[rajatmakar]

Today I got the aged (54K) OEM tyres of my swift changed at Sai Iyengar. It was a busy day for me and I had only 45 mins to get the job done.
I booked an appointment at 1 PM, reached by 1.15 and was all done by 2 PM flat.

Changed the tyres from OEM JK Vectra to Yokohama A drives of the same specs. I was charged Rs 4100/tyre for cash payment and balancing/alignment/nitrogem came free.

I am quite happy with the service and efficiency.

Planning to get the tyres of my RE machismo also changed to dunlop from the same place. I have been quoted Rs 2400 for rear & Rs 2100 for front, including tubes.

[am1m]

Another positive experience to report here.

They sourced a front tyre for my TB, CEAT Secura Sport 3.25-19, in two days. I had searched for that tyre in several shops and had almost resigned to visiting JC Road.

The last time I had to buy that particular tyre was 5 years ago in 2007, went to JC Road that time and remember running around several shops there too, till we finally tracked some down in a godown somewhere on JC Road!

This time was much easier, thanks to these guys!

[lancer_rit]

I have been a long term satisfied customer as posted earlier. So, when I needed to change my car's mxv8 tyres which has done 56k km, I went to them this Saturday evening even though I stay 20km away now.

Ashwin was not around, spoke to a helpful guy incharge. MXV8 are no longer available, PLC is too soft for bad roads. So toss up between Yokohama C Drives, MRF ZLO and Bridgestone MY02. Went for MY02 at 5400 per tyre though was offered 4950 for Cdrives when paid cash down. wheel alignment and balancing was included.

I had to go for some work, so I didn't supervise the whole process. here's the key points.
* Job was taken up promptly and finished in an hour or so.
* checked wheel alignment report, and they had done a good job

* Driving back, got a lot of noise from Stepney area over humps and potholes. When I was at home, I found the tyre guys had not even put the bolt in the groove let alone fasten the Stepney wheel. Took care of it myself.
* Next day I drove towards Hoskote on NH4 and found steering wheel and floor start mildly vibrating from 80kmph. Thevibrations increased with speed and the steering shook violently at 120.Tried a few times at different stretches and reverted to low speeds. Went back to Sai and had to push them a bit to do wheel balancing again. Post rebalancing, no vibrations upto 120, haven't checked beyond.

Conclusion: Workforce needs better supervision, training and work ethos. Can't skip basic jobs and/or do it any which way or partly. No one seemed bothered much about doing their job right first time, nor be apologetic about the customer's hassles. Wasted 2 hours and 40km drive on a Sunday. Ashwin better take corrective action else things will go downhill rapidly.

[lancer_rit]

Last Sunday, went to replace Ritz VXI 165/80R14 JK tyres with 185/70R14 XM2. Experience was good - the work was carried out promptly and took less than 45mins IIRC :-)

Met Ashwin after a while, some renovations in the building, and he also plans to renovate the store. He told me he has hired back some of the older hands ...

The car feels much more planted, with better ride and less noise now.

[BackInTheFold]

Changed the original Goodyears (195x65x15) on my Laura at about 44,000 km's yesterday. They were nearly worn out and were super noisy. I had been talking to Ashwin about potential replacements for a while. I had intended to get the Yoko C-drive's, but ended up buying the Yoko Earth-1's based on Ashwin's repeated advice that they had better side walls. Given that I drive on some dubious roads in Bangalore and beyond, I thought that it was sensible advice. I got a good quote. They also bought back my pristine (never-used) spare, thus saving me some money in the process.

Balancing, wheel alignment and Nitrogen fill-up were thrown in as part of the deal. Apparently, I just missed the company offer of a free Black & Decker car vacuum along with purchase of 4 Earth-1's. I've asked Ashwin to push the company to see if they can get it to me as an exception.

Early days - the Earth-1's are proving to be much quieter. We have a Coimbatore run coming up this weekend. I hope to get a better sense after that drive.

[Hells_Fury]

Got the stock Apollo Acelere 185/60R15 tires on my Polo changed to Yokohama S-Drives 205/55R15 last Saturday. The place was quite crowded and they took a while to get started with my car. But once they did get started they were done promptly. Cost me Rs. 12k for 4 tires after exchange. Got a free 2800 mAH Sony power bank as well.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

They also bought back my pristine (never-used) spare, thus saving me some money in the process.

.

Have you never rotated your tyres?

[ravib]

Originally Posted by BackInTheFold

Changed the original Goodyears (195x65x15) on my Laura at about 44,000 km's yesterday. They were nearly worn out and were super noisy. I had been talking to Ashwin about potential replacements for a while. I had intended to get the Yoko C-drive's, but ended up buying the Yoko Earth-1's based on Ashwin's repeated advice that they had better side walls. Given that I drive on some dubious roads in Bangalore and beyond, I thought that it was sensible advice. I got a good quote. They also bought back my pristine (never-used) spare, thus saving me some money in the process.

Balancing, wheel alignment and Nitrogen fill-up were thrown in as part of the deal. Apparently, I just missed the company offer of a free Black & Decker car vacuum along with purchase of 4 Earth-1's. I've asked Ashwin to push the company to see if they can get it to me as an exception.

Early days - the Earth-1's are proving to be much quieter. We have a Coimbatore run coming up this weekend. I hope to get a better sense after that drive.

Hey BackInTheFold, just thought of checking how is your experience with Yoko Earth-1 as its been 2 years since you bought them? My Hyundai i20 Asta is due for tyre change at 45k kms now, so was considering Yoko Earth-1. Yokohama india site is no longer listing A-drives.

Majority of my drives are in highways (particularly in TamilNadu). Please share your experiences.

-Ravi

[bullock-Car]

Changed my honda city tyres at Sai Iyengar, Indiranagar. The entire experience was very satisfactory. Fresh product and service.Staff is efficient and courteous.

[DejavuTrip]

Visited here earlier this month to change tyres of the Swift car (6 years / 29k). Called Ashwin in advance to check on the availability of MRF tyres and he strongly recommended Yokohama Earth. A quick check on the forum (Link) and I decided to go with his suggestion. Cost 14k for 4 tyres including balancing, alignment and nitrogen . It is working out well as of now.

[sansvk]

Got my tyres changed earlier this week at Sai Iyengar. Called them up at 10am and asked for options. They could deliver all brands but are dealers of Yokohama. I decided to go for Yokohama Earth1 in stock size. Confirmed the order over phone and was told to reach by 11, by then the tyres would reach from their godown. Reached prompty at 11 and tyres reached by 11.30. By then the staff had removed out 2 tyres and were ready. In the next half an hour they completed swapping including new valves and balancing. Its best to stand out and check everthing personally in detail. There is no second level checks and no one staff member alloted to a car. Hence everyone has a free hand and jumps right in to help, which could sometimes be problematic. There was no effort by the Manager to build a personal rapport or supervise, instead he was busy watching a movie on his laptop. As mentioned earlier, the service provided was satisfactory and purely transactional.

[tinshark]

Can anyone share how has their experience been in recent times with this shop. I’m considering going there for tyre replacement. Thanks in advance.

Do they use modern equipment for balancing / alignment? I saw a post saying they can source other brands but are authorised dealer for Yokohama. I think this has changed now as I see them listed on Michelin and Continental sites.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by tinshark

Can anyone share how has their experience been in recent times with this shop. I’m considering going there for tyre replacement.

My observation here has been that space is a constraint and there is no supervision when the alignment / balancing is being done (I say this because I've just seen some youngsters resembling local mechanics do the work). Yes we can assume they've undergone the requisite training but in terms of their communication and professionalism that doesn't show.

This is in stark contrast to the experience at Madhus enterprises at both outlets on Langford road and Hosur road. I think they have more outlets but I haven't been to them.

I know Ashwin who owns this place, very nice guy and very knowledgeable and you can definitely consider this place to buy tyres if you're getting a better deal, but when it comes to alignment and balancing, this is not my go-to place.

[tinshark]

Originally Posted by NPV

you can definitely consider this place to buy tyres if you're getting a better deal, but when it comes to alignment and balancing, this is not my go-to place.

Thanks for the valuable feedback. I saw the pics on Google and read the posts here. I did learn about the space constraint and the pics made me ‘feel’ like the equipment / process may not be the best. I’ll keep this in mind before taking a decision.

[srvm]

Went to Sai Iyengar today for purchase of new tyres for my Zest and a friend's i10.

I got new tyres (Yokohoma Bluearth GT AE51, 185/60 R15, Jan/Feb 2021 batch) for my Zest which turns 5-years old tomorrow. ODO is 47965kms. Replaced all 5 OEM tyres (Bridgestone B250, 185/60 R15) which were getting quite noisy off late.
Total cost: Rs.25000. Included 5 new valves, wheel alignment and balancing.

For my friend's i10, we got 4 new tyres: Yokohoma Earth-1 (155/70 R13, Nov2020 & Jan2021 batch). His current tyres were nearly a decade old! Total cost: Rs.15000. Included 4 new valves, wheel alignment and balancing.

Old tyres (5 of mine and 2 of my friend's) were bought back by dealer for Rs.1300.

Overall good experience with Sai Iyengar Tyres.