4.3 08 D4D Tyre Pointers Anyone?

[Sooty torques]

As it says, the two front tyres are getting close to their use-by-date so I am looking around for options / pointers as to what may be the best tyre to go for in a 225/65R17 101H size. My RAV4 has the Yokohama Geolander tyres fitted at the moment. The choice for 101H seems fairly limited - what disadvantages are there (especially safety!) for using a 102H? Have found more variety of these rated tyres on-line.

Extra bit of info: I have no intention of 'off-roading'. The only off-road work the car will have to do is to tow our caravan off the odd muddy field, or likewise with a trailer full of half-a-tonne or so of apples.

Any other pointers, experiences or ideas will be gratefully received.

[MarsKy]

As it says, the two front tyres are getting close to their use-by-date so I am looking around for options / pointers as to what may be the best tyre to go for in a 225/65R17 101H size. My RAV4 has the Yokohama Geolander tyres fitted at the moment. The choice for 101H seems fairly limited - what disadvantages are there (especially safety!) for using a 102H? Have found more variety of these rated tyres on-line.

Extra bit of info: I have no intention of 'off-roading'. The only off-road work the car will have to do is to tow our caravan off the odd muddy field, or likewise with a trailer full of half-a-tonne or so of apples.

Any other pointers, experiences or ideas will be gratefully received.

101 is the tyre's load rating - 825kg per tyre. 102 is 850kg per tyre.

The H is its speed rating - 130mph.

So going 102 is actually better as it's rated for higher loading.

[bothwell_buyer]

Or give up the cider ??

[Sooty torques]

101 is the tyre's load rating - 825kg per tyre. 102 is 850kg per tyre.

The H is its speed rating - 130mph.

So going 102 is actually better as it's rated for higher loading.

Thanks for that. It was the loading bit that confused me a bit. Good news then as a wider choice of tyres opens itself up at 102. :) And some of them brands I've used over the past zillion years and trust, having had good experiences of them - and plenty at a much more reasonable price...

[Sooty torques]

Or give up the cider ??

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

[Sooty torques]

Further tyre questions (which may be slightly dim) if I may:

Any differences or preferences based on experience between the Yokohama Geolander G91 and the Bridgestone Dueler D687 for the RAV4?

Has anyone any experiences of fitting 225/65R17 101H/102H car tyres to the RAV4?

Kwik Fit are currently offering the D687 for £117.04 fitted which sounds good to me...? :)

[Sooty torques]

Finally managed to find some of the questions using Search. The D687's don't seem too popular and car tyres seem OK providing they meet all the specs, especially load ratings. Back to the drawing board.

[Guest]

I have to be honest, I will stay with the Geo 91's when I need to replace them next year, as they have been fine in two lots of snow now, good in the wet and saw me through the summer, what more can I ask for, as for Winter tyres I am sure they are good and if I lived in the Highlands or High peaks I may have to re-condsider them.

Gus

[bothwell_buyer]

I have to be honest, I will stay with the Geo 91's when I need to replace them next year, as they have been fine in two lots of snow now, good in the wet and saw me through the summer, what more can I ask for, as for Winter tyres I am sure they are good and if I lived in the Highlands or High peaks I may have to re-condsider them.

Gus

don't move just yet as the roads are blocked

[Guest]

So are the roads in Berkshire with a whole 1cm of snow

Gus

[Mike JD]

Or give up the cider ??

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? As an honest man of Devon I am aghast at that suggestion, zur! So shocked that it has taken me days to stop the shakes long enough to reply. Might as well ask you and your compatriots to turn your back on the noble products of Islay and Speyside!

Mike D

[RAV4Len]

What is this cider you speak of, is it bio fuel?

[Sooty torques]

What is this cider you speak of, is it bio fuel?

Think of it as yellow beer... ;)

[Sooty torques]

Yep, seems as if the Yoko Geolanders are going to win the day - especially as Tyre Shopper are offering them at the quite reasonable-ish rate of £117 fitted - and their local base (National Tyres) is only 1/2 mile away: Yokohama Geolander G91A

Will save further tyre exploration until I have a more experience and knowledge of the RAV's foibles and maybe more shekels :)

[redlew]

I've got the mark 2 but I've just replaced the rears with Michelin Latitude HP Tours ( I think you can get Mud & Snow variants) and very good so for.

[kieran rav4.3]

Hi. I got 2 x Bridgestone duelers from kwikFit which was buy one get one free. Cost me £244 all in which I thought was ok. No problems so far. Not sure if the offer is still on? loving the snow though!!

[Davrav]

Hi. I got 2 x bridgestone duelers from kwikFit which was buy one get one free. Cost me £244 all in which I thought was ok. No problems so far. Not sure if the offer is still on? loving the snow though!!

Did you get four tyres for that or just the two?

[MarsKy]

Hi. I got 2 x bridgestone duelers from kwikFit which was buy one get one free. Cost me £244 all in which I thought was ok. No problems so far. Not sure if the offer is still on? loving the snow though!!

Did you get four tyres for that or just the two?

I hope 4, see Camskill

[Sooty torques]

Camskill are good - used them for a full set of 4 Vred's for my Leon earlier this year - but by the time you've added postage and fitting costs, you could be better off going local... Needs some careful searching, calculator key prodding and thinking.

Anyway, had my 2 Yoko Geolander G91's fitted today and was quite OK with what I got them for in the end.

[Roadwrangler]

Camskill are good - used them for a full set of 4 Vred's for my Leon earlier this year - but by the time you've added postage and fitting costs, you could be better off going local... Needs some careful searching, calculator key prodding and thinking.

Anyway, had my 2 Yoko Geolander G91's fitted today and was quite OK with what I got them for in the end.

Hi,

Just based on experiences with other 4wd vehicles, are you sure its ok to only fit 2 tyres? Generally with a 4wd you should fit tyres in 4's otherwise you can get diff wind up, as a new tyre will have a larger circumference than a worn tyre. Thinking back to the likes of Vauxhalls Calibra 4x4, you were supposed to swap your wheels around every 3 months to ensure even tyre wear. Normally the only exception to this is when the centre diff/transfer box has a slipping clutch and can accomodate such variations.

Also, general good tyre practice if your only having 2 new tyres fitted, those wheels should always be put on the rear of the car, new tyres can displace more water than worn ones, if on the front of the car you can flood your rear tyres and potentially cause aquaplaning, as the worn rears cant displace the same amount of water.

Regards Austin..

[GS John]

Camskill are good - used them for a full set of 4 Vred's for my Leon earlier this year - but by the time you've added postage and fitting costs, you could be better off going local... Needs some careful searching, calculator key prodding and thinking.

Anyway, had my 2 Yoko Geolander G91's fitted today and was quite OK with what I got them for in the end.

Also, general good tyre practice if your only having 2 new tyres fitted, those wheels should always be put on the rear of the car, new tyres can displace more water than worn ones, if on the front of the car you can flood your rear tyres and potentially cause aquaplaning, as the worn rears cant displace the same amount of water.

Regards Austin..

Being able to accelerate OR being able to steer, I know which end I'd rather have in contact with terra firma.

And the more firma the less terra as they say in aviation

[MarsKy]

Hi. I got 2 x bridgestone duelers from kwikFit which was buy one get one free. Cost me £244 all in which I thought was ok. No problems so far. Not sure if the offer is still on? loving the snow though!!

The point was - we don't know if he paid £244 and bought 2 and got 2 free, or if he paid £244 and bought 1 and got 1 free, in which case he's paid over the odds. I hope he got 4?

[Sooty torques]

Hi,

Just based on experiences with other 4wd vehicles, are you sure its ok to only fit 2 tyres? Generally with a 4wd you should fit tyres in 4's otherwise you can get diff wind up, as a new tyre will have a larger circumference than a worn tyre. Thinking back to the likes of Vauxhalls Calibra 4x4, you were supposed to swap your wheels around every 3 months to ensure even tyre wear. Normally the only exception to this is when the centre diff/transfer box has a slipping clutch and can accomodate such variations.

Also, general good tyre practice if your only having 2 new tyres fitted, those wheels should always be put on the rear of the car, new tyres can displace more water than worn ones, if on the front of the car you can flood your rear tyres and potentially cause aquaplaning, as the worn rears cant displace the same amount of water.

Regards Austin..

I've always fitted new tyres to the rear after seeing some stuff on TV about it in the '90's - Michelin also have a handy guide about this on their website - but time and money is very tight so this time they went on the front. The rears have hardly any wear at all though will be replaced soon as I have the readies to spare; likewise my usual practice is to swap the wheels around every few months.

Thanks for the heads-up though - all good sense which I can relate to and concur with. :)

My only query (which I am totally unable to answer) is that seeing as the RAV4 is *almost* a front-wheel-drive car with the rears only being electronically connected to drive under exceptional circumstances (AFAIK?) unless the AWD Lock button is poked, is there going to be a problem? And if so, how big?

[MarsKy]

My only query (which I am totally unable to answer) is that seeing as the RAV4 is *almost* a front-wheel-drive car with the rears only being electronically connected to drive under exceptional circumstances (AFAIK?) unless the AWD Lock button is poked, is there going to be a problem? And if so, how big?

As Anchs says, your 4.3 starts off in 4WD.

At over 26 mph, it reverts to front 2WD, unless the electronic gubbins detect that you need 4WD.

So on my T180, the fronts wear out faster than the rears (I think tread of 3-4-3 compared with 4-5-4 the last time it was serviced). So I swap them periodically.

Even on 4WD, put the new ones on the back to stop the rear swinging out in this snow and ice.

EDIT: I changed this - it had said the rears wear out faster which was wrong.