I want to fit slightly larger tyres - problems?

[dsfbrit]

I have a Toyota Hilux. I will be replacing the tyres next week and would like to fit slightly larger tyres.

 

I have Bridgestone 205/70/R15 at the moment and want to go to 215/70/R15.

 

This will give me slightly better road holding as they are wider.

 

Also, where I live my driveway has a steep slope at the entrance and the frame of the vehicle scrapes the ground

if I get the angle slightly wrong when I enter the driveway. So if the tyres were a bit bigger, then I would avoid this

problem as well.

 

I would like to go (a bit) bigger than 215/70/R15 if I could, but I am concerned about the speedo being wrong

and more importantly if it would invalidate the insurance.

 

I contacted my insurance broker and the 215/70/R15 is not a problem with my current insurance company.

 

However, I wonder if I want to change to another insurance company it may become a problem.

 

So any advice you could give me about how big the tyres could be without there being significant problems with

the speedo accuracy or renewing insurance would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks for you help.

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by dsfbrit

[Strange]

Your difference from 205/70 to 215/70 is only 1 centimeter wider, not taller, you won't notice any difference in anything really. 

 

205 is tread width, 70 is sidewall height, R is radial and 15 is wheel diameter.

 

[Strange]

The difference is the tire you are selecting is hardly anything. You could easily substitute either one no problem and the truck won't feel any different. 

 

Never heard of contacting the insurance agency about fitting new tires. 

 

The speedo will change if you change the sidewall height of the tire away from what the manufacturer recommends. Not really a big deal if you use a GPS Nav system with GPS Speed. 

 

In your listed choices of tire size, there will be no effect on speedo or ground clearance. 

 

What year is your truck and how much more ground clearance do you need? 

[dsfbrit]

Strange, thanks very much for the quick reply. When I read about tyres on the Bridgestone web-site it said the '70' in the sizing is not the height directly, but the ratio based on the width. So the height is changed slightly as well.

 

I am from the UK, where insurance companies are (in)famous for not paying out on claims where the vehicle is considered non-standard. Fitting larger tyres without letting them know would be a bad idea for sure!

 

Is it not the same in Thailand?? I really have no idea.

 

I would like to raise the height by at least an inch if I could, more if possible.

 

I don't have GPS.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by dsfbrit

[Anythingleft?]

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=205-70r15-215-70r15

 

This is a good site for both site and speedo references can't verify the accuracy though, yes the insurance should be informed. They may not care but why not just tell them and save the worry

[Naam]

1 hour ago, dsfbrit said:

When I read about tyres on the Bridgestone web-site it said the '70' in the sizing is not the height directly, but the ratio based on the width. So the height is changed slightly as well.

correct!

[Don Mega]

the difference is very minimal and you will barely notice.

 

 

 

[dsfbrit]

1 hour ago, Anythingleft? said:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=205-70r15-215-70r15

Thanks Anythingleft, very useful. I have asked the broker if the 215 tyres are OK. She said they are with this insurer. I did not really want to go back and ask her about every tyre size, so I thought I would check out what size I would prefer before I contact her again.

 

I will have a play around with this tool and pop down and have a look at some different sizes at the shop tomorrow.

[dsfbrit]

28 minutes ago, Naam said:

correct!

Thanks for the feedback Naam - I thought that was the case. I hadn't read up about tyres for some months when I first thought about replacing them. So I wasn't sure.

[Strange]

32 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

the difference is very minimal and you will barely notice.

 

Yup, plus add in there tire pressure variations and its so close its not even a thing. 

[dsfbrit]

34 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

the difference is very minimal and you will barely notice.

 

 

 

Thanks for the chart Don Mega. To be honest, I would just like to go to the shop, choose the tyres I like the look of size-wise and fit them on. Since I was a kid I have been working on bike and car engines etc... just for fun. Not so much now I am older. However, in all that time I have never really learned anything about tyres. So I am trying to decide such things as - if in Thailand anyone cares if the speedo is not so accurate? Maybe I am over thinking this and am acting like I am still in the UK where every little change to a vehicle seems that it could incur a traffic violation or invalidate the insurance.

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by dsfbrit

[Strange]

1 hour ago, dsfbrit said:

Strange, thanks very much for the quick reply. When I read about tyres on the Bridgestone web-site it said the '70' in the sizing is not the height directly, but the ratio based on the width. So the height is changed slightly as well.

 

I am from the UK, where insurance companies are (in)famous for not paying out on claims where the vehicle is considered non-standard. Fitting larger tyres without letting them know would be a bad idea for sure!

 

Is it not the same in Thailand?? I really have no idea.

 

Yeah there is an aspect ratio to it, but as stated its not even worth mentioning really. The tire choices you stated you won't see or feel any difference. 

 

The wife has a honda city with first class insurance, we changed the wheels and tires, some gay engine mods (lol) that she wanted, tint dark as hell. Never told the insurance company anything. She had a fender bender (plastic bumper guard bender) and insurance didn't even bat an eye. Paid for the repairs without question. 

 

UK is tight on regulation, Thailand not so much. 

 

Speedo as far as the insurance is concerned? I wouldn't even call them or mention it unless you really want to expose yourself to an increase in policy rate. If your truck is crashed, how the shit are they going to be able to tell that the speedo is out? They not even gonna check and if they do, just tell them its been calibrated. Its a non issue.  

[Strange]

7 minutes ago, dsfbrit said:

Maybe I am over thinking this and am acting like I am still in the UK where every little change to a vehicle seems that it could incur a traffic violation or invalidate the insurance.

 

Yeah, you can relax man. One of the benefits of Thailand is that nobody cares lol. 

[Strange]

1 hour ago, Anythingleft? said:

They may not care but why not just tell them and save the worry

 

This is Thailand, I don't really think its a good idea to expose yourself and ask a question "is this ok? Will it cost more?"

[dsfbrit]

Strange, you could be right. I do tend to 'overthink' things. I have lived here for 13 years and still think Thailand (insurance companies etc..) are as bad as the UK, where they will take little notice of you when you pay the premium, but analyse you in minute detail when you make a claim! Car insurance, medical insurance, house insurance - if they can find a way to avoid payment in many cases they will!

 

I had not thought of re-calibrating the speedo. That is the only thing that would be changed that would be incorrect - possibly illegal - anyway. What a good idea. I will google that now.

Edited October 28, 2016 by dsfbrit

[Strange]

The states can be the same. Its a game they try and get out of paying. 

 

I have no idea about speedo calibration here in Thailand. At home, its usually a speedo gear change, or a small PCM adjustment done via the OBD II diagnostic port (Or similar). Here, you can just lie about it. Also, the GPS Nav systems are badass and work real good here in Thailand, and take care of your speed reference needs perfectly. Something to look into. 

[JAS21]

You don't need to re calibrate...easy to workout in your head.

 

Eg .. a 5% error ...ok it says 80km/hr ...10% of 80 is 8 ...so 5% is 4.

 

So very easy to approximate ...

 

If you download a prog like Daily Road Voyager onto your phone ... you have a car cam and it also tells you your speed.

[Lickey]

Should be ok, not to much of a step up,as long as they miss the wheel arches and steering arms at full travel and lock.

[dsfbrit]

Jas22, thanks for the reply. It isn't the mental arithmetic that concerns me, I am just thinking like I am still in the UK and the 'fun' the insurance assessor would have if the speedo was 'inaccurate' and I had an accident. Like Strange said and I agree, I am probably overthinking this and over here is does not really matter.

 

In the UK, I have had friends (not me yet!), who have had sizeable insurance claims turned down (car, housing, medical) for the most trivial of reasons!

[transam]

You will gain 0.6 of an inch, a rise in height of 0.3"..Fiddle around with my link..

 

https://tiresize.com/calculator/..

[dsfbrit]

Lickey, thanks for the feedback. Yes, I will head down to the tyre place today and see what they have.

[dsfbrit]

Thanks Transam, I will go and have a play with it now.

[NoshowJones]

17 hours ago, dsfbrit said:

Strange, thanks very much for the quick reply. When I read about tyres on the Bridgestone web-site it said the '70' in the sizing is not the height directly, but the ratio based on the width. So the height is changed slightly as well.

 

I am from the UK, where insurance companies are (in)famous for not paying out on claims where the vehicle is considered non-standard. Fitting larger tyres without letting them know would be a bad idea for sure!

 

Is it not the same in Thailand?? I really have no idea.

 

I would like to raise the height by at least an inch if I could, more if possible.

 

I don't have GPS.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

 

 

 

Yes, UK insurance companies will use anything they can get away with to refuse claims, a certain newspaper in Scotland get complaints all the time and usually manage to get

the claims paid out.

[maximillian]

OP forget about changing tires unless the old ones are worn. If you need more ground clearance head to your Toyota mechanic and tell him to lift your High Lux a little higher.

[Anythingleft?]

23 hours ago, Strange said:

 

This is Thailand, I don't really think its a good idea to expose yourself and ask a question "is this ok? Will it cost more?"

I just don't advocate breaking the rules

[Strange]

7 hours ago, maximillian said:

OP forget about changing tires unless the old ones are worn. If you need more ground clearance head to your Toyota mechanic and tell him to lift your High Lux a little higher.

 

How will they lift the truck a little higher without any change to suspension geometry or spare parts? 

[Strange]

7 minutes ago, Anythingleft? said:

23 hours ago, Strange said:

This is Thailand, I don't really think its a good idea to expose yourself and ask a question "is this ok? Will it cost more?"

I just don't advocate breaking the rules

 

Aight homie. Up to you. Rules are subjective over here. Might as well benefit from the carelessness. 

[Jonmarleesco]

On ‎28‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 7:14 PM, Strange said:

UK is tight on regulation, Thailand not so much. 

Not so much? Not at all!

[Peterw42]

I think the speedo variation would be no more than the difference between "new full tread tyres" and "worn low tread tyres". That would be a difference of 5-10 mil in tyre height, more in a big 4x4 tyre.

[RED DOG]

If you want wider fit 265 wide if your rims are 7 inch also you can check the speedo with a GPS