Gentlemen,
I've been looking for highway terrain tyres for my Thar for over a year now (mostly internet research). My usage is 80% on decent tarmac, 18% on relatively broken roads, and 2% on no roads (jungle and farm trails, lakeside pathway).
Story so far: My stock tyres
The MRF Wanderers I received as stock have been ok. Got a puncture in Bangalore, got it repaired at Puncture Man, and was sorted. But, on the first day on my way to Kolkata over three days, the puncture resurfaced on the Tirupati Bypass. Replaced the wheel by myself with my spare, and proceeded through the trip on 4 functional tyres and anxiety (time was of the essence). At Kolkata, again got the same puncture repaired at Puncture Man, and have kept the tyre as a spare so far.
What does this have to do with my decision to opt for HT Tyres?
I consulted with several experienced tyre repairers, tyre shop owners, and technicians from tyre mfg companies. All of them agreed that due to the more irregular tread patterns of the AT tyres, the frictional heat produced during prolonged on-road use is about 30-35% more. This often makes puncture repairs go kaput, and fast. Plus, HT Tyres have certain advantages for my use-case, as you'll read below.
HT Tyres good enough?
Again, according to the folks I spoke to, absolutely! Better on-road manners, enough traction to get you through most nominal rough-roads, and improved NVH are all points in the favour of the HT.
Now, considering my usage pattern mentioned above, HT tyres seem like the right way to go.
Which HT Tyres?
The million dollar question! My over-a-year-long research has been in vain. Saw a video online that showed the Thar with the JK Ranger HT Tyres [
, but on scouring the internet and asking dealers, turns out JK Tyres has stopped manufacturing R18 tyres altogether (anything beyond 215 is unavailable).
Got a hold of Apollo Vredestein-Pinza HT with a slight upsize (265/65R18), but these seem more like performance oriented tyres, than for slightly rougher use on proper SUVs. Also, their price is slightly steep (yep, therefore Contis and Yokos and Michels would seem pricey to me too, provided the desired size is available).
Haven't found any AT tyres with significant road bias in this size either.
Plus, the Thar's stock tyre size (and even slight upsizes) seems a little odd for HT products, with very few players manufacturing it at all.
Call for help!
Folks, I request inputs from you to help me navigate this conundrum. Would be greatly obliged!
Thanks in advance, and happy motoring!
TTT