[MAS]

Goodyear Update: The guys from Goodyear kept on juggling dates and i decided to take the car to their office, opposite Express Avenue, Gate 2.

Mr. Prakash inspected the tyres and had a not-so-friendly attitude. He concluded that the uneven wear is due to improper alignment and no tyre rotation. The cuts on the tyre were blamed on wheel-spins (which i never do). I said that the car runs perfectly and does not pull or swerve to any side. I did not want to justify my point with this guy as he had least concern for a customer. He added that the tyres on the New Fiesta are direct imports and Goodyear India does not have these tyres in India. Thank you Goodyear, the next shoes of my car will not be from you guys.

During the service, the front tyres were exchanged with the ones at the rear. This has reduced the noise from the tyres to tolerable limits. I will use the tyres for another 10 K (max) and then have them changed to either Yoko or MRF ZLOs.

[Sugeeta]

Hi MAS,

How's life?
Congratulations on the car completing 30K Kms. in your possession.

I have a damaged tyre which got cut by a sharp stone on a dirt track. Which ones would you advise for replacement?

I am in many minds right now as far as replacement goes :

- to replace the damaged tyre only (LHS rear)
- to discard the damaged tyre, shift the front ones to the rear and buy 2 new ones for the front
- change all 4

The car completed 24K Kms. yesterday, but the tyres have taken a hit because of the bad condition of Delhi roads under construction.

If I change them all, I would like to go in for a broader set for more stability. I plan to do more road trips in the coming time rather than flying for vacations.

Also, what would be the cost involved for a set of 4.

I am personally not too happy with Goodyear.

[Blow Horn Ok]

@Sugeeta: Is the spare tyre of the same size? I would suggest to replace the damaged tyre with the spare tyre (if its of same size) and buy a new spare tyre. Use the current set of Good years for their life and change all 4 at once. You may buy the new spare tyre of the spec and brand, which you are planning for next change of all 4 tyres.

Also, the fiesta comes with decent size of shoes. Keep the specs unchanged if current levels of grip seems adequate.

[rednikhil]

Dear MAS,
I am an owner of the Old Fiesta Petrol (now Classic) & looking to upgrade. Three questions on the NFF (Diesel):
1. Does it pull well with 5 adults on board?
2. Does switching on the AC affect the pulling power, especially during overtaking maneuvers?
3. Have you driven the new Chevvy Cruze? How does it handle and whats the noticeable diff in power as compared to your NFF (sounds silly comparing cars from diff segments, I know, but still, I'd request your opinion!)
Thanks.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

...
- to replace the damaged tyre only (LHS rear) ..

That would NOT be a good idea if all your 5 tyres are rotated on a proper basis. However if the spare is NEVER touched, then you could buy one tyre of the same make.

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

- to discard the damaged tyre, shift the front ones to the rear and buy 2 new ones for the front ...

Use new tyres at the rear!! Yes, as per the tyre gurus on forum & internet, NEW TYRES SHOULD BE MOUNTED AT THE REAR!

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

- change all 4....

The car completed 24K Kms. yesterday, but the tyres have taken a hit because of the bad condition of Delhi roads under construction...

Since you post seem to tell the tyres are in bad condition, the BEST bet would be to change all 4! Again the make should be based on your preference - grippy tyres / lesser noise tyres / comfort tyres. If you can afford, Michelin should be the way to go. Alternately you can try MRF ZLO, low noise, decent comfort & a lot less expensive than Michelin.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

I have a damaged tyre which got cut by a sharp stone on a dirt track. Which ones would you advise for replacement?

I am in many minds right now as far as replacement goes :

- to replace the damaged tyre only (LHS rear)
- to discard the damaged tyre, shift the front ones to the rear and buy 2 new ones for the front
- change all 4

The car completed 24K Kms. yesterday, but the tyres have taken a hit because of the bad condition of Delhi roads under construction.

If I change them all, I would like to go in for a broader set for more stability. I plan to do more road trips in the coming time rather than flying for vacations.

Also, what would be the cost involved for a set of 4.

I am personally not too happy with Goodyear.

Changing all the 4 tyres is the best option. I think you can use this incident to get a Michelin Primacy LC 195/60/R15. I think that is the stock size for Fiesta Titanium +.

Cheers,

Achyuth

[MAS]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

Hi MAS,

How's life?
Conpastulations on the car completing 30K Kms. in your possession.

I have a damaged tyre which got cut by a sharp stone on a dirt track. Which ones would you advise for replacement?

I am in many minds right now as far as replacement goes :

- to replace the damaged tyre only (LHS rear)
- to discard the damaged tyre, shift the front ones to the rear and buy 2 new ones for the front
- change all 4

The car completed 24K Kms. yesterday, but the tyres have taken a hit because of the bad condition of Delhi roads under construction.

If I change them all, I would like to go in for a broader set for more stability. I plan to do more road trips in the coming time rather than flying for vacations.

Also, what would be the cost involved for a set of 4.

I am personally not too happy with Goodyear.

Hi Sugeeta

Congrats on reaching 24K kms.

Apologies for the delay in getting back on the thread. Life is good. Been travelling a lot away from home and away from the car, so much that my last tank full was on 19 th March!!

To start off, I am not happy with the life of the Goodyear "Made in Germany" tyres either. Even though they offer good grip, the road noise gets to irritating levels past 30K kms.

I know it is over a month since your post. I would be happy if you could update which iron did you choose. I would personally go for the Michelin and change all the four tyres as I would like to feel the difference in grip levels and handing.

The car is an amazing machine from Ford. In the past two weeks, I had to drive a brand new Swift VDi in Kanpur. It felt way too ordinary and I was missing my Fiesta. The Fiesta is generations ahead of the Swift and I'm extremely happy with it (touch wood).

Originally Posted by rednikhil

Dear MAS,
I am an owner of the Old Fiesta Petrol (now Classic) & looking to upgrade. Three questions on the NFF (Diesel):
1. Does it pull well with 5 adults on board?
2. Does switching on the AC affect the pulling power, especially during overtaking maneuvers?
3. Have you driven the new Chevvy Cruze? How does it handle and whats the noticeable diff in power as compared to your NFF (sounds silly comparing cars from diff segments, I know, but still, I'd request your opinion!)
Thanks.

Having owned a Ford, it would be difficult for any other car to satisfy you. The Fiesta is a few notches ahead of the classic in terms of handling.

1. With 5 people on board, the Fiesta handles the same way it does when driven alone. This is simply an amazing piece of engineering by Ford.
2. Yes, the aircon affects the pulling power of the 1.5 Litre TDCi. This is especially evident in the city and when you need to do quick acceleration.
3. I have not driven the new Cruize. The Fiesta feels more lighter and nimble when compared to the Cruize. IMO, the Fiesta handles better than the Cruize.

[MAS]

The Goodyear NCT-5 tyres were making my life miserable and the joy of driving the car was almost lost. The German made tyres made a mockery of the car's handling and driving pleasure. The car had completed 35,600 kms.


After returning from Brazil last week and having seen and being driven in the new Ford Fusion, i could no longer take the howling noise of the old tyres.

The Front stares at you in the eye


Rear looks cool (Note the Ecoboost AWD badge)


Yes!!! 2.0 L Ecoboost - 240 bhp


Interiors are very rich with lot of features




On Wednesday, I called up Mr. Ram of XL Tyre Point and gave him a briefing about the problems i was facing. He wanted to inspect the tyres and asked me to bring the car to their Velachery showroom (which is very close to my home).

The tyres were in bad shape. The rubber had chipped off in many places and there was uneven wear. Frankly, I did not expect the tyres to wear off so soon, as the tyres in my Ford Fusion (not the one given here) lasted for over 70K kms before i had to change them.



I had not many choices, but after ruling out one by one, i decided to try the Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres. I deviated slightly from the regular tyre size.
Original - 190/60 R15
New ones - 195/60 R15

I justified this change as it raised the car's GC slightly and would also help in nullifying the speedometer error to a certain extent.

Looks good, eh?





Mr. Ram did mention that the performance of the tyres were very good, but the tyres are characterized by a humming noise, which might not be desirable to all. I took the chance as he had offered to change the tyres to another brand of my choice in case i did not like the noise tyres.

On Thrusday, I took the car for a one day trip to Ambur (approx 400 kms) when the speedometer has breached the 36K mark.



The following are my observations after driving the car for over 400 kms on the first day with new tyres

Positives
- Car is smoother to drive
- Lower rolling resistance
- I felt it is quicker to accelerate
- Deceleration is much slower when the foot is lifted off the accelerator pedal (or when the Cruise control is deactivated). This caught me off-guard and took sometime to get used to (I was braking too hard and a the last moment as the car did not slow down as much as it did earlier).
- Mileage seems to be better
- No "crashing" into pot holes or sudden bumps
- Ride is more cushioned & more even
- Excellent braking performance.
- Excellent wet-grip (Yes, it rained in Ambur yesterday)
- Looks W-O-W

Negatives
- Distinct humming noise (like driving a fat-tyred SUV)

Total Damages = Cost/tyre = Rs. 5540 x 4 tyres = Rs. 22,160.

[MAS]

I took the car for a one day trip to Salem on Saturday. This trip gave a better feedback about the new tyres.

Even though the Goodyear Eagle F1s offer better grip, better smoothness, better wet grip when compared to the NCT-5s, for pure handling purposes, NCT5 are better than Goodyear Eagle F1.

This was evident in the short ghat section on my way to Salem (Chennai - Krishnagiri - Salem route). The car DID NOT handle as good as it used to with the NCT5s. The car was bouncing around and i had to work harder do the "point-and-shoot" maneuvers. The same is true when driving on winding roads/winding flyovers/butterfly bridges.

Another important point to note. The Fiesta has very-very-very tight tyre clearances. I had upsized the tyres by a mere 5 mm (195-60/R15 instead of 190-60/R15). On my trip to Salem and back, there were two instances where the tyre rubbed the body panel/cladding/mudguard. I could not see any black/rubber marks/rub marks on any of the parts around the tyre, but i could hear the rubbing noise. Need to be careful now.

On the positive side, the Fiesta's GC has improved and the front engine guard lip does not scrap at the usual places.

[rlvl]

Originally Posted by MAS

I took the car for a one day trip to Salem on Saturday. This trip gave a better feedback about the new tyres.


On the positive side, the Fiesta's GC has improved and the front engine guard lip does not scrap at the usual places.

Hello MAS, I am looking to buy the Fiesta. I would like to know the cost of a single regular service. Read through the thread as much as possible! Great review.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by MAS

I had not many choices, but after ruling out one by one, i decided to try the Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres. I deviated slightly from the regular tyre size.
Original - 190/60 R15
New ones - 195/60 R15

Small correction.
Original - 195/60 R15
New - 195/65 R15

You new tyres' overall outer dia is 634.5mm whereas old ones were 615mm. Your tyre's sidewall height has gone up by 10mm which has increased GC by 10mm. Increased sidewall height will improve the ride quality as there is more rubber to provide extra cushioning, but it will negatively impact cornering ability as increased sidewall will flex more. That explains the nervous handling. Your odo and speedo readings are now off 3.07%. So if your odo shows you have covered 500 kms, you would have actually done 515 kms.

Good Year Eagle F1 tyres are not the best choice of tyres for everyday use in my opinion. They make a hell a lot of humming noise and start losing grip very very fast. For the first 10K kms they're good but after that they slide all over the place. The tread also tends to wear out unevenly and the tyres will not last you more than 20K kms. I am speaking from experience. I ran a set on my Corolla.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by rlvl

Hello MAS, I am looking to buy the Fiesta. I would like to know the cost of a single regular service. Read through the thread as much as possible! Great review.

Hi rlvl,

Fiesta is a good car to buy and own. The service intervals are 10K kms and the service cost should typically hover around Rs. 5.5 K.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Small correction.
Original - 195/60 R15
New - 195/65 R15

You new tyres' overall outer dia is 634.5mm whereas old ones were 615mm. Your tyre's sidewall height has gone up by 10mm which has increased GC by 10mm. Increased sidewall height will improve the ride quality as there is more rubber to provide extra cushioning, but it will negatively impact cornering ability as increased sidewall will flex more. That explains the nervous handling. Your odo and speedo readings are now off 3.07%. So if your odo shows you have covered 500 kms, you would have actually done 515 kms.

Good Year Eagle F1 tyres are not the best choice of tyres for everyday use in my opinion. They make a hell a lot of humming noise and start losing grip very very fast. For the first 10K kms they're good but after that they slide all over the place. The tread also tends to wear out unevenly and the tyres will not last you more than 20K kms. I am speaking from experience. I ran a set on my Corolla.

My bad. You are absolutely right about the tyre sizes. I was aware about the difference of 3% in the odo. But, since most speedometers come with an positive error of about 5%, i thought this negative error of 3% would make the distance traveled more accurate.

There is a fair bit of humming noise from the tyres, but this is much better than the rubbing noise i got from the NCT-5. I have logged about 2500 kms after the tyre change and the grip level has increased (or i am getting used to it).

I'm perplexed by the uneven tyre wear and loss of grip of the Eagle F1s after 20K kms. If this is going to happen, then i'm in for a big loss,. Only time will tell...

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by MAS

Hi rlvl,


There is a fair bit of humming noise from the tyres, but this is much better than the rubbing noise i got from the NCT-5. I have logged about 2500 kms after the tyre change and the grip level has increased (or i am getting used to it).

I'm perplexed by the uneven tyre wear and loss of grip of the Eagle F1s after 20K kms. If this is going to happen, then i'm in for a big loss,. Only time will tell...

Hankook Optima ME02 is a good option for low noise tyres, we have it on our Fiesta and the difference from the OEM is night and day. 20k on the unidirectional tyres is really par for the course, the reason for the wear could be the toe/camber(not sure which) adjustment which the ASC has to do. Our tyres ran out by 25k, the Hankook dealer guarantees atleast 40k with the new tyres.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

Hankook Optima ME02 is a good option for low noise tyres, we have it on our Fiesta and the difference from the OEM is night and day.

Thanks for the input.

For all tyre related ratings, i found this particular website to be quite exhaustive. http://tire-ratings.findthebest.com/

I happened to look into the Hankook Optimo ME02 on the website and the treadwear rating is 300, which is 25% lower than the average for all tyre ratings, with traction rating of A and temperature rating of A. http://tire-ratings.findthebest.com/l/4600/Optimo-Me02

The Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 has a treadwear rating of 280, which is 30% lower than the average for all tyre ratings, but the traction rating is AA, which slightly better than the Hankook Optimo, while the temperature rating is A. http://tire-ratings.findthebest.com/...Eagle-F1-Gs-D3

Unfortunately, there is no rating for Goodyear Eagle NCT-5, but there are ratings for NCT, NCT-2 & NCT-3, which have a treadwear rating of 140, 180 & 200 respectively. Going by the trend of treadwear ratings, i don't think the rating would be over 250.

Going by the above logic, the New Eagle F1 GSD3 tyres should last similar if not longer.

[commander]

Hi MAS,
Really been trying to update your thread and finally have found the time. The good year tyres lasted me till the 40000km mark but I was pushing it till the last drop. In late March I had planned a trip with my friends to Goa with my fiesta and a new swift. The fiesta was fully loaded with 5 people and luggage while the swift had four. I must admit it was a struggle keeping up with the swift as it would pull much further faster. Once we reached the ghats to Karwar it was a different story altogether. Imagine the Swift driver praising the Good years instead of the car in the ghats which had done around 37000 km while the swift had clocked 15000 odd kms. A true joy to drive it in the ghats. Coming to the point, just after karwar check post the car started a humming sound while braking. Left it to the Ford people in Goa and you'll be surprised by their workmanship. Apparently the disc pads got worn out and they damaged the rotor discs bring the bill to 4200 rupees. Had they changed the pads at 30000 km the bill would have been only 2000 odd. Not only was it returned in two hours flat but also washed and spanking clean.

Coming to the tyres, the Apollo aceleres were almost impossible to source. I had waited for two weeks after which decided to go for another brand. One thing which put me off Yokohoma was the constant recommandation from all tyre dealers. Be it apollo or michelin, every dealer would first mention Yokohama which put me off. Finally decided on the Michelin Primacy LC 195/60/15. Over all happy so far but still scared of the tire sidewall damage which has been mentioned by a few users.

Pros: Cushioning ride, low noise, +1 to 1.5 km/lit increase in mileage.
Cons: Too soft compound which has make your heart skip a beat for a second under hard braking at speeds.

regards
barani.