20” Tyre Pressure

[RobertO2023]

I can’t say I agree that cheap tyres are as good as expensive tyres. If you look at all the tyre tests on YT you will see the budget tyres always come at the bottom. Given that tyres are a critical component of safety and handling I choose to buy the Premium brands - of course it’s down personal choices and budgets. I currently run Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 which give amazing performance and wear characteristics.

 

[Fin5150]

Following on from my previous post, well that’s my rear tyres now well and truly shot!! 4k miles since buying the van and now have to fit a 3rd pair on the back! 4 wheel alignment was done last week but the tyres were already nearly illegal when it was done so it’s impossible to say if it made a difference…..wear is all on the outside from the edge to about 1/3rd of the way inboard. Ordered a cheap pair from THQ and coilovers going on later this month and will get alignment done again…..hopefully that will be end of my tyre shredding woes……will update down the line…….
Reading on here that someone got 13k miles from a set of tyres!!!! If I get anywhere near that I’ll be a happy man!!!

 

[NickyBrown08]

I am running budget tyres on mine, believe they are Accelera. Had them on for around 10k and still loads left on them.

 

[T6Plumber]

My last set were Accelera & got roughly 15k from them. Very good budget option imo. Since moved to Michelin CC2’s & they’re way more comfortable & the van handles much better. Especially in the wet.

 

[RobertO2023]

With the correct alignment you will get a huge improvement in the tyre wear. The cold tyre pressure setting will also optimise the wear rate depending on the gross vehicle weight and if you are towing a trailer or caravan. For 20” tyres I set 36 psi all round for everyday use but increase the pressures to 40 when loaded and towing.

 

[MrGreen]

I can’t say I agree that cheap tyres are as good as expensive tyres. If you look at all the tyre tests on YT you will see the budget tyres always come at the bottom. Given that tyres are a critical component of safety and handling I choose to buy the Premium brands - of course it’s down personal choices and budgets. I currently run Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 which give amazing performance and wear characteristics.

Can I ask how many miles you get out of a set of the Eagle F1’s?

I’m running Michelin PS4S’. Not cheap but I got 30,000 out of the first set. £262 per tyre 275/35/20.

 

[MrGreen]

Following on from my previous post, well that’s my rear tyres now well and truly shot!! 4k miles since buying the van and now have to fit a 3rd pair on the back! 4 wheel alignment was done last week but the tyres were already nearly illegal when it was done so it’s impossible to say if it made a difference…..wear is all on the outside from the edge to about 1/3rd of the way inboard. Ordered a cheap pair from THQ and coilovers going on later this month and will get alignment done again…..hopefully that will be end of my tyre shredding woes……will update down the line…….
Reading on here that someone got 13k miles from a set of tyres!!!! If I get anywhere near that I’ll be a happy man!!!

I got 30,000 out of a set of Michelin PS4S’.
I’m running CRS Performance’s Koni/H&R adjustable suspension and ARB’s.
Steve at CRS has done quite a bit of racing so knows loads about suspension and tyres. Definitely worth chatting with him.

 

[RobertO2023]

On average I get 17k out of the Goodyears. I am really happy with that as my van gets lots of heavy loads plus towing a loaded 2400kg car trailer. Expensive tyres do last longer

 

[MrGreen]

On average I get 17k out of the Goodyears. I am really happy with that as my van gets lots of heavy loads plus towing a loaded 2400kg car trailer. Expensive tyres do last longer

View attachment 258149

Great information. Thanks
Fantastic looking van!

 

[Fin5150]

Thanks for the input folks. Sounds like something is seriously wrong with my current setup. I forgot to mention that the van was serviced at a VW van centre dealership and they mentioned the front shocks were leaking but no other problems like worn bushes or play anywhere….which makes me wonder what they actually check? There is also quite a lot of knocking and clunking on rough roads…..would worn shocks cause this? It really is not fun to drive at the moment. Have had the van up on a jack for a check to see if any springs are broken but they all seem ok…..anyway, as mentioned before am getting THQ’s Bilstein “Low” coilovers fitted soon so will ask the fitters to check the bushes while they’re at it.

 

[NickyBrown08]

Like @MrGreen i am running H&R coil overs done by @CRS Performance and runs so much better. Will be putting 265/40s on in a few weeks so hoping will be even better.
Would suggest speaking to someone before you get it lowered, probably biggest thing you do to your van other than servicing.
If you are near CRS or a few hrs I would go down that route personally.

 

[JumpShip]

Great to here that GY F1's work on a van , been a big fan of these on other motors for many years.

 

[Fin5150]

Couple of shots of my tyres this morning. All 4 are Bridgestone Turanza 255/40/20 104, all at 38 psi.
Rears were fitted this January, fronts in February. £220 ish a corner. 1500 miles max since the back ones went on. Rear left seems the worst. Fronts look to be wearing better and more evenly.

Rear N/S


Rear O/S


Front O/S


Front N/S

 

[RobertO2023]

Wow the rear geometry is way off the mark - eating tyres! I’d be checking all the bushes for any movement and then get a laser alignment done. Keep us posted - Good Luck

 

[Fin5150]

Wow the rear geometry is way off the mark - eating tyres! I’d be checking all the bushes for any movement and then get a laser alignment done. Keep us posted - Good Luck

Cheers. Laser alignment done a few weeks ago but tyres were already too far gone to notice any improvement. The rear was "out by quite a bit" (their words), but they never mentioned any issues with bushes but said they had sorted the alignment.
Will have to get it redone when the coilovers go on..... hopefully the garage installing them have a 4 wheel alignment system so I can get it all done in one hit.

 

[RobertO2023]

Yes you do def need an alignment after making changes to the ride ht. Make sure it’s a laser alignment set up. Hope you get sorted.

 

[monkeybusiness]

Morning - about to seek out some new tyres. I am not feeling the love of the current 255/35/20.
I have a converted T32.

I had it in my head to go 255/40/20 (like everyone is telling me) but reading this thread, would I be better going 265/40/20?

 

[RobertO2023]

For my ten penny worth - I’ve had both 255 and 265 40 20 and can say the difference in ride and handling is hard to detect. I think like for like premium band 20” tyres with a good suspension set up will perform equally well. My choice at the moment is 265 40 20 Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 5 running 36 psi (except when towing when I adjust to 42 rears and 38 front) I am more than happy with the ride and handling. Suspension is by CRS with adjustable dampers and ride height all around.

 

[John A]

Can I ask how many miles you get out of a set of the Eagle F1’s?

I’m running Michelin PS4S’. Not cheap but I got 30,000 out of the first set. £262 per tyre 275/35/20.

This is why I have always had Michelins on my road cars, with a couple of exceptions (current one has OE spec Bridgestone S001s, which I am not rating)
When I bought the T6, it had recently been fitted with Nexen N-Fera SU1s in 275/40 R20 106Y. They've been listed (in "Sport SUV" spec) as OE tyres for the Porsche Cayenne now.
It's not a tyre I would have ever gone out and bought but I was impressed enough that when I went down a tyre size, I bought another full set of Nexens.
The SU1s, after 14,500 miles (ish) were not even half worn, grip well in both wet and dry and seemed relatively quiet (it's a van, so it's never going to be as quiet as the car).
I ran them at 40 PSI on a T32.

 

[DanTK]

Been running my 275/35/20s on original tyres that came with the van (full camper conversion) at the @BognorMotors recommended 40psi. Happy with the ride bearing mind it's a van with low profile tyres and I've not got the funds for a full suspension overhaul.

Tipped over 16,000 miles recently and the rear tyres have pretty much reached (possibly exceeded) their limits. Not complaining too much about the mileage covered compared to some of the horror stories above. The wear is broadly the same across the rear tyres with maybe a little more on the outer rather than the inner shoulders, so setup seems OK. Oddly the fronts are looking really good and still plenty of life left in them. So why have the rears been chewed up so much more quickly? Too much psi? Too little psi? Driving style? Something else? It's a T28, not a 4WD, so a little surprised by the major difference in tyre wear between the front (good) and rear (not so good). Any thoughts?

Will clearly be replacing the rears - currently cheapo "Thunder U09" tyres which I've never heard of previously - with something a bit more reputable. Can see the Goodyear F1s and Michelin PS4s are highly rated above, and Bridgestones maybe less so, but would welcome any other suggestions or recent experiences.

On the plus side, if I can stagger the tyre replacement so that I'm only replacing fronts or rears at any given time it will at least soften or spread out the blows to the bank balance!