[im_srini]

Hi, I guess almost all cars we get here are "under-tired" because narrow tires help with fuel efficiency, which is a make or break statistic here. Or, it could simply be that manufacturers want to reduce costs - for the price one pays here, we get a lot of car with the Swift.

But more importantly, exuberant driving is not for public roads, the LAST thing you want to do is hit an unsuspecting fellow road-user ! And Himan, can I ask where in Chennai this was played out ?

[lancersfx]

Hey D_Himan that sure is one scary experience....Lookin at the default profile of the tyres i always wondered..........this is a widebody bulky car and wonder if those skimpy tyres would be able to handle the corners well at that speed... well that question is now answered....Thanks for sharing your experience.....I am sure it helps all the swift owners.......And safe driving in future.....

[i_own_xeta_glx]

When I bought my Xeta GLX, I wanted to upgrade from 165 65 R13 to R14 and switch to alloys. The dealership told me that changing from OEM supplied specifications would void the vehicle warrenty , so I dropped the plan. Didn't want to spend 20-25 grand on R13 alloys, so will wait until vehicle is out of warrenty period.


cheers:

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by binz

And please note,its not the driver here that caused the skid.If maruti cuts costs and gives us undertired cars,they are solely responsible

Beg to differ on that binz. Your statement is true if he had been driving on the track. On the roads, you got to do a lot more sensible driving than going about endangering other motorists.

[eflanker]

I dont think the car is to be blamed.

The person was flying like bat-out-of-hell while cornering on slippery roads.


You would have experienced this in any other ordinary car also.

I hate it when certain class of people, make mistakes and dont drive safe, and later blame everything on the manufacturer.

[yasw_anth]

glad that nothing worse happened .. do strut braces help in these kinda situations ... ?

[herculesksp]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Beg to differ on that binz. Your statement is true if he had been driving on the track. On the roads, you got to do a lot more sensible driving than going about endangering other motorists.

Spot on E_L. Just happened to notice some activity on this thread and thot I'll pop my head in. Who the, pardon my expression, *hell* decides whether the car is undertyred or not and for what situation?

99% of Indians sit and complain that they dont get fuel efficient cars. Give them thinner tyres so as to get good mileage and then people start complaining that they dont offer enough grip. Is there a deadlock here or what? You want fatter rubber?, get an upgrade. In many models you get fatter rubber on the high end versions, go and buy yourself that then. These are road cars, meant to be driven at a road-legal speed and not like you were on the damn autobahn. I have my hairs standing on its end when I see maniacs driving like wild dogs on city inner-roads, and I think about some pedestrian happening to just cross the road by sheer unfortunate chance.

I hate it when these damn auto mags write things like there are vibrations on the bike in excess of 110kmph and so its not a refined bike. They crib that the tyres start to squeal at 80+ kmph turns and hence the cars are undertyred. For the sake of sanity, explain to the readers the conditions that you were driving in. You werent on the public roads at that time were you?

[aseem]

Wow I read this thread just now. The stock tyres on Swift Vxi/Lxi are pathetic. I upgraded my tyres to Potenza GIII on the very first day I bought the car and my car handles like a charm.

I did however goto Pune and rented a Swift from Hertz at Bombay Pune Expressway and drove to Lonavla. That car was a completely different animal. The turns that I regularly do at 80 kmph, were scary at even 60 kmph with me running wide at several occasions or having a near scare as I didnt find grip.

The stock tyres = death trap. Upgrade as soon as you possibly can. Money spent = life saved. Wish one could take these car manf to court for providing such pathetic tyres.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by herculesksp

Just happened to notice some activity on this thread and thot I'll pop my head in. Who the, pardon my expression, *hell* decides whether the car is undertyred or not and for what situation?
......
You werent on the public roads at that time were you?

Bang on! Hercules. This was badly needed on this thread.

Originally Posted by eflanker

I dont think the car is to be blamed.
I hate it when certain class of people, make mistakes and dont drive safe, and later blame everything on the manufacturer.

Quite so. Wish more people could think as rationally.

I was rather disappointed seeing the amount of advice being offered regarding the antics and how to perform them more successfully! It turned into a show of 'knowledge' and 'the expertize I possess, and which you don't; better learn from me'!
Very few thought it fit to outright condemn the kind of driving our friend was doing on a public road, and the 'near miss' he had.
What compounds the sin is the fact that his knowledge seems to be abysmal in that kind of driving style. All of which shows an absolutely irresponsible and cavalier attitude. Shameful that this kind of post elicits such 'helpful' responses and which have now gone on record for posterity!
It should also be put on record that not all TBHP members endorse such reckless driving and do not endorse advice being given to such an irresponsible member on how to perform this kind of reckless feat more successfully (on public roads)!

Originally Posted by herculesksp

These are road cars, meant to be driven at a road-legal speed and not like you were on the damn autobahn. I have my hairs standing on its end when I see maniacs driving like wild dogs on city inner-roads, and I think about some pedestrian happening to just cross the road by sheer unfortunate chance.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Beg to differ on that binz. Your statement is true if he had been driving on the track. On the roads, you got to do a lot more sensible driving than going about endangering other motorists.

I couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by aseem

Wish one could take these car manf to court for providing such pathetic tyres.

How about someone taking you to court for driving like 'wild dogs'?
And it ought to be outlawed for people of this kind to be behind a wheel - people who don't have a clue to the capabilities of their machines and nor about their own incompetence levels! And quite possibly they view themselves as absolute 'experts'!

Originally Posted by aseem

I did however goto Pune and rented a Swift from Hertz at Bombay Pune Expressway and drove to Lonavla. That car was a completely different animal. The turns that I regularly do at 80 kmph, were scary at even 60 kmph with me running wide at several occasions or having a near scare as I didnt find grip.

Is this responsible driving? Kindly note that the road you were on is, again, a public road. That you were running wide at several turns and were at times losing grip, is not the kind of driving any responsible citizen would encourage or condone. You are just that much away from causing some poor unsuspecting person to lose his life or getting maimed for life. Kindly consider.

Now LET the brickbats begin! To many this is what it's all about: "We are on a forum whose logo is a tacho almost on the redline"!!
THAT, IMHO, does not mean that this forum endorses irresponsible driving on public roads!

[Thad E Ginathom]

In principle, I couldn't agree more.

But, before we all pile on top of the OP, I think he did admit that he wasn't doing the best of driving there.

(but I'm not going back over 50 posts to check)

As to under-tired, or under-whatever, cars the world over are built to a price. Cars in india are built to a cut-down standard (cf the current airbag thread). Expect the minimum of everything!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But, before we all pile on top of the OP, I think he did admit that he wasn't doing the best of driving there.

Very kind of you Sir, but do read between the lines and judge the kind of driving our friend does on quite a regular basis. While this is not 'conclusive', it is at least a pointer.

Originally Posted by d_himan

I was going into a S-Curve at around 80+ kmph (traffic was sparse), accelerating in 3rd gear. In my earlier Ikon 1.6 SXi, I wouldn't even think twice to do it at 120 kmph.

I only hope and pray that some lesson has been learnt at least after this near-miss and that we can hope for one less reckless driver.

And may I repeat there is nothing wrong with spirited driving - simply that you must please do it at an appropriate track or strip, where no one other than you can come to harm.

[.anshuman]

At time knowing your car is not enough unless you are on a track ,the road has surprises and even best handling cars keep surprising you,but then driving is all about learning every day.

[im_srini]

Reckless driving is to be condemned - lives & limbs saved thus could be your own !
That apart, I think the Swift is dangerously under-tired. The thin tires (fuel efficiency bragging rights), & the high profile (needed for our roads) make for a very "wallowy" ride. Add the numb steering, & the reasonably peppy engine, & it makes for one harrowing car, especially on the highways.

[sushrutha]

@d_himan
My only question to you is . Was it raining when you were driving ?
If yes then the skid might be due to Aquaplanning.

[d_himan]

Whoa! There's a lot of huffin'n'puffin out here, allow me to clarify a few things straight up.

1. Yes. I could have done the turn much slower. However, it was no 'bat out of hell' pace.

a. The road was really broad (end of Marina Beach, towards Parrys Corner, there's a huge roundabout - TBHPians in Chennai would endorse!)

b. It was late in the evening. The traffic was pretty sparse. It usually is low in this stretch of the road most of the time.

c. There were two cars doing the same turn at a similar (or faster) speed in front of me (OHC and an Accent if I remember right). Again, I'm not 'justifying' that they did the right or the wrong thing - it just wasn't a 'torrid - kill 'em all' pace.

2. Yessir.Thin tyres = Better Efficiency=otrocious cornering manners. I've learnt it the hard way. Just find it unfortunate that nothing remotely similar happened in any of the cars I've owned and driven earlier (Zen Vxi, Accent GLS, Ikon 1.6 Sxi) when I was younger and 'brasher'. I still say though, that the Swift VXi is undertyred. The squeals are noticeable and embarassing and are underqualified for the peppy engine-agile chassis combination of the Swift.

Is it entirely my fault? Yes. Is the manufacturer entirely not at fault? Don't think so. You don't give a 88 BHP engine and bad tyres - do so for the 50 BHP cars. And Zxi buyers are getting enough goodies for the price - not throwing in similar 185/70 tyres on the Vxi or LXi is a below-the-belt hit.

3. Lemme guess - 9 Indians out of 10 (and maybe 8 out of 10 Bhpians!) wouldn't know how to control a skid/making handbrake turns or heel-toe shifts (no theoritical google search gyan please - in practice, in an emergency) simply because weren't the cars or roads or schools or facilities for the same.

Now, a lot of inter-city roads have improved drastically, cars have become more powerful (and if global tendencies are any indication, this trend would continue), and, like it or not, most normal people would'nt obey the speed limit of 80kmph on an expressway. So people who get irritated about auto mags pontificating about vibrations at 110 kmph, please dont be too surprised. Just take a trip down any national highway/expressway.

I think though that there is an urgent need for emergency handling/driving improvement/defensive driving specialist driving schools.

Until then, yes, its certainly not advisable to push your car really hard - it'll be skirting dangerously on the edge. That's a lesson I have certainly learnt and imbibed. (Yes, there's a moron less on the streets!)

Hope this clarifies....to sum it up,

1. Yes, I've learnt to respect my car's limits. Its very easy to get carried away, and without proper true-to-life practical training, its not easy to handle emergencies.

2. Dont think I'm a monster-on-wheels adrenalin junkie. So, focusing totally on my 'manic' tendencies might shift attention away from an important point I want to make (read 3)

3. Sorry, the Swift VXi is undertyred for its engine-chassis combo. And I dont subscribe to the theory that only higher end versions should have safer tyres.

Comments/Suggestions welcome!