supposedly less likely to crack and craze in prolonged exposure to UV (the old tyres were noticeably deteriorating at 4 years). However, 5000 miles around Moroccan roads and now 1000 miles into a Polish/Baltic trip on iffy surfaces I can see significant wear on the front pair. Still, the previous tyres were never likely to reach minimum tread depth before they became unsafe due to sidewall issues, so I would rather have the better day to day performance of the Agilis and just wear them out. :Smile::Smile::Smile:
 

PP Bear

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:shout: Lift up your hand and look at the palm. That’s about the same surface area of your tyres contact to the road x 4 (or 6 if a tag axle). Now imagine loading that same area up to approx 3.5 – 4 Tons and drive it at 60 mph down a motorway. Ask them to take the heat build up, the bumps and the knocks we subject our tyres too and then the immense breaking forces associated with bringing that hunk of metal and wood to a halt, all on these tiny surface areas. To this we need to add the fact that we often drive off road into fields, across sharp stones and gravel and park up on numerous surfaces and all in search of some time away and the sunshine. Add all this together and our investment, lives and safety is all down to those 4 palm sized bits of rubber contacting the road:Eeek:

In my humble opinion and its only my opinion, you don’t skimp on tyres, not when so much is at stake. Its different altogether with our cars, but not our motorhomes as the two just don’t map across:whatthe:

Spend the money and get the best you can afford, its madness to put economy tyres your motorhome:thumb:

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Feb 27, 2011
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I bought my front pair for £180 fitted. I wasn't too happy with them as they looked a bit thin. Spoke to the tyre place and they showed me a range of budget tyres. I choose the ones that looked widest with the chunkiest tread.
£150 fitted (for 2) :thumb:

I don't have the money anymore for top of the range tyres and it turns out I didn't have to spend it..
 
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laneside

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Our Rapido, as new, was fitted with Michellln Agilis and the front tyres are down below 5mm with just 9000 miles on the clock and that sure is not with wheelspin with 3700 kg with a 130 multijet.

I certainly will not replace them with the same
 

duane0001

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Budget Tyres for my cars
Budget Tyres for my vans
Best tyres that money can buy for my motorbikes

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makems

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Just ordered 5 new tyres. Originals are continental Vanco and have loads of tread left after 23k miles. But they are now 6 yrs old and due for replacement due to age. We've already had one go in spectacular fashion on a Spanish motorway on our way back from Morocco.
I have spent hours trying to find reasonably priced tyres but struggle because our Rapido requires 118 min load rating tyres which are currently Unavailable so have to go to 121 rating.
There are very few tyres available with this rating.
Syron (who?) £70
Marangoni £110
Continental £130
You have to add shipping and local fitting charges, valves, balancing etc to the cost of internet tyres.
I found our local Kwikfit branch very helpful and got me Coninental Vancos fitted for £138. Getting them fitted Tuesday.
 

sdc77

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Remember Costco for tyres.. They do their 25% Off offer every year (you don't have to have them fitted on the day you buy them either)
 

rainbow chasers

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The tyre compound is too hard, you need a mid-range tyre. For value and grip, Maxxis are very under rated. They grip well in all weather. The manufacturers do not have a set 'mix' for tyres, they vary. Usually, the cheaper the tyre, the harder the compound - but that isn't a rule. There as as many hard compound named tyres as not (profit margins better)

The likes of Maxxis, General (though they are pigs in the wet when new), Avon and Roadstar for budget will be ok. Toyo and pirelli are both soft compound, and will wear quickly but offer good grip on dry and fairly good in wet.

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Jaws

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Last year I replaced my tyres.. Aint a lover of cheap tyres cos I do value my life a bit more than the few quid I would save with cheapo ones

I wanted to fit Michelins back on as that is what was on the van.. Timing and my luck came in to play and every tyre place I tried within a 20 mile radius said the same.. currently out of stock ( lord knows why !! )

I ended up having to ( what I thought at the time ) compromise and fit something else

In the end a local firm came up with a set of Hankooks .. Not really impressed but desperate I decided to go ahead and have them fitted even though they were FAR from a cheap option

Oh boy am I glad I did..

We went from getting stuck EVERY WHERE we went ( even a hard standing on a slope once ) to driving out of a total quagmire that was the Funster allocated field at Newark

Oh and they are quiet.. We never realised ( as you don't without a comparison ) just how bloody loud the Mich's were.. Suddenly we could talk normally, listen to the radio at reasonable volume and even stress and tiredness levels fell dramatically.

The van is plated at 4.1 t and the tyres are 10 ply jobbies

So far they have covered two EU trips, one to the south tip of Spain and the other a round trip inc the west coast of France, across, in to Italy, across, in to Hungary, then home in another big loop.

The tyres are wearing well so far and apart from those stated above have thrown up no surprises at all.
 

rainbow chasers

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IIRC, they are owned by Michelin.

Good tyres though - used to use them my BMW 7 series in the early days and impressed me, they now apparently come with these fitted!
 

laneside

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nowhere near long enough
Now surprising enough my last motorhome,which was secondhand had Hanooks fitted and we covered 20,0000 miles in it and the tyres hardly showed any wear.I had no comparison of what the road noise was like compared with other tyres and I never remember loosing grip.

I may well consider them when these Michellins give up at about 12,0000 miles

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Jan 28, 2008
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Really? well I do around 3000 a year, am I almost allowed to have one:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

its my pet hate theres a really nice big merc van near me hasnt moved since it appeared2 years ago although round here its a good bet theyve rented it to there cousins to live in
 

JeanLuc

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This thread has prompted me to do a bit of research. Hopefully we'll get another year out of the present tyres (Continental Vanco 225 / 70 / R15 on RWD Sprinter chassis) but when change is needed I had thought about switching to Hankooks. I have also been considering winter tyres for all-year use as the traction should be better on wet / muddy fields as well as in snow. So, I phoned Hankook UK (in Daventry) who assured me that their winter tyres would be fine for use in summer too with no safety issues in hot weather. Given that annual mileage is unlikely to wear out the tread before the sidewalls crack, the increased wear of winter tyres is hardly an issue for me. The present 4 Vancos have done over 30,000 miles and there is still plenty of tread left.
The Hankook model I am considering is RW 06 in case anyone is interested - should be able to get them for around £90. Unfortunately for the original poster, they are LI 112 so not high enough.

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