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Any suggestions for alternative van tyres sizes to 165/80R13 - preferably all season?

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  • Any suggestions for alternative van tyres sizes to 165/80R13 - preferably all season?

    Hi all,
    My new van is a 500 L 2.0 Diesel, M reg. The wheels are rusty, so I'm getting them refurbished this week.
    2 of the 4 tyres are perished, so I am looking to replace all 4 with new, possibly all season tyres of an appropriate load rating.
    Availability of 165/80R13 tyres doesn't seem good - and I am biased against cheap Chinese tyres so I am considering other sizes. Does anyone have experience of alternative tyres sizes?
    How wide can I go on the stock rims?
    One of the online calculator sites tells me that 185/70 R13 have a similar circumference so won't affect the speedometer too much.

    Does anyone have experience and recommendations of tyres to fit?

    Best regards,
    Lee

  • #2
    The rims are 5", so 185/70 should be fine. I've got 15" wheels on mine with 175 tyres, not had any problems with them, the bigger diameter just means that the speedo is not as wildly optimistic as it used to be!

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    • #3
      Thanks DrDiesel - the wheels are going off for blasting and powder coating today so I’ll order some 185/70 R13 tyres.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Lee Fowkes View Post
        Thanks DrDiesel - the wheels are going off for blasting and powder coating today so I’ll order some 185/70 R13 tyres.
        Probably a lot easier to get the right load rating on a 185 anyway, 165 is quite narrow by modern standards, I wouldn't be too worried about going to 185/80 if need be, the speedos genearally overread by quite a margin

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        • #5
          Hi again Dr Diesel and other folks online. I've had my 13inch Maestro van wheels refurbished and am finding the choice of tyres overwhelming, especially the load rating. Can I ask the experienced van owners of their experiences?

          Since the van won't be used to carry anything like its 500kg payload should I fit commercial van load rated tyres or car tyres?

          e.g. Commercial van tyres HIFLY Super 2000 175/80 R13C load rating 95/97 £60 each or NANKANG 185/80 R13 Q load rating 100 £65 each.

          Or could I choose all season car tyres?

          e.g. Vredestein Quatrac 5 185/70R13T load rating 86 £80 each.

          I'd prioritise handling and grip over anything else. I never carry anything more than 100kg in the back of the van.

          Thoughts please?
          Lee
          Last edited by Lee Fowkes; 26th May 2022, 15:20.

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          • #6
            I'd discuss this with your MOT tester before purchasing. Both they and your insurer (should you have a prang) can be quite fussy, especially about car tyres on vans and non original sizes being fitted. I've just been through this when purchasing tyres from my usual MOT garage for my Fiat Scudo. A garage i know and trust and have for many years. There are some who say the tyre thing is a ploy to get you to spend more money but the difference in price between car and van tyres isn't worth the risk without checking first? I'm guessing the tyre rating would need to match the Maestros maximum load capacity from the MOT tester point of view?
            _____________________________________________
            Current Fleet

            1993 Rover Montego estate 2.0 LXi

            1987 Austin Montego 1.6L Auto + pas
            1990 Rover Montego estate 1.6LX Auto
            1993 Rover Montego 2.0 SLXi Auto

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            • #7
              Originally posted by zephyr View Post
              I'd discuss this with your MOT tester before purchasing. Both they and your insurer (should you have a prang) can be quite fussy, especially about car tyres on vans and non original sizes being fitted. I've just been through this when purchasing tyres from my usual MOT garage for my Fiat Scudo. A garage i know and trust and have for many years. There are some who say the tyre thing is a ploy to get you to spend more money but the difference in price between car and van tyres isn't worth the risk without checking first? I'm guessing the tyre rating would need to match the Maestros maximum load capacity from the MOT tester point of view?
              Legally tyre just needs to have a suitable load rating https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-insp...#section-5-2-3 probably be worth checking with insurance company, in case they have different ideas. The intended use of the van wouldn't be putting a car tyre anywhere near its limits though. A more likely source of danger would be a tyre shop inflating the tyres incorrectly (assuming that they have access to any data on the Maestro), the recommended rear tyre pressures on the van fully loaded versus empty are very different. I'd care to bet that back in the day very few users let the tyres back down after they dropped their 14cwt load off & were heading home empty tho' . Being a car derived van, the Maestro isn't likely to unleash the same sort of tyre reladed can of worms as the Scudo and you can do 60mph on an A road!

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              • #8
                I agree and the link is quite informative especially near the bottom under what a "Defect" is described as. In everyday practice common sense prevails but this isn't always the case with zealous MOT testers and insurers trying to find a way out of fulfilling a claim.
                _____________________________________________
                Current Fleet

                1993 Rover Montego estate 2.0 LXi

                1987 Austin Montego 1.6L Auto + pas
                1990 Rover Montego estate 1.6LX Auto
                1993 Rover Montego 2.0 SLXi Auto

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hi all, thanks for the discussion and recommendations.
                  I discussed with my mechanic today who got both my vans roadworthy and MOTd. He made the point that my most recent M-reg van had passed its MOT with the wheels from the older F-reg van - just temporarily fitted whilst I got the steel wheels refurbished. Those tyres were Hankook 165/80 R13 87 R and the MOT tested thought they were fine. They weren't 'proper' commercial van tyres like 165/80 R13C.
                  So based on this I'm going tyre shopping this weekend.
                  Thanks all!
                  Lee

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                  • #10
                    Thank all for your guidance. Just to conclude this thread, I've bought Hifly Super 2000 175R13C 97/95 M+S commercial van tyres. They drive nicely, look nice and chunky and fill the arches more than the old 165/80 R13 car tyres did.

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