# Adria Twin tyre pressures



## 107925

I can't find the tyre pressures for my Adria Twin. The originating dealer was supposed to enter them in the documentation, but probably didn't know and just entered the tyre sizes. I can't see mention of the pressures anywhere else.

It's a 2.3 Fiat Ducato with a maximum weight of 3300kg. For anyone with a Twin - what are your pressures set at and where did you get the figures from? 

Cheers,

Shaun


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## rickwiggans

There are lots of posts on the forum relating to this, which you may (may not!) turn up with a quick search, and find some useful advice. However, the essence of what they say is that what you find on the vehicle sticker or plate will not necessarily be right for your vehicle as it is now constructed. Neither is what other people travel at necessarily relevant to you. This is because the vehicle manufacturer doesn't know exactly what the base vehicle will end up as, or end up carrying. So, the pressure tends to be on the high side. Ideally, you need to know your actual all up weight, and your individual axle weights, then email or phone your tyre manufacturer with this info, and they will tell you their recommendation. Michelin are particularly helpful in this respect - I expect others are too. 

Rick


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## tramp

*tire pressures*

hi shark,
ref tyre pressure - if you look on the tyre wall it will list max pressure at a given load eg:[email protected] axel load.

This differs front and back depending on what you are carrying we go 60psi front and 65psi rear when loaded up at about 3100kg total weight.
if lover weight reduce front to 58psi front 60psi back and have a look how the tyre sits on the road.

If the tyre pressure is too high the ride is hard and the steerring light if tpressure low heavy steering and a BIG risk of blow out at high speed -due to aire in tyre getting too hot and expanding therefore excedding tyre pressure.

every van and tyre make has different pressure =BEAWARE the michelin and continentals are special tyres for coach builts-[ reinforced to take higher pressure] . Most panel vans have std van tyres max pressure 65psi.

hope this helps

tramp


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## rowley

What happens if your tyre pressure is checked by the Police on a spot check? On what will they base their figures? The penalty for having the "wrong" tyre pressure can result in points on your licence.


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## 107925

I've been doing some further investigation this morning and it is a minefield. I think being a panel van, it's easier to focus on Fiat's figures, given that it knows in advance the exact dimensions and maximum weight of the completed motorhome. This can't be said where the van has a coachbuilt conversion added onto a base chassis platform.

The tyres for the Adria Twin are Continental Vanco 215/70 R15 C, which I believe are aimed at motorhomes rather than your typical van driver.

Looking at the Ducato owner handbook, I get 4.1 bar at the front and 4.5 bar at the rear. This equates to 59psi front and 65psi rear. I'm assuming this is fully laden, as the handbook doesn't say otherwise.

I've just emailed Continental with the motorhome spec, including Fiat's stated maximum load over the front and rear axles, and asked for their advice as to tyre pressures when fully laden (3300kg) and when not (around 2900kg). It will be interesting to see how their figures compare with Fiat's.

Shaun


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## rowley

Good one Shaun. Be interesting to see the results.


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## rowley

Hi Shaun, just to be different, my Twin has got Bridgestone Duravis.


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## tramp

*xgd g*

hi all,
mine has bridgestone tyres too :roll: .
Basically the police are not impowered to inspect tyre pressures when they stop you this can only be carried out by ministry people after being weighted at a official weight station, after allowing enough time for the tyres to cool.

The police can do a visual inspection and say your tyres look low and if they feel they are dangerous put a prokabition order on the vehicle preventing it from being moved till fixed . BUT i`ve never heard/seen this dine as you are more likely to cause a road hazard. I am a hgv and always getting stopped the boss says I hav one of those faces  .

Basically all tyres have a max operating weight at a given load for the vehicle, thats why tyre fitters sometimes get grumpy when asked to fit oversize tyres to your vehicle. Michelin have well documented the tyre pressures before. I never trust anyone with my tyres except the misses as we once saw a pielot coach built have a blow out and overturn due to underinflated tyres .

tramp


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## b6x

rowley said:


> Hi Shaun, just to be different, my Twin has got Bridgestone Duravis.


Ditto here. Guess that just proves the figures quoted in the manuals are possibly not worth the paper they are written on, as don't recall the owners manual quoting different pressures for different makes of tyres.


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## 107925

At the moment I have no idea what my tyre pressures are, other than they look OK and the van sits nicely. When Continental give me their figures (come on guys, Easter break over; get back to work), it will be an interesting comparison, as the way my tyres are inflated at the moment, I really like the way the van feels on the road, both when driven around town and at faster speeds. I'm kinda hoping the official pressures are similar to what I'm bowling along with right now.

Whilst on the subject of tyre pressures, for my cars I use a 12v compressor jobbie. Are these OK for the much higher pressures of a motorhome, or will I need to take the hardware up a notch, or use garage air?

Shaun


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## tramp

*hueu*

hi shaun,
your 12v car tyre pressure pump should be okay as long a it will go up to bar pressure as quoted by continental.

we used a car one upto5.5bar on our previous van but took ages so bought a 8 bar one and used with engine running pumped upto 80psi no probs.

ref garage tyre gauges these are ment for cars not commercial vehicles so check they go high enough otherwise defflated tyre ensues 

In France a lot of the small garages and supermarkets only go to 4.5 bar not 6 bar as we need .

cheers tramp

ps : the continentals are a great tyre


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## 107925

OK, no reply to my email, so I rang Continental. The chap I spoke to was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable that I'm convinced it was Mr Continental, himself.

The loading over the front and rear axles was crucial, so for the Adria Twin's figures, fully laden (3300kg), the front tyre pressures were given as 54psi and 62psi for the rear. This is a tad lower than the Fiat figures of 59 and 65.

I then gave 2900kg as a rough unladen weight, which brought the pressures down to 47 front and 51 rear. However, I was warned to check for the dreaded under-inflation, both visually and via road performance. If in doubt, I should up the pressures. 

I asked when tyres should be changed and the answers were quite surprising, given that I was talking to someone who had a vested interest in flogging tyres. He said that the governing body (BTA, I think) recommended that tyres which didn't need earlier replacement due to tread wear, should be checked at six years. Only at 10 years, should replacement definitely be recommended.

On an ongoing basis, visual inspections and driving performance were considered of more relevance than age. This is because if they look and feel OK, they probably are. However, there are a few variables which make it impossible to give definitive answers. For example, if the vehicle is standing in the damp, that can in time, permeate through the tyre to the detriment of longevity. If a tyre is positioned next to a generator, the metals within the tyre can attract some sort of force-field which again might affect longevity. Vans which are stood for long periods and which are not up on axle stands, or have suitably over-inflated tyres for storage purposes, are likely to have a shorter tyre life.

Needless to say, irregular tyre wear due to over or under-inflation, or dodgy steering/suspension components, are major reasons for needing tyre replacement sooner rather than later. Juddering through the steering wheel, which has not previously been experienced, was mentioned as a possible tyre problem.

Going back to tyres which might not need replacing for somewhere between six and ten years, the best scenario is a motorhome which does a low overall mileage, but on a regular basis, ie, no standing about for months on end.

It was also mentioned that some tyres are manufactured some time before being fitted to a vehicle (not a good thing), so it's worth checking if possible. I was asked to look for the date on the sidewall of the tyre; this was displayed as 5006, within a recessed oval (this is really getting anoraky, isn't it?) That means the tyres were manufactured the 50th week of 2006. As my van was registered as new less than four months later, I'm happy with that.

OK, that's all I can remember. Thanks to Mr Continental for all of this information.

Shaun


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## blondy

*tyre pressures*

That was brilliant Shaun, may save that for future reference. This is the reason I recommend ringing for info as you then get much more useful info than a quick e mail.
cheers


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## 107925

Agreed - phoning is good. Rowley and tramp need to ring Mr Bridgestone.

Shaun


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## 108401

For information, I broke my 12v compressor when inflating the tyres on the motorhome up to 70psi last week. 

It's a Halfords all in one jump starter/240v inverter/compressor. A pipe inside the compressor blew off whilst inflating. I took it apart to try to repair it but I can't see what should be holding the pipe on and it keeps blowing off now.

Replaced it with a twin barrel foot pump which reminded me why I normally use a 12v compressor


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## 107925

I used mine today and it took an age to get a few psi above 60. We could do with a make and model of inflator which is suitable for such high pressures. Can anyone recommend one?

Shaun


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## griffly16

On our 2005 Twin with Continental tyres the recommended pressure is 59 front and 65 rear. We've kept them at this whether fully laden or partially. Done 14000 miles in hot/cold/wet/dry conditions and absolutely no problems. The tread looks nearly new and no uneven wear. I'll be sticking with that.


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