Tyre Load/speed Rating Question

[Pete C]

I am looking at new tyres for my T30.

I understand that I need a minimum of 102 rating.

The current tyres (factory fit) are rated 109/107 R and 106/104 T (all 4 are dual rated in this way on the sidewall).

If I went for 102 replacements, would I get a softer ride ?

Thanks,

Pete

 

[keith baker]

I changed from the hankook factory fit to Michelin cross climate 215/65/r16 102. This improved the ride considerably. Although the new tyres are 215 against 205 originals.

 

[Insert Coin]

I've just swapped out my factory 17's with Continentals that I've been running for a month and put on some 20" BBS wheels with Goodyear all-season tyres.

I was expecting a massive drop in ride quality, but the 20's are much smoother, very odd and I'm not sure why to be honest.

It's possible that @BognorMotors put lower pressures in these 20's than I was running in the 17's, they were 45 front 50 rear. (I don't know what pressure they are now, I forgot to ask)

A cheap fix could be to run them at lower pressures and see if that improves things? Assuming you aren't running fully loaded.

 

[BognorMotors]

40psi all round

 

[Pete C]

Thanks for the feedback folks. It isn’t that bad at the moment (48 psi) but was surprised that the tyres were so over specified, hence the question.
We never get near a full load, so quite happy to go to the minimum load rating required.

Pete

 

[BognorMotors]

Sorry my post was about the post above and 20” wheels!

 

[Steve H]

I am looking at new tyres for my T30.

I understand that I need a minimum of 102 rating.

The current tyres (factory fit) are rated 109/107 R and 106/104 T (all 4 are dual rated in this way on the sidewall).

If I went for 102 replacements, would I get a softer ride ?

Thanks,

Pete

I'm no tyre expert, but logically the answer to the question is yes.

The higher the load rating, the beefier the tyre carcass has to be. The sidewalls have to be thicker or reinforced to carry the sustained weight, so logically a lower weight rating would involve a less beefier sidewall. This should bring advantages in flex and bounce over the stiffer tyres, I would have thought.

The ratings you mention have R and T against them, which I assume is the speed rating at that load, so the higher rated tyre should not go as fast as the lower one.

Switching to a minimum rated tyre should therefore carry the advantage of being more flexible.

Tyre pressures are another issue. The pressure should be high enough to place the tyre contact patch correctly without buckling or rounding in order for the tread slip angles to work correctly. It's worth experimenting up or down the recommended pressures by a few PSI, but I'd be starting with some research into the tyre manufacturers recommended pressures for your spec of van. The theory is that both VW & them should have the same pressure for that tyre, I guess.