Apollo Hawkz AT review
The dark horse clocked 49661 Kms on 29th September. In the last 17 months the Yokohama Geolanders AT/S performed flawlessly. In fact so much that they never needed a tyre balance during this entire period. I got them rotated twice and that too to adhere to the established practice and the instruction manual. The wear was even, they tracked absolutely straight and had all but two punctures.
They were a delight during the last year Raid-De-Himalaya where I did the official duty and came out unscathed. Not a scratch anywhere. At 49K clicks I started wondering if I should now start looking at a replacement (Another set of Yokos). To my utter dis-belief these were no longer available because of the famous ISI mark issue. So here I was with a set of Yokos that would be needing replacement soon and I could not find new ones.
I practically left no stone unturned in my quest to find the elusive Yokos, but they were not in an obliging mood. From reaching out to at-least a dozen car dealers to calling up the Yoko Regional Manager for help, I practically exhausted all avenues but could not find a set of new Yokos for my horse.
With a heavy heart I reconciled with my fate and started exploring alternatives. The requirement was to preferably find some good quality AT rubber. I was in for a big surprise there were only a handful of manufacturers still producing the 265/70 R15 size in India. Michelin, MRF, Apollo, Continental. Then an even bigger surprise, the AT spec was available only in Apollo. With the Raid-De-Himalaya round the corner and having committed myself this year too (Did not make it finally), I had no option at all but to go in for Apollo.
With a skeptical mind I let go of my Yokos (They still had 4 MM tread left, with the spare in brand new condition) for a set of 5 new Apollo Hawkz AT tyres. The new tyres were balanced (Albeit with substantial weights) and installed on the vehicle. Then began the nightmare.
Right from the word go I started experiencing steering vibrations, unsettled ride quality, tyre side pulling etc. I attributed this to improper balancing and instead of visiting the dealer who was around 20 Kms away, I got them re-balanced at a reputed dealer next to my place. Things improved but the steering vibration did not go away. It was a consistent shake starting at 80 kmph all the way upto 100 Kmph.
Next I called up the Apollo dealer and fixed up a time to get the tyres checked. So the next day I visit him, we do a test drive and he confirms that there is a balancing issue. So all tyres are again removed and re-balanced using all sorts of balancing techniques.
The dealer then suggested that we use the clip on type weights on the edge of the wheel rather then the stick on types. I had no issues but the dealer did not have the clip on weights. So he tells me to come back next week by when he will get the clip on weights. In the meanwhile I am riding my vehicle and cursing myself all the time. The ride quality is jerky and bouncy, the vehicle does not hold the line, the steering wheel shakes and I am totally frustrated.
In any case I wait for next week and slowly the time time comes for the fourth balancing attempt. This time the use weights on the edge rather than the stick on type weighs that are used on the inner sides. What I have been noticing is that the amount of weight that is being used is consistently high (approx 120Gms) but the position of the weight kept changing between the balancing attempts. This got me flummoxed and I had no clue why this could happen. In any case I did not have an option. After seeing the Apollo tyre advertisements on TV and newspaper I had almost no doubts on their quality.
In any case after the fourth balancing attempt the situation did not improve. Fortunately the dealer got a call from a technical service manager of Apollo while I was there and he was promptly summoned to investigate the issue. So here I am with a gentleman from Apollo tyres along-with two of his trainees driving on NH 8 and figuring out the issues.
The service engineer observed and acknowledged the issue and told me to give him one more chance to set things in order. I was in the meantime frustrated beyond explanation but I had to give him the chance. So we had back to the dealer and instructions are given to re-fit the tyres and balance them again (Fifth time now). This exercise is again duly completed and we go for a test drive. As anticipated there is no difference.
By this time I have made up my mind that I need to get rid of these and go in for some other brand. However on discussing this alternative the dealer wants his pound of flesh and quotes an absurd exchange price. I am shocked. They are new tyres having issues from day one. They have treated me and my vehicle like guinea pigs and not they want to short change me!! So I tell them politely that I will manage on my own and I return home.
Over the next one month I am out of country for two weeks and on returning I pick up the challenge again. Having given up on the dealer and Apollo I get the tyres turned inside out, balanced, rotated one by one in an attempt to identify and isolate a probable faulty tyre. I try with different tyre pressures and get the tyres balanced again from at-least couple of reputed shops. I also get the entire suspension and steering checked and things are in order everywhere.
All in vain !! Except that I think I have identified one faulty tyre. This tyre has a lot of vibration especially when cold after an overnight stop. So I report this to the gentlemen from Apollo and he promptly agrees to replace that tyre. I get a replacement and this time hoping it will fix I get the tyres balanced again (Sixth time) and put on the vehicle.
To my utter dismay the vibration actually increases and I feel like banging my head against the wall.
Till now I had wasted a couple of thousands on the balancing, rotating, troubleshooting act, plus innumerable hours of my weekend family time and lost peace of mind that cannot be valued.
Finally yesterday I got the Apollo Hawkz AT tyres replaced for a set of Michelin Latitude Cross tyres. I lost a lot of money on this exchange again but I regained my peace of mind.
The Michelin's transformed the whole game. There is no amount of vibration at any speed, the ride quality is eons ahead then the Apollo's, they needed minimal weights when they were being balanced. Most of all I can sleep peacefully.
Ultimately I came to the conclusion that although Apollo support is reasonably okay, it is their tyres that are not upto a satisfactory standard. This was true at-least in my case. After the amount of R&D that I did I am absolutely certain that there is definitely a quality and consistency issue with Apollo tyres. I might have been unlucky but I am convinced that I left no stone unturned to fix the issue. Ultimately I think it boils down to raw material quality and manufacturing standards.
I learnt my lesson the hard way and it should be of some use to folks on the forum.