Tyre Choices

[Stevo]

Hi all,

Can you please share with me your choice of tyres for your Alphard.  Mine is 2007 model.

Thanks

[Rojie]

3 hours ago, Stevo said:

Hi all,

Can you please share with me your choice of tyres for your Alphard.  Mine is 2007 model.

Thanks

 

Hello Stephen,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

What do you mean by choice of tyres ?

Brands ? 

Sizes ? Tread patterns ?

 

I can tell you the OEM size, if you tell me the model you have ? AS, AX etc.

[Stevo]

Hi, we have an Alphard G 2.4 petrol and it's due for a MOT next week but I've got to replace the tyres, they seem to have Japanese tyres on and I can't find the load bearing numbers on them, so thought I'd ask the lovely people on the forum.

Thanks

[Rojie]

1 hour ago, Stevo said:

Hi, we have an Alphard G 2.4 petrol and it's due for a MOT next week but I've got to replace the tyres, they seem to have Japanese tyres on and I can't find the load bearing numbers on them, so thought I'd ask the lovely people on the forum.

Thanks

 

I believe you need a 95.

[Arthur]

Hi Stevo

 

Hope you got fixed up with your tyres.

 

I have a 2007 3.0 AWD which has been converted to a campervan. With the additional weight I’ve gone for Hankook 205/65 R16 107T.

 

The car came with Yokohama winter tyres with a 95Q rating but I’ve found the new tyres give a much firmer/tighter ride.  

 

Incidentally, check your spare tyre. Mine is 15 years old but isn’t showing any signs of sidewall cracking or other deterioration and my local garage say that it would be extremely difficult to source a new one in the UK (it has a 60 psi).  I’m hoping I don’t get a puncture and have to use it 🤔

[pcous]

Hi Stevo,

These are the weight figures from our Japanese import certificate (Gen 1 2005-07):

Weight	Total	Front	Rear
	(kgs)
Car: Net	1870	1070	800
Car: Revenue (i.e. GVW)	2255

So there's a difference of 385kg between unladen and laden weight (which doesn't seem a lot for a 7/8 seater...) for the base Alphard, but there was no breakdown in the figures for front and rear separately when laden.

Our Alphard has a campervan conversion, so there's the added unladen weight from permanent campervan furniture, but not 5-6 people in the back when laden

You're probably already aware that tyres are weight (and speed) rated, so assuming laden weight is evenly distributed between front and rear, you would need a minimum load rating of 93 front and 84 rear (remember to multiply the tyre load-rating by 2 to get the total for each axle – front and rear). In reality you have to allow for unevenly distributed load when laden and also allow a further margin so that tyres are not working at their maximum rated load.  I think our Alphard before campervan conversion had 95 load-rated Yokohama tyres (which allows a front axle load of up to 1380kg).

Because of our additional campervan load we went with Falken front (101 load rating) & Nokian van tyres rear (109/107 rating), which works well as a combination; although next time round I might consider the Nokians both front and rear. We messed about on a weighbridge several times, putting the whole vehicle on first, then the rear only (and subtracting the difference), to work out the true unladen and laden weights for each axle. Divide the axle weight by 2 to get a load for each tyre...

Here are the tables for load and speed:

Tyre Speed ratings

N 87mph

P 93mph

Q 99mph

R 106mph

S 112mph

T: 118mph

U 124mph

H 130mph

V 149mph

Z 150+ mph

W 168mph

Y 186mph

[Rojie]

Just to add a little:-

 

A typical Japanese male weight is 70kgs

A typical Japanese female weight is 62.5kgs.

 

I put Y rated tyres on my Jaguar XJR, and, try as I might, I just cannot get the Wild Cat to 186mph !

 

Seriously, I think this table is very helpful for members.

 

IMHO, weighbridges are OK, but I think vehicle manufacturers use a (four wheel) rolling road with strain gauges (at each corner) to confirm front to rear, and side to side,  weight distribution.

 

And, of course, towing changes all the readings.

Please consult other threads for towing !