Tyre load rating
I've just noticed that the tyres that are on the van I recently bought have the wrong load rating, they are 97 and Ford spec suggests 101 on that particular tyre size.Couple of questions, where would I stand insurance wise? Probably best to check with them I guess...
Should the dealer have sold the van with the incorrect tyres on? All tyres are pretty new.
Thanks It may depend on intended load... They may be fine up to designated limit.But do check with your insurance. This happened to me with a vw transporter. They put 97s on 20 inch alloys. While the alloys were sufficiently load bearing the tyres were not. They needed 101. For safety/mot/insurance concerns I went back to the dealer and told them to replace the tyres and they did. Load rating should be (as far as I understand it) be greater than the axle weight divided by 2. Bear in mind front and rear axle weight could be different. HTHs.
In my case I suspect they put 97s on because they were significantly cheaper than the 101 equivalent. I sense a common theme here... The tyres on there are Avon ZX7s, a high performance 4x4 tyre apparently.
I've emailed the dealer I bought the van from to see if they fitted them but no reply as yet. They are virtually new, nearly 8mm on the front and over 8mm on the back, I can't see why the previous owner would have changed all four when he part exchanged it... F.F.S, just quoted my own post instead of editing it! data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Thanks Mr Mod data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 The tyre load index figure also has to take into account the lateral load put on the tyre walls when driving round corners etc,not just the load within the vehicle.. Load rating of 97 equates to 730kg per corner so theoretically 2920kg total, van is rated at 2900kg... Here is how I understand it. My VW t28 has gwv of 2800kg. 700kg per corner so you would think 730kg/97 tyre would be enough but, as I understand it you have to look at the individual axles. Front is 1450kg and rear is 1550kg. Therefore to run 4 tyres the same I have to exceed the 1550kg/2 = 775kg/99 to be safe. Therefore went with a 101 at 825kg per corner.
However, your interpretation might be different.