Tyre size when moving from 15" to 16" wheel

SJA42

SJA42

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Since Aug 20
Morning all, sorry for adding another tyre related thread to the forum.

I currently have a Peugeot Boxer based PVC plated at, and ran at, 3,500kg (so effectively a Ducato van base).
It currently has 15" steel wheels with 225 / 70 / R 15 C 112/110S tyres on it.

The tyres are now very old and need replacing but, mainly for aesthetic reasons, I would like to upgrade to 16" alloy wheels as I think my existing wheels look too small for the van / wheel arch as per photo.

I fully apppreciate that I need to ensure that both the new wheels and tyres are correctly load and speed rated but looking at all the options is making my head hurt. I do not really have too many options for local wheel/tyre suppliers so think I will end up ordering them all online and having to work it out myself (hopefully with the assistance / advice of Funsters).

So far I believe that I could fit 16" alloys along with either 225 / 65 tyres or 215 / 70 tyres as that is a relatively small overall size change (3mm to 13mm diameter increase).

Would I be likely to be able to go to 215 / 75's at 33mm bigger ? Obviously I am aware that if the wheel/tyre combo is too large it could catch on bodywork, wheel arch, trim etc. There are more options if I could add 215 / 75 to the equation.

Also would the width decrease from 225mm to 215mm make much real world difference ? Would it be noticeable to me ? Should I try to stick with 225mm ?

When it comes to tyre choice I would like to go more towards the "all terrain" & "all season" variety which is where I seem to struggle with tyre size options.

Incidentally, and I know the tyre isn't to everyone's liking, but when I do look at something like the BFG K02 in 225 / 70 then the load index is 102 which I believe to be 850kg x 4 = 3,400kg therefore too low for my PVC. I also believe that this is the much vlogged about "Gadget John" tyre so why is he running on them if they are 100kg under rated ? Is he just chancing it ?

Sorry, I know there is no one true tyre - however my first issue is to determine what tyre size I can / should be looking at and then I will worry about the actual choice between K02, Grabber, Agilis Cross Climate, Toyo, Conti etc. etc.

My van is also my run around vehicle so it gets used regularly and so the tyres don't need to survive weeks in storage.

Thanks .

Wheel.jpg
 
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SJA42 said:
I also believe that this is the much vlogged about "Gadget John" tyre so why is he running on them if they are 100kg under rated ? Is he just chancing it ?
Click to expand...
One of the biggest bodger out there the guy hasn't a clue but he is an expert on how NOT to do anything.

The standard tyre fit on Ducato 16" wheels for both the light 3.5t chassis and the maxi chassis is 225/75/16.
 
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Thanks Lenny.

I could have saved myself some typing if I had just asked what’s on a standard Ducato 16” !

So, forgive one more daft question, should I be ok, size wise, with any 225/75/16 - even the “chunky” ones ? I assume all of the chunky knobbly tread is included in the “75”.
 
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I went from 15" to 16" on my light chassis PVC and I'm running 225/75 16 Cross climate tyre's without issue
I got the 120/121R rated ones
 
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Tyres are recommended to have a 10% extra capacity over the axle load figure. Changing to a bigger rolling circumference will impact marginally on your gear ratios and probably your speedo accuracy.

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You pug boxer will be a ford engine I believe....

I have just put 245 75 16 on my transit and the speedo is now spot on..

So with 225 75 16 you will be fine.

I would go 225 75 as there is much more range in that size comfort will be better and load rating will be higher. It's what the ambulances and minibuses use I believe.
 
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SJA42 said:
Thanks Lenny.

I could have saved myself some typing if I had just asked what’s on a standard Ducato 16” !

So, forgive one more daft question, should I be ok, size wise, with any 225/75/16 - even the “chunky” ones ? I assume all of the chunky knobbly tread is included in the “75”.
Click to expand...
You don't get the really chunky knobbly ones in that size well very few & they have a much lower load rating as they are for 4x4's not vans.
 
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When I uprated to 3850Kg, I changed from 15" steels to 16" alloy's.
Our van is on 5 x 118 PCD hubs, so the first problem was finding 5 x 118 PCD alloy's that were weight rated for motorhome weights.
The next thing was to avoid lacquered diamond-cut alloy's due to the inevitable lacquer worm that blights most alloy's in a very short time.
Both of these problems were overcome by buying and fitting SuperMetal Hammer wheel, as they have a powder coated finish and are loaded rated for 1150Kg off the top of my head.
For tyres, I fitted 225/65/R16C Hankooks as the rolling diameter is virtually the same as the 15" that were on previously, and these have proved to be a great tyre with a comfortable ride and low noise.

By the way Gadget John is bloody dangerous and a menace and should taken away and shot to save us having to steer people away from his having to make a quick buck video's for his income.

1644057800866.png
 
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My Boxer PVC runs on 17" alloys 215 X 60 with no issues speedo about 3mph fast according to gps, if thats of any interest.
 
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Two on Tour said:
When I uprated to 3850Kg, I changed from 15" steels to 16" alloy's.
Our van is on 5 x 118 PCD hubs, so the first problem was finding 5 x 118 PCD alloy's that were weight rated for motorhome weights.
The next thing was to avoid lacquered diamond-cut alloy's due to the inevitable lacquer worm that blights most alloy's in a very short time.
Both of these problems were overcome by buying and fitting SuperMetal Hammer wheel, as they have a powder coated finish and are loaded rated for 1150Kg off the top of my head.
For tyres, I fitted 225/65/R16C Hankooks as the rolling diameter is virtually the same as the 15" that were on previously, and these have proved to be a great tyre with a comfortable ride and low noise.

By the way Gadget John is bloody dangerous and a menace and should taken away and shot to save up having to steer people away from his having to make a quick buck video's for his income.

View attachment 582522
Click to expand...
What bad advice does he give?!!!

I should start a YouTube channel - Jim will fix it...!🤣🤣🤣
 
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Jamesh said:
What bad advice does he give?!!!

I should start a YouTube channel - Jim will fix it...!🤣🤣🤣
Click to expand...

Here are just a couple of his great videos:-

How LifePo4 batteries are shite and I slag of the supplier because I'm a dickhead and don't know wtf I'm doing.

How to kill yourself with a Chinese diesel heater by fitting it my way.

And this is one of his latest clickbate videos.

1644059234209.png
 
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I'm interested in swopping my 15" wheels up to 16" once the original tyres have worn out, I've just found some 16" alloys with 5x118 pcd from elite wheels...

Motorhome Alloy Wheels for Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer & Citroen Relay

Discover our 16 inch Fiat Ducato alloy wheels from brands including Romac Cobra, MSW & Supermetal Vault. Wheel & tyre packages are also available.
www.elitewheels.co.uk www.elitewheels.co.uk

Seems that is where John and Mandy got theirs from, just sayin'. ;)

Pete

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Two on Tour said:
Here are just a couple of his great videos:-

How LifePo4 batteries are shite and I slag of the supplier because I'm a dickhead and don't know wtf I'm doing.

How to kill yourself with a Chinese diesel heater by fitting it my way.

And this is one of his latest clickbate videos.

View attachment 582531
Click to expand...
Dam, I was looking forward to a good laugh but it's only a screenshot not the video.
 
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Two on Tour said:
Here are just a couple of his great videos:-

How LifePo4 batteries are shite and I slag of the supplier because I'm a dickhead and don't know wtf I'm doing.

How to kill yourself with a Chinese diesel heater by fitting it my way.

And this is one of his latest clickbate videos.

View attachment 582531
Click to expand...
Dam, I was looking forward to a good laugh but it's only a screenshot not the video.
 
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Two on Tour said:
When I uprated to 3850Kg, I changed from 15" steels to 16" alloy's.
Our van is on 5 x 118 PCD hubs, so the first problem was finding 5 x 118 PCD alloy's that were weight rated for motorhome weights.
The next thing was to avoid lacquered diamond-cut alloy's due to the inevitable lacquer worm that blights most alloy's in a very short time.
Both of these problems were overcome by buying and fitting SuperMetal Hammer wheel, as they have a powder coated finish and are loaded rated for 1150Kg off the top of my head.
For tyres, I fitted 225/65/R16C Hankooks as the rolling diameter is virtually the same as the 15" that were on previously, and these have proved to be a great tyre with a comfortable ride and low noise.

By the way Gadget John is bloody dangerous and a menace and should taken away and shot to save up having to steer people away from his having to make a quick buck video's for his income.

View attachment 582522
Click to expand...
Mine are same wheel but 17" 215 x 60
 
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Dang! I quite fancied <Broken link removed> to replace the 15" steels on my Ducato :-(

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Thanks for all the advice and suggestions.
I appear to have 5 x 118 PCD and I must admit I quite like those MSW 48 wheels so will now have a look for tyres.

All I know for certain is that if the tyres I choose have the white lettering then I would want them mounting with the lettering on the inside of the wheel. To flash for my taste the “proper” way around.
 
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I'm interested to see what you eventually get.

Please keep us updated. (y)

Pete
 
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BrianS said:
Dang! I quite fancied <Broken link removed> to replace the 15" steels on my Ducato :-(
Click to expand...
Actually you may be okay.
The picture on John’s website shows 225/70’s but looking at one of his videos I think he does actually have 225/75’s which have a 1200kg rating so they are more than sufficient load wise.

They are on my possible list.
 
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I haven't checked the spare cradle size on mine yet, what you will do for a spare, especially with those big 225/75's, will one fit?

Pete

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I have fitted 16" wheel to replace my 15" and used the MSW alloys with 225/75's KO2 (Citroen relay) and are correct load rated
 
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pjay said:
I haven't checked the spare cradle size on mine yet, what you will do for a spare, especially with those big 225/75's, will one fit?

Pete
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I’ve not looked either - I assume worst case scenario is to stick “any old” tyre / wheel combo as a spare as long as it’s similar overall height.
 
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cyberyacht said:
Tyres are recommended to have a 10% extra capacity over the axle load figure. Changing to a bigger rolling circumference will impact marginally on your gear ratios and probably your speedo accuracy.
Click to expand...
You beat me to that it was something I was going to mention.
but I don’t know what the Speedo error would be at 60 mph or 30 mph.
 
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pjay I went for the MSW48’s with the KO2 225/75’s - due for delivery by Wednesday but I won’t be fitting them until the weekend.
Went with Rogue Alloys as they included black wheels nuts and a locking nut and had a 5% discount code. £60 delivery is an understandable but significant extra cost (but the 5% discount effectively covers that).

Had a look at the spare and it looks as though fitting a spare will be tight but ok.
I will test a spare out and then probably just buy a suitable steel 16” wheel with a bog standard tyre (looks like can get that for approx £120) or with a KO2 on for about £220.
 
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sonar said:
You beat me to that it was something I was going to mention.
but I don’t know what the Speedo error would be at 60 mph or 30 mph.
Click to expand...
I've put 245 75 16 on my transit sad I know...!

I needed new tyres and they were a cheap late night purchase on eBay!!

The speedo now runs spot in according to a GPS tracker. Speed limited to 62 now 66🤣🤣🤣

Cooper stt so Noise is a bit up.

So for a ford engine 225 75 16 will be below actual speed. Don't know about citreon Fiat etc.

The are loads of 215 75 16 around in 120 load rating. A ambulance I saw today looked like it had cross climates on....
 
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