the right upsize

[rks]

Originally Posted by sups

I will be getting the delivery of my new Getz Prime 1.3 GLS next week. The stock tyre that they provide is 175/70 R-13 tubed Goodyear tyre.

I want to have a comfortable ride on bad roads, not much of high speed cornering. Also, I want to stick to 13" rim. Should I go for 185/65 R-13 tubeless Goodyear tyres? Please also suggest me the best kind of tyre (GIII etc.) for this.

If you do not plan to do much of high speed driving and all you want is a comfortable ride, why not stick to the stock size tyres? Tubeless tyres are definitely preferable for several reasons.

Alloy wheels are advisable in the long run, but in your case I don't think there is an immediate need to switch to alloys. Your steel rims are brand new and will not rust for another 4-5 years. And they will not bend if you drive slowly. I drove around on steel rims with stock size tubeless tyres in my Santro for 6 months and they held air perfectly despite the rims getting bent slightly at the fringes, probably because I run overinflated tyres and hit a pothole or two at 70-80 kmph on the highway. I then switched to alloys. It is true that 13" rims are more prone to bending than the larger ones.

However, if you plan to upsize your tyres with stock rims, make sure that the rim width does not go below the minimum required for your chosen tyre size; if it does, you need to get wider rims and alloys would make sense.

[sups]

Originally Posted by rks

If you do not plan to do much of high speed driving and all you want is a comfortable ride, why not stick to the stock size tyres? Tubeless tyres are definitely preferable for several reasons.

However, if you plan to upsize your tyres with stock rims, make sure that the rim width does not go below the minimum required for your chosen tyre size; if it does, you need to get wider rims and alloys would make sense.

Thanks RKS. Yes, I am willing to stick to stock size tyre. But as per suggestions from some owners, the stock tubed tyres from Goodyear are on the little harder side. So, would it be a good idea to change the stock tyres to the same size 175/70 R13 Michelin Energy XM1? Or due you suggest some other brands, keeping in mind that ride comfort and handling is my priority??

[rks]

Originally Posted by sups

Thanks RKS. Yes, I am willing to stick to stock size tyre. But as per suggestions from some owners, the stock tubed tyres from Goodyear are on the little harder side. So, would it be a good idea to change the stock tyres to the same size 175/70 R13 Michelin Energy XM1? Or due you suggest some other brands, keeping in mind that ride comfort and handling is my priority??

Sticking to the stock size tyres will give you the advantages of better ride comfort (since it is 70 profile) and better fuel economy. Plus there is less chance of steel rims bending as compared to lower profile tyres (as long as you drive carefully and keep recommended tyre pressures). As far as handling is concerned, as long as you do not intend to do high-speed driving, the stock size tyres will be more than adequate.

Michelin Energy XM1 is widely recommended by T-BHPians; iraghava is the person who has a lot of experience with these tyres. See also the following website:

Michelin Australia

The fine print at the bottom says that the 13" series does not come with silica compounds, which, as per this website, "reduce the amount of energy required to push your car, saving fuel and the environment by reducing car emissions". So that is one minus; without the silica compound, I believe the tyre is just XM1, not "Energy XM1". Still the XM1 should be a good choice, given your criteria.

As per many internet sources, the Bridgestone tyres should have a longer life than the Michelin tyres on the bad Indian roads. I am also considering the Bridgestone Turanza ER-60 for my next tyre change. Here is the official website:

Bridgestone India Private Limited

This tyre is also supposed to be very good in ride comfort/handling and I haven't heard any complaints from T-BHPians.

The B250 series tyres have just been introduced by Bridgestone India on July 1. These tyres are supposed to eventually replace the workhorse S322 tyres and should be much better than them. They should have a longer life than either Michelin XM1 or the Turanza ER-60, but will probably not be as good in performance/handling/ride comfort. There was also a T-BHP thread on these tyres. Here is the Bridgestone India website which announces the introduction of B250 series:

Bridgestone India Private Limited

I plan to pick one of XM1, ER-60 or B250 for my next set of tyres, when my present S322 tubeless tyres wear out. You can also consider the Goodyear Eagle GA Plus recommended by razor4077; I do not know much about this tyre.

[razor4077]

Originally Posted by sups

...keeping in mind that ride comfort and handling is my priority??

Ride (comfort) and handling are actually 2 different priorities, which are almost inversely proportional to each other. In other words, to get great comfort you have to sacrifice a bit of handling and vice-versa.
Energy XM1 (or XM1 as rks said) has probably got the right amount of both (leaning more towards comfort), which has made it a very popular tyre in and out of this forum.
The GA Plus has my seal of approval for what it's worth, while some people prefer Bridgestone. I think rks has narrowed down the options nicely for you. Pick one of these and you should be satisfied.

[sups]

Thanks a lot rks and razor4077. I am driving Santro Xing XG for last 2 years with 165/65 R13 Goodyear Eagle GA with stock steel rims. So far clocked 12.5K, never had any issue till date. However, I am not sure whether XM1 will be better. Anyway, following your suggestions, I will go for 175/70 R13 XM1 of Turanza ER 60.

[sups]

Originally Posted by razor4077

The GA Plus has my seal of approval for what it's worth, while some people prefer Bridgestone. I think rks has narrowed down the options nicely for you. Pick one of these and you should be satisfied.

Hi razor4077, as per the Goodyear website, Eagle GA PLUS is available only with 165/65 R13. Since getz is having 175/70 R13, GA PLUS will not go. So, the options are GT3 and GPS2 in Goodyear. Which one would you recommend?

I enquired about the price of different tyres in 175/70 R-13 family. Here is the price, hope it will be helpful for others:
Bridgestone Turanza ER-60 : Rs. 2650 per tyre
Michelin XM1 : Rs. 2800 per tyre

[razor4077]

I think I mentioned somewhere that the GY website lists only 165/65/13, but other sizes are usually available at the dealer. I saw this myself a few days back. So you could ask your dealer once.
I would not recommend GT3 - extremely noisy tyre. GPS2 is ok, but not as good as some of the other tyres mentioned above.

[dockap]

hey guys need some urgent info i have ordered yokohama es100 205/60/15 v rated tyres made in japan manuf date is 5/06 my dealer charged me 4950/- per tyre is it a good rate or is he ripping me of

[iraghava]

I think that rate is slightly expensive if the Yoko's are grey market since you get Michelin/Bridgestone with B&W for a similar price. If it's with B&W (read official Yoko, India) then it's fine.

[Wimwian]

I've been hunting for a good performance tire for my swift... wanna stick to R14 for the moment. However, it looks like none of the good tires are available in 185/70/14 or 195/65/14, at least that's what my dealer said - only options are Michelin Energy XM1 or Goodyear Ventura... can somebody please throw some light on this? as in, which would be the best performance tire available in these sizes?

tia

[dockap]

Originally Posted by iraghava

I think that rate is slightly expensive if the Yoko's are grey market since you get Michelin/Bridgestone with B&W for a similar price. If it's with B&W (read official Yoko, India) then it's fine.

slightly expensive = how much diff

[Rtech]

Each city has it's own price range. What's considered a good price in Bangalore may be considered expensive in Mumbai. So it's hard for someone sitting in another city to really give an accurate price.

However, that said, we can give you an idea of the prices where we are, and maybe that would help you figure out where you stand. I recently (6 months ago) purchased 16" 225 AVS Sports for Rs.5,200 per tyre here in Mumbai. So the 205/15's would be cheaper. In Mumbai.

[dockap]

i have 1 more doubt since these are unidirectional tyres what do u guys do for a spare tyre?

[Rtech]

My spare is the OE 15" wheel/tyre. it's for emergency use only, so the difference in size is not a problem really.

[viper]

Originally Posted by dockap

hey guys need some urgent info i have ordered yokohama es100 205/60/15 v rated tyres made in japan manuf date is 5/06 my dealer charged me 4950/- per tyre is it a good rate or is he ripping me of

Hi,

The current pricing in Mumbai for the ES100 is Rs3300/- per tyre. The tyres are 2007 manufactured.

Viper