Tyre Wear

[Seaman]

Hi
Still awaiting delivery. Citroën have emailed that the order has been placed on the factory but . . .
whilst searching the web for things Berlingo we have come across several threads which appear to say that Berlingos are rather heavy on tyres, especially rear tyres.
Can anybody with the current model, especially the XTR with 16" wheels throw some light on the subject.
Best wishes.
Jim & Tracey

[pch]

Hi Jim and Tracy , I use 15 alloys [ summer] 15 steels [ winter] and found my rear tyre wear on both hasnt gone down much 1/2 mm, its front which on summer went down 2-3 mm.
But they are 15 ".
My old VWT4 Westfalia camper had 17" and they went down fully in 4-5k , and only 17" wheels on that van had that problem .15, 16 and 19 " were fine, but 17" through the geometry out.
It will be interesting to read more as what I discovered on VW vans is we and manufacturers put bigger wheels on as its the trend / fad at the moment , but the vehical was not originally set up for that size when designed. I spoke to all major tyre and wheel manufactures and they confirmed this.

[Seaman]

Thanks Pete.
Now the follow on question!
The XTR (without the safety plus pack) is fitted with 16" alloys and lowish profile tyres.
Is the overall diameter of the wheel and tyre the same as the 15" variants.
If not does this mean that the speedo and trip recorder are perhaps nearer to the truth and that is where the extra 10mm of ground clearance comes from.
Best wishes,
Jim & Tracey

[pch]

good question, I would like to know what gives the 10mm of extra ground clearance also, as I live up a half mile farm track and I would have like that bit more clearance, also is the xtr fitted with beefier suspension , or is it all show?
I suppose it also depends on your tyre size fitted, one of the measurements gives the height, , think its the 40 , 50, 55 , 60 or 70 bit. Maybe worth checking which one of these is fitted as standard, My winter mud and snow tyres are taller and thinner than my sommer alloys I fit. Better for traction in snow I believe, but not so good roadholding on tarmac, in wet etc. Its all a compromise.
Once my tyres wear out my policy would be to have smaller wheel with a larger tyre to give a chunkier look to the vehical, like a 4x4, Also a less harsh ride.
Pete

[steve]

Hi
Still awaiting delivery. Citroën have emailed that the order has been placed on the factory but . . .
whilst searching the web for things Berlingo we have come across several threads which appear to say that Berlingos are rather heavy on tyres, especially rear tyres.
Can anybody with the current model, especially the XTR with 16" wheels throw some light on the subject.
Best wishes.
Jim & Tracey

Hi Jim & Tracey.I have the VTR model with 16 alloys fitted.The rear tyre wear as you have read is heavy on the berlingo.My VTR was new in May 2008 and has covered 18000 miles to date (21/03/2011),the rear tyres were replaced last week.Wear was worst on the nearside tyre with the inner tread reading 3mm,outside tread was 0.5mm.The offside tyre was marginally better and would probably have done another 1000/1500 miles.
The fronts are wearing evenly and have 3/4000 left in them.I have been in contact with Citroen at Slough and they basically fobbed me off on to the dealer(nicely).The dealer has other customers with the same problem and is currently talking to a dealer in Coventry who has the equipment to check the wheel geometry,and is going to contact me if he has found a solution.I have read on the internet in other threads that the C4 suffers the same problem(same chassis),so am not hopefull of a solution quite frankly.I live in rural North Wales so most of my mileage is done on B roads but from what i can gather urban owners seem to get slighty better mileage than i do,(they may also drive slower).Hope thats of some help to you and please dont be put of by this problem as the vehicle is really excellant otherwise.Steve.

[pch]

Hi ya Steve, where in N Wales are you, anywhere near Bangor?
Pete

[Opensauce]

Mines done 21k miles now, it has the xtr steel 16" wheels. The front tyres(Milchelin Primacy HP)are down to 3.5mm, I was told at last service a couple of wks ago that they should be changed in about 4k miles time. The rears are considerably less worn, I have been swapping the spare at regular intervals. The original Michelin tyres on my '05 Berlingo were still just ok at 37k miles when I traded it in so the newer one wears tyres more but I don't know if it is any worse than other similar cars. The tyres on my friend's current model Galaxy last less than 20k miles.

[pch]

anyone with 15" on a mk 3 got anything to report? I am presently going with my theory about a "car" being designed for a particular wheel size and changing to meet fads of the moment [i.e. bigger wheels,] creates the problem, but I need others with 15" to verify this. It took me 18 months to establish this with a VW t4 vehical on a much bigger forum.
Pete

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very diffifult to have a clear idea of whats going on because we all have different driving styles etc.

[Chris]

If you are talking about standard fitment wheels (i.e. what the car was originally designed to run on) then I would be looking at geometry and tracking. There are plenty of stories of even brand new cars being supplied with the geo that is way out, add to this, what happens with bumping kerbs or living at the end of a farm track. Fitting wheel and tyre combinations that were never within the original design brief is likely to have some potentially adverse affects on the suspension including faster wear rates.

It is also likely that if you are fitting 16"+ wheels with lower profile tyres that you are probably going to be on softer compounds than compared to the more utilitarian, higher profile rubber.

There is perhaps also a case for saying that you simply drive quicker with the Carlos Fandangos fitted [Image: cool0040.gif]

[steve]

Hi ya Steve, where in N Wales are you, anywhere near Bangor?
Pete

Hi there pch,live in Henllan nr Denbigh: