Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club UK™

polojosh · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 9 Location: West Yorkshire

When I bought my L400 4 weeks ago I pointed out to the dealer (Elams of Mirfield) that the tyres were showing signs of cracking on the side walls. They said thai if it passes its MOT then no problem. Today the rear right tyre delaminated as the tread separated from the tyre and then blew the centre. This was when I had just accelerated to 45 mph and there was quite a wobble as the the axle dropped 5 inches on the right side. I have only seen truck tyres delaminate like this so I am replacing all the tyres with english spec tyres. The Japanese owners obviously do not change their tyres as the wheel brace does not fit after market wheels, worth a check if you have bought a Deli and have not changed a wheel yet.
_________________
95 Super Exceed Black over silver 2.8 Crystal lite towbar and looking at a car computer

Google · Sponsor

petemillis · Joined: 11 Mar 2004 Posts: 709 Location: Brighton, UK

Always worth putting new tyres on. One of the main reason is that some imports are left sitting around for months on end with flat tyres. This causes the side walls to deteriorate and if it's not bad enough then it will still pass an MOT. Remember, an MOT is not proof of roadworthiness.

I've had a couple of Delicas that I've collected from other importers with 12 months MOT and dangerously low tyre tread depth and perished sidewalls! For the dealer to say to you that the tyres are good to go as the vehicle has passed an MOT is nothing short of irresponsible. If a tyre delaminates at speed, especially on the rear, then the consequences could have been far more serious.

It's for this reason that I will always fit new tyres as a matter of course. Loads of imports are sold with bad tyres now. One of the main reasons is that lots of customers are unwilling to pay anything but rockbottom prices. They can't get their head around the fact that a set of new tyres is going to set the dealer back in the region of £400 which makes it impossible for responsible dealers to compete with those who will sell stuff "as is" straight from some yard somewhere.

Perhaps some sort of regulation should be brought in which demands that the dealer fit new tyres to all imports he sells, seeing as there is no way of knowing the life history of what is on there when the car arrives in the UK. That should help weed out some of the crap. Perhaps it should start with the customer requesting new tyres be fitted - that way the customer will get to realise how much it actually costs to get something decent, and the dealers may then start to factor that into prices.

Sorry for the rant - but I feel better for it :D
_________________
Pete
1995 Delica Space Gear Exceed (PE8W) in LaGuardia silver with chrome tints and BIG round things.

petemillis · Joined: 11 Mar 2004 Posts: 709 Location: Brighton, UK

Oh, Polojosh, there's another misguided impression that we in the UK tend to have. And that's that the Japanese look after their vehicles with great care. Some do and some don't - no different to the UK really. There are plenty of examples in Japan of well mullered vehicles. I get the impression sometimes that, in the months prior to the owner getting rid of something as it will no longer pass the Shakken, the vehicles are often abused beyond belief. Especially seems true of many sports cars that have wire poking through the rear tyres by the time they get to the auction house!
_________________
Pete
1995 Delica Space Gear Exceed (PE8W) in LaGuardia silver with chrome tints and BIG round things.

polojosh · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 9 Location: West Yorkshire

Feel free to rant Pete as with us both talking about this major problem it might save someone else a big accident. It was certainly a scary moment when it let go. The first sign was a loud buzzing noise then the side wall split from rim to tread with a big wobble, very worrying.
_________________
95 Super Exceed Black over silver 2.8 Crystal lite towbar and looking at a car computer

Michaelr · Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 92 Location: Sydney, Australia

polojosh · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 9 Location: West Yorkshire

Got my new set of Bridgestones and what a difference. It now actually goes around corners and doesn't squeal its head off doing it. Elams can do a tyre fitted for £55 normally so it is not too much to say that the imports shoulde be fitted with new feet when they arrive.
_________________
95 Super Exceed Black over silver 2.8 Crystal lite towbar and looking at a car computer

Bertie Boy · Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 21:27 Post subject:

May be worth taking this up further.
Not only is the dealer responsible for the provision of the vehicle under the Provision Of Goods act, which states that the 'product' must be fit for purpose, but a car dealer is also responsible to ensure that all vehicles leaving his premises are roadworthy, this certainly includes the tyres, incidently I have recently been informed that this 'duty of care' exists in law for six years!!!! (But proving the case would be very difficult)
_________________
Real dirt makes a real 'Deli'!
Delica - Half way to Heaven!
Sold Feb2007 96'Delica - Still Crying
53' Sedona
Yam Fazer 600 (03 loads of miles)

polojosh · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 9 Location: West Yorkshire

I had done 800 miles and I do live on a farm so proving it was a fault that was preventable could be very difficult (and costly, more than the £120 I was charged for a full set). It also passed 2 mots as the first mot was 2 months old so they did another to keep all the tax,mot and insurance due at the same time. When I get my next one it will be personally imported and I will change the tyres as soon as it arrives.
_________________
95 Super Exceed Black over silver 2.8 Crystal lite towbar and looking at a car computer

The Owl · Joined: 04 Oct 2004 Posts: 236 Location: Cirencester

Imported mine myself and tyre change was the first thing I did even thought it had passed an MoT. It was a no brainer, just had to be done for safety. And yes, it handled loads better afterwards!
Stu
_________________
L300 Black and Silver

BLACKDOG · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 10:23 Post subject: tyres

Hi to all purchased my Deli here in Sydney 3months ago of private importer not car yard tyres were not changed at compliance they have done nearly 5000kms and have about 2000 left so you can see how much tread was left. And spare is rs.But as someone mentioned its a matter of keeping the initial cost down and i was in luck as aftermarket wheels are good ones .So how did they get it passed

polojosh · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 9 Location: West Yorkshire

Well I got my new set of feet and the first time down the motorway at or near the speed limit and the steering wheel started to shake pretty bad. I took it to my local tyre place to get them rebalanced (as Elams couldn't do the job right first time) only to find that Elams just took the original rubber off and threw on the new ones. Original balance weights left on resulted in my local man stating that 3 out of 4 were the worst they had ever seen. Elams will now get my Deli back for the 3 month warranty claim with absolutely everything I can possibly think of.
_________________
95 Super Exceed Black over silver 2.8 Crystal lite towbar and looking at a car computer

petemillis · Joined: 11 Mar 2004 Posts: 709 Location: Brighton, UK

@Blackdog - they probably got it through the compliance the same way as they get things through the Single Vehicle Approval and MOT over here - put legal stuff on, then take it off after the test to put on the next vehicle.
_________________
Pete
1995 Delica Space Gear Exceed (PE8W) in LaGuardia silver with chrome tints and BIG round things.