Just had 4 new Michelin tyres fitted (1 Viewer)

[Techno]

Just had four 225/70 R 15 CP 112 tyres delivered from Camskill. They cost me £367.76 delivered. Presumably this is the Euro effect!
Fitted them myself, inflated to 5.0 bar, the van rode as if on a magic carpet, none of that "crashing" through potholes. Yes, I will be adjusting the pressures before travelling. Out of interest the new tyres felt a lot softer than I had imagined they would after hearing all about reinforced sidewalls. The tyres I removed were the original (08) Continental Vancos on the rear and Michelins on the front (new when we bought the van in 2011) which I was pleased to have worn out! The old Vancos were very cracked in the side walls but seemed to still have all their tread and seemed to be made of concrete whilst the Michelins were as soft as the new tyres. Anyone recommend rotation of tyres (front to back) as I seemed to have only got 20K out of the Michelins although I do like to use all the (160) horses for accelerating.
Cheers, Steve

My view is to save the expense of changing four at once so my plan is to move the rears to the front when a new pair is needed and again when the next pair is needed. Agilis will wear much faster than the old XC Michelin camping

 

[Chockswahay]

I was set to buy a pair of Michelin CP tyres........... this thread and the view of Michelin just makes me want to go back to Continental tyres........... they have a much more practical and commonsense view to tyre pressures

 

[Techno]

I don't use Michelins policy on pressures I use a spread sheet that correlates load index to pressure and actual weight.
I could just now use less pressure in the rears than the front but because I have tyre pal sensors fitted I have put 80 in the rears to cover max payload without having to pump them up. I don't suffer a hard ride at the rear so not an issue.

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[Chockswahay]

I don't use Michelins policy on pressures I use a spread sheet that correlates load index to pressure and weight.

I am inclined to agree with you @Techno100 , however I am unnerved when professional tyre fitters like @Brian and Jo appear to follow Michelins 'head in the sand' attitude.

It is very confusing indeed

 

[Bailey58]

Talking of grip on the front wheel drives, I think it was @Jaws recently spoke about fitting Hankooks and getting much better performance than Michelins after some boggy days spent at various shows.

 

[Techno]

Their fear is that they give you a rear pressure for a given weight but then you add more weight (most vans storage is at the rear) I don't think most users would do the correct thing when throwing more stuff in the boot. Given that knowledge there is no reason to follow their guidance if you understand what you need to do.
Suppose someone wrote pressures on their van and later sold it and the new owner took the pressures as correct

At the end of the day if a tyre has a load index of 116 regardless of its dimensions it can carry 1250kg at 80 psi. Reducing weight requires less pressure.

It's not always appropriate if you consider vans like Rapido 9048 and similar Hymer. No rear storage so unlikely to be the concern that Michelin fear, everything is loaded between the axles.

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[Chockswahay]

Does anyone know the legal take on all this? I mean, my Fiat van has stupid pressures listed in the handbook which are way in excess of what Continental advise. Say I have a crash, where do I stand on insurance?

 

[Techno]

Does anyone know the legal take on all this? I mean, my Fiat van has stupid pressures listed in the handbook which are way in excess of what Continental advise. Say I have a crash, where do I stand on insurance?

A bit of common sense can also be applied, an under inflated tyre usually looks under inflated.

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

Can't beat tyrepal anything unusual is immediately reported. All my tyres rise by the same 8 to 10 psi in use and temperature is available although I don't use it. Any significant change in normal parameters in any one tyre is a signal to pull over while the tyre can be salvaged. Worth every penny

I totally agree, I am so glad I bought the TyrePal. I was surprised just how much the pressure rises and also 3 or 4 psi higher on the sunny side. So nice to hear that it is a normal rise.
I had to buy four new tyres in Morocco a couple of years ago after a catastrophic blow out on the rear at 80kph and found all the tyres had developed cracks in the side walls which were not there when we left. I could only get ordinary Aglis rather than Camping Tyres and they are marked max pressure 65psi so I use 65 rear and 55 front but they look soft, its a 4 tonne Mercedes chassis. So how can Michelin say 80psi rear or is that what they say for camping tyres.

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[Techno]

What is the load index figure on your tyre wall? that is what dictates how much it can carry. If they look soft they probably are.(or overloaded)

BTW Michelin camping tyre says 80 psi max on the side wall

 

[Brian and Jo]

I am unnerved when professional tyre fitters like @Brian and Jo appear to follow Michelins 'head in the sand' attitude.

obviously Michelin or myself have,nt got a clue what we are talking about this is why i dont usually get involved in tyre threads.no more comment
Brian & Jo

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

What is the load index figure on your tyre wall? that is what dictates how much it can carry. If they look soft they probably are.

BTW Michelin camping tyre says 80 psi max on the side wall

I'm 30 miles away from the camper at the moment so can't look, I suppose if I was organised I would have it written down. I will have a look tomorrow

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[Techno]

Does anyone know the legal take on all this? I mean, my Fiat van has stupid pressures listed in the handbook which are way in excess of what Continental advise. Say I have a crash, where do I stand on insurance?

Were Continental original equipment when manufactured on your FIAT ? Fiat usually fit Michelin and thus the pressures in the manual will apply to them not Continental

 

[Chockswahay]

obviously Michelin have,nt got a clue what they are talking about this is why i dont usually get involved in tyre threads.no more comment
Brian & Jo

Hi @Brian and Jo , I realise my statement was perhaps inflammatory and upset you in which case I apologise . What I was trying to say is that I find it very confusing when so many different standards are applied.

I have spoken to Continental and they were very clear and precise about the subject and confirmed that the tyre pressures are directly related to axle weight. My experience with using the pressures that Fiat suggest is that the ride is firm and harsh. For my van the the actual pressures I use are up to 25 psi less than Fiat suggest

In your previous posts you only referred to Michelins 'advice' ........... may I ask what you recommend as a tyre fitter?

 

[Techno]

For my van the the actual pressures I use are up to 25 psi less than Fiat suggest

see my last post

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[Chockswahay]

Were Continental original equipment when manufactured on your FIAT ? Fiat usually fit Michelin and thus the pressures in the manual will apply to them not Continental

Yes they were, we have had the van from new. As I have mentioned elsewhere the Fiat pressures are bonkers and make the ride awful. Currently I am running at 55 psi all round compared to Fiat's 80 psi (near as)

 

[SomeoneElse]

I would warn about using a simple fag packet calculation, even the new plain wrapping fag packets, as the axle loads obtained from a weighbridge are static loads. Once up to speed the wind resistance on the front of a MH will put more load on to the rear wheels. While I believe Michelin are over cautious with the blanket 80 psi recommendation, any reduction should be modest and gradual with regular checking of the tyre temperature.

 

[Chockswahay]

Just checked my Fiat manual:

Fiat do not make any reference to tyre manufacturer. They do however refer to the use of 'camping tyres'

Fiat recommend front 72.5 rear 80 (217/70 R15 CP)

For my axle weights Continental recommend front 51 rear 47

These figures are so far apart

Now as it happens I also notice that Fiat refer to the use of M+S on a 'camping vehicle' and recommend front 62.5 rear 69 (225/70 R15 C)

As if all that is not enough Fiat also refer to the use of 'basic' tyres for my max weight front 59.5 rear 65

See why I'm confused???

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[Techno]

Tyre info

 

[Sidney]

Tyres hot - pressure too low...... Dental fillings knocked out, pressure too high

nailed it!

 

[Chockswahay]

Tyre info
View attachment 56670

That's fine, but that only confirms the absolute max pressure at max load......

On cars the advice is always to use the correct pressure for speed/load..... so why different for motorhomes?

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[Techno]

The Q is the speed rating

 

[Techno]

http://www.ctyres.co.uk/tyre_info/tyre_load_index.html

So from above you will see my size tyre is good for 1250kg at 80 psi with a max speed rating of 99mph.

My rear axle is 2400kg rated so my tyres have 100kg safety margin on the axle

 

[Chockswahay]

@Techno100

In case of confusion, we are on the same side here I am with you all the way, just still a bit confused. For example the link you listed gives good advice on under/over inflation.......... but with Michelin saying 80 psi the tyres will range from just right to severely over inflated

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[Techno]

That is where under some circumstances I part company with Michelins policy.
You could have a PVC on 16" wheels that is well under 350okg and would bounce around or shake to bits with 80 psi

My own van is over 2 ton at the rear most often so I don't mind 80 psi given that I will need it on a wine run

 

[Techno]

 

[Chockswahay]

You could have a PVC on 16" wheels that is well under 350okg and would bounce around or shake to bits with 80 psi

LOL yup, that's me but on 15"

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[Techno]

I would follow Continentals advice which isn't designed to cover their arse in the event of user abuse.

 

[icantremember]

Michelin are VERY cheap just now but that is no comfort to the OP who has paid way over what is available for Agilis camping.

£113.30 delivered free for the most expensive size
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&Cookie=tyrecomp&details=Ordern&typ=R-166872&ranzahl=4&nichtweiter=1&Breite=225&pk_campaign=tyrecomp&wt_ref=http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mytyres.co.uk%2Fcgi-bin%2Fp.pl%3FID%3Dtyrecomp%26typ%3DR-166872%26Country%3DUK&ei=kNwBVeLKAYKN7AbU4IHACA&usg=AFQjCNH7JYbagIXzQa7BK6KnAH3WwpwEbQ&sig2=j6YMplvNrlyHUnlvMaC5wQ&bvm=bv.87920726,d.ZGU&ID=tyrecomp&wt_t=1426185366000&wt_ga=&wt_kw=&wt_mc=tyrecomp

Just ordered 2 tyres .... ATS say they will fit and ballance for £13.88 each

 

[Nirvanauk]

13.88? Take it!

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