[Sawyer]

I don't know the current price for the Yokos, but the 3K per new stock tyre looks ok. But that obviously is true if the price quote for the Yoko is fair!

Hopefully you got that one nailed down before talking replacements.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by shyamkrish

The dealer called and let me know that Gypsy will be arriving in 10 days. Wow this is so quick !!! I booked it on 10th April. Really excited ! Looking at the speed with which Maruti is delivering , are they planning to bring it back?? (of course it might be because my order might have coincided with their production schedules)

Also i spoke to a tyre dealer and he said the best price he can give is Rs 3K per tyre because i believe size 205 is a dead size and no one uses it. He will give the YOKOs for Rs 6300. So if i exchange 5 tyres my damage would be Rs 16500

Is that ok??

Many congratulations Shyamkrish for your new Gypsy King.

I also took delivery of my brand new Gypsy King on January 14th earlier this year. The car came with MRF F78-15-4 PR cross ply tires. As I was driving from the dealership to our place I found the ride to be very harsh. When I checked the inflation pressure it turned out to be 35 psi; please note that Maruti specifies tire inflation pressure at 1.4 kg-cm2 (19.9 psi).

I had already decided to upgrade my tires to radials & had done a fair bit of research towards the same & zeroed down to Yokohama A/T-S Geolanders. Next day when I visited the tire dealer he only had the 215/75 R15 in stock. The correct size would have been a 205/70 R15 as that would have helped in keeping the overall rolling diameter of the replacement tire within 2.5% of the stock tires (26.5”) but unfortunately this tire size was not available. I paid about Rs. 20,000 for replacing all the 5 tires so Rs.16, 500 sounds ok.

After replacing the tires the steering effort at parking speeds is awful and I must mention here that the larger tires size is to be partly blamed for that so my recommendation is stick to 205/70 R15s; this will also preserve your steering & suspension geometry in the long run. I must mention here that I find Yokohamas have improved the ride of the vehicle substantially.

Please make sure the staff at the tire dealer inflates your new tires with the correct pressure at 20 psi. Also the tightening torque for the lug nuts specified by Maruti is 5 to 8 kg-m (36.1 to 56.8 lb-ft.); please make sure the lug nuts are not over tightened.

All the best & congratulations once again.

[shyamkrish]

Hi Vikram,

Infact i want to retain the stock size as i want to make minimal changes to the vehicle. So you say Geolander is good but it still requires parking effort. I was told that 205 tyres dont exist

So what do you suggest? Are the stock tyres better than the Geos that you replaced? Cab you recommend what i should do?

Thanks
Shyam

[Vikram Arya]

Hi Shyamkrish,

I suggest that you do change the stock tires as Gypsy King comes factory fitted with cross ply tires & remains sadly the only Maruti product that does not come from the factory with radial tires.

Cross ply tires have a stiffer sidewall as compared to more flexible sidewalls that radials have therefore the radials have a more pliant ride as compared to cross ply tires.

As for your concern regarding maintain the stock tire size I have mentioned if you change to 205/70 R15 radials you will still be maintaining the same overall rolling diameter as your stock tires. Whoever has told you that 205/70 R15 does not exist do not have their facts right. If you go to Yokohama India’s website Geolander A/T-S 205/70 R15 is very much for sale in India. There are 5 Yokohama dealers within 20 km radius of Madurai. I’m enclosing the web-link for your reference: http://www.yokohama-india.com/product/geolandar-at-s/.

Also I had attributed the increased steering effort in my case to a wider tire size (215/75R15) & therefore my strong recommendation is to stick to a 205/70 R15 tire size. As for the brand I can only speak from my experience that Yokohama is a very well respected brand & has a huge fan following among Gypsy owners across India. My Gypsy is based in Shimla & I see majority of Gypsys here ride on these tires. Again if you have a different brand preference please feel free to explore. Hope this helped.

Regards.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

please note that Maruti specifies tire inflation pressure at 1.4 kg-cm2 (19.9 psi).

After replacing the tires the steering effort at parking speeds is awful and I must mention here that the larger tires size is to be partly blamed for that so my recommendation is stick to 205/70 R15s; this will also preserve your steering & suspension geometry in the long run. I must mention here that I find Yokohamas have improved the ride of the vehicle substantially.

Good point about over inflation - this is a common situation with Gypsy. Follow the manual in the car.
I ran my car with 205 Yokos and changed to the 215 Yokos after a year. I was pleased to get an excellent buy back for the used Yokos at the time. I much prefer how the car rides with 215 size tyres, with no increase in steering effort. If anything and to my surprise I found steering effort reduced a little from the 205; I was surprised to read your comment. It may be that the turning circle increases to an extent, which perhaps may mean some more parking effort over stock tyres. On balance, having used 205 Yokos for a year, and 215 for five years, my recommendation would easily be the 215. A bonus is that the car looks better with 215. The only small issue with 215 is that mounting the stepney on the rear gate leaves a small indentation in it from the mounting bolt. But there has been no issue of any kind in the long run otherwise.

Originally Posted by shyamkrish

Hi Vikram,
Are the stock tyres better than the Geos that you replaced? Cab you recommend what i should do?

Stock tyres suck.

[shyamkrish]

Just to be a bit more specific, i have bought the Gypsy for my farmhouse trips. There are no roads there and its a very rocky terrain with mud/gravel as well. So when it rains there will be slush.

However i need to travel from Madurai to Kodaikanal (120Km) to reach the place. This will be proper road

Iam not even sure if the Yokos can take that kind of abuse. Are any other recommendations? I don't want to be stuck with a torn sidewall in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks
Shyam

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by shyamkrish

Iam not even sure if the Yokos can take that kind of abuse.

Shyam, do not underestimate Yokos! I had them on my Classic for 6+ years and they took whatever was thrown at them, including 1000+ km drives on tarmac as well as some really tough off-road trails. My Gypsy is also riding on Yokos and they have held up quite well so far, including a Pune-Bangalore drive, although I have not subjected them to serious off-road situations as yet.

If you are still doubtful, I have heard some good feedback on BF Goodrich as well.

My 2 cents...

[Sawyer]

It is possible to suffer sidewall damage to any pneumatic tyre - after all it only flexes because the sidewalls are soft enough to let it. Be aware of what causes it, and avoid those situations. That said, loose rocks/mud/slush isn't the place where this usually happens.

In the rare event this happens, there is the fifth tyre that you are buying.

[Desmosedici]

Yoko Geloanders ATS are really really good. So many Gypsy owners have them. I used to run it with 28 - 30psi on road and never found any issues, especially with the steering. The Gypsy steering IS hard. Whatever tyre you put, its gonna be that way. Once you move it a couple of inches, you wont need to flex your muscles.

I agree with Sawyer, 215/75 is the best size, fits well and looks good too.

[Sawyer]

28 psi for the front is HIGH! Maruti recommends 20 front, and 26 at rear when fully loaded else 22 if I am not mistaken. 20 front is regardless of load.

With 20/26, I still get a lower back workout even on Pune roads, I can't imagine what higher PSI would do! I don't find the car hard to steer once there is some motion. As I said, the turning circle remains the issue, steering effort isn't.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

28 psi for the front is HIGH! Maruti recommends 20 front, and 26 at rear when fully loaded else 22 if I am not mistaken. 20 front is regardless of load.

Doesn't that sound too low? Not sure if this recommendation pertains to OEM tyres only. I have been running my Yokos on ~30 psi (both front and back) for quite some time now, assuming that a bone-jarring ride is a "bonus" that comes along with the Gypsy

[Desmosedici]

20 is way too low. I had deflated to 20 once in 2010 when i had attended an offroad event and where all the senior folks recommended anything around 20 as suitable for those conditions. Else on road i have always run it with 30.

[Sawyer]

20 is what Maruti recommends for front irrespective of load, and it works just fine for me as well. I prefer this combination of reasons as a guide compared to what anyone else recommends.

In 5 years of use, I haven't had a single flat on the Yokos, and no apparent sidewall damage I can see that is usually seen on under inflated tyres.

Since I can't keep changing pressures at the rear based on load, I run the car on 20/26 all the time, and still suffer the bad ride, which only gets better when I have 4 or more people sitting in the rear.

[shyamkrish]

ok . Thanks all. I have decided to go with the Geos. But will keep the size same - 205/70R15. Let me see how they are and will decide to upsize later

[shyamkrish]

Ok so the dealer called to let me know that the Gypsy will be arriving on 25th (next week)

So i would to prepare a checklist of things as mentioned by several folks above

1) Tyre change to Yokos same size
2) Ensure Lug nuts are tightened to correct torque
3) Size front tyres to around 20 (maybe a little more ) and rear tyres based on load (26-30)

I wanted to check about the free wheeling hub. Since it is no longer available in new gypsies do i need it? Doesnt it improve mileage by detaching the shaft from Front wheels when 4WD isn't in use? Pls advice

Also, initially i will be offloading only probably once in 2 months until i get the confidence. Is there a way i can use the 4WD in the city just to make sure it doesn't remain idle for long periods. So that when i engage it in real situations it does work?

Can you list out any other things to keep in mind since iam new to 4WD and Gypsy in particular that you have experienced?

Thanks
Shyam