Winter tyre advice

Pug expert

With seats

Not used as a van as such – no heavy van loads

Do I go with suv/mpv tyres or with van load rating?

What does the manual have listed as options?
I wouldn’t go away from that personally

That’s outside in the cold, you are in the warm

Go with C rated or LT tyres as per standard fit. SUVs and MPVs have reinforced tyres anyway which is halfway there

Would moving away from van load rating invalidate the insurance?

If you’re not carrying much weight I wouldnt bother with extra load rated tyres TBH, never have with my Caddy and had no problems (Kuhmo all seasons on at the moment IIRC)

99 on it currently

99 is already the lower rated version tire for that size vehicle.

They are 101/103 or 99 as homologated for that vehicle

Any deviation from the prescribed vehicle tires ratings is classed as a modification and should be declared as may incur extra risk loading.

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You need to declare non-homologated tyres (size/loading/etc) as a modification and your insurance might go up due to extra risk.

Or, it might fail the MOT

I put 101 rated cross climates on my transporter which was enough for the axle weights. However they were max 50psi, but they needed to be at 60 psi. The side walls deformed after a year or so. They’re still sat in the garage with 6mm of tread on them, so not much of a bargain I initially thought!

Or, it might fail the MOT

Only if it’s a class 5 or 7 the experts neither if I recall correctly – class 4 don’t get load ratings checked which is weird.

but running underrated tires is rarely a good idea*for reasons nealc states.

Risk of blow out increases as squirmy handling

*See also “stretched” and “stanced”

My Peugeot partner weighs 400kg less then the scenic it replaced. I’m not aware of it have van tyres fitted

You’ll have to get out in the dark and cold, sorry.

You should have a sticker inside a door, fuel flap, etc similar to this that specifies the tyres https://www.drivingtesttips.biz/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/tyre-pressure-sticker-explained-1.gif

If an insurance assessor compares this to your tyres and they don’t match and you haven’t told the insurer then it could be a problem. If tyres aren’t contributory to the collision then hopefully less of a problem, but don’t take the risk 🙂

On the door plates just says 1400kg and 1500kg

No mention of tyres directly

Just put the ones that the manufacturer states are correct – end.

Crossclimates fitted to all ours. They are all different. We just put the reg number into the ATS checker and it brings up which ones are needed. They always seem to have a deal on Crossclimates at the time we need them

https://www.atseuromaster.co.uk/tyres/all-season 

No mention of tyres directly

You’re looking at the manufacturer’s plate. There’s normally another, could be in a different opening, that has tyre pressure info. That’s the one

Yes, it’s been a requirement for years to have tyre data.

Should look like this

Just to muddy the waters, and not sure if it applies to vancars.

michelin.co.uk:

”
Can I choose a winter tyre with a tyre speed index lower than the one recommended by the manufacturer?

Yes, if the vehicle is equipped with winter tyres (marked M+S and 3PMSF), which have a speed rating lower than the maximum speed of the car, their fitting will be legally accepted, provided that a clearly visible sticker indicating the maximum speed of the tyres concerned is affixed in the driver’s field of vision.

For example: on a car with a maximum speed of 205 km/h, tyres with a speed rating of H should normally be fitted. If winter tyres (marked M+S and 3PMSF) with a speed rating of T are fitted, a sticker indicating that the maximum speed is 190 km/h should be affixed.
“

Link

I cant find the “rules” or “legislation” that backs the above up.

We have a MK IV Golf which requires H rated tyres but getting H rated tyres with 3PMSF is not easy (or cheap) due to the weird tyre size. T rated versions seem to grow on trees, though.

<Deleted-duplicate due to server error thingy>.

Load and speed rating you shouldn’t go below what is on the vehicle label (usually in a door shut). It isn’t checked on the MOT, but in some places like Germany you can get fined.

The speed rating is actually more a measure of tyre durability. It is the speed increment it can survive for ten minutes at max load on a test rig. So it isn’t the speed you can continuously drive at, which is why the tyre rating is a number of increments higher than your vehicle max speed. 

This is muddied by the fact that winter tyres don’t exist in a lot of speed ratings, but you really shouldn’t be deviating from the load rating. Some insurers also need to be informed if you are fitting winter tyres (I read a list of those that do somewhere). 

The speed ratings are normally given in the manual. My summers are z but the manual allows down to h for winters

There should be a sticker in the driver’s door aperture listing various weights. Look for maximum permitted load for each axle. Your tyres must have high enough load rating to cover that. Doesn’t matter if you never carry weight in the van.

https://www.blackcircles.com/helpcentre/tyres/what-is-load-rating

We’ve got Transit Custom dual-cab with extra row of seats. Never carry much weight as used as a family vehicle. Max axle load is 1675kg, so I know I need minimum 102 (850kg per tyre) load rated tyres. I could fit any tyre with that load rating or higher, including suitable “4×4/SUV” tyres, if I chose to. Personally I’m sticking with designated C van tyres – 109/106C rating on current all-seasons I’ve got fitted.

I could fit any tyre with that load rating or higher, including suitable “4×4/SUV” tyres, if I chose to.

That was my understanding however I knackered a set of suv cross climates even though they should have been ok theoretically. Van tyres for vans.

That was my understanding however I knackered a set of suv cross climates even though they should have been ok theoretically. Van tyres for vans.

Absoutely agree with you there. Current 215/65R16C 109/106 Pirelli Carrier all-seasons on my Transit still have good tread depth after 31k miles, whereas the 235/55r17 103s I had on previous VW T5 lasted only 12k and I was never happy with the softness/flex of the sidewalls.

My current tyres are starting to show minor cracking due to age (67-plate) so I’ll replace very soon. I’m keen to replace the 16″ alloys with 18″ steels – I’d rather have steels on a van but am too vain to fit little 16″ ones! But the Nankand CW-20 is the only ‘proper’ van tyre in 18″ and it’s D-rated for wet grip (and isn’t an all-season) and would be bit oversized circumference.

My take is its a bit like suggesting a N1 plated van you never load up as a commercial, but use it for camping, isn’t a commercial van. It’s still legally a van no matter what hapens to it.Same with tyres. If it’s a van and needs load rated tyres even though don’t carry plasterboard sheets or cement, its whats specified.For a few quid, why give the insurance bods another option not to pay if you claim.

My Peugeot partner weighs 400kg less then the scenic it replaced. I’m not aware of it have van tyres fitted

Ah the 600kg payload speed limit dodge version Of the partner. (Well I assume so as that’s the only version that can conceivably be 400kg gvw less than the scenic )

Plated gvw is plated gvw . Regardless of what you think your load might be on any given Sunday.

No sign of the elusive plate on the doors or door frames

should be in position c but nothing there

Sorted

Sorted

Where was it?

Did lots of googling, came back with what @trailrat said ages ago of 103

Still can’t see the plate that says it on the van though

I’ve got a rebadged version of the Expert converted for camper van duties. I’ve got proper all season van tyres on mine, Falken Euro Allseasons. Came recommended, been good in the 2 years since I had them fitted.

Just looked – 103 rated