Tyre Recommendations

[Padraic]

Hi all, I'm gonna be purchasing some new tyres soon for the Cali and am looking for recommendations from other T4 owners. I want to get tyres that are suitable for all conditions, wet, dry and light snow.
I'll be fitting them on my BBS 16 rims. The good year Vector 4Seasons cargo look like the type of tyre I'm after, but its good to get feedback from others.


Any advice or recommendations would be great.

Regards Padraic.

 

[WelshGas]

Hi all, I'm gonna be purchasing some new tyres soon for the Cali and am looking for recommendations from other T4 owners. I want to get tyres that are suitable for all conditions, wet, dry and light snow.
I'll be fitting them on my BBS 16 rims. The good year Vector 4Seasons cargo look like the type of tyre I'm after, but its good to get feedback from others.
View attachment 43348

Any advice or recommendations would be great.

Regards Padraic.

Have had 2 sets of the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons. I tend to change tyres when they get down to 3-4mm. Both sets covered 20,000 miles. No Problems, all weathers, all year.Tyre wear equal front/rear on a 4Motion.Tyres weren't changed front/rear.
Changed to Michelin Cross Climate - same size. Similar milage and now down to 5 + mm, so better wear. Seem quieter and MPG has improved by 1.5mpg over 20,000 miles.
I can't believe they would perform any differently on a T4 than my T5.1.

 

[sidepod]

Goodyear Efficiencient Grip. 68 dB. Nice and quiet.

 

[B J G]

A review if you have reading time

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Volkswagen/Transporter.htm

 

[BenPcaliman]

Just bought 4 Mitchelin cross climate so far so good

 

[BillyCasper]

When I was looking, Goodyear, Michelin, Nokian all seemed to get good reviews, one perhaps a bit better in snow, another in rain. In the end I went for Michelin Cross Climate 235/55R17. Original factory fitted summer tyres were very worn on the front but absolutely fine on the back. Changed all four, perhaps I didn’t need to.


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[Padraic]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far. Just been thinking, is it silly to buy tyres that are good in snow, when I may only drive on show for a max of two weeks in the year? Would I be better to buy tyres that work better on UK and Irish roads where I will drive 90% of the time? Snow chains can be used if travelling to any areas with heavy snow.

 

[SailSki]

Hi, my understanding from research done when I was investigating which tyres to get is that unlike most “all season” tyres which are winter tyres modified for warmer use, Michelin Cross Climates are an evolution of a summer design with enough modification for winter to meet requirements for official winter use in Germany etc.
I have been very happy with mine so far.

 

[Sp0_0k]

When I was looking, Goodyear, Michelin, Nokian all seemed to get good reviews, one perhaps a bit better in snow, another in rain. In the end I went for Michelin Cross Climate 235/55R17. Original factory fitted summer tyres were very worn on the front but absolutely fine on the back. Changed all four, perhaps I didn’t need to.


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Tyre brand won't influence how fast front or rear wears. They always wear differently, so a good habit to rotate the wheels. No need to change and rebalance the tires just swap the wheels front to back or X front to back.

 

[B J G]

Tyre brand won't influence how fast front or rear wears. They always wear differently, so a good habit to rotate the wheels. No need to change and rebalance the tires just swap the wheels front to back or X front to back.

many tyres are now directional which prevents cross swapping and can be a problem with the spare wheel as it can only go on one side if the same tyre is used.

 

[MartG]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far. Just been thinking, is it silly to buy tyres that are good in snow, when I may only drive on show for a max of two weeks in the year? Would I be better to buy tyres that work better on UK and Irish roads where I will drive 90% of the time? Snow chains can be used if travelling to any areas with heavy snow.

I agree that you should choose for the most used situation, then use 'proper' equipment for when you really need it (chains)... All season tyres are a compromise good all rounder but you can't beat traction from chains or snow socks / tyres - which you may never need but must carry if in winter abroad.

 

[Sp0_0k]

many tyres are now directional which prevents cross swapping and can be a problem with the spare wheel as it can only go on one side if the same tyre is used.

Top to rear pretty enough. I don't think the direction of spare wheel matters if you plan just to get to some safe point. Lots of vehicles have a completely different smaller spare for that purpose.

 

[B J G]

Top to rear pretty enough. I don't think the direction of spare wheel matters if you plan just to get to some safe point. Lots of vehicles have a completely different smaller spare for that purpose.

depends on how far you travel from home and your personal risk factor.
I'm not aware of a small emergency wheel for Cali's. Ones for cars aren't directional plus limited to 50mph.

In the wet a tyre rotating in the wrong direction would aquaplane, and pretty sure if it caused an accident insurance would be void. Using a tyre in a manner that it isn't designed for.

 

[WelshGas]

Tyre brand won't influence how fast front or rear wears. They always wear differently, so a good habit to rotate the wheels. No need to change and rebalance the tires just swap the wheels front to back or X front to back.

Not on my 4Motion.
Tyre wear front to rear is less than 0.1mm different. Maybe due to the 4Motion system.

 

[Padraic]

My plan is to keep a non directional spare tyre, then it can be used as normal until a puncture is fixed.

 

[SailSki]

Hi, I’m running CrossClimate+ with Vredestein Quatrac 5 as a spare which seems to be fairly non-directional. Wanted to be able to use the spare as a real tyre in all conditions rather than just ‘get you home’ in case no ready replacement or fix, in wintry weather or in the middle of a long drive (regularly doing UK - Switz in one hit).

 

[B J G]

In the long term there appears to be no advantage in tyre swapping.

If left permanently in position 2 tyres would need replacing on one occasion. Possibly the same 2 on the next and then 4 later when the vehicle may be on its second owner. Less of a financial outlay in one hit.

If intention is to change to all season from summer tyres then swapping would be the method to wear 4 out together.

No allowance for wear due to tracking misalignment made in the above.

 

[bxl_lad]

Hi all, I'm gonna be purchasing some new tyres soon for the Cali and am looking for recommendations from other T4 owners. I want to get tyres that are suitable for all conditions, wet, dry and light snow.
I'll be fitting them on my BBS 16 rims. The good year Vector 4Seasons cargo look like the type of tyre I'm after, but its good to get feedback from others.
View attachment 43348

Any advice or recommendations would be great.

Regards Padraic.

Hi Padraic,
I have the same wheels - what did you opt for in the end (particularly the size) and importantly after some use are you happy with your choice?
Cheers,
Matt

 

[Padraic]

Hi Matt, I went with Michelin Crossclimate, 225/60 R16.
I find them great, they are very good in the rain. Overall lots of grip, low noise and have really improved the mpg. But I did get the 4 wheel alignment done at the the same time.

 

[bxl_lad]

So you went in the end for all-season tyres...

Anyone any alternatives they would share their experience of?

 

[Padraic]

Yes they are all season.

 

[sidepod]

I’ve been running these for the last couple of years. Can’t fault them. The main thing for me is they’re 68db so nice and quiet.

Goodyear.

 

[Cali Phillip]

I’ve been running these for the last couple of years. Can’t fault them. The main thing for me is they’re 68db so nice and quiet.

Goodyear.
View attachment 77593View attachment 77594

Had those on the last car and our current caddy van, excellent tyres.
My view from much research and tyre tests is that if you very rarely see snow, so south of England(not hilly areas like Scotland or upland England) the cross climates are a great choice.
If you will encounter snow or want more snow performance then the vector 4 seasons gen 3 are a great choice. I can verify snow performance is not that far off the full winter good year premium winter tyres.

 

[bxl_lad]

Thanks all... Off to the tyre shop next week, will mull over your recommendations...
Cheers!

 

[bxl_lad]

So, 'off to the tyre shop' didn't happen yet, but back on the case... Have run into a snag though (maybe its a Belgian oddity?)... The Certificate of Conformity shows the original tyres as 195/70R15
So a 15" rim, but i bought some of the BBS rims (16") found on the late models second hand - standard VW factory fits, with 225/60R16 tyres.

As the C.o.C. (for want of a better acronym!) shows 195/70R15, officially I'm only allowed certain difference in tyre size here in Belgium - turns out that the 225/60R16 is not conforming to that rule (even though I've been through the Belgian MOT 4 times now they haven't noticed the wrong tyre size - but murphy's law as soon as i shell out for new tyres they're gonna pull me up on it).

I've looked at various options, but the limited load rating availability has eventually narrowed it down to 195/65R16, which is of course not as wide as the 225, but its better aligned to the original diameter of the tyre on the C.o.C. (no pun intended!).

Question - has anyone else run this size (195/65R16) on the BBS rims?

As for the tyre options, I've narrowed it down to:

Goodyear Vector 4 season Cargo
BridgeStone Duravis All Season
Continental VanContact 4season

These are all in the same price range (Michelin Cross Climate are +100€ more on the others).

Cheers!