DonB Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 Hi, I have a Chausson 717GA on a Transit front wheel drive. Does anybody know if what I would like to do is legal which I think it is, or sensible which I don't know, in UK, France and Spain? I would like to take off the front road tyres and replace them with same rating, same size and make (Continental) All Seasons Ultras, to give a little more grip in bad weather travelling to Spain in winter. I would then have the same tyres on each axle, so I think I would be OK with French law, and I would have to deal with the problem if I had a puncture. The Ultra are OK with the law change in France 2024. Any help would be appreciated. DonB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 BAD MOVE! You should ALWAYS have the tyres with the best grip on the rear wheels otherwise you risk getting into an oversteer condition when cornering and will almost certainly ending up facing where you have come from! It is far easier to control an understeer than an oversteer condition. Here is a good explanation https://www.edentyres.com/should-i-fit-new-tyres-to-the-front-or-rear/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtravel Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 I agree with you but I think DonB was referring to a condition of minimum and not total security. I toured in these countries for a long time in winter and honestly M+S tires (aka Michelin Agilis Camping) were more than enough. I only found problematic situations in Alsace and Limousin but they were exceptions. Never on any trip to Spain. Of course if you climb the Pyrenees in January... Then there is the law. I don't know the Spanish and French ones but for example in Italy it is enough to have two identical tires on one axle. The other may have different ones. Then there are always the snow chains, I know that in the French mountainous regions 3pms tires are/will be mandatory but just have the chains on board (or soxes) and you're free to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 I fitted CrossClimate tyres to the rear of one of my 4x4's, leaving the front with summer tyres, it was a mistake I will never do again, first time out in snow and the imbalance in grip was a nightmare, fitting them in reverse I would expect to be even worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtravel Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 You should learn the basics of 4wd driving, I think. Smile, Max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 25 minutes ago, mtravel said: You should learn the basics of 4wd driving, I think. Smile, Max Yes only have about 50 years experience of driving offroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtravel Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 13 hours ago, colin said: Yes only have about 50 years experience of driving offroad. You may have been driving 4WD for fifty years but you will admit that having both front and rear traction is very different from a simple front-wheel drive like 95% of motorhomes on the market. The three self-locking differentials could provide some help but not even the latest Mercedes Sprinter has them. Maybe the Ivecos but I'm not sure if they have the central one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 1 hour ago, mtravel said: You may have been driving 4WD for fifty years but you will admit that having both front and rear traction is very different from a simple front-wheel drive like 95% of motorhomes on the market. The three self-locking differentials could provide some help but not even the latest Mercedes Sprinter has them. Maybe the Ivecos but I'm not sure if they have the central one. What I will admit to is making a stupid mistake in having 'all season' tyres on one axle, and summer tyres on other axle whilst driving on snow. To help make the journey I had to select FWD so that the rear wheels weren't 'pushing' the fronts, locking the diff made it worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 On 03/10/2023 at 14:37, DonB said: Hi, I have a Chausson 717GA on a Transit front wheel drive. Does anybody know if what I would like to do is legal which I think it is, or sensible which I don't know, in UK, France and Spain? I would like to take off the front road tyres and replace them with same rating, same size and make (Continental) All Seasons Ultras, to give a little more grip in bad weather travelling to Spain in winter. I would then have the same tyres on each axle, so I think I would be OK with French law, and I would have to deal with the problem if I had a puncture. The Ultra are OK with the law change in France 2024. Any help would be appreciated. DonB The simplest, but also most expensive, solution, would be to have all the tyres, including the spare, replaced. You may get a discount in this case, that you wouldn't otherwise get. Then the balance of the van won't be upset as others are saying and, if you do pick up a puncture, you'll have a street legal wheel that can be fitted in lieu of any other wheel, front or rear, nearside or offside. Cherry on the cake? You can then continue your journey driving at normal speeds, and find a repairer when convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 And you could also sell the take off tyres as 'Part worn' on the likes of Fleabay, white van man is always looking for a bargain to cut his running costs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonB Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 Thank you for all of the opinions, they are very welcome. I have very good road tyres on the rear and needed fresh rubber on the front. I wondered if M and S, more grip? would be helpful, having taken the possible puncture and mixed front and rear tread patterns ? into the equation. At the moment I think new road tyres on the front are the way to go. Once again thanks, DonB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 This depends somewhat on the condition of your spare wheel and tyre, but assuming you have a spare wheel, and that it has a (probably unused?) serviceable tyre, how about you: 1 Buy a single tyre of the same size, type, speed rating and, ideally make and model as your other tyres. 2 Get the fitters to swap your existing rear tyres to the front. 3 Fit the new tyre in lieu of the worst ex front wheel tyre, retaining the best as the spare. That way you have the best tyres on the rear as recommended - both unused but with one older, and a pair of good, part worn, same age, tyres on the front, also as recommended, and a usable spare on which you can drive at normal speeds, with all tyres being the same in all respects except for age. Assuming all of the above is broadly correct, my only reservation is the ages of the tyres. You haven't stated the age of your van, to which I would expect fresh tyres to have originally been fitted plus, if several years old, whether a recent, matching, tyre is still available. It might be wise to also check whether any of the existing tyres are near the end of their "shelf lives" meaning they will soon be condemned at MoT time. One further point regarding driving to Spain in winter. Check whether you are legally required to have "winter" tyres on your van in the Pyreneean (or other) parts of your route to Spain, as I understand at least France has recently legislated that regional governments can impose this requirement on at least designated, if not all, roads within their jurisdictions - and I seem to remember that several have. I think I remember "laimeduck" posting a link to a French website on which all the restrictions were listed a year or so back. Might necessitate a change of route, or a re-think on the tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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