[deetjohn]

Thought I will write a small review as the XM2s have completed 20K KM on the Swift.

Positives

1. Supremely comfortable. You can feel the softness of the tyre while climbing sharp potholes or plastic speed breakers. Doesn't transmit any shock to the cabin.
2. Robust. Haven't had a single puncture on any wheel. I have even climbed a few slabs very carefully with no issues.
3. Very Silent
4. Good grip in the dry and wet.
5. Mileage. The tread has hardly moved and I think it will last another 30k with ease.
6. I like the way it looks as well. Clutter free and rounded shoulder looks great and 195 cross-section got 3 wicked grooves as well.

Negatives

1. Rolls quite a lot. The tyres are no good for cornering. They hold the line very well but sways. And you can feel it inside.
2. A bit expensive, but reasonable given all the strengths of the tyre I guess.
3. Small pebbles love to get stuck in the tread.

How do I take care of it? Rotation, balancing and alignment every 5K, top-up every two weeks and I am careful on bad roads. But you don't have to baby it at all.

[prasanna.vps]

Have had these on my alto for quite a bit till I sold it (10K done). Excellent tires, immensely improve ride quality, very less noise. From a mileage, I have to agree with the previous comments on it lasting long, mine looked new (that fetched me a little extra). Would recommend them anyday! Great all weather tyres, however, not suitable for very high speed cornering as it tends to roll a lot and all feedback comes back to the steering more that the way it should.

[Sridhar K]

After shifting from 195/60 R15 A- drives to 185/65/15 XM2, I have completed 1500 kms and did a long trip. Deetjohn's feedback is spot on.

However, I felt that the grip was much better with my 195 a-drives on higher speeds and around corners than my 185 XM2. Not sure whether it is due to the wider tyres in the earlier a-drives or with the XM2 grip itself. In my next shift, I will go back to 195. Comfort is better in XM2 than a-drives.

[bharatsomany]

Originally Posted by csateesh

@bharatsomany - No offense !!

When does a car struggle to gain speed

1. When the weight of the car has increased or
2. The rolling resistance of the tyres - Higher it is the more the engine needs to work on

For me #1 hasn't changed but I attribute the ease of acceleration to be down only to the reduced rolling resistance.

Not once but I validated these measurements multiple times before posting it as I found it too good to be true but alas what you see are facts

Unfortunately I may not have pictures of speed and rpm from my earlier shoes but I can try to post the ones for Michelin.

NOTE : I am not affiliated to any of the tyre manufacturing organizations. Sharing my findings to help others in any which way.

csateesh,
I fully agree with you that you may find yourself in the next gear if the response and feel of the vehicle is suitable, but a RPM difference of 25% at the same speed IN THE SAME GEAR, is not possible.
It is for this reason that I requested you to check the numbers. In fact, driving in the next gear would also explain the better than expected fuel savings.
I am not associated/affiliated/employed with any tyre or automobile company either!

[rki2007]

Very interesting thread.

I would be taking delivery of my Skoda Rapid 1.5MT next week. The stock tyres are Apollo Alnac 185/60 R15.

I would like to upgrade to better rubbers. I am novice in this area and have no idea. From all the discussions that I have seen, Michelin XM2 seems to be the best bet. But some also say Hankook (don't know the variant name) or Michelin P3ST is good.

I recently walked into a tyre shop and had a look at all the tyres where the dealer was trying to push me towards continental or Yoko S drives. Now I am really confused which one to opt. The following are my top preferences, based on which can someone help me in selecting the best tyre for my car.

1. Comfort is the first priority
2. Mileage should be intact
3. Very less tyre noise
4. Good grip because I will be having a lot of highway driving.
5.Cost is not an important criteria. I can spend up to 6K per tyre. Plus or minus in this range is acceptable.

Based on the above can someone answer the below queries:

1.Is there a requirement to upsize to 195/60 R15 or any other size.
2. I am being offered close to 2.5K per tyre for my stock Apollo Alnac. Is this deal a good one?
3.Best tyre option for my new car.
4.Should I go for 5 tyres or will 4 be sufficient. Which option makes more sense.

Thanks on advance.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Very interesting thread.

I would be taking delivery of my Skoda Rapid 1.5MT next week. The stock tyres are Apollo Alnac 185/60 R15.

I would like to upgrade to better rubbers. I am novice in this area and have no idea. From all the discussions that I have seen, Michelin XM2 seems to be the best bet. But some also say Hankook (don't know the variant name) or Michelin P3ST is good.

I recently walked into a tyre shop and had a look at all the tyres where the dealer was trying to push me towards continental or Yoko S drives. Now I am really confused which one to opt. The following are my top preferences, based on which can someone help me in selecting the best tyre for my car.

1. Comfort is the first priority
2. Mileage should be intact
3. Very less tyre noise
4. Good grip because I will be having a lot of highway driving.
5.Cost is not an important criteria. I can spend up to 6K per tyre. Plus or minus in this range is acceptable.

Based on the above can someone answer the below queries:

1.Is there a requirement to upsize to 195/60 R15 or any other size.
2. I am being offered close to 2.5K per tyre for my stock Apollo Alnac. Is this deal a good one?
3.Best tyre option for my new car.
4.Should I go for 5 tyres or will 4 be sufficient. Which option makes more sense.

Thanks on advance.

First of all, I would like to ask, why are you upgrading? It's a waste of money.

The Alnacs are good enough for everything you've described.

Save your money and spend it on other accessories or fuel for longer drives!!

If you are still keen on blowing up money, just go for the best which is Michelin P3ST in 195/60-15 or Continental MC5. Dont bother trying to change tyres on a budget as whatever you spend is not worth it. Whether it is 1k or 10k!

Please dont think of changing your tyres just because the OEM tyres are "Indian". The alnacs are really nice tyres and the money you lose in the upgrade isnt worth the upgrade to tyres that are supposed to be better.

[MSAneesh]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

[*]Rolls quite a lot. The tyres are no good for cornering. They hold the line very well but sways. And you can feel it inside.

Quite true!! The body roll is quite evident on cornering. I was suspecting issue with my wheel alignment or something else, but otherwise there is no evident sign of alignment issue. Thanks for clarifying !!!
I have done just 2500 KMs on my new XM2 legs.

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by MSAneesh

Quite true!! The body roll is quite evident on cornering. I was suspecting issue with my wheel alignment or something else, but otherwise there is no evident sign of alignment issue. Thanks for clarifying !!!
I have done just 2500 KMs on my new XM2 legs.

So is that something which will make a customer choose some other tyre or will it is ok with XM2 itself? Why I am asking this is becuase of the curvy highway when you tend to corner at 90-100kmph, isn't that a bit risky?

[MSAneesh]

Would request experts for their opinion. I believe, it depends on your driving style and what you want from your car.
For me, the ride quality was good and it was providing excellent grip even in very heavy rain. Did a round trip to Kerala and back covering approx. 1500 KMs and had to drive through super heavy rainfall for about 30 KMs. Also did the ghat section on return. The roll was noticed on speedy cornering on a couple of occasions and thereafter slightly adjusted the driving to avoid it. Mind you.... mine is no Ferrari (I own a Santro)
Other than this, I am extremely happy with the XM2s so far.

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

First of all, I would like to ask, why are you upgrading? It's a waste of money.

The alnacs are really nice tyres and the money you lose in the upgrade isnt worth the upgrade to tyres that are supposed to be better.

Now I am royally confused. One of my close friend who knows about these rubbers pretty well said that an upgrade for Alnac is very necessary. But after going through the Apollo thread, I didn't really feel that an upgrade is really required. Don't know really!!

If at all an upgrade then P3ST has softer sidewalls and XM2 has body roll as per the reviews. I don't know what to do

[Chetan_Rao]

I've recently done a ~4000 km road trip across KA-MH-MP across all types of roads (the smooth NH4 to the no-road stretches around Shirdi and Ahmednagar), and the XM2s held up pretty well. I drive a Hyundai Accent on stock size tires (175/70R13).

I'd consulted our resident tyre expert Nikhil before the change and went with his recommendation. The tires do need a bit of care on bad stretches as the rubber is softer than the regular OEM fitted tires on most cars, but nothing unmanageable. As for body roll, it's not very evident at reasonable highway speeds (~90 kmph). If one's driving at triple-digit cornering speeds, they have no business using anything below performance-grade tires anyway. XM2s are best suited for sedate cruising and a comfy ride. Look elsewhere if you want corner-carving performance at triple-digit speeds.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Now I am royally confused. One of my close friend who knows about these rubbers pretty well said that an upgrade for Alnac is very necessary. But after going through the Apollo thread, I didn't really feel that an upgrade is really required. Don't know really!!

If at all an upgrade then P3ST has softer sidewalls and XM2 has body roll as per the reviews. I don't know what to do

Do not change. I repeat myself at the risk of being boring.

It is not worth an upgrade. If you were getting Bridgestone B250s or JKs or Goodyears it would make sense. Not from the Apollos.

The Alnacs are a slight improvement on the Aceleres. The Aceleres themselves were fantastic tyres.

On my mom's i20, we have not upgraded. And we could have upgraded and had our pick of the tyres. There is a reason we didnt.

The Aceleres/Alnacs are good OEM tyres. Dont waste money.

[Sridhar K]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Now I am royally confused. One of my close friend who knows about these rubbers pretty well said that an upgrade for Alnac is very necessary. But after going through the Apollo thread, I didn't really feel that an upgrade is really required. Don't know really!!

If at all an upgrade then P3ST has softer sidewalls and XM2 has body roll as per the reviews. I don't know what to do

Just go with Nikhil's advice. You would have been used to B250 on your earlier Manza and acceleres are much better than those. Alnac are supposed to be even better than acceleres. Upgrade to XM2 would give you slightly better comfort and perhaps a longer mileage but the extra money over stock alnac won't be worth it.

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Do not change. I repeat myself at the risk of being boring.

.

Originally Posted by Sridhar K

Just go with Nikhil's advice.

Done. Advise taken. No more tyre change related confusions. Thanks for all the help Nikhil and Sridhar.

[anirudh_85]

I have a Spark which had done around 50k kms on factory fitted Aceleres. Their age, durability (have had more 15 punctures and had to put tubes in two of them) and high cabin noise meant that it was time for a change.

Switched to XM2 tyres around 2k kms ago and am thoroughly impressed. Being a softer compound, not only is the road grip is excellent but the noise levels have gone down like anything. The first drive after the replacement was slightly eerie.

In these 2k kms, the tyres have seen their fair share of highways, bad roads, pot holes etc. and have performed superbly. They cost me (with a little bit of haggling) around Rs. 15,000/- for a set of four tyres and I got a portable charger (Sony) for free. All in all, a very sweet deal.