Michelin, Firestone or Bridgestone Tyres? (1 Viewer)

[Bellini]

I could use your sage advice, ladies and gents:

Udo's tyres are in good tread (6mm), but are 10 years old with a 'perished' inner rear tyre advisory according to the MOT station.

They're Michelin Agilis all round.

So I'm of the mind that they may as well all be replaced before I start using him this year, including the spare.

The great oracle of all things RMB, Dave, recommends Firestone Vanhawk.

I've always liked Michelin car tyres as they appear a cut above many other brands.

The tyre fitter I spoke to recommends Bridgestone as they, apparently, have very thick sidewall rubber.

Now, I did a search on here and found alarming stories about Bridgestone in the cold.

Michelin appear very good from the online reviews.

But the Firestone's get by far the best online reviews and are the cheapest. And they have Dave's high praise.

But before I make any decision, I thought I'd ask the MHFun collective.

Cost isn't the decider here. It's safety, longevity, dependability and they've got to be black and rubber and round.

Any thoughts, advice or pearls of wisdom?

 

[jhorsf]

I would ask the opinion of our funster tyre dealer perhaps someone knows his telephone number you could then have a word with him

 

[Allanm]

Your tyres look like they are M+S, so it would be prudent to buy similar, either the same as you have now or I can recommend Continental Vanco Four Season tyres. They won't break the bank either at around £130 a tyre and get very good reviews.
I have the normal Vanco tyres, but will buy the 4 season when they need changing or if I need a winter tyre.
Allan

 

[treetops1]

Michelin Agilis for me, but i run them slightly lower than recomended presure for a softer ride worth every penny lol.

 

[jhorsf]

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[TheBig1]

not all van tyres are capable of taking the constant load conditions of a motorhome. thats why your tyre fitter mentioned strengthened side walls

once you rulle out those unsuitable there will be very few choices left

 

[JeanLuc]

I guess an RMB is fairly heavy. My starting point would be to check the maximum allowed axle weights then determine what load index is required for the tyres. That will whittle down the list. After that the choice is: summer versus winter/all-weather/M&S; camper (CP) versus standard van (C) rated tyres; budget versus premium. Continental, Michelin, Firestone, Bridgestone are all well regarded - also Hankook and Vredenstein could be worth considering.

If travelling in some northern European countries between Oct and Mar you need winter tyres. If the van stands still for long periods CP might be a better option. I have always used standard Conti Vanco on a 3.8 tonne Merc-based MH and am happy with their performance. Next time I shall fit all-weather or winter tyres; probably from Conti again.

 

[Larrynwin]

As a result of a US Michelin tyre recall, my 3 year old Michelins have now been replaced with Kumho.
What a difference in handling with a very noticeable reduction in roll when cornering. Makes for an easier drive :thumb:

 

[Snowbird]

A couple of faults with the RMB are that they are on relatively small wheels at 14" and the van is HEAVY. Having spoken to a friend that runs Sprinter vans on European courier work, covering perhaps 100000 miles per year to find out what he considered were the best all round tyre, he said without doubt Firestone Vanhawks. I was in need of new tyres so took his advice. I had a mixture of Semperit and Michelins on the van when I bought it and had the Firestones fitted. They are a deep wide tread pattern and the twin rear wheels seem to have more clearance between the tyres with the Firestones. The handling is better with not so much body roll and am well pleased with them. As you know the RMB has a diflock fitted and with rear wheel drive and a good tyre tread pattern there should be little chance of being bogged down, unlike the front wheel drives.

 

[Bellini]

Thanks to you all! There's a lot of knowledge here!:thumb:

The M+ S rating of the present Michelin tyres is a pull for me, but Dave's logic makes good sense.

To be fair, there is a lot of roll currently on Udo but I put that down to maybe slightly tired suspension as well as tyre age. The tyres are first. I'll deal with the suspension later. (Point of note: the front suspension is new but the rear springs could benefit from re-tempering to bring them back to as-new).

Weight? 4.1 tonnes. And, yes, 14" tyres. Tiddlers for such a large motorhome.

Not planning on doing many snow trips, but the UK weather is fickle and I like the benefit of M+S tyres.

Hankook were recommended by my storage facility. They deal a lot with trucks and really rate them.

Continental? Great tyres. I had them on my Range Rover and they were great, but found that type prone to high shoulder wear, as do many other owners and so they were replaced well before they needed to be. I'm sure the van tyre is different but these things tend to linger.

I'm leaning heavily toward the Firestone's, though. I can't find a compelling argument against them.

 

[funflair]

Your tyres look like they are M+S, so it would be prudent to buy similar, either the same as you have now or I can recommend Continental Vanco Four Season tyres. They won't break the bank either at around £130 a tyre and get very good reviews.
I have the normal Vanco tyres, but will buy the 4 season when they need changing or if I need a winter tyre.
Allan

Hi Allan

You will find that Continental have dropped the Vanco FourSeasons tyre, I have just got 6 for our Flair after seeing them being fitted at the Niesmann and Bischoff factory in Germany but after not being able to find information about them on the Continental web site I e-mailed them and that is what they told me.

Martin

 

[Moodybrook]

Have a look at this Link Removed

2006 data but interesting. I had been recommended Matadors by a mohomer who has tyrefitting business, and to be fair they come out not so shabby

 

[Snowbird]

I had the same problem with body roll and went down this route. Well pleased with the result. Worth a thought after you have sorted your tyres.

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