Thats one reason why I went for Hankook. As well as very good tyres I always obtained ones that were relatively fresh out of the factory, but two weeks would have been hard to beat. I used Blackcircles as they have quick turnover.
We had a tyre that kept deflating slowly. It would take about two weeks for the pressure to drop from 49psi to below 44psi. I would then inflate the tyre and normally it held the pressure for the journey. Eventually after about 2 years I removed the tyre and took it to a fitter who found not one, but two nails in the tyre. I had the tyre repaired.
The tyres were checked last year and found to be in a good condition all round even the one that had the punctures although they are now all over 5 years old.
I am uncertain whether to replace them this year or leave it until next year taking into consideration the tyre that had the slow puncture. Over the past 5 years and a bit years total mileage is less than 7000 miles.
Tyre size is 175/65 R14 90 and that is the problem as difficult to source a known brand name with a load rating of 90 that is not Chinese. However it does seem that I may not have any choice.
The tyres were checked last year and found to be in a good condition all round even the one that had the punctures although they are now all over 5 years old.
I am uncertain whether to replace them this year or leave it until next year taking into consideration the tyre that had the slow puncture. Over the past 5 years and a bit years total mileage is less than 7000 miles.
Tyre size is 175/65 R14 90 and that is the problem as difficult to source a known brand name with a load rating of 90 that is not Chinese. However it does seem that I may not have any choice.
Even quality brands such as Continental, Hankook, Yokohama etc are made in China and may find their way onto the European market. I guess you are really referring to Chinese brands with obscure names where the Design, Development and Quality Assurance and Quality Control may not be as good as leading brands. Not everything that emanates from China is suspect.
Tyres
You are correct about concerns about obscure brands. I thought the the Kormoran brand was Chinese, but they are manufactured in Poland and targetted at the commercial European market.
The majority of Continental tyres are still manufactured in Germany, but they also have factories in the United States, Hungary and Poland plus of course China. I cannot see where my Continentals were manufactured even when checking the tyre itself.
My concern is of course the load rating of "90". Some tyres I looked at have a load rating of 90/88, but I am not sure why the 2 figures.
The alternative is to change the tyre that had the punctures and put it as the spare and the spare tyre onto the alloy and get the alloy wheel balanced again?
The majority of Continental tyres are still manufactured in Germany, but they also have factories in the United States, Hungary and Poland plus of course China. I cannot see where my Continentals were manufactured even when checking the tyre itself.
My concern is of course the load rating of "90". Some tyres I looked at have a load rating of 90/88, but I am not sure why the 2 figures.
The alternative is to change the tyre that had the punctures and put it as the spare and the spare tyre onto the alloy and get the alloy wheel balanced again?
Last edited:
I had a friend who worked for Michelin Nigeria, in Quality Control, he was then asked to go to China for Michelin where he spent another 5 years, until he retired and went home to St Andrews, I am not sure of the name of the tyres made in China.
This extract from a Pirelli site explains why some tyres have two load ratings.
“The first number is the load rating when the tyre is used alone and the second is the rating when it is used as a dual tyre. The dual rating is usually lower to cover situations where one tyre in the pair fails and the other has to carry the full load.”
Please don’t now ask why all tyres don’t have two load ratings. 😂😂😂
“The first number is the load rating when the tyre is used alone and the second is the rating when it is used as a dual tyre. The dual rating is usually lower to cover situations where one tyre in the pair fails and the other has to carry the full load.”
Please don’t now ask why all tyres don’t have two load ratings. 😂😂😂
Thanks. As we have a twin axle the second load rating of 88 or 560kg per tyre is above the parameter for a caravan with MTPLM of 2000kg. The load rating of 90 or 600kg per tyre is probably more adequate or suitable?
The loadindex for dualload axles is lower, because of roadcurve. Then inner tyre deflect more then outer tire.
For tandem axle caravans you still use the single axle loadindex.
But mayby more reserve is wisethen when single axle caravan. If towbar to high or low. More reserve to cover weightdifferences between the axles.
For tandem axle caravans you still use the single axle loadindex.
But mayby more reserve is wisethen when single axle caravan. If towbar to high or low. More reserve to cover weightdifferences between the axles.
Interesting point. If the caravan is not near level when being towed you will get more weight on one axle than the other, but as long as you have a decent reserve in the tyres I would doubt it is a problem.
But even with decent reserves in tires, it wont help if the pressure is not determined with decent reserve too
While we are on about tyres, searching for caravan tyres with load index 90 can be frustrating as many websites ask for car registration. If the website has the facility to search by tyre, most do not have the option of load index so you are snookered once again! 
But once you search by tyre size surely details such as speed rating and Load Index are displayed for each tyre. So all that’s required is to just focus on those tyres that meet the required load index. Not really snookered.While we are on about tyres, searching for caravan tyres with load index 90 can be frustrating as many websites ask for car registration. If the website has the facility to search by tyre, most do not have the option of load index so you are snookered once again!
Most tyre websites I've seen allow the size, speed and load to be entered - I have non-standard tyres on my VW so the registration method is useless.While we are on about tyres, searching for caravan tyres with load index 90 can be frustrating as many websites ask for car registration. If the website has the facility to search by tyre, most do not have the option of load index so you are snookered once again!
As said very seldom is load index shown so you need to check the details fo each tyre to see if it meets the requirements. My main concern is a repaired tyre that had two punctures repaired last year.
I now am thinking that instead of buying 4 new tyres just before we go away on holiday, a better idea may be to swap the tyre on the spare wheel for the repaired tyre for this year.
The tyres are all under 6 years old and are in very good condition and were inspected last year in November. Mileage since then is less than 500 miles.
Facebook
Twitter