[NamoJain]

Dear Manveet,

Hi,

Got a quick question for you, have you noticed any difference (as in the ride quality) between the original tyres on the jeep and the Yokos that you have now?

Thanx.

[shivshanker]

Originally Posted by manveet

Attachment 1025962

Hi Manveet, are these Alloys of any particular brand or are these the typical Taiwan imports.?

[manveet]

Hello friends, quick updates are in order. First the life-changing event. I was been blessed with a healthy baby daughter last month. Mother is doing great as well. Life is good.

Now coming back to the Garage. The ML has been replaced by the Q7. Last few months the Jeep has seen minimal action due to the fact that wifey was expecting, and now that we're a family with a baby, the Q7 had and will have priority when we go out together. We were prepared for this. However, once again clarifying to all of you out there .. please remember that the Thar can NEVER replace your mainstream primary car. Its a great recreational vehicle high on fun-factor.

Another thought worth mentioning. There was this time when I was driving the Q7 for a month and the Jeep was totally neglected and my parents were subtly suggesting to sell it off. And to be honest, the thought did cross my mind as well. But one drive of the Jeep and that thought has been perished for the next 12 months at least. Its amazing how feminine these sports SUV's feel as compared to the Jeep. So the Thar stays. Keeps me in touch with my masculinity.

In the coming month the Jeep is going to go through a change in application from softcore to hardcore Trail-rated. Am thinking of an "external" roll cage, getting rid of the carpeting and replacing it with aluminum diamond flooring, plus getting rid of the ICE and go in for a portable bluetooth Bose setup.

Now to the queries that I missed responding to ..

Originally Posted by dean5545

Hey manveet,
Nice upgrades. How much did you pay for the hood latch? I am getting it for 6.5k which I feel is too much for a latch!

But my friend insist on putting one as the stock latch is scraping the paint off leading to rusting.

Thanks in advance.

Yes, that's definitely a lot of money for the hatch. Check out cobopanna's thread he had given me the lead and I think I bought it for around the same cost. This was from Amazon and approx. 4K I think. Maybe even lesser. Please try locating the post, if you cannot find it, do recheck with me and I'll look it up.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Nice Updates Manveet.
What headlight beams are they?
How is the beam throw as compared to stock?

Thank you. So I had got rid of the projector HID's and moved to a clear glass lens. The bulb is Philips 110W in white. Or maybe it is Halonix. Don't remember. Light is good but beam focus is not perfect. Usually I drive in the city and just use the Hella work-lamps. Headlights I keep off as the beam reflects back into my eyes in bumper to bumper traffic. Haven't tested these on empty roads at night. Putting that up on my to-do list.

Originally Posted by Drlmtukkar

Those fog lamps you have are hella 3003 compact I think. How do they perform. Which are the new clear head lamps and how do those xenon filled halo gen lamps perform and their watt age please. would be great help in setting up my thar.

Yes, they are the Hella 3003's, not sure about the compact part though. I am not a light expert, but they do light up the road pretty well. Mostly used on the odd highway runs. The clear head-lamps were a pleasant discovery. Same as OEM brand and real cheap. Not sure what you mean by "xenon filled halogen lamps". I am using regular halogen lamps of 110W I think.

Originally Posted by NamoJain

Dear Manveet,

Hi,

Got a quick question for you, have you noticed any difference (as in the ride quality) between the original tyres on the jeep and the Yokos that you have now?

Thanx.

This is one question of which I am 100 percent sure of the answer. The Yoko's I have on right now have significantly improved high speed stability and handling. No two ways about it. They are a very practical and reasonable (and not whacky) upsize and highly recommended.

Originally Posted by shivshanker

Hi Manveet, are these Alloys of any particular brand or are these the typical Taiwan imports.?

Not sure what the "typical" Taiwan imports are. This is a brand call HiJoin. Here is the link. http://hijoin.myweb.hinet.net/ .. I have used them in my Jeep, Accord, and Getz, and never faced a single issue. The India dealer is called Sai Mag Wheels. Google them you will get their website and designs as well.

Cheers everyone!! Will keep you posted.

[monkey]

Originally Posted by manveet

Hello friends, quick updates are in order.

This is one question of which I am 100 percent sure of the answer. The Yoko's I have on right now have significantly improved high speed stability and handling. No two ways about it. They are a very practical and reasonable (and not whacky) upsize and highly recommended.

Congratulations Mavneet on the baby girl. Blessings abound.

I am buying a new Thar and am being told by @desertfox (who is very helpful and kind to explain in detail) to stick to OEM tires. Since you seem sure Yoko's worked great, did you lose some quality in having your tires upgraded? Was torsion an issue after change? I might stick with OEM's if the consensus is not to mess up the high steep paved driving experience. Majority of my driving is paved to hill stations and an annual summer trip to Leh. Much thanks.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by monkey

Congratulations Mavneet on the baby girl. Blessings abound.

I am buying a new Thar and am being told by @desertfox (who is very helpful and kind to explain in detail) to stick to OEM tires. Since you seem sure Yoko's worked great, did you lose some quality in having your tires upgraded? Was torsion an issue after change? I might stick with OEM's if the consensus is not to mess up the high steep paved driving experience. Majority of my driving is paved to hill stations and an annual summer trip to Leh. Much thanks.

I switched 255/65/16 Maxxis AT 771 after using stock tires for about 250kms.
The ride and handling was much better;and torsion bar setting was not required.

[NamoJain]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

I switched 255/65/16 Maxxis AT 771 after using stock tires for about 250kms.
The ride and handling was much better;and torsion bar setting was not required.

Dear Akshay,

Hi.

Even I have just switched the stock tyres on my Thar with the Yokos. 255/65/R16 AT-S.

My jeep had done around 800 kms at the time, the switch costed me 16k and the stock tires ([9200 – 6000] x 5).

Could you pls share the cost of the Maxxis AT 771.

And yeah even I can say that there is a considerable difference in the ride quality and also as far as I can tell even the steering feels as good and light.

[NamoJain]

Dear Manveet,

Many congratulations to you and the family on the birth of your baby daughter.
Wishing the best.

And CONGRATS for the TANK of a Q7. Colour, specs etc etc…… awaited.

Originally Posted by manveet

This is one question of which I am 100 percent sure of the answer. The Yoko's I have on right now have significantly improved high speed stability and handling. No two ways about it. They are a very practical and reasonable (and not whacky) upsize and highly recommended.

So glad to hear that from you man.

After a lot of thinking and reading(here), Got the tires on my jeep upgraded to same spec Yokos just a couple of days back and I can totally vouch for the more comfortable ride. It really isn’t an outlandish upgrade.

The next upgrade I’m looking at is the Arc CFL.
Well after reading your reviews I’m quite positive about it.

Also had a long discussion with Mr. Deepak Pawar (of Arc Industries) and my God he seems really positive about the product. He was quite insistent that after the CFL is installed the ride would become as comfy as in a sedan. I understand that he might have overshot it there………

But would you really say that they make that kind of a difference?

Thanks and All the Best,

[manveet]

Originally Posted by NamoJain

So glad to hear that from you man.

After a lot of thinking and reading(here), Got the tires on my jeep upgraded to same spec Yokos just a couple of days back and I can totally vouch for the more comfortable ride. It really isn’t an outlandish upgrade.

The next upgrade I’m looking at is the Arc CFL.
Well after reading your reviews I’m quite positive about it.

Also had a long discussion with Mr. Deepak Pawar (of Arc Industries) and my God he seems really positive about the product. He was quite insistent that after the CFL is installed the ride would become as comfy as in a sedan. I understand that he might have overshot it there………

But would you really say that they make that kind of a difference?

Thanks and All the Best,

Good decision on the Yokos. On the CFL's, yes they are definitely a good upgrade but overpriced IMO. There are now some other allegedly much cheaper and equally good alternatives available that you might like to explore. But if that is too much of an effort just go for the CFL's they are pretty much plug and Play.

[desertfox]

Yokohama Geolanders are good. They come in stock size too 235/70/R16, now with an ISI mark.

Ride quality will be as good as Bridgestone Dueler.

But why go for it when there are over a dozen reports of sidewall splitting / bursting from size 215 on my Bolero to 265 in Prado ?

The sidewalls have a life of just about 24 to 30 months.

Think it out.

[manveet]

Originally Posted by desertfox

Yokohama Geolanders are good. They come in stock size too 235/70/R16, now with an ISI mark.

Ride quality will be as good as Bridgestone Dueler.

Responding to someone asking about merits/ demerits of upsizing by saying that Yoko comes in stock size is somewhat irrelevant.

No idea about Bridgestone Dueler? Are they HT or AT?

Originally Posted by desertfox

But why go for it when there are over a dozen reports of sidewall splitting / bursting from size 215 on my Bolero to 265 in Prado ?

The sidewalls have a life of just about 24 to 30 months.

Think it out.

12 cases of sidewall tear out of 100 tires sold? or out of 1000? or out of 10,000? Is this your personal observation of over a dozen cases? or some published articles you are referring to? please clarify or post links. Just curious as I have had very good experience with the A-Drives, S-Drives, and now the Geolander. Tires have completed 22+ months with no apparent sidewall damage as yet.

Which is the tire you recommend for a decent upsize?

[desertfox]

There are two different issues here :

Tyres under discussion.

Bridgestone Dueler H/T tread no. 689
There is a 693 II as well it comes as OE in Mahindra Xylo and XUV but it is not really A/T more of a road tyre.

The Yokohama in question in Yokohama Geolander 215/70/R15 on my Bolero, 2 X sidewall splits after 24 months of use driven for 35,000 KM. Imported from Japan.

2 X sidewall splits in Landcruiser Prado, 275/70/R16 in March 2014 .This was imported from Japan.

Besides this on Team BHP itself more than three / four reports of sidewall splitting.

Yokohama Geolander and Yokohama Super Digger come as OE in Mitsubishi Pajero in the middle east market.

I got a free set of Yokohama Geolander 275/70/R16 from the TOYO research and development team. It was driven for 250 KM on a Landcruiser 100 VXR.

I fitted them on alloy wheels in my Landcruiser Prado LWB.

Too much boom and screech. Bad cornering. Bad braking, I returned them and took a new set of TOYO Tranpath 275/70/R16.

The TOYO OP/DH that I helped them design was still under development then.

They also gifted me a set of BF Goodrich Macadma and Dunlop Grandtrek TG 28 which I gifted to friends with Landcruisers.

Fitting an oversize tyre in a Thar :

Gearing becomes tall in a car already geared tall to run at speed on highways and for better fuel efficiency.

Contact area increases, leading to harder steering. It may impact tie rods in the long run. The system is designed to run on OE 235 size tyres.

Frequent problem of tyres hitting fender flares while even turning in city drives , fender flares must be replaced. Read is as flender flares or overfenders, i am referring to the black plastic arch over the wheel well.

Drive shaft travel will increase. Future problems highly possible.

In all probability the oversize tyre will be fitted on an aftermarket alloy wheel, altering the scrub ratio. Not a good idea. It will lead to many future problems.

Alloy wheels should be original Mahindra, Scorpio ones with their special bolts.

[ankurd]

I've had Yokos for my Xylo which lasted 50k Kms and had them replaced given they were 4 years old, new ones Yokos too and no issues.
On my Thar I went with the exact config as Manveet's, in fact ended up with the exact same allows (really a coincidence as I didn't recall it to be the same when I saw mine)- tyres- Yokos, and no issues on the tyres except one sidewall that has bubbled along with damage to the allows after an accident where the tyre was hit on impact. Promptly replaced with the spare wheel.

That's my actual usage experience.

[desertfox]

Your Xylo came with Yokohama Geolander ? Both my Xylos E6 have 215/70/R16 Bridgestone A/T 693 tread II on them. Still running on original tyres one has done 26,000 K the other 6,000 I guess.

[NamoJain]

Dear Desertfox,

I understand your concern with the Yokos is arising out of the bad experince you have had with them on your Prado and Bolero. Please don’t mind me asking, what terrain were/are they? (just curious)

Have the Yoko Geolandar AT–S (205/65 R15 stock size with stock alloys) installed on my Innova for around 16 months now and they are performing brilliantly. Not even a single puncture so far, must have done between 15 to 20 k kms on them.

Have been using Yoko A-drives on my city ivtec for the last 4 years. Have done more than 30 k clicks and no problems whatsoever. Had to replace just one tyre last year as it had worn off from one side due to bad alignment.

Originally Posted by desertfox

The TOYO OP/DH that I helped them design was still under development then.

Wow… what is it that you do man…..??

Originally Posted by desertfox

Fitting an oversize tyre in a Thar :…………………………………Scorpio ones with their special bolts.

Yeah I agree with the things you’ve said but not in this case.

It all stands true incase of crazy/outlandish upgrades like to maxxis big horn and stuff. [which a lot of the new Thar owners are doing these days ]
Whereas here its hardly any upgrade from 235/70 R16 to 255/65 R16. Just 20mm on the width (1.25mm increase in the profile is not even worth mentioning).

Although I’ve only driven my jeep for just a couple of hundred kms with the new tyres, here’s my observation in respect to the problems raised by you -

Originally Posted by desertfox

Gearing becomes tall in a car already geared tall to run at speed on highways and for better fuel efficiency.

Since the height of the tyre remains same, the gear ratios remain same and my guess is, so will the FE.

Originally Posted by desertfox

Contact area increases, leading to harder steering. It may impact tie rods in the long run. The system is designed to run on OE 235 size tyres.

Yes I was a bit skeptical about the steering becoming harder but believe me the 20mm increase has NOT AT ALL hardened the steering, infact it feels more responsive now.

Originally Posted by desertfox

Frequent problem of tyres hitting fender flares while even turning in city drives , fender flares must be replaced.

Yes this would happen a lot with over the top upgrade. But with the 255s the fender flares are far away and needn’t be replaced. Will soon post a few pics.

Originally Posted by desertfox

In all probability the oversize tyre will be fitted on an aftermarket alloy wheel, altering the scrub ratio. Not a good idea. It will lead to many future problems.

Well right now I have the 255s on the stock 6.5j rims.
Don’t wanna upgrade to 8j as yes that would badly alter the scrub ratio and will be too much of a negative offset which in turn would then need an upgrade to wider fender flares.

Originally Posted by desertfox

Alloy wheels should be original Mahindra, Scorpio ones with their special bolts.

Still haven’t checked out the range of alloys available at Mahindra Dealerships.
Apart from the height, width and quality of the alloy, is there anything else that one needs to take care off if going for an after market one?

Also please explain what kind of special bolts.

Thanks.

[manveet]

Originally Posted by NamoJain

Dear Desertfox,
Yes this would happen a lot with over the top upgrade. But with the 255s the fender flares are far away and needn’t be replaced. Will soon post a few pics.

..

Well right now I have the 255s on the stock 6.5j rims.
Don’t wanna upgrade to 8j as yes that would badly alter the scrub ratio and will be too much of a negative offset which in turn would then need an upgrade to wider fender flares.

..

Still haven’t checked out the range of alloys available at Mahindra Dealerships.
Apart from the height, width and quality of the alloy, is there anything else that one needs to take care off if going for an after market one?

Also please explain what kind of special bolts.

255's on 8J alloys will NOT need new fender flares. Have a look at the fourth post in this thread to get an idea.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ve...ml#post2987513

Also, AFAIK, there is nothing called original Mahindra alloys on the Thar. Most of the dealerships at least here in Delhi are selling regular Taiwan made aftermarket alloys claiming them to be "original Mahindra alloys". The same are available at regular alloy-wala's at much cheaper rates.

Don't know what special nuts DesertFox is referring to. Will wait for his response on that.