(Home) Wheels & tyres

Hi Guys & Girls,

Time for me to ask a question of you now.

Does any one run an unusual size of tyre on their Townace, I am up for 4 new tyres soon & even with my connections into the motor trade the price of 195/70 R14 91H Dunlop SP200s has risen steeply. Indeed there seem to be only three brands now available in this size/spec.

Now, does any one run say 205/65 or 205/70 R14 tyres on their rims (these being the standard chromed 4x4 rims)??

If so, have you experienced good/bad behaviour in handling etc? or does it seem the same, how about tyre pressures etc?

Any feedback would be appreciated, as I can pick up quality 205's at a fraction of the cost of the 195's.

Regards Rob.

- (#11916) Rob Drinkwater, 3 Jul 04 17:52

Rob, do you really need to go that big? I always ran straight 185s on those rims...

- (#11916) David Miller, 4 Jul 04 02:50

Hi David,

Do you mean you ran 100% profile 185s, or were they say 80 profile???

I guess if they were full profile, then they were probably van tyres!

I don't really want to go that narrow, as the wheels/tyres look skimpy enough as it is, for the size of vehicle.

Further research required me thinks!

Regards Rob.

- (#11916) Rob Drinkwater, 4 Jul 04 04:00

Hi Rob
we are running with 205/70 R14s at 40lb pressure with one of these being a new Michelin this cost us £40 from our local tyre shop probably could have got them cheaper but was required urgently. The 40lb is a bit firm on the road but I have not got around to reducing the pressure after our holiday.
Talking of which the Townie performed faultlessly with only one breath taking moment when the needle crept up towards the red. This was only to be expected as we were climbing the long 1 in 4 out of Lynmouth towards Barnstable with 4 adults and 2 children on board but a quick blast with the heater on full soon solved that. The 1 in 4 Porlock hill was takled with out any problems.
Our confidence in our Townie has increased 10 fold.

Andy

Andy

- (#11916) Andy J ( Barking), 4 Jul 04 06:04

/80s, Rob...

- (#11916) David Miller, 4 Jul 04 07:24

Rob,

I am running my 4x4 Royal Lounge on 205 70x14 tyres without any problems. When I bought my Ace it had 195 70x14 tyres fitted, however like you I found the 195s to be expensive to replace so I went for the cheaper 205s. No change in the ride or handling with the 205s.

- (#11916) Bill, 4 Jul 04 08:04

Rob
Click on the link below for some additional and interesting help.

http://www.maserati-rc.org/techtips/Techtip045.htm

My interpretation (and it may be wrong!) is that if you use 205/70/14 you get a Rolling Radius of 79.48" and if you use 195/70/14 you get a Rolling Radius of 77.75". Your speedo will therefore under read - you will be going faster than what you think (I know fast and Townace are a bit of a contradiction in terms :-)).

I don't know the legality of this, but an extra inch and a half is not a great deal...is it (...for tyres!)?

Marcus

- (#11916) Marcus (Cornwall), 6 Jul 04 14:43

There is not much in it...not enough to get speeding tickets anyway...a few calculators on the net...one below
http://www.dakota-truck.net/TIRECALC/tirecalc.html
Think goodyear do one too.....

- (#11916) chris turner, 6 Jul 04 14:58

When I need tyre i order them from this site, http://www.mytyres.co.uk/, it has divison all over europe and compaired to the prices in denmark one can save money. Maybe it is the same in uk..

Kasper

- (#11916) kasper, 7 Jul 04 04:15

I bought 2 economy tyres Monday, no problem, in stock with balance, valve and tracking check £70 inclusive of VAT. 195/70/14 on 2WD alloy rims.
The fitter said they are used on Renaults, Ford and Toyota and most makers make the size. He had Michelin, Bridgestone, Toyo, Dunlop, Tiger and remoulds on the shelf, and could order and get any other make within 3 hours.
I enquired about the price of a 205/70/14, he said "yes may be cheaper by a few quid, but if they are not specified by the maker as standard fit you may invalidate your insurance". He had the 205 size on the rack as he was showing me the tread pattern on a Hancock tyre that he could have got me in my size.

- (#11916) Clive (Bristol), 7 Jul 04 06:02

In Aust, there is a legal requirement for a tyre placard - a sticker listing the manufacturers authorised tyre options.

The largest Toyota sanctioned tyre size according to this sticker is 205/70R14.
It also lists speed and load ratings which from memory are speed 's' and load '90' (but I could have this wrong!)
Note that this is for the CR30 - the petrols may be different, but I doubt it!

That would tend to indicate that it is within the speedo regs - it will be different, but not substantially!

Hope this helps.

- (#11916) DaveW, 8 Jul 04 00:09

I think that I am correct in saying that if you are running your Townie on 185 70x14 and you fit the larger 195 70x14 or 205 70x14 then you will have no difference in speedo readings but if you were to fit a set of 65 series tyres or any tyres other than 70 series then your speedo reading would be reading wrong. It is the height of the tyre and not the width of the tyre that alters the speedo readings.

- (#11916) Bill, 15 Jul 04 13:11

Bill
I think that the 70 is not the actual height (from rim to tread) of the tyre, but is the height expressed as a percentage of the tyres width, this is known as the aspect ratio.
Therefore the real height of a 205 70 is in fact 70% of 205mm and subsequently the narrower tyre has a height of 70% of 185mm.The larger width tyre will have a greater height, albeit very marginal, but does in fact determine the speedo reading accuracy.

The width of the tyre does have an effect.

- (#11916) Marcus (Cornwall), 15 Jul 04 14:20

correct.

- (#11916) David Miller, 15 Jul 04 15:41

Thanks to all those who replied to my query, I have decided to stick with what I know to be a good tyre & have now managed to secure a good deal on the 195/70 R14s so will be having 4 of them fitted on Saturday.

Regards Rob.

- (#11916) Rob Drinkwater, 15 Jul 04 16:11

Had the new boots fitted all round, gone for Avon ZV1s this time, look as if they fill the arch a bit better than the Dunplops did. Also had the geometry checked all round & found the front had been knocked well out, hence early demise of the front tyres. Drives nice & quiet as well now.

Thanks for all input on this one guys & gals.

Regards Rob.

- (#11916) Rob, 18 Jul 04 15:42

Does a broader tyre give a better (i.e. softer) ride? Is any particular make better than the others (other than for durability)?

- (#11916) Mike, 19 Jul 04 11:04

Let me start by stating that I dont know much about tyres. What would happen if I put on 195/50/R15 apart from the speedo reading(e.g. road speed 57 speedo reading 60), quicker take offs and lower top end. What about the load weight difference of about 150kgs? Does a space cruiser need a high walled tyre? Increased wear and tear on suspention ect?

- (#11916) Ben, 3 Aug 04 13:58