24 hour Wheel Alignment, Balancing, Tyres & Alloys : DBS (Cochin)

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by charthom

Hi Naveen,thanks for the feed back.

I had fitted new alloys and upgraded tyres for my i10 at Westend Tyres,SA road (actually Hyndai had done the job for me-I never interacted with them).Later on, when I went there to inquire about N2 filling, the treatment was very indifferent. So,my i10 still remains "un-nitrogen"ed. I filled my recent ANHC at Global-it is good but far off-inconveniencing my wife to take the car there frequently.

Any decent place near Panampilly nagar would have been convenient. Hence the query.

Cheers,charthom

To fill nitrogen go to the tyre shop beside the hero honda showroom near Panampilly nagar. Dont know the name of the shop. It's after hero honda showroom just before old Varkeys when going towards Manorama Jn from Kadavanthara. I had nitrogen previously and used to top up from here for free. Think other outlets charge even for the top up (not sure), but here you can do it for free. Guess it would cost around 50 for the initial top up. Think they even do alignment/balancing but dont convincing though. Good for nitrogen top up since it's near.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing the info, Chakky! I've edited your opening post to include the address, and some other details.

[charthom]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

To fill nitrogen go to the tyre shop beside the hero honda showroom near Panampilly nagar. Dont know the name of the shop. It's after hero honda showroom just before old Varkeys when going towards Manorama Jn from Kadavanthara. I had nitrogen previously and used to top up from here for free. Think other outlets charge even for the top up (not sure), but here you can do it for free. Guess it would cost around 50 for the initial top up. Think they even do alignment/balancing but dont convincing though. Good for nitrogen top up since it's near.

@naveen.raju,

Thanks for the response.It is Westend tyres you are talking about. They charge 50/- now-a-days(250/- for the initial charge),at least they told me. But I found the guy at the counter very unfriendly and indifferent,so decided against it. May be he did not like me

[josejoseph]

Hello,

I think Naveen is mentioning about the shop opposite to Hotel Aryaas/Westend Tires at Manoraman jn., adjacent to Glory & Co. carpets. You'll also find a Bosch battery shop next to this tire shop.

Am I right Naveen?

- Jose.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by josejoseph

Hello,

I think Naveen is mentioning about the shop opposite to Hotel Aryaas/Westend Tires at Manoraman jn., adjacent to Glory & Co. carpets. You'll also find a Bosch battery shop next to this tire shop.

Am I right Naveen?

- Jose.

No Jose. This is right opp Glory & Co carpets.

@Charthom - I didnt approach the guy at the counter. Parked the car right outside their shop and the mechanic approached me. Said I wanted to top up nitrogen. He asked me whether I filled it from the same shop initially. I said yes and topped up for free. I even asked them how much and he said since I filled it from their, it's free. Gave the guy some change. That's all. BTW, this was few months back. Now my car is not running on nitrogen.

Although Nitrogen seems to last longer, I find to difficult to find a suitable place to top up when I go for long drives.

[chakky]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Hi chakky, thanks for this information. Hope DBS keeps up the enthusiasm and does well! Do they provide tube/ tubeless puncture repairs as well? A 24X7 tyre shop is much needed in any city. Can you pls mention the service charges and the address of the shop as GTO mentioned above.

Also, please reveal what tyre brand is that you are using. Guess 190/65/R15 is uncommon. I have never come across one.

Dear John, Sorry about that. In my haste there was a typo error, I have corrected it. I use Bridgestone Potenza 195/60R15

[charthom]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

@Charthom - I didnt approach the guy at the counter. Parked the car right outside their shop and the mechanic approached me. Said I wanted to top up nitrogen. He asked me whether I filled it from the same shop initially. I said yes and topped up for free. I even asked them how much and he said since I filled it from their, it's free. Gave the guy some change. That's all. BTW, this was few months back. Now my car is not running on nitrogen.

Although Nitrogen seems to last longer, I find to difficult to find a suitable place to top up when I go for long drives.

Nice to notice the changes.I must have gone there about 1.5 years back.Me too had approached the mechanic who took me to the owner- guess N2 filling was not very common then. Not a big deal anyway.

Any way thanks for the feed back.As for ANHC,Honda A.S.S. is filling N2 for free.

You are right about topping up during long drives. But do you have to top up unless in emergency?

@josejoseph,

Jose,I think that shop is not there any more. At least I have not noticed it for some time. I had changed the tyres of my Santro there,6 years back.Very good rates and service then.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by charthom

You are right about topping up during long drives. But do you have to top up unless in emergency?

It's a mental thingy. I somehow feel that the pressure isnt right so will check them frequently. That was the problem when I had N2. Had hard time finding places while am traveling to remote places. Also since am running low profile tires, the potholes make me feel that the pressure is low.

Anyways, think most places offer free N2 topups nowadays. Also, N2 isnt really necessary for cars. They are meant for aircraft tires where the heat produced is immense. The only good thing is that N2 lasts longer as I have observed. My car maintains the same pressure for months while normal air will last only for a couple of weeks specially when driving in and around cochin where the roads are really bad.

[charthom]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

N2 isnt really necessary for cars. They are meant for aircraft tires where the heat produced is immense. The only good thing is that N2 lasts longer as I have observed. My car maintains the same pressure for months while normal air will last only for a couple of weeks specially when driving in and around cochin where the roads are really bad.

Agree with you.Only advantage is infrequent top ups. Air needs a weekly top up.
Apart from this there is hardly any difference in ride quality etc.

@chakky,

Thanks for this thread and a chance for discussing N2 filling.Will check out DBS,next time.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by charthom

Agree with you.Only advantage is infrequent top ups. Air needs a weekly top up.
Apart from this there is hardly any difference in ride quality etc.

@chakky,

Thanks for this thread and a chance for discussing N2 filling.Will check out DBS,next time.

Another big advantage is Nitrogen being inert, the steel discs won't get corroded if they are shod with tubeless.
Air also does not require weekly top ups, for both tubes and tubeless.

[charthom]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Another big advantage is Nitrogen being inert, the steel discs won't get corroded if they are shod with tubeless.
Air also does not require weekly top ups, for both tubes and tubeless.

@rajeev k,

+1 to that.

I am checking my tyres(air) on weekly basis and am finding about 1-1.5 ps reduction. Hence not taking the chance and doing the weekly top up. I am keeping only 30 instead of 33 for ride comfort,so anything below will increase tyre wear.

Rgds,charthom.

[Soccerfan]

Checked out this place today. The owner is a guy Bibin. Quite knowledgeable chap. Prices quotes are lower for Hankook and GoodYear. We talked for around 30 mins. Since its a startup it has the small company culture where you will get a personal attention. Would recommend it for alignment and other works

For tyres best prices will be elsewhere. I checked the prices this week (from all majors except NewBharath)

Yokohama - Speed tyres @ Vytilla (distributor)
Michelin/Bridgestone/Conti - Global tyres (distributor)
Hankook - Tyrex (distributor)

[josejoseph]

I too went to DBS Tires last Saturday.

Did alignment, balancing and rotation of tires. Paid 400 bucks total.

My observations:

What I liked:
1. Since the place is new, you'll get very detailed personal attention.
2. They've offered free balancing and alignment for the next 1500 kms as a free check up.

What I did not like:
1. Since the place is new, they are lack process. I wanted tire rotation, but they removed all the tires at once and there was mix-up. I'm not sure if the tires are correctly rotated.
2. There is only one ramp for wheel alignment. This would cause delay for the customers.

Overall, I'm happy with the experience at DBS.

Thanks to chakky for pointing this place .

Kiran, are you sure the owner's name is Bibin? I think it's Dibin.

With regards,
Jose.

[Soccerfan]

Originally Posted by josejoseph

I too went to DBS Tires last Saturday.

Did alignment, balancing and rotation of tires. Paid 400 bucks total.

My observations:

What I liked:
1. Since the place is new, you'll get very detailed personal attention.
2. They've offered free balancing and alignment for the next 1500 kms as a free check up.

What I did not like:
1. Since the place is new, they are lack process. I wanted tire rotation, but they removed all the tires at once and there was mix-up. I'm not sure if the tires are correctly rotated.
2. There is only one ramp for wheel alignment. This would cause delay for the customers.

Overall, I'm happy with the experience at DBS.

Thanks to chakky for pointing this place .

Kiran, are you sure the owner's name is Bibin? I think it's Dibin.

With regards,
Jose.

Oops its Dibin only

[naveen.raju]

Went to the shop today for alignment. Met the owner (think it's Vipin), service in charge Mr Shan and tech head Mr Aneesh. I should say they greeted really well. The technician went round the car and checked for any problems. He took my feedback and went for a test drive. Finally did the balancing and alignment.

All are technically sound and advised me what to do to keep the tires at a good running condition.

Here are the rates.

Wheel Alignment - 250
Wheel Balancing - 200
Sticker weights - 250
Automatic Changing (alloys) - 100
Nitrogen Filling - Free
Total - 800 (100 discount)

Overall an excellent service and I would definitely recommend them over other shops in Cochin.

BTW, I mentioned about Tbhp and told about the good reviews left by other customers. Might as well as give good discounts next time if we say that we are a bhpian.

Cheers!