Bongo Fury

After all the fun with the cylinder head over winter (thanks again for the advice, all), last week's first MOT I've done with the Bongo went well. One tyre needed replacing, for inner wear, but the others were nearly there too, so I went to Stoke to see TreadXTyres who fitted me some 'Kingpin Valiant' remoulded tyres, 4x 195/70/15C (8-ply). Reviews for that tyre were positive on their ebay account, with thousands of sales.

This replaced 215s on the rear with all four as 195s. I know it's a point of contention, but I'm hoping this setup, with commercial/van tyres, will be 'OK' for the foreseeable future. It cost £140 for all 4 fitted, because of them being remoulds. They claim it's decent rubber (Tuyo or something he said?) and they are made in Shropshire, somewhere Drayton something. I also read up on remoulds before buying, with some 50% of commercial vehicles on the road using them apparently. I'm not a tyre-snob and cashflow needs protecting atm, so this little bit of due diligence I'm hoping is enough. They certainly feel good on the road. There is no increase in road noise, which I thought there would be. Might even be less.

When changing the tyres, the driver's side front had copper grease on, so floated off. Rear ones needed sledge-hammer encouragement, near-side front sheared TWO bolts. Sigh. Is rethreading those a big job, who am I best to turn to? For now the trim is covering the sheared bolts. Am I right in thinking the weight of the vehicle is taken in the centre of the wheel, with none on the bolts/studs? In either case I want to get on it asap.

I also needed to tighten up the service brake, which I did while the rear tyres were off in Stoke with the help of the factsheet on the handbrake. Retest on Monday will see if they're happy at the MOT centre (Kwikfit), but it's certainly feeling better. Beats the £100-odd that would have been at the garage, if it passes, and saved £120 over the Kwikfit tyre quote. But I get no guarantee, and a relatively unproven tyre. Still, that £200 saving can be part of the guarantee.

Need to sort out alignment/balance and tracking, but not sure of the best place to do that. Should I ask Kwikfit, seeing as it's relatively simple?

So, in brief... got all new wheels for £140 fitted, tightened up handbrake while they were going on, need to figure out how to replace two wheel studs (same wheel).

Wheel studs are splined on the end and just need knocking out ... and the new ones knocking back in with the threads protected with a wheel nut ..

Check before you buy as I believe there are two spline diameters either 13 or 14.3 mm ..

Dunno how much room there is on the back so they can be done with the hub still on ..

The kik fit I went to repaired my puncture but would not put it back on the bongo as they did not have the wheel nut torq figures

Not sure I'm reading your post correctly
But 195 tyres are not suitable for the rear wheels
What's the weight / speed rating on your new tyres

You say at mo trim is covering the two shared bolts
Your not driving it like this are you
1 missing stud is risky but two is a no no

Have to agree with Gasy.

195s On the rear isn't a 'Point of contention', they're below spec and not legal. This will invalidate your insurance, and driving with two sheared wheel studs will constitute using a vehicle in a dangreous condition.

Even if you don't loose a wheel and get in a serious (uninsured) bump the fine will far outweigh the saving.

mikeWalsall wrote:Wheel studs are splined on the end and just need knocking out ... and the new ones knocking back in with the threads protected with a wheel nut ..

Check before you buy as I believe there are two spline diameters either 13 or 14.3 mm ..

Dunno how much room there is on the back so they can be done with the hub still on ..

Thanks a lot Mike, appreciate the practical advice on getting the studs sorted. Hoping I can knock them out without too much hassle, looks like the brakes have to be released at least, have you done it on a Bongo? It's just sourcing the new ones then - not sure where's best, off the shelf somewhere or have them made up?

Gasy, the weight rating is 102/104 (850-900 kg) and the speed is L (75mph). They are 8-ply commercial tyres, as mentioned. Not driving it on the 3 studs, no, just back from the tyre place. Just trying to get it sorted, if you know anything about replacing them.

Bob, thanks too. For the 195/215 issue, regarding insurance and legality, it doesn't seem that there was ever a consensus on that on the forum (unless I've missed it in all my searching) given that they're set up for Japanese standards and pressures. Will investigate further on the insurance front. As for the studs, I'm here to fix them, so if you have any tips on that specifically, it'd be much appreciated.

Shoudn't be too hard, good luck.

As your studs have snapped off, there maybe enough clearance to 'drift' them out and use as a pattern to check diameter / source the correct ones ..??

http://www.jjcraceandrally.com/race/whe ... rear-front

Bob wrote:Shoudn't be too hard, good luck.

Hmm, one thing I'm not happy about that I overlooked though: speed rating in the driver's door says S, and these are L's. I'll need to double check with insurers as I don't think they'll be overly pleased with that. If I've read right, that's 112mph vs 75mph max speed. Obviously the Bongo doesn't reach 75mph on a regular basis, if ever, but that's probably not the point at all.

I've a feeling you're right on that, likely its down to what speed it could do, and rate of acceleration.

We all know this isn't rocket like with a Bongo, but rules is rules.