[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Guys

Thanks for all the inputs.
So is it that 205/65/15 is not recommended and is it that 215/65/15 is not available at all or generally not recommended?

I am concerned about what I just read about the 'indentation' on the rear spare tyre when mounted, in the case of the 215/75/15.

Shankar,

As per Maruti Suzuki’s website the OEM tire size is 205/70R15. The rolling diameter of this tire is 26.5 inches & that is recommended size.

If you graduate to a 215/75R15, both the diameter & aspect ratio would go up; the rolling diameter increases to 27.9 inches which is 5.28% larger than the rolling diameter of the stock tire. Traditionally the allowable variance is 2.5% as far as the tire diameter goes when it comes to upsizing.

Now I would have liked to go in for a 215/70 R15 tire that would have kept the rolling diameter at 26.9 inches (1.5% variance) and everything would be fine from maintaining the suspension/steering geometry perspective; unfortunately 215/70 R15 Yokohama Geolandar is not available in India. I don’t know that much about Indian tire market so I will defer to other forum members who are more conversant about the local market.

215/65 R15 tire has a rolling diameter of 26 inches which is smaller than that of the stock tire so I wouldn’t bother with that tire size.

I did go in for 215/75 R15 Yokohama Geolandars based on the feedback from Sawyer, Cool Dube and other forum members who have had the ownership experience with this size. Yes steering effort did go up but the ride was far more pliant than that of the stock tires which was horrendous to say the least.

My spare is mounted & I’m really concerned about the indentation part however keeping the spare in the vehicle without securing it properly would not be advisable. One possible way to minimize the indentation can be to keep the lug nuts tightened just enough so as to keep those right at the edge of the bolts of the mounting bracket.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

My spare is mounted & I’m really concerned about the indentation part however keeping the spare in the vehicle without securing it properly would not be advisable. One possible way to minimize the indentation can be to keep the lug nuts tightened just enough so as to keep those right at the edge of the bolts of the mounting bracket.

Wouldn't this result in the tyre being mounted too loosely and working itself loose over time?
Wouldnt it be irritating to have a tyre rattling about on its mount bolts in the back and with usage on our bad roads in India plus the inherently rough ride of the Gypsy would this not result over time, in the tyre surface getting abraded against the metal area of the mount bracket where the indentation is happening in the first place?

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Wouldn't this result in the tyre being mounted too loosely and working itself loose over time?
Wouldnt it be irritating to have a tyre rattling about on its mount bolts in the back and with usage on our bad roads in India plus the inherently rough ride of the Gypsy would this not result over time, in the tyre surface getting abraded against the metal area of the mount bracket where the indentation is happening in the first place?

Well, you can tighten the lug nuts enough and no more I guess to prevent those from coming loose over time; the idea is not to over tighten so as to prevent the indentation from taking place. As this tire is wider than the stock tire it will push against the lug nuts therefore should not come loose; there is no way it will rattle as tire sits pretty snugly on the mounting bracket.

My Gypsy has been driven over some pretty rough asphalt (roads in Himachal are in a sorry state) and the spare is as tight as ever; most of the time I’m a very gentle driver (mountain roads are very unforgiving to imbecile behaviour).

Additionally the indentation is caused by the 3 or 4 rubber bushes that are affixed at the back of the mounting bracket to prevent the tire from rubbing against the hatch so the tire is not rubbing against any metal surface anyway.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Well, you can tighten the lug nuts enough and no more I guess to prevent those from coming loose over time; the idea is not to over tighten so as to prevent the indentation from taking place. As this tire is wider than the stock tire it will push against the lug nuts therefore should not come loose; there is no way it will rattle as tire sits pretty snugly on the mounting bracket.

My Gypsy has been driven over some pretty rough asphalt (roads in Himachal are in a sorry state) and the spare is as tight as ever; most of the time I’m a very gentle driver (mountain roads are very unforgiving to imbecile behaviour).

Additionally the indentation is caused by the 3 or 4 rubber bushes that are affixed at the back of the mounting bracket to prevent the tire from rubbing against the hatch so the tire is not rubbing against any metal surface anyway.

Understood, but will not those rubber bushes themselves result in some level of abrasion as well as the indentation?
End of the day one would not want the tyre per se to be damaged because a spare has to always be in top condition.
If at all I were to go for these tyres whenever I get my Gypsy, I shall anyway be doing my normal 6 monthly tyre rotation, alignment and balancing so that all the tyres get an even running. But Im not very happy with this abrasion/ indentation problem at all.
Is there a way one can maybe extend the lug bolts and nuts to prevent such indentation/ abrasion? Or Worst case, place a portion of a rubber mat type thing right at the offending spot, in order to take the worst off this?

Else, just keep the blighted tyres as stock and be done with it!

Also, what about 205/70 or 75/ 15 size? If at all this is easily available that is! Will this size too, result in such indentation/ abrasion?

[Sawyer]

If you are really worried about this issue, install adequate size spacers before mounting the spare and then tighten the nuts fully.

I see the spare as an emergency short term back up only and forget about this little matter. The Gypsy isn't car enough to lose sleep over trifles, which is why I bought it and have kept it.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Understood, but will not those rubber bushes themselves result in some level of abrasion as well as the indentation?
End of the day one would not want the tyre per se to be damaged because a spare has to always be in top condition.
If at all I were to go for these tyres whenever I get my Gypsy, I shall anyway be doing my normal 6 monthly tyre rotation, alignment and balancing so that all the tyres get an even running. But Im not very happy with this abrasion/ indentation problem at all.
Is there a way one can maybe extend the lug bolts and nuts to prevent such indentation/ abrasion? Or Worst case, place a portion of a rubber mat type thing right at the offending spot, in order to take the worst off this?

Else, just keep the blighted tyres as stock and be done with it!

Also, what about 205/70 or 75/ 15 size? If at all this is easily available that is! Will this size too, result in such indentation/ abrasion?

I honestly don’t know if the bolts can be extended (seems unlikely) or the rubber mat idea can work & I do very much appreciate your intention to rotate/balance/align tires every six months as it is a proven best practice to keep the tire wear at an even keel.

205/70R15 is very much available through authorized Yokohama distributors. You can go for them & save yourself all the trouble. This is the same size as that of the stock tire therefore indentation should not be an issue in this case.

[Sawyer]

Bolt extension on its own will not change anything even if it were easy to do. And there is enough bolt length to allow spacers of adequate thickness to clear the offending lugs while still leaving enough thread on the bolt for the nuts to be fully engaged and tightened.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

And there is enough bolt length to allow spacers of adequate thickness to clear the offending lugs while still leaving enough thread on the bolt for the nuts to be fully engaged and tightened.

Are you sure about this? I did check on this aspect when getting the new spare mounted. The bolts are just long enough for the stock tyre and leave no margin for any spacers being put AND getting the nuts tightened enough.

[Sawyer]

The ones on mine have enough place; in fact one bolt has a hole to insert a lock to secure the stepney after it is installed. Installing the spacers will probably cause that feature to be lost though - although I don't use it.

In any case, this is easily checked before spacer manufacture and installation if it is to be done.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

In any case, this is easily checked before spacer manufacture and installation if it is to be done.

Agreed. In which case, simple aluminium washers should do the trick. Let me check back on this once more.

[Sawyer]

Memory lapse; I see that just the bolt with a hole for a lock is long; the nuts are to the end of the other bolts. Even so, using some spacers may still meet both objectives. After all, the nuts on the spare aren't under the kind of stress that those on the wheels are, so even a nut that is partially engaged but fully tight ought to still retain the stepney well enough while the spacers allow for the indentations to not happen.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Memory lapse; I see that just the bolt with a hole for a lock is long; the nuts are to the end of the other bolts. Even so, using some spacers may still meet both objectives. After all, the nuts on the spare aren't under the kind of stress that those on the wheels are, so even a nut that is partially engaged but fully tight ought to still retain the stepney well enough while the spacers allow for the indentations to not happen.

Yes, I double-checked yesterday and there is barely any margin on the two upper bolts to fix a spacer. If at all, spacers with less than half the width of the nuts can be considered but not sure if these will be wide enough to make any significant difference. Please see pic below...

[Sawyer]

I don't know what spacer width will totally eliminate the problem, and if that will leave enough thread on the bolt for the nut to be effective. However, even if the spacer is 50% of the nut width, it will reduce the amount of indentation which might be a good thing for the tyre, while still leaving enough thread width for the nut/stepney to stay mounted if the nut is adequately torqued.

All speculation; I haven't done anything on these lines.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

My spare is mounted & I’m really concerned about the indentation part however keeping the spare in the vehicle without securing it properly would not be advisable. One possible way to minimize the indentation can be to keep the lug nuts tightened just enough so as to keep those right at the edge of the bolts of the mounting bracket.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

If you are really worried about this issue, install adequate size spacers before mounting the spare and then tighten the nuts fully.

Spacer at wheel will not work since bolts are not long enough. Which leaves two options.

Add spacer for the mounting clamp and push it out from door. Or mount the rim ulta and see if there is offset that will help avoid tyres touching (don't remember those stock rims now). If not get an alloy with slight offset

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Add spacer for the mounting clamp and push it out from door

This sounds like a good idea and least disruptive of the lot, unless the bolts for the mounting clamp have the same issue Let me try this out.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Or mount the rim ulta and see if there is offset that will help avoid tyres touching

An "Ulta" rim will not look good unless the spare wheel cover is used, which will not be possible for 215s and OE cover.

Edit: How about doing away with the rubber stubs altogether? Will that cause the tyre to rub against the paint of the tailgate?