extra load tyres

[mcd840]

Do any of you who have dti vecs or omegas bother with extra load tyres on the front ? Just asking as the sidewalls on my fronts seem very bulgy even at correct psi. Or does it not make much odds

Cheers

[Entwood]

I have extra load all round  (3.2 elite saloon) but I do a LOT of towing and the 'van is 1600kgs .. so I don't take risks ..

[05omegav6]

XL all round here...

And given the gross weight of an Omega is around 2300kg or 575kgs per corner...

You would be well advised to fit XLs all four of your tyres, as non XLs might not carry the weight, and might cause an issue if you prang it and tyres are found to contribute

[D]

The Omega was built around standard tyres if I am not mistaken. So why would the XL tyres be of any consequence in a prang? Would it not be the other way round as XL were not the standard tyres that came with any Omega?

[05omegav6]

To be clear...

http://www.blackcircles.com/general/load-rating

[mcd840]

They all come up as 91 v for me...

[biggriffin]

A tyre based thread........nooooo

[Marks DTM Calib]

The important thing is that the load rating matches or exceeds that which the manufacturer specifies. 

Towing etc. should not result in the manufacturers spec being exceeded (for example, the max nose weight on the tow bar is circa 75Kg which is bugger all extra assuming the pikey wagon/trailer brakes are working correctly.) 

[tunnie]

The important thing is that the load rating matches or exceeds that which the manufacturer specifies. 

Towing etc. should not result in the manufacturers spec being exceeded (for example, the max nose weight on the tow bar is circa 75Kg which is bugger all extra assuming the pikey wagon/trailer brakes are working correctly.) 

I make that around ~12 stone?

So having two people in the back, would be more than weight of a burger van?

[chrisgixer]

Do any of you who have dti vecs or omegas bother with extra load tyres on the front ? Just asking as the sidewalls on my fronts seem very bulgy even at correct psi. Or does it not make much odds

Cheers

XL has little to do with that ime. What tyres are they? And do you have any handling issues with the car, possibly as a result? Ime I've had better handling results with stiffer side wall tyres. Don't get that water balloon on each corner sensation anyway.

[Kevin Wood]

Tyres have always had a load rating. "XL" is just a recent marketing gimmick designed to attach some sort of extra value to tyres with a high LR. As said, match the load rating to the manufacturer's spec and, regardless of whether the tyre is marketed as an XL, all will be fine.

[05omegav6]

Without realising the implications, if someone fitted 88 rated tyres to their Omega estate on cost grounds, then they would be quite close to the tyres limit, and if they suddenly found themselves in a highload situation, such as emergency braking, then suddenly the front tyre loads might increase by 50% due to weight transfer. Even the gentlest of drivers could overload an underated tyre in such circumstances 

Gimmick or no, the XL rating does at least imply a higher load rating for any given tyre size

[Entwood]

The important thing is that the load rating matches or exceeds that which the manufacturer specifies. 

Towing etc. should not result in the manufacturers spec being exceeded (for example, the max nose weight on the tow bar is circa 75Kg which is bugger all extra assuming the pikey wagon/trailer brakes are working correctly.) 

Totally agree ... but there are a few additions .... many folks will have 2 adults + 2 kids in the car + a boot full of stuff when towing .. so the tow bar load is additional to the "normal" weight, and has a degree of "leverage" given the position of the towbar.

In my case .. and the "worst case" scenario ... off to France so the roof box will be on and full , around 60 kgs, 2 bikes - another 20 kilos, LPG tank full - 40 kilos and then all the other crap we take .. BBQ, coldbox, awning, poles etc etc etc on the back seat as I prefer to have a heavy(ier) car and light(er) van when towing.

All this plus driving for 4-5 hours in (hopefully) warm conditions will put extra stress on the tyres, so I choose to use XL purely as a precaution ...

[taitinson]

Towing etc. should not result in the manufacturers spec being exceeded (for example, the max nose weight on the tow bar is circa 75Kg which is bugger all extra assuming the pikey wagon/trailer brakes are working correctly.) 
[/quote]

Maybe the ton and a half of rubble in my trailer which had the axle positioned towards the rear end of it is linked to the towbar having bent on my estate........

[Marks DTM Calib]

The important thing is that the load rating matches or exceeds that which the manufacturer specifies. 

Towing etc. should not result in the manufacturers spec being exceeded (for example, the max nose weight on the tow bar is circa 75Kg which is bugger all extra assuming the pikey wagon/trailer brakes are working correctly.) 

Totally agree ... but there are a few additions .... many folks will have 2 adults + 2 kids in the car + a boot full of stuff when towing .. so the tow bar load is additional to the "normal" weight, and has a degree of "leverage" given the position of the towbar.

In my case .. and the "worst case" scenario ... off to France so the roof box will be on and full , around 60 kgs, 2 bikes - another 20 kilos, LPG tank full - 40 kilos and then all the other crap we take .. BBQ, coldbox, awning, poles etc etc etc on the back seat as I prefer to have a heavy(ier) car and light(er) van when towing.

All this plus driving for 4-5 hours in (hopefully) warm conditions will put extra stress on the tyres, so I choose to use XL purely as a precaution ...

Yes but as said, the load ratings for the tyres are based on the manufacturers max load calculations (e.g. fully laden) which will have already considered those factors including the nose weight