Pearl black owners experience......how bad are the scratches and swirls?

[California4x4]

love your van so much thank you for posting, i have. a black one on order (4motions ocean) due october and going to fit the goodrich all terrain tyres , can i beg of you to tell me the right size you fitted please , im getting 18 inch wheels so praying you have same

These are 17x8.5 KMC XD Holeshots with 245/65 x 17 BFGoodrich AT2 All Terrain mud and snow tyres. They are highly effective but there are some compromises. I wouldn’t put them on just for looks. The tyres will come with white lettering on one side and black on the other so you can choose which way to fit them. Good luck.

 

[Bumble The Van]

These are 17x8.5 KMC XD Holeshots with 245/65 x 17 BFGoodrich AT2 All Terrain mud and snow tyres. They are highly effective but there are some compromises. I wouldn’t put them on just for looks. The tyres will come with white lettering on one side and black on the other so you can choose which way to fit them. Good luck.

ah thats so clever to put on one side , im a willdife photographer so will often go gently off road, no serious terrain, what are the compromises would you say ?

 

[California4x4]

ah thats so clever to put on one side , im a willdife photographer so will often go gently off road, no serious terrain, what are the compromises would you say ?

Pros:
Excellent off road performance in wet and dry conditions.
Very good puncture resistance
Can run them at low pressures
Fairly good performance on Xbox and ice.
Reasonable performance on road
Less likely to kerb alloy or damage in pot holes

cons:
They will make your van taller
Rolling radius increase affects speedo etc
Limited mud clearance without suspension lift
Heavier and tread pattern will have a slight negative effect on MPG
Increased noise on road over summer tyres
Increased wet road braking distance over summer tyres

I planned to only put them on when needed but have found the cons to be negligible for me so they stay on all year. If doing a dedicated long winter trip, I would put dedicated winter tyres on.

 

[Bumble The Van]

Pros:
Excellent off road performance in wet and dry conditions.
Very good puncture resistance
Can run them at low pressures
Fairly good performance on Xbox and ice.
Reasonable performance on road
Less likely to kerb alloy or damage in pot holes

cons:
They will make your van taller
Rolling radius increase affects speedo etc
Limited mud clearance without suspension lift
Heavier and tread pattern will have a slight negative effect on MPG
Increased noise on road over summer tyres
Increased wet road braking distance over summer tyres

I planned to only put them on when needed but have found the cons to be negligible for me so they stay on all year. If doing a dedicated long winter trip, I would put dedicated winter tyres on.

thank you so much for talking the time to write all that totally invaluable for me thank you so much. how out is the speedo its not drastic is it? you have convinced me for sure , im having roof bars on so height is above anyways most 2 metre restrictions so a bit more isnt going to change much?

 

[California4x4]

thank you so much for talking the time to write all that totally invaluable for me thank you so much. how out is the speedo its not drastic is it? you have convinced me for sure , im having roof bars on so height is above anyways most 2 metre restrictions so a bit more isnt going to change much?

I think the difference is approximately 5% I find that my speed on the clock matches GPS speed with these tyres on.

 

[California4x4]

thank you so much for talking the time to write all that totally invaluable for me thank you so much. how out is the speedo its not drastic is it? you have convinced me for sure , im having roof bars on so height is above anyways most 2 metre restrictions so a bit more isnt going to change much?

I can’t recommend the KMC Holeshot wheels though. They work perfectly well as a wheel but they are corroding before I would have liked. I’ll look at Black Rhino or Wolfrace options next time.

 

[Poodlehat2222]

I've taken on board all your advice and ordered.........Ascot Grey.
Thanks for your help.
In the end it became less about colour and more about money. We scaled back form a good spec Ocean to a mid spec Coast, so it made sense to pare back the paint cost too.
Guess the head won this time.....I must be getting old and sensible at last.

 

[66tim99]

I've taken on board all your advice and ordered.........Ascot Grey.
Thanks for your help.
In the end it became less about colour and more about money. We scaled back form a good spec Ocean to a mid spec Coast, so it made sense to pare back the paint cost too.
Guess the head won this time.....I must be getting old and sensible at last.

Great choice. Subtle, classic VAG colour that looks understated and blends into terrain quite well. Can also wrap the bottom half (green, purple, orange?) if you want to funk it up and also protect the paint

 

[Madhutter]

Drop in next time you are passing!

I have to be in the right mood to do it though & the right weather. I find it therapeutic.
I don't do fancy hard to clean wheels, 5 big spokes is enough or my 17" steels for winter. Roof very rarely gets done as I cant see it.
Its amazing how much difference a decent coat of wax makes though, an afternoon of waxing followed by a quick sealer means the water beads & the dirt washes off easily for months & months. Then its just a quick bucket with shampoo in it & dry with microfibre towels.

Which products do you use?

 

[andyinluton]

Which products do you use?

Nothing special these days, just Autoglym - whenever it’s on a 3 for 2 offer at Halfords.
Most important things are use a grid in the bottom of the bucket to keep any grit separate from the wash cloth and instantly binning any cloth that has been dropped on the ground.
Use a micro fibre wash mitt not a sponge.
If you do the above you can keep the swirls on the paintwork to a minimum.