Continental Vanco Tyres (1 Viewer)

[cakey]

Had 4 new tyres fitted 2 years ago and was not happy that the tyres were truly in balance. The supplier wasn't interested so went to another company and had all 4 tyres re-balanced at a cost of £49. Although at first all seemed well, after a couple of thousand miles the vibration seems worse than ever.

Has anybody out there had similar problems or should I be looking for something else?

 

[Robert Clark]

Did you have the alignment checked ?

 

[CazPaul]

Sounds like something not right, don't think its the tyres though. We had summer conti vancos on with no trouble apart from the fact that they are shocking for grip on wet grass.

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[cakey]

No I didn't have the alignment checked, would that cause vibration? The original tyres were Continental with no problem, I replaced them with 20,000 miles on the clock because they were 6 years old and were showing signs of degregation.

 

[Decaf]

There's not much specific detail in your OP to go on, and as a result, the possibilities are wide and varied with a lot of 'what if's'.
First off, how old were the 'new' tyres when fitted. (Date stamp on the sidewall) If they were old stock they could have been on a shelf for years and developed hard spots, and they should have been rejected. No amount of weights (balancing) will fix that.
Are you running correct tyre pressures?
Are the wheels aligned (tracked) correctly? 4 wheel laser tracking is the most accurate.
Are the weights still in place? Potholes/speed humps/kerbing etc can loosen them.
Are the wheel bearings sound?
Is the suspension sound?
Is the running gear damaged? and so on........
Does the vibration occur all the time or at particular speeds?

Two thousand miles is not a significant mileage, wheels/tyres can go out of balance very quickly, especially if there is an underlying problem.

You could get all sorts of suggestions to try, but if you've checked the obvious stuff, you'll need to take to a man (or woman) that knows, and avoid cheap jack grease monkey's.

 

[cakey]

Thanks Decaf. most of your thoughts have gone through my mind. I have checked tyre pressures and looked for missing weights. From memory, when fitted the tyres were only a couple of months old. I suppose I am looking for a magic wand type solution before taking it to my regular garage. Always feels like you are offering them an open ended cheque.
As an aside the first company used stick on weights while the second guy used the clip on type, the sort that fits between the tyre and the rim

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[Robert Clark]

No I didn't have the alignment checked, would that cause vibration? The original tyres were Continental with no problem, I replaced them with 20,000 miles on the clock because they were 6 years old and were showing signs of degregation.

Our last van was fitted with Vanco Campers from new.

The ride quality wasn’t brilliant, with lots of vibration and poor ride quality, so we went to a truck tyre depot and got the wheels checked.

Although being brand new the wheel balancing was wrong. Got that fixed and noticed an immediate improvement.

A while later I got the alignment checked and adjusted and that made a further improvement.

Finally I got the van weighed and adjusted the tyre pressures.

Only then did the ride quality really meet my expectations

 

[Fletton]

I’ve done over 22k on Vanco Campers...
Tyre pressures as per manuf... that being tyre manuf.. i.e axle weight related...

Can’t say i’m unhapppy with them ....
not that I’ve had a chance to try others on a moho.... but done lots and lots and lots of miles in cars and on motorcycles..

 

[sylvester1954]

Sounds like something not right, don't think its the tyres though. We had summer conti vancos on with no trouble apart from the fact that they are shocking for grip on wet grass.

Likewise the traction with my conti vancos are simply appaling - on grass, and even on a steep incline with loose gravel ....have absolutely no confidence in their ability to get us out of the simpliest sticky situation

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[CazPaul]

Likewise the traction with my conti vancos are simply appaling - on grass, and even on a steep incline with loose gravel ....have absolutely no confidence in their ability to get us out of the simpliest sticky situation

Yes you only have to look at the tread pattern to ascertain that, how can they have any grip with that. I wouldn't have a set given for free.

 

[Minxy]

Get the tracking checked as it could be that which is causing the problem, assume the pressure etc is okay. Its amazing what a slight misalignment can make. You could have a good look at the tyres and see if the wear is uneven as that may indicate a tracking problem.

We have Conti Vanco Four Season tyres and haven't had any issues with them at all.

 

[joka250]

Is the vibration a t all or most speeds. If you drive into a vibration at say 50 mph and out again at 55 mph it's almost certainly wheel balance. If it's there most of the time it's likely mechanical or possibly a faulty tyre.

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[DL42846]

I'm surprised to hear negative comments regarding Vanco Camper tires. Yes they don't grip on damp grass and can loose grip on a bit of an incline with loose gravel, but on tarmac I found the ride very good, I was well impressed with emergency braking and excellent in the wet. You just have to stick to tarmac. I have now fitted Michelin Agilis camper tires which are a bit better than the Conti in the above conditions but not by much. I think its only to be expected on a 3.5 ton front wheel drive vehicle with most of the weight on the back. I would be interested to hear if anyone has found a better tyre for a MH. I would add even a 4X4 has difficulties on wet grass.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Some of my clip-on balance weights disappeared after taking my car to a hand car wash.

 

[Lenny HB]

Some of my clip-on balance weights disappeared after taking my car to a hand car wash.

Probably nicked for the lead.

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[cakey]

Is the vibration a t all or most speeds. If you drive into a vibration at say 50 mph and out again at 55 mph it's almost certainly wheel balance. If it's there most of the time it's likely mechanical or possibly a faulty tyre.

Interesting !! On the M25 on Thursday the vibration was in the range of 45/50 (thought I would get done for speeding in a parking lot) once on the A1 at a higher speed the vibration seemed to disappear. The trouble is the roads are so cr-p it's a job to know if it is the vehicle or the road service

 

[Lenny HB]

Interesting !! On the M25 on Thursday the vibration was in the range of 45/50 (thought I would get done for speeding in a parking lot) once on the A1 at a higher speed the vibration seemed to disappear. The trouble is the roads are so cr-p it's a job to know if it is the vehicle or the road service

Typical symptoms of wheels out of balance.

 

[Scattycat]

I'm in the throws of looking at replacing our front tyres. At present we are on Vancos'
We've done 22k on them.
The ride is good and grip isn't too bad.
Where we've managed to traverse a gravely incline I've watched a number of folks on the same tyres have problems.
I'm not trying to be a smart arse, but I'm convinced a lot of folks problems with grip in these situations are down to the way they tackle the situation.
We were watching a driver trying many times to negotiate a gravely exit to a site. Aproachi g fast in first gear and just spinning the wheels halfway up.
A chap advised them to take a different approch in 2nd gear and they traversed the incline without a problem.

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[DL42846]

I'm in the throws of looking at replacing our front tyres. At present we are on Vancos'
We've done 22k on them.
The ride is good and grip isn't too bad.
Where we've managed to traverse a gravely incline I've watched a number of folks on the same tyres have problems.
I'm not trying to be a smart arse, but I'm convinced a lot of folks problems with grip in these situations are down to the way they tackle the situation.
We were watching a driver trying many times to negotiate a gravely exit to a site. Aproachi g fast in first gear and just spinning the wheels halfway up.
A chap advised them to take a different approch in 2nd gear and they traversed the incline without a problem.

Having a Defender and having crossed the Sahara a couple of times and living in the snow line for at least two months of the year there is a knack to getting out of sticky situations.

 

[cakey]

I know tyre pressures are very important but how many of us check them as often as we should (including me). In that I mean even on a single trip. Based on some of the suggestions above I have just been out and checked the pressures on all 4 tyres. The result is quite a surprise. Three weeks ago in Spain I checked the pressures and they were within 1lb or so of when I left home 5 weeks earlier. Today they are between 6 & 8lbs down. I am putting this down to a bjg change in air temperature.

 

[CazPaul]

I'm in the throws of looking at replacing our front tyres. At present we are on Vancos'
We've done 22k on them.
The ride is good and grip isn't too bad.
Where we've managed to traverse a gravely incline I've watched a number of folks on the same tyres have problems.
I'm not trying to be a smart arse, but I'm convinced a lot of folks problems with grip in these situations are down to the way they tackle the situation.
We were watching a driver trying many times to negotiate a gravely exit to a site. Aproachi g fast in first gear and just spinning the wheels halfway up.
A chap advised them to take a different approch in 2nd gear and they traversed the incline without a problem.

I am convinced of the exact opposite, its 95% the tyres and about 5% the driving. When we changed the conti vanco summers for winters what a difference, you go from thinking as you do to knowing its the tyres. Same driving techniques, second gear from standing, ease clutch out, no revs.

I have seen loads of people stuck and explained how to do but when you look at their tyres, no wonder.

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[joka250]

Typical symptoms of wheels out of balance.

Agree totally.

 

[TerryL]

First off, I've used Conti Vanco Winter 2 tyres all year round ever since I fitted alloy wheels, maybe 7 years ago. Have never had any issues with them and on a couple of occasions had to use the "winter" attributes quite successfully when others had given up. They're also good on grass of varying dampness and I only got "stuck" once when heavy rain turned the area we were parked on into a sea of mud - couldn't even walk on it (waited 24 hours for it to dry out a bit and got off no problem).

But as regards your vibrations, balancing would appear to be the problem but that said, not long after I bought my present car I experienced persistent vibrations. On taking it to a reputable tyre dealer it was pointed out that the car had been fitted with new tyres, probably just before I bought it, and which were possibly the very cheapest that could be sourced. On checking more thoroughly he found that they hadn't been fitted properly and were running out of true. I had them all replaced with manufacturers recommended and the problem disappeared.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your Vancos but it's quite feasible they have not been fitted correctly (ties in with the dealer not being interested in my book) and this is showing up as a vibration.

As regards checking tyre pressures, I've fitted a Tyrepal monitoring system (think Jim's shop sells them) so I can keep an eye on them all the time.