Tyres

Hi,

does anybody know the MOT requirement with regard to tyre sizes...........

the correct tyre size for the XM is (I think) 205 60 ? 15 (with a letter R, V, W, or something where I put the question mark)..........

does the car need to be fitted with this exact tyre size (and rating) for the MOT?

or will it pass the MOT with say 195 60 15's..........or 205 55 15's...........or 205 65 15 etc fitted...........?

Thanks,

Paul.

not too sure about size requirements, but you MUST have the correct speed rating or the tyre is illegal.

For the S1 v6-12v I have 205/60/15 V-rated
S1 2.0 non-turbo's were I believe 195/60/15 H - at least on the 2.0SEi's that I used to own - all running on alloys, not sure about details for steel rims.

Can't really say for the deisel/S2/turbo cars, but no harm in having 205's even if 195 were specified.

Believe some models had 65 profiles specified, but can't recall which now...

regards
Dave

This post has been edited by aengus-xmv6 on July 01, 2008 10:31 pm

Hi Minijet

MoT requirement is simple. You must have the same size tyres on each axle. After that the tester checks that the condition of each tyre meets the wear requirements.
There is a big long list of tyre sizes for different XM's in the Owners Manual and for some car/engine combinations Citroen made small changes to the specified tyre size with different model years.

Regards

XMexc

My 2.0 turboCT has 195x15x60 on the back and 205x15x65 on the front. No problem with the MOT and I was told by a tyre supplier that it didn't matter provided the tyres were the same size on any one "axle", you cannot have 205 on the left hand front wheel and 195 on the right.

Incidentally, the late model V6 (ES9J4) has 205x15x65 as standard.

I've never had any problems with speed ratings and it does seem odd to insist upon a high speed rating in a country with a maximum limit of 70mph!

Derek

Hi Derek

What do you carry on the estate as a spare 205/60/15?

Regards

John

guys, from a legals POV, the max rated speed of the tyre must meet/exceed that of the vehicle to which it is fitted, regardless of how fast you can 'legally' drive.

that nice police man will be more than happy to add loyalty points to your licence for failure to comply with this, along with a donation to the next policeman's ball...

Be sure that when they stop you for speeding, they will radio check the vehicle details (reg, insurance & MOT status), your license details, and take a slow walk around looking closely at anything they feel needs more attention. If you were going particularly quick, and have a nice turbo or V6 badge, they will likely look even closer at the tyres (esp when the outer edge is well worn) like they did on mine the other day...

Also, don't forget there are occasional road-side stop/checks to look at tyres etc here too, been there as well - with nice shiny new tyres fitted

This post has been edited by aengus-xmv6 on July 01, 2008 11:27 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone..........

I need some cheap tyres for the MOT and there seems to be a better selection of 195 tyres than 205.

I found this guide to tyre ratings on the net, I reckon H or higher rating should do for the 2.0 turbo.

(I guess F rated tyres must be for wheel barrows)

F 80 km/h (49 mp/h)
G 90 km/h (55 mp/h)
J 100 km/h (62 mp/h)
K 110 km/h (68 mp/h)
L 120 km/h (74 mp/h)
M 130 km/h (80 mp/h)
N 140 km/h (87 mp/h)
P 150 km/h (93 mp/h)
Q 160 km/h (99 mp/h)
R 170 km/h (106 mp/h)
S 180 km/h (112 mp/h)
T 190 km/h (118 mp/h)
H 210 km/h (130 mp/h)
V 240 km/h (149 mp/h)
W 270 km/h (168 mp/h)
Y 300 km/h (186 mp/h)
Z (ZR) over 240 km/h (over 150 mp/h)

what's the manufacturer rated top speed for the 2.0 turbo?
the non turbo could do 127 so I'd have thought it'd be quicker than this, so would expect it'd need V-rated boots....?

Odd you find 195's easier to source, 205's are very similar in price, and apart from more of a tendancy to follow camber, grip is better with them. P6K's were around the £50 mark when I last had them fitted a few years back. Mich primacys were arounf £80 at Costco IIRC

regards
Dave

Hi Paul.

I stand to be corrected, but I'm pretty sure all the ones I've had have been fitted with 65 profile, either 195 or 205. If you have the handbook with your car, the tyre options are listed in it.

Mike.

I would second the opinion someone already stated here that original dimensions should be always fitted in order to obtain the stability, road hold, roll AND comfort Citroen engineers intended for this car - including the minimum or higher speed rating.

Hi All

As always with XM's the discussion quickly moves to a group of associated questions each needing separate answers.

We now have:

Tyre type and condition to pass the UK MoT?

Original Citroen Tyre Specification for each XM model?

Tyre type and condition to comply with the detail of UK law?

XM suspension stability with non specification tyres?


Suprisingly this time so far we have kept fairly close to the original subject. Still lets see if I can find a few Scarlet Sharks!

It may surprise you to know that part of the tyre size marking is illegal under European law. We should not be calling them 15's but 381mm (431.8mm in Dean's case). The rest of the markings being a dimension in mm, a percentage and a letter code are of course EU compliant.
Space saver spare wheels are of course illegal under UK law immediately they are driven on unless you fit a pair to the same axle. Fortunately only a few early XM's with Alloys got a form of space saver.
The use of puncture repair sludge ruins a tyre and can cause gross suspension instability from an infinitely variable wheel balance.
Tread pattern is a critical issue and probably the most important consideration if you are purchasing a single tyre.
In the UK you need the written consent of your Insurance Company to fit low profile wheels/tyres to your XM.
Most of the secondhand tyres sold in the UK come from Germany where they have been removed from service as near the legal minimum wear limit.

Keep up the good work

XMexc

Have to agree with that, my S2 is on 205s while the S1 has 195s, and the S2 definitely does grip better in similar circumstances.

Yep, they're still that, had them fitted to the S1 a few months back. They're not bad, not half as good as the BF Goodrich on the S2, but I cannot for the life of me get hold of those tyres over here now for some strange reason....

Ciarán

All of mine have used 195/65/15s I usually go for this weeks special offer.

This post has been edited by Peter.N. on July 02, 2008 05:21 pm

Hi John,

Our posts crossed again.

The estate had the odd sized boots on when I bought it and I don't have the inclination to change them. Similarly I have no idea what size spare I have, if push ever comes to shove I'll plead spacesaver.

I would expect the top speed of the CTC to be low 130s so it looks like it should be on Vs.

I'll now go out and check the speed ratings on both cars.

Derek

Evening all

I must admit my alloys (225 45 17) make very little difference to ride quality, i know cos i swapped back to the original alloys the other night, regarding the width of the tread, having wider tyres gives much better traction than the standard tyres and if you like to push on a bit the tyres wont roll on the shoulder and give uneven wear and they make the steering feel a lot more responsive but, the wider tyre is a lot more camber sensitive and if your a fan of running the tyres down to the wear bars you will be in big trouble in the wet, you need good rubber to disperse water from the wider tyre and i generally change them at 2.5ishmm i currently have Avon's on the back which are ok, but not even close to the toyo's on the front which are far better in the wet than either the perrelli's or Michelin's Ive had, not too quiet on the motorway though.
So far as tyre sizes for mot's go you can put whatever you want on so long as they are the same size of wheel and tyre on the same axle, so if you can find a pair of bus wheels that aren't bold and that dont contact the arches or any part of the car your fine

D