Tyres/wheels for Africa

I'm possibly taking my Evoque to East Africa next year (Kenya/Tanzania/Zanzibar), for a year or two.

Wondering about tyres:
General Grabber AT sound good. 255/50 R19 is 107H XL. 235/55 R 19 is "only" 101H and not XL.
Evoque manual asks for 105 load rating (but 101 should more than suffice for the weight of an Evoque by my maths). Does this matter? And does XL mean anything more than the load rating number?

Or wheels:
Currently on 19" rims - could downsize to 18" and get General Grabber AT 235/60 R18 which are 107H (not XL). Is 107H not-XL any different to 107H XL? (the 19" ones).

Evoque brochure says adaptive dynamics only available with 19" or 20" wheels - is that just a description of what they will sell you, or is there likely to be a problem with putting 18" (or 17") wheels on a car with adaptive dynamics?

Many thanks for any comments!
Jonathan.

Hi Jonathan,

Read my thread on here on the Grabbers:

http://babyrr.com/forum/Thread-Tire-alte...-Inch-rims

(05-12-2013 09:10pm)j7david Wrote:  Evoque brochure says adaptive dynamics only available with 19" or 20" wheels - is that just a description of what they will sell you, or is there likely to be a problem with putting 18" (or 17") wheels on a car with adaptive dynamics?

I would think it means what you say about they will only sell you AD and 19/20" - afterall if you do it right then the rolling radius of the 17" is the same as the 20" - the higher side wall might mean the electronics work a bit harder with the softer ride on higher sidewalls.

TBH Don't envy you going to Tanzania or Kenya, earlier this year I was arrested in Dar Es Salaam for refusing to
pay officials "under the table money/ dash" ...................... all because they found 2 cockroaches onboard the ship.