fergusjbend Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Can anyone advise? I have a Freelander 2 fitted with Continental Cross Contact 235 55R19 105V tyres which need replacement. I live in a rural area with narrow muddy roads and frequently venture off road, but not to the extent of fields. I am attracted to General Grabber ATs as being suitable for my purposes, but the load/speed rating (101H) is lower than my present yres, and I understand this may adversely affect my insurance cover. Can anyone tell me whether Grabber ATs would be suitable, and how they perform on-road. Many thanks, Fergus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 any tyre you fit MUST by law be capable of or have a speed rating more than the vehicles top speed, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Don't think that is right, winter tyres are very often rated below summer tyres and are without problems fitted. This is done all the time in Europe, you just drive slower. I'd be happy to be proven wrong of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I don't think that is correct either. Many remould tyres or mid terrains have lower speed ratings. But perfectly fine to fit to any 4x4. And let's not forget high performance cars. I'm fairly sure it's fine to run tyres that don't exceed the vehicles top speed when said top speed might be 190mph+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 maybe I've got it wrong then, but personally I wouldn't fit lower speed rated tyres to any vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Nigel looked into it as Simex Extreme trekkers are rated for less than his 90's book speed and found it to be perfectly legal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I have the cross contact on my FL2 and have found them to be an excellent tyre on and off the road with 30k plus miles from them. I had to drive out of a very muddy and rutted show ground a few weeks back and they coped perfectly even though I was towing a trailer. I also live in a rural location and find as it starts to get slippy that I just dial it into the first setting on the T/C and drive on that it improves the FL's manners 100%. I am not sure that A/T tires are needed unless you are really doing some serious mud plugging as the T/C makes up for the compromise that the cross contact is given the extra road noise an A/T tyre makes it wouldn't be my choice. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacr2man Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I don't think that is correct either. Many remould tyres or mid terrains have lower speed ratings. But perfectly fine to fit to any 4x4. And let's not forget high performance cars. I'm fairly sure it's fine to run tyres that don't exceed the vehicles top speed when said top speed might be 190mph+ Totally wrong Western was right any tyres fitted must comply with the vehicles tyre plaque which will specify the load and speed rating Running tyres rated less and saying you drive slow doesnt cut it , and will likely invalidate your insurance in event of a claim particularly if tyre grip etc is possibly a factor. With regard to high performance cars , they cannot even run a tyre that has been repaired as it lowers the speed rating eg from Y to W The exception is vehicles that are physically speed limited eg bus that may be technically over loaded if full but is speed limited to 40mph (town use) so may run a higher load rated tyre with a speed rating below the manufactured top speed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacr2man Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Can anyone advise? I have a Freelander 2 fitted with Continental Cross Contact 235 55R19 105V tyres which need replacement. I live in a rural area with narrow muddy roads and frequently venture off road, but not to the extent of fields. I am attracted to General Grabber ATs as being suitable for my purposes, but the load/speed rating (101H) is lower than my present yres, and I understand this may adversely affect my insurance cover. Can anyone tell me whether Grabber ATs would be suitable, and how they perform on-road. Many thanks, Fergus Continental do a Xcontact AT they were fitted to some defenders as OE , I have run them on a FL1 they were suitably speed and load rated , they do cause a degree of tyre drone at speed but not excessive JMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergusjbend Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 Thank you to all contributors for your very helpful replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Excuse me, stop with the 'some bloke on the interweb said this' and Habeas Corpus. AA makes no mention of legality, and ABI has stated that they will not increase premiums on cars fitted with winter tyres: http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/winter-tyres-in-the-uk.html The Highway Code, makes no mention of speed rating. Dunlop say there is no UK legsilation on the use of winter tyres: http://www.dunlop.eu/dunlop_uk/I_want_new_tyres/winter_tyres/FAQs.jsp This place tells you clearly it is not illegal: http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyrspeed.html In the C&U regulations, the only bit I can see about speed ratings is relating to goods vehicles, which makes this irrelevant: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/contents/made (section 25) In 2014 there was a consultation to see if tyre labelling and enforcement should be reviewed, and in there is states that nothing has really been updated for years in the C&U regs, and that it is outdated, and proposes some changes, none will have been taken up yet, as was too recent! https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/350814/tyre-labelling-consultation.pdf In summary: Yes it matters for goods vehicles, over 2.5t (for good reason!), but not for passenger cars. Meh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Totally wrong Western was right any tyres fitted must comply with the vehicles tyre plaque which will specify the load and speed rating Running tyres rated less and saying you drive slow doesnt cut it , and will likely invalidate your insurance in event of a claim particularly if tyre grip etc is possibly a factor. With regard to high performance cars , they cannot even run a tyre that has been repaired as it lowers the speed rating eg from Y to W The exception is vehicles that are physically speed limited eg bus that may be technically over loaded if full but is speed limited to 40mph (town use) so may run a higher load rated tyre with a speed rating below the manufactured top speed Can you back this up with any reference material at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Someone give Bowie a medal for using facts on the internet! Also: I run General Grabber A/T on my FL and am very happy both on & off-road, done about 40k on them so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Friend of mine runs Yokohama Geolanders in a rather silly size (not sure about the exact size, but they come out to ~32" dia), and he's very happy with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergusjbend Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 I went ahead and replaced the Cross Contacts with Grabber ATs, and so far, I have been very pleased with the result. The overall ride quality is improved, and they do not seem to transmit the impact of Kent's apalling pot-holes to my lumbar spine quite as much. I checked with my insurers first, and they had no objection to the lower load/speed rating. Incidentally, when AJS Tyres removed the old Continentals, they found that one was rated 'E' for economy, or eco, or some such word magic, and contained much less rubber than the other three. I can't remember which supplier fitted it, but this is something to be aware of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archangel Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Im in the processes of replacing my tyres on a FL2 which currently has Conti 4X4 Contact 235/55R19. Im doing some green laning (Im located in Cyprus so "green" may not be the best term ) and the only brand that has tyres for 19" wheel and seems able to withstand the off-roading Im doing are the Grabber AT. However Im concern about the riding comfort and noise compare to other options like Michellin Latitude Cross or ContiCrossContact LX2. These options though mean that I have to replace the 19" wheels with 17" or 18" but this will cost me around €1200 (fit the GG AT 19" will cost €650). Im sure on gravel and mud the GG AT would be OK, so hearing from you how they behave on your FL2 on tarmac will much appreciated! Thanks, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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