Tyre And Wheel Choices...

[Best-Gear]

Hi Guys

I have been searching around for options around either replacing the 235/60*16's on the Xt3 or perhaps buying a nice set of 17" with tyres.

What are the common (read tried and tested) tyre options for the standard 235/60*16" size? I dont need offroad ability, just a tyre that is safe, does a decient mileage, and is not noisy at speed. I am sure brand loyalty and snobbery is alive and well, so dont be shy - what are you running?!?!?

Are there any other tyre sizes typically fitted? I have seen a few with 235/70*16" for that bigger look.

Ok - so if I go for 17" wheels - again - what sized of rubber should I be going for?

What about going up tyre widths - what is possible without fouling the arches etc?

Any particular choices for 17" rims? What offset and width of rim should I be looking for? I assume it will be a 7.5 or 8" rim to sit a 235 or (bit) bigger tyre....?

Anyway - enough ... all advice and direction most greatfully received...

DJ

[fieldinsb]

I have standard 16" alloys on the NRG at the moment. Last time I replaced all 4 tyres and had Bridgestone's fitted. Primarily this was because I got them at a good price and it was also the standard fit at the time of manufacture. Since then I have done 20,000 miles and I have calculated that the tyres have worn down by approximately 2mm during this time. This is based on the information my dealer writes on their checksheet every time the car goes into them. The tyres started off on 9mm and are now down to 7mm. I live in the Herefordshire countryside and use alot of country tracks, but the majority of the mileage is from motorway driving. I would say that I am looking to get 75000 miles from one set of tyres, which cost me £420 fitted.

HTH!!

[cfc1]

Remember.. with 4WD you need to have the same rolling radius on all 4 corners.. if your spare wheel is different in rolling radius you could be taking a risk on damaging your car if you use it... I don't know if the Rav can go into to 2 wheel drive or not.. if it can and the spare is different.. you need to do it.

17" 225/55x17 or 235/50x17

18" 245/45x18

19" 245/40x19

20" 245/35x20

As for make of tyre.. normally it's Bridgestone as standard.. but choosing tyres is more of a personal choice, what is good on one car may not be good on another. If you are possibly looking at a mid-range tyre as opposed to a premium tyre it could be worth looking at Kumho. Personally I believe that the cheaper Economy range tyres can be more of a false economy. At the end of the day all you can do is see what others think of different makes and take your choice from there.

[Best-Gear]

Thanks both...

I am thinking about staying with the 235/60*16's - so just need to choose a tyre.... So many options!

I was hoping to find a list of known sensible choices, weighing up grip, road noise, wear etc etc,.,.,.

Davy - nice to see a fellow from central Scotland - I amjust south of Edinburgh....

DJ

[cfc1]

Hi BG... I'm not far away from you.. Bo'ness in near Linlithgow/|Falkirk... keep an eye on the Scottish meets section... next one is Saturday at the Knockhill Euro Drifting Championships.. your welcome to join us :)

As for make of tyre.. it really is difficult to advice.. for reasons I said above. Going by my experience in the trade.. most Rav owners tend to stick to the Bridgestones.

[Ingolf]

Are there any other tyre sizes typically fitted? I have seen a few with 235/70*16" for that bigger look.

Since january I drive the Matador MP71 Izzarda Tyres:

They are great tyres for the street (95% in my case), in the rain they perform like good street tyres ant their offroad behavior is not bad as well.

After 15000km i have only minimum wear.

http://www.matadoruk.co.uk/index.cfm?modul...Page&s=mp71

I like the look of the 235/70´s and will continue driving that size.

They fit on the standard rims and no body modifications are necesarry.

Ingolf

[Steve@Aberdeen]

I wonder when us 4.3 owners will have a choice - it's only Yokohama or Bridgestone at the moment (depending on what's available in your locality). My Yokos have fared better recently and I reckon they'll get near 40,000 miles (which is better than my early estimate of struggling to get 30,000)! Without switching wheels, they seem to be wearing fairly evenly all round (albeit slightly more at the front, as would be expected) which means I'll change all four corners when the fronts get close to 2mm (or down to 3mm if it's coming up to winter).

[Best-Gear]

Are there any other tyre sizes typically fitted? I have seen a few with 235/70*16" for that bigger look.

Since january I drive the Matador MP71 Izzarda Tyres:

They are great tyres for the street (95% in my case), in the rain they perform like good street tyres ant their offroad behavior is not bad as well.

After 15000km i have only minimum wear.

http://www.matadoruk.co.uk/index.cfm?modul...Page&s=mp71

I like the look of the 235/70´s and will continue driving that size.

They fit on the standard rims and no body modifications are necesarry.

Ingolf

I do like the idea of no body mods - have you had ZERO scrubbing on lock or on full bump?

They look great - but its a lot of hassle should they foul anything...

DJ

[Ingolf]

have you had ZERO scrubbing on lock or on full bump

Absolutely no scrubbing!

Only with 50mm wheel spacers mounted on the rear wheels --- but after replacing them by 10mm spacers there are no problems. :thumbsup:

[Best-Gear]

Thanks Ingolf - spacers - AGH!!!! I always did think the Rav could do with a wider track at the back..looks MUCH better.

One major 4X4 retailler in the UK (no names,...) suggest and swears by the Nankang XR611, which is available in 235/60*16 and its at a silly price - even cheaper from mytyres.... they are now there online at £43.30 each delivered(unfitted).

I have emailed two respectable sources and they both confirm that the tyre is suitable for the rav - the load rating is 100 - my only question was the issue over the rav's riums being JJ and "most" tyres are J. Any one comment on that?

As for the name...here comes the snobbery! Nankang are owned by Yokohama and we all know the stories of the old Yokohama (from the 70's and 80's ) and now they are amongst the best available.

I also have a Cooper S ( the BMW one) and have Nankangs (Ultraspeed II's) on that (ok, they are 215/40*17) and they are great tyres with no issues over grip in the wet or dry. They are much better than the runflats that were factory fitted too from the basis of noise and ride comfort.

Anyone used the XR611's?

DJ

[Ingolf]

One major 4X4 retailler in the UK (no names,...)

And what is their price for the Matador in 235/60 or 235/70??? Ask for them because in most shops they´re really cheap.

At mytyres.co.uk the 235/70 cost 65,90 with free shipping for example. And that´s surely not the cheapest shop.

[tufty9]

I had the same debate when my 2 rear Toyo Tranpath Tyres needed changing - I have the standard 235/60/16R Bridgestones on the front, which I think are noisy - After much debate and looking at this site - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresult...16&type=HAS and given what was available I went with Pirelli Scorpion STRs on the back, as the tread is very similar to the Bridgestone's, but they are noticeably quieter - Went over cattle grids on holiday, front was all bobbly and noisy, but when rear passed over the sound was deadened and less of a bump! So when my Bridgestone's need replacing on the front, I will get Pirellis there too.

I would (and still do) have liked General Grabber UHP's http://www.tyresite.com/product.asp?numPag...a=&PT_ID=28 as they have good reviews at http://www.tyretest.com/ and look good too, but the tread was too different from the Bridgestone's on the front, and they were new when I got the car, so the scrooge in me decided to be sensible, and not change all 4 (5 in fact with the spare) to the totally different tread of General Grabber UHPs!

Would be interested to know if anyone has ever fitted General Grabber UHPs on a RAV? I've seen them on Mercedes M/GL Classes, and they look really good!

[Best-Gear]

Hi Folks

Just thought I would add an update to say I finally went for Federal SS-595 235/60 R16 100V TW from mytyres.

They were about £54 each...delivered.

I have now done about 1500 miles and am very happy with the wet and dry performance. It is hard to give any more subjective rating really ( as I am sure you will agree... the butt dyno is no real test!) but thier grip is certainly way better than a half worn Bridgestone and they dont howl like a remould (or several other new tyres I could mention!) when cornering hard!!!

They fill the rim very well, and the tred pattern is "attractive", if that adjective could be applied to a tyre!

The road noise is non existant - and certainly masked by wind noise at, I guess, any real speed.

Hope that is of use to someone!

DJ

[dave.m]

Hi DJ,

Sounds like you got a real bargain there. In july while on holiday in Jersey, I needed to replace

my front tyres. Still the origional Toyos. Before I left the home the local dealer was quoting £160

each for the Toyos. As Jersey has no vat or duty I decided to wait till I got there and see what was

available. Not a great choice being a small island, but managed to get a pair of Toyos (slightly

different tread from origionals) for £87 each. So far have not noticed any difference.

Dave ;)

[llith]

Hi DJ,

Sounds like you got a real bargain there. In july while on holiday in Jersey, I needed to replace

my front tyres. Still the origional Toyos. Before I left the home the local dealer was quoting £160

each for the Totos. As Jersey has no vat or duty I decided to wait till I got there and see what was

available. Not a great choice being a small island, but managed to get a pair of Toyos (slightly

different tread from origionals) for £87 each. So far have not noticed any difference.

Dave ;)

Hi Dave

Was the quote from a Toyota main dealer ? £160 each is a bit steep in my opinion . I am looking at replacing my tyres next service (Toyos at present) , but if main dealer charge these prices I will go to someone like Kwik fit . Here is a quote from them online tonight

Pirelli Scorpion STR

Tyre Size 235/60H16

Wide tread blocks, multi sipes in differentiated sequence provide excellent grip

Continuous central rib gives you better handling at high speed

Even tread-wear throughout the tyre life

The deep and wide channels improving the wet grip and safety

Round shoulder blocks give you better handling support

Tyre Price £127.00 eachQuantity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Buy 2 of these Pirelli tyres for £107.95 each

Buy 4 of these Pirelli tyres for £95.25 each

This offer ends on 30th September.

Anyone with Scorpions ? Any good ?

Regards

Llith

[Fujisan]

My mate with a Disco swear's by Black Circle,

Black Circle

I haven't fully used them myself but I did price up tyres for my wife's car and they seem pretty impressive.

Worth a look anyway

[dave.m]

Lith, that was main dealer prices. Toyos dont seem to be easy to get here from other scources. They are not tranpaths, they are

open country. Have a couple of big deep grooves to get rid of water.So far no complaints.

Dave.

[Best-Gear]

My mate with a Disco swear's by Black Circle,

Black Circle

I haven't fully used them myself but I did price up tyres for my wife's car and they seem pretty impressive.

Worth a look anyway

Do check mytyres.co.uk they are a great company to deal with and excellent prices....

They have agreements with loads of local fitters for fixed price fit/balance and disposal...

I would not go past them, having now used they 7 times....

DJ

[Fujisan]

My mate with a Disco swear's by Black Circle,

Black Circle

I haven't fully used them myself but I did price up tyres for my wife's car and they seem pretty impressive.

Worth a look anyway

Do check mytyres.co.uk they are a great company to deal with and excellent prices....

They have agreements with loads of local fitters for fixed price fit/balance and disposal...

I would not go past them, having now used they 7 times....

DJ

Thanks DJ

Great to know this kind of info. Will check them out when the time arises.

Probably the wife's car before mine........and then wait for for the tut-tutting "The price of these thing's" And they'll be £40 at most on her little car!

[chatman]

My mate with a Disco swear's by Black Circle,

Black Circle

I haven't fully used them myself but I did price up tyres for my wife's car and they seem pretty impressive.

Worth a look anyway

Do check mytyres.co.uk they are a great company to deal with and excellent prices....

They have agreements with loads of local fitters for fixed price fit/balance and disposal...

I would not go past them, having now used they 7 times....

DJ

Thanks DJ

Great to know this kind of info. Will check them out when the time arises.

Probably the wife's car before mine........and then wait for for the tut-tutting "The price of these thing's" And they'll be £40 at most on her little car!

I've used Event Tyres a couple of times....Event Tyres

And some more for you cyber tyre kickers...

eTyres

valuetyres

mytyres

tyretraders

:lol: :lol:

[bothwell_buyer]

Gosh - all these posh folk with almost new RAVs - feel quite humbled.

We've done a trial fit of 18" MAK Mirrors (I think) with the 245 tyre and it looks good - 3 door '94 GX.

For 10 years, I've been buying my tyres and wheels from Ian at autoimage in Glasgow - 0141 333 0575. He has a place in edinburgh and no-one has ever beaten him on price.

Just looking around now for insurance for the beast before we fit £2000+ worth of brakes and wheels !

[Fujisan]

Gosh - all these posh folk with almost new RAVs - feel quite humbled.

Not posh, just everyday, hardworking, honest RAV's that have to earn there keep rain or shine, just like everybody else

[Nightstalker]

Gosh - all these posh folk with almost new RAVs - feel quite humbled.

Not posh, just everyday, hardworking, honest RAV's that have to earn there keep rain or shine, just like everybody else

I'd say not posh but privileged....

[Nightstalker]

Taking into consideration the original RAV 4 3 17inch rims...what size tyres can we actually fit on these?