ARTICLE: Choosing The Right Set Of Tyres for your Car

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by vid6639

On stock alloys 185/70-14 is the only size available. If you are planning on upgrading to alloys at a later date then you may try 195/65-14 but on your stock rims the steering will become loose and handling wont be affected much.

Mine is a VDI and I dont have alloys. Its normal rims, if that changes something ? What about the road noise part ? Any quieter tyres available ?

[Etrnlwanderer]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Here is a useful little powerpoint slideshow that illustrates some points on tyre safety well. Take a look :


Source: Email forward - contributed by normally_crazy

Thank you so very much for a wonderful thread Rehaan

Originally Posted by iraghava

Attached is a guide of the correct upsizes for cars sold in our market compiled by KPZen and me.

Disclaimer: Not all sizes mentioned in this guide might be readily available in India.

Great compilation Rags, thanks a ton!!!!!!!

[kpzen]

185/70-14 on Swift Vdi stock rims.
Yokohama A drive or
Michelin XM1

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by kpzen

185/70-14 on Swift Vdi stock rims.
Yokohama A drive or
Michelin XM1

XM1 or XM1+ ?

Between michelins and Yoko, which will reduce the noise more ?

What will they cost?

Thanks Vid and Kevin

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Eddy

XM1 or XM1+ ?

Between michelins and Yoko, which will reduce the noise more ?

What will they cost?

Michelin XM1 has minimum road noise and it will feel like heaven when u shift from JKs..
Got a set of A drives couples of days back....Its super smooth till now. Will test its limits tomorrow.

[iraghava]

Like Viddy/KP said, 185/70 R14 on stock rims is your best bet Eddy. Michelin XM1 or XM1+ or Yoko A-Drives you decide. You won't go wrong with any of those choices.

Etrnlwanderer - Thanks a ton! And btw that sheet was as much KP's work as mine, so thank him too!

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

.... I have fitted 165 x 65 tyres....

....the rear tyres are touching the inside of the rear wheel arch.....

.... Do I change back to 155 x 55 tyres? Will that solve the problem?....

Suzuki San!
Do you see the error of your / your dealer's ways in what you have posted?
When you increase the width of the tyre, the profile height is supposed to go DOWN in order to keep the overall diameter the same.
In this case the tread width has been increased and so has the profile height!
Use any of the tyre size calculators here and you will see that your new tyre's overall diameter is almost 2" larger than the stock tyres. This (8+% variation) is way more than the acceptable 2-4% variation in size.

Chances are your tyre guy chose this size since :
1. He didnt know better (i hope not)
2. The correct upsize (165/55 (or 165/50)) was not available in the tyres you wanted, or he didnt have it in stock.
3. You really stressed that you wanted a more comfortable ride so he thought he would give you some more sidewall.

It is, in theory, his fault - as he is supposed to do the math and not you. You did make it clear that it shouldnt touch, (and he said it wouldnt?).

You should definitely try to get him to change it - paying a SMALL amount might be acceptable too (for labour + 800km use).
Dont listen to him if he says this is caused because your suspension must be old and saggy (unless it is).

Goodluck.

Originally Posted by kARTIK IYER

One of the most well drafted and informative posts seen . It provides brief and requisite information .

Originally Posted by Etrnlwanderer

Thank you so very much for a wonderful thread Rehaan

Thanks guys. Appreciated.

cya
R

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Hey praveen,
see the video more carefully. You see, it does'nt make a difference whether the car is FWD or RWD.

The point is that older wheels are more prone to aquaplane. Correct.
So if they are in the front, in event of loss of control, the driver will feel the loss of traction and steer accordingly and hence prevent an accident while the new tyres at the back will have enough grip.

But if the old wheels are at the rear, even if it loses traction, nor will the driver realise and even if he does, he cant do anything to correct it and will lose control even if the front wheels have traction as the rear of the car will sway out of control.

The video clearly demonstrates this with the two cars on the wet track and the lady explains this as well. And thats exactly why there is no mention of RWD or FWD in the video as it doesnt matter because all cars have the steering on the front wheels of a car

you definitely dont want your car to oversteer (which in my view is much riskier than gentle understeer which you will experience with front loosing control) and rear to loose traction first. If your rear looses traction..it just might ovetake the front and you might end up going backwards...or even in the oncoming lane!!! Please always put new tyres in the rear..(assuming tyres are the same size in fron and rear!!!)

see the link below from JK tyres
WELCOME

[kpzen]

Rehaan

The stock tyre size of a Wagon R is 145/70-13 or 155/65-13 depending on the model.
Suzuki san got the tyre upsized to 165/65-13 which is +2.16% variation in the size.

I think 165/65-13 on stock rims in a Wagon R won't touch anywhere.
In case of Suzuki san i think its the offset of the alloys which is causing the problem.

Cheers

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by kpzen

The stock tyre size of a Wagon R is 145/70-13 or 155/65-13 depending on the model.

Oops. In that case forget about my earlier reply. I was just going by the figures he quoted as his earlier size!

cya
R

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Rehaan

The stock tyre size of a Wagon R is 145/70-13 or 155/65-13 depending on the model.
Suzuki san got the tyre upsized to 165/65-13 which is +2.16% variation in the size.

I think 165/65-13 on stock rims in a Wagon R won't touch anywhere.
In case of Suzuki san i think its the offset of the alloys which is causing the problem.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Oops. In that case forget about my earlier reply. I was just going by the figures he quoted as his earlier size!

cya
R

KPZen,
You are absolutely right. The car came fitted with 155 x 65 and so I thought going up to 165 x 65 would not cause any problems. However, I must admit that I did not take into account the offset of the alloys. Is there some sort of calculation for this???
Will try and change down to 155 x 65 but need to know if this will solve the problem for sure - keeping in mind that I will still have the alloys?

Regards,
Suzuki San

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Like Viddy/KP said, 185/70 R14 on stock rims is your best bet Eddy. Michelin XM1 or XM1+ or Yoko A-Drives you decide. You won't go wrong with any of those choices.

Etrnlwanderer - Thanks a ton! And btw that sheet was as much KP's work as mine, so thank him too!

How much will they cost me ? Any effect on the FE ?

BTW: How do you choose between brands ? I mean you can TD cars and listen to speakers before choosing but how does that work out in case of tyres ?

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by Eddy

How much will they cost me ? Any effect on the FE ?

BTW: How do you choose between brands ? I mean you can TD cars and listen to speakers before choosing but how does that work out in case of tyres ?

185/70 should be around 3.5k, marginal effect on FE.

The only way to choose between tyres is to try them out. I try & drive as many different treads as possible at every opportunity I get to get a feel of the tyre qualities or negatives first hand.

[Xehaust]

Hey Suzuki San.
Sorry for the late reply, my net was down.
Anyways, looks like your problem is already almost solved

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Hey Suzuki San.
Sorry for the late reply, my net was down.
Anyways, looks like your problem is already almost solved

Hi Xehaust,
No, problem not yet solved.

Do I downsize to 155 x 65 as per original spec if the dealer agrees?

Will this solve the problem seeing as how I will still have the alloys causing an offset?

My other option if he refuses to change the tyres will be to go back to the original steel wheels -

Please advise.

Many Thanks,

Suzuki San