[SDP]

Originally Posted by sk7671

Hello Sir - how are you Michelins coming along? Am planning to change from the duellers to the tour HPs.

Quite happy with them! Already clocked 16K kms on them and have not faced much problem yet. Grip is confidence inspiring in dry as well as wet conditions. Tyre-noise till about 100km/hr is history. At higher speeds and on concrete roads, the tyre-noise does exist though.

[sk7671]

Originally Posted by SDP

Quite happy with them! Already clocked 16K kms on them and have not faced much problem yet. Grip is confidence inspiring in dry as well as wet conditions. Tyre-noise till about 100km/hr is history. At higher speeds and on concrete roads, the tyre-noise does exist though.

Good to hear. I have covered almost 30K on the Duellers that came with the vehicle. Trying to change tyres to improve dynamics a little. Always been a fan of the michelins.

[abirnale]

Isn't it little lonely here?

Caught Duma on the camera -


And as always, its privilege to meet you!

[yogibear007]

Originally Posted by SDP

Quite happy with them! Already clocked 16K kms on them and have not faced much problem yet. Grip is confidence inspiring in dry as well as wet conditions. Tyre-noise till about 100km/hr is history. At higher speeds and on concrete roads, the tyre-noise does exist though.

Thanks for all the info sharing SDP. Wanted to check with you about Michelins.
I'm changing my stock Bridgestones and considering three choices in that order.

1>Michelins : (Primacy/Latitude)
2>Falken : Wildpeak 104T
3>Conti : Crosscontacts/UHPs

Any particular reason you had Latitude Tour HPs when you got it changed ? Primacy seems to be OK for me but when I checked, they are too pliable with soft walls & I really doubt the lifespan considering the interior roads where we end up driving most of the time. Not really off-roading but end up eating some really dirty patches of asphalt. The stock tires have lasted about 80K and still no trouble at all but no sense in stretching them further.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by yogibear007

Thanks for all the info sharing SDP. Wanted to check with you about Michelins.
I'm changing my stock Bridgestones and considering three choices in that order.

1>Michelins : (Primacy/Latitude)
2>Falken : Wildpeak 104T
3>Conti : Crosscontacts/UHPs

Any particular reason you had Latitude Tour HPs when you got it changed ? Primacy seems to be OK for me but when I checked, they are too pliable with soft walls & I really doubt the lifespan considering the interior roads where we end up driving most of the time. Not really off-roading but end up eating some really dirty patches of asphalt. The stock tires have lasted about 80K and still no trouble at all but no sense in stretching them further.

When I got the Tour HPs, the Primacy option was not even available in India. In fact, the overall options in XUV tyre size were extremely limited 3 years back. Now we have many more options and Pirelli, Continental, Falken all have some competent offerings in XUV size.

If you are worried about road conditions eating into your Michelins, you should stay away from them just for peace of mind sake. I am running on Michelins for close to 3 years now and have clocked 33K kms till now. Purely from age perspective, I would most likely replace them in an year or so. Yes, being softer than most others, the tread wears off faster, but I have not seen the much dreaded side wall punctures etc.. not a single one in 3 years. I am quite happy with them, as they are super-silent and offer really good grip.

[yogibear007]

Originally Posted by SDP

When I got the Tour HPs, the Primacy option was not even available in India. In fact, the overall options in XUV tyre size were extremely limited 3 years back. Now we have many more options and Pirelli, Continental, Falken all have some competent offerings in XUV size.

If you are worried about road conditions eating into your Michelins, you should stay away from them just for peace of mind sake. I am running on Michelins for close to 3 years now and have clocked 33K kms till now. Purely from age perspective, I would most likely replace them in an year or so. Yes, being softer than most others, the tread wears off faster, but I have not seen the much dreaded side wall punctures etc.. not a single one in 3 years. I am quite happy with them, as they are super-silent and offer really good grip.

Thanks SDP. Will keep that in mind. 33K without any sort of trouble is a good experience from any perspective. Will checkout details from the options and settle for one (probably the mitchs )

[SDP]

Sorry folks, I have not updated this thread for quite some time now.

Here's the latest update:

Date: 6th Oct 2018
ODO - ~70500 kms

Its been 4 years (IIRC) and 40,000kms on the Michelin Lattitudes and during the last year, they wore off pretty fast. May be me not paying adequate attention to regular rotation caused that. Anyways, the grip - especially wet grip - had become downright scary. Managed the monsoon somehow and waited for the 70000kms milestone to do my 2nd tyre change. Base on discussion with fellow XUV owner friends, had shortlisted 3 tyres - Maxix 777 Bravo AT, Pirelli Scorpion ATR and Goodyear Wrangler AT. Another friend Vik has been running on the Wranglers on his XUV for quite few years and is quite happy with those.

Fellow XUV owner, TeamBHPian and good friend Madhu got me a good deal on the Wranglers through Trevor at Straightline, SantaCruz. Trevor sources the tyres, but I didn't go to his place for almost a week as my 70,000 kms service was pending. Finally yesterday got the tyres changed. Here are some pics:

Reached Trevor's place at 4:10pm


My Wranglers were nicely stacked in his shop.


First thing to check was the manufacturing week stamp. 3618! Tyres manufactured sometime in Sep-2018. Absolutely fresh pieces!


235/65 R17 104H TL


Chunky blocks.


Old Michelins. Almost no tread left on them. :(


New tyre mounted on the stock alloy. Note to self - Those alloys need some thorough cleaning soon.


Another look at the tread.


Mounting new tyres on the alloys. You can see the TPMS sensor on the alloy.


Wheel balancing


Wheel back on the hub


They do look a bit broader due to the tread pattern continuing on part of the sidewall


Alignment time




All set after a trial.


A closer look. Don't they look good?


Quite happy with the purchase. Detailed feedback after a few days.

[SDP]

Date - 13OCT2018

Visited the Mahindra Chakan plant with wife, mother and a whole bunch of XUV owner friends from Mumbai. Special thanks to good friend Kevin and Mahindra's Mangesh Mahadik for making this event happen.

Some pics from the day:



Product lineup on display


At the press-shop


Posing with Mahindra transformer made predominantly from XUV5OO parts


A closer look




Make in India - Cheetah version !


Lunch time.


We wrapped up by 2pm, but not before some fun and posing in the parking ground.














Pics - some from my mobile, some from friends.

Overall a day well spent!

[SDP]

A few updates over last 10 odd days:

There is no oil-change needed as part of 70,000kms service. But I wanted to switch to full synthetic oil. So took advice from a few friends who own the XUV and sourced the Motul 8100 X-Cess 5W40 oil. Service center does not stock any engine flush. So came back once, sourced a Liqui Moly engine flush and got it done the right way i.e. pour complete bottle of engine flush in engine. Idle the car for 10 minutes. Drain old oil. Fill new oil.

The Motul 5W40


Engine Flush from Liqui Moly


Some weather stripes had started rusting below the plastic layer. So got them changed to new ones.


This is how the new ones look.




As part of service, I was told that the front brake pads are gone and I replaced those. The front brake pads have a sensor which is supposed to give an error when the pad wears out to a particular threshold and breaks the tab seen in the pic. In my case, looking at the condition of the brake-pad, looks like the tab was broken long back, but there was no error message. Not really sure why that happened.

New brake pad from Galfer


Thickness comparison - new v/s old.


The old pad with the tab broken possibly ages back. No error although the sensor wire is intact.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by SDP

So came back once, sourced a Liqui Moly engine flush and got it done the right way i.e. pour complete bottle of engine flush in engine. Idle the car for 10 minutes. Drain old oil. Fill new oil.

I hope you changed the engine oil filter after draining the "old oil + engine flush" combo? After draining and fitting the new oil filter, fresh engine oil is to be added.

If not done, it is recommended to do so.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

I hope you changed the engine oil filter after draining the "old oil + engine flush" combo? After draining and fitting the new oil filter, fresh engine oil is to be added.

If not done, it is recommended to do so.

Yes. Forgot to mention about replacing the oil filter. Got it done.
Good catch!

[SDP]

My insurance guy used to remind me a month in advance before the XUV's insurance expiry. I also kind of got used to that reminder. This time he didn't remind. A few weeks later I had the doubt whether I have renewed the insurance or not. Left whatsapp messages to the insurance guy, asked him to check his records whether I renewed or not. Idiot didn't even respond. Then a personal emergency consumed next couple of months. After that I traced all my paperwork and emails, but couldn't find any new policy. Checked bank account statement for last few months to see if there is a debit of a similar amount. Nope, no luck there as well. Then the realization struck - I have been driving without insurance since last 3-4 months. A friend Kevin helped with a new contact and now getting the insurance renewed. Since there is gap, a physical inspection of the car is needed. That's not a problem. Problem is, since the gap is more than 3 months, I lost the 50% NCB.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by SDP

My insurance guy used to remind me a month in advance before the XUV's insurance expiry. I also kind of got used to that reminder. Problem is, since the gap is more than 3 months, I lost the 50% NCB.

Sorry to hear that Sanjay. 50% NCB loss is huge. Did the existing Insurance co not accept it as a one time customer loyalty thing?

I am surprised you relied on agent for Insurance, a reminder in your mobile calendar should have saved you the blushes.

[SDP]

Finally got around to doing something that has been pending since more than a year now.
Good friend and (ex-)XUV owner Naddy did a DIY for reducing the rattles from the door panels. Details here (XUV500 DIY: Removing rattles from the door panel).

Sourced the tape ages back, but never gathered enough courage for the DIY. Other priorities took over and this project went on back burner and eventually forgotten. In the mean time another friend got the same thing done for his XUV and said that the results are quite good. So finally took the reference of the garage from the friend and got it done recently.

Sunday : 20th Oct 2018

The guy opened the door panels (the difficult job) and I applied the tape (the easy job). So wouldn't call this a DIY .


The tape and the cutter. Tape sourcing link in Naddy's post.


Front left door with the tape applied.


A closer look. Left space between pieces as recommended by naddy so that the mushroom clips click back in place when putting the panel back.


Front right door.


Rear right door.


Inner edge of the rear right door.


The final result, after the panels were put back.




The hatch door panel was also treated with the same tape. It got dark by the time the 4 doors were done. So no pics of the rear hatch door.
Have been driving since last 3 days and noticed that the noise from door panels has reduced significantly.

PS: Eagle-eyed BHPians would have already noticed the difference between the front and rear speakers. Got that thing done a year back I believe. Would put up a separate post about the ICE upgrade soon.

[Sheel]

Did you manage to do any monsoon or a decent long drive where you could put these Goodyears to good use by going a bit off the beaten track? How did they perform?