This is the first automatic car I have ever had. Any tips on winter driving please? Especially in snow.

Also I have been in the habit of selecting Neutral when waiting at traffic lights and keeping my foot on the brake.

The reason being that if left in Drive it feels as if the gearbox is 'hunting' to move off and, to me, it feels as if the clutch is slipping as if it where a manual gearbox. Is this the right thing to do or should I leave it in Drive?

On a separate point, tyre pressures. I have had 2 new front tyres a week or so ago. My garage advised that they should be 40 psi all round.

Interestingly they commented that the wheels and tyres were underrated for the weight of the vehicle. Ideally it should have been more like large 'transit van' type. Has anyone else come across this?

Thanks for the Forums help as always.

Graham

1 hour ago, Graham Albert said:

This is the first automatic car I have ever had. Any tips on winter driving please? Especially in snow.

Also I have been in the habit of selecting Neutral when waiting at traffic lights and keeping my foot on the brake.

The reason being that if left in Drive it feels as if the gearbox is 'hunting' to move off and, to me, it feels as if the clutch is slipping as if it where a manual gearbox. Is this the right thing to do or should I leave it in Drive?

On a separate point, tyre pressures. I have had 2 new front tyres a week or so ago. My garage advised that they should be 40 psi all round.

Interestingly they commented that the wheels and tyres were underrated for the weight of the vehicle. Ideally it should have been more like large 'transit van' type. Has anyone else come across this?

Thanks for the Forums help as always.

Graham

Leave it in drive.

The tyre pressure should be on the info plate inside the door jamb.

40 psi is, imho, slighly high.

What size wheels and tyres do you have fitted ?

I did think so too, but having been with this garage for decades I tend to defer to their advice. My old front tyres did about 23k with 36psi

New fronts are 225/55 R17 101W Rears are 225 /55 R17 97w. I think the old fronts were 97W

Thanks and kind regards Graham

Hi Graham!

Yes, these cars are heavy, but actually not THAT heavy for todays cars, a kerb weight of roughly 1900 kg, from the JPNZ handbook.

But the current version of our other car, a Subaru Outback estate, is 1700 kg!

Plus - and this is a guesstimate - 500kg for passengers and cargo.

The tyre loads are more than enough, 97W is 730 kg, 101W is 825.

Only the weight loading cast into the inside of a wheel spoke will tell you if the wheels are under rated. I would be surprised, but nothings impossible!

I agree with Roger, 40 on my own car would be a bit high, I usually run 38, not so much different though.

Cheers!

Nev

Edited 19 hours ago19 hr by BigNev

Presumably you have a camper conversion? To really know if the tyres are underrated you need to know the weight of the vehicle now, and when fully loaded. In an ideal world you wouldn't be taking the vehicle over it's stated maximum weight, but life isn't always ideal. 40psi isn't ridiculous for a camper conversion.

When stopped in traffic I tend to put the gearbox in park, and apply the handbrake if on a slope. I don't like holding the weight of the car on the gearbox pawl so I use the handbrake, but plenty of people don't bother. I also don't like unnecessarily blinding the driver behind me with my brake lights. Using park rather than neutral has an advantage in my hybrid, but either or would be fine in a non hybrid.

Thanks everyone for replying and for your advice. I'll take 1 or 2 psi out when I am next near an accurate gauge.

I had no idea what the W rating meant. I do now.

Re the Park/ Neutral/Drive thoughts. I do, now, remember the other issue that I was told about........when arriving home or at your destination. Put in Neutral for a moment or two, then in Park before shutting down. This would allow the transmission fluid to 'settle down'? Does that make any sense?!

Thanks again. Graham

The situation with tyre pressures and conversions is an interesting one.

For a rear conversion the weight distribution across the rear will probably not be affected too much; albeit increased somewhat.

I run XL tyres.

Anyone who has removed the rear seats will know they are far from light.

Of course, with a rear conversion you couldn't be carrying any rear passengers or luggage.

A lack of say 150kg in lieu of two japanese (sized) passengers, plus potential luggage.

However portable gas and water would account for some of this difference.

With a side conversion things are a little different.

However, I have never measured the weight distribtion of a side conversion, but my guess is it is not as evenely 'balanced' at the rear axle.

Perhaps members can offer their opinions.

The "W" after the load number is the maximum speed rating.

My thoughts on tyre load / gross vehicle weight would be that:

In my JPNZ handbook for the 2008 onwards models, the rating for a 17" tyre, 215/60R17 , is a 97.

The door plate on my 2010 Vellfire says 96, so there is a little discrepancy there.

A 96 is 710 kg, x 4 gives 2840 kg.

A 97 is 730 kg, x 4 gives 2920 kg.

It would be reasonable to reckon that Toyota would not give a tyre specification that was borderline to the design limit of the vehicle, but would have some margin in it.

I have not found, yet, the actual maximum permissible loaded weight for Alphies.

However, I haven't spent hours on it as it's just of academic interest to me, mostly due to the amount of luggage my family insist on, and will be happy to be pointed to actual Toyota issued data, .

XL (for Extra Load) are supposed to have stiffer side walls. I also choose these.

I can however state from personal experience that the Bridgestone Touranza is pretty jolly garbage in that respect, soft as runny cheese. I had them on my Subaru, never, ever, again.

The maximum weight for your Alphard will be shown on the registration document as revenue weight. It comes from the information on the export certificate.

For my 2003 hybrid it is 2435kg. I seem to recall from what I have read it is something like 400-500kg on top of the unloaded weight. The gen 1 hybrid has highest maximum weight of the gen 1models, but it also has the highest base vehicle weight

Edited 14 hours ago14 hr by smurf