Bongo Fury

I am due some new tyres, but since my last refit I am astonished by the cost of them

I have Barum Bravaris 255/55/R17 Extra Loads Which were about £75 a couple of years ago.

The tyre shopper sites don't stock them now, and the cheapest seem to be well over £120 a corner

Can anyone help as I don't fancy going bankrupt over a rubber doughnut.

17" Acceleras can be had for around £60-65 a piece if that helps.

I also ended up getting 16" Acceleras £180 for a full set and they are great

"They Are Great" is the bit I wanted to hear.

Where did you get them for that price?

Have a look at Zeta tyres. I've got them on mine and they're good value imo.

I put 18in acceleras on mine, load rated etc all in inc fitting £342 from blackcircles.com

I chose them after asking the same question on this forum. The day after fitting I then drove 540km on them in, on a typical "4 seasons" in one day journey from Scotland down to Hereford. No problems whatsoever!

Blueskai wrote:"They Are Great" is the bit I wanted to hear.

Where did you get them for that price?

I got them from a dealer in a backstreet in Bradford, just pulled in off the road as i was driving past, he had a brand new set in and he said £200, after 5 mins of bartering i got him to £180 fitted and balanced sorted

Thanks for the tips.

As mentioned I have 255/55/R17

Would 255/40/r17 make a big difference to the ride?

Yes the difference in the tyres profile will make a difference to your ride.

1. You have less rubber to cushion road shocks and bumps, so you will feel the difference.
2. If you have a 4wd please check that the ratios are suitable as if the wheels are of the wrong size it will burn your diffs out.

I ride 18's 225/18/55 and I found that a lot firmer than the standard bongo wheels that I swopped them with.

Just make sure that the tyres are load rated for 92 at the front and 94 at the rear (I think) - the acceleras should be rated at 98's anyhow.

I hope you don't mind me butting in for advice here. I have 17 inch alloys. And I'm slightly confused by the sizing. Can I fit 225's on them? I currently have 255's. but the 225' are miles cheaper.

Nippon Tuck wrote:I hope you don't mind me butting in for advice here. I have 17 inch alloys. And I'm slightly confused by the sizing. Can I fit 225's on them? I currently have 255's. but the 225' are miles cheaper.

This is going to depend on the size of your wheel (width ways.. the same as the tread) If the wheel is 255mm, then a 225mm tyre may be too loose & not fit or seal correctly.

You don't say where you live in your profile, but I suggest that if you are in any doubt, consult a reputable alloy wheel dealer & seek their advice. ( or several & make your own judgement depending on what they all say if it's different advice )

Nigel

17" tyres in general seem to have gone particularly pricey of late. a mate of mine was offered some very cheap alloys for his impreza but it still worked out cheaper to buy a new wheel/tyre package than tyres alone! bonkers!!

It's true wrt the cost of alloys/rubber in general.

I got very lucky. First off was the set of rx8 18in alloys. I watched them on ebay for a week and they never sold at £200. The vendor relisted at £100 and I literally nipped in with 10 seconds to go at the end of the second week and got them.

A mate of mine has checked them out, and all I need to do with them is get them sanded and recovered with laquer. The rubber was pricey in comparison with say 17in wheels but I made sure that I checked out advice from here against other website.

My total package came to £442 for alloys and brand new accelaras. The only extra cost will be in the winter when I dismount the 18's and put back on some standard van tyres with my original 15 in mazda alloys. I'll put some winter tyres on, as hopefully the wife will give permission to going skiing in the new year!

I'll wait until next spring to get the 18in alloys sanded and some new laquer on!

Best bit of advice is shop around, ask loads of questions, research and if possible check out existing bongos with 17/18in alloys on.

I'm up at Allithwaite last weekend of Jul at a wee meet and would be happy for anyone to have a peep at t'bongo! May even treat him to a wash n wax before I go up to.

I run 215's all round and have used nangkangs and now use acceleras, I get them from my local tyre shop £39.00 each fully fitted, damn good tyres too.

17" Accelera's, around £50 a corner from Bathwick tyres (2 depots in Yeovil - http://www.bathwicktyres.co.uk/locations.asp ), not had a problem in 3 years, recently had to replace the fronts due to a tracking issue wearing one unevenly, just got hold of a spare 17" alloy as well so I can use the other good tyre that came off as a spare.