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-   -   Review: 1st-gen Honda Amaze (2013) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/134501-review-1st-gen-honda-amaze-2013-a-135.html)

Why I decided to change my tires :

Skinny tires were good for the super FE figures I was seeing ( i dont remember seeing anything less than 20 kpl in the city over the last 10 K kms ), but I wasnt happy with the handling nor the way these tires used to crash into potholes or the ride on bad roads . Inspite of ABS and EBD , somehow it was never confidence inspiring on the highways .

The new city looked really good in pics , the1.5 engine has been reliable and thats when we thought we would evaluate an "exchange" option for the amaze . When we walked into the dealership , somehow the new city didnt convince us in anyway on the additional 4L that we might pay for the same engine along with the 2L INR that we might lose on the exchange deal . A quick TD of the new city made me realise that this Amaze was actually a superb VFM car .

Thats when I decided that I would want to keep the Amaze for a few more years. Changing those useless OE tires was the first step . 185/60 r14 ,195/60/r14 or 205/55r14 were the options I was looking at .

185/60 would mean a slightly lower OD. 205/55 was the perfect OD match but I was worried about ride quality or sidewall damage on the Mangalore ghats that we do atleast once a month . 195/60r14 looked like a good upgrade .

On brands , Michelin 3ST wasnt available in 14 inch . Continental CPC was also something I was looking at , also it was cheaper by 600 INR per tire . But opted for XM2 (6400INR per tires).


First impressions after 195/60r14 tires

1. FE : There is a marginal drop in FE that I can see. I still see 19-21 kpl in city , but cant say for sure .

2. Handling : This is the biggest improvement that I can see . There is an immediate change in the way the car takes turns . Again , I havent driven on ghats , but I did drive 50 kms in the city , some of which involved taking exits to expressways which are curved. I see a noticable difference in the way the car takes these turns . The steering has suddenly become more responsive .

3. Ride Quality : The overall diameter has increased by around 1 % but the ride has improved slightly . I dont see a big difference here

4. Odometer /speedometer reading : There was a marginal error in speedo reading with the OE tires . I think the error has now come down . The GPS showed 16.7 kms while the odo showed 16.5 kms


I am going to experiment more on the "right" tire pressures before I freeze on them . Right now I am using 33 psi


About Honda service

These idiots keep on saying there is no need for wheel alignment to be done if there is no wobbling or pulling to one side !!! I had got my alignment checked every 5K kms and on both occasions , the LHS front Toe needed corrections . So , a word of caution for whoever decides to go with whatever these service advisors at Honda say .

Today I visited a Honda dealer to drop my vehicle for servicing. The overall service experience was bad in addition to that the scene at parking area was disturbing. I saw at least five Honda Amaze have been parked for accidental repairs. All of them were very new. I could not see any other vehicle waiting for accidental repairs.

Also there were one vehicle which was towing to the dealership. The tackle was attached Amaze's front end, while lifting the considerable stress was being applied at bottom of the front bumper.

Looks like Honda dealerships/service centers are now struggling to serve the customers due to huge popularity of Honda Amaze.

XM2 is definitively the best choice.
Could you post some pictures and what did you do with old tyres? Exchange?

Guess there was a similar situation when previous gen Verna was launched with 110 bhp engine. A lot of people could NOT handle the power and ended up in the worshops.

Is this is a similar phenomenon here also? Are people NOT getting a hang of the zero turbo lag issue and ending up bumping here or there? Or some other issue (due to skinny tyres)?

Well, there could be a thousand different reasons for the mishaps - including those totally beyond the control of the driver of the Amaze! So without any actual information, this would be pure guess work/conjecture. No harming in guessing, though :D.

Something that is very exclusively blessed for the Amaze drivers alone, ain't it?! :D

Edit::
As reported, if there are too many Amazes which met with accidents, then it's something related to the product or it's characteristics more than the "beyond the control" factors. But yes, it would take a lot of data gathering to arrive at facts & conclusions.

The low end torque is addictive and once you push the pedal it's like a wild bull. If the accidents are minor ones especially if its with the front bumper then torque+skinny tyres could be a reason.

Guys it is just an observation. We can not conclude the reason without proper analysis. I asked my service advisor about this, he said may be due to driver errors. Then I asked - why not City or Civic? He did not answer my query.

It could be the fact that most of the amaze on road is self driven which is not in the case of city or civic.

One more fact is that there are many first time drivers and first car owners who went for amaze like me because of its VFM.

Mistakes happen in first car ownership.

Old tires were exchanged. Got 1500 per tire. Paid 20 K INR for 4 tires and another 600 for alignment

Did a very dumb thing today. Forgot that it was not Swift but an Amaze I own - went and ordered this online :(

I would be really worried as a rear seat passenger with this accessory in front of me. In case of a collision it could be fatal.

While driving to work, I had an Amaze in front of me. I happened to notice that the rear shock absorber assembly for the Amaze sits pretty low. It was almost in level or slightly below the center of the wheel.

I quickly checked other cars on the road and did not find this in any other car including Marutis and Hyundais. But I did notice the same type of configuration on a Brio too; which is understandable given that the amaze is derived from the Brio.

I was wondering if folks have had trouble with the ground clearance on their Amaze. I felt that it would be very easy to hit a small object on the road with the rear shock absorbers. Does this type of shock absorber configuration exist in the City too?

The intention was to use only if no passenger behind. Useful when I drive for grocery errands alone and lazy to open the dicky.

Touch wood, I haven't had any issues thus far! I found the GC quite adequate.