[tortoiseNhare]

I was involved in a highway accident yesterday. I and three of my friends were on our way back home in the afternoon and was about 200 kms away from our city when an old lady suddenly tried to cross the road looking the other side. I was at about 75-80 kmph and my wheels locked on hard braking. My car didn't stop fully but she would in the meantime just have avoided the hit but her companions on the side of the road were yelling at her hoarse trying to alert her which confused her. She then changed direction once again and the front right corner hit her. She fell down and we got down off the car. That place was notorious for instant justice and I ways praying to God to save the day. The old lady was more scared than severely hurt and we offered to take her to the hospital. Thank our stars, the instantly gathered crowd agreed. Once in the hospital (at Tezpur, about 5 kms away) by the time the preliminary investigations were over about 15-20 people arrive there. They talked to the doctors and things like CT-scan, nursing home admission etc came up. I knew at that point that we might have saved our skin but there will be a large hole in the pocket. All the time we avoided blaming the old lady for that would give them excuse to play dirty on us. Finally we hinted to them to pay for medical bills. They made up an amount of 10,000 rupees. Although the amount was too steep for such a minor injury (she was injured more because of the fall rather because of the hit; the lady was very fat), we had no options but to pay up; otherwise they hinted to file an accident case with the police which is the last thing I wanted at an unfamiliar place. I finally arrived home at 9 pm driving at 60 kmph max.

Observation: The combination of the brakes and the stock tyres of the Palio MJD is prone to wheel-locking and skidding at speeds over 60-70 kmph.

[bottle]

Ouch must have been really scary. Do take some time to get used to the palios brakes since they are prone to locking up under panic braking and you need to be gentle with them. I got my pads replaced at 20k though and these seem a bit better. They lack bite but they dont lock up as much as the first set.

Finally this may seem a bit harsh but a similar incident happened to a friend where he almost hit an old lady and a crowd gathered and all and tried to extort money.He said he would take her to the hospital but dropped her off a Km later giving a little money. No point dealing with a few hoodlums who try to take advantage of a situation

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Since Palio takes only 98 PCD alloys, we don't have much choice for designs, Aura has couple of 14" alloys in 98 PCD, check the one I have:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...ess-tires.html

For tyres, check out Michelin XM1+ / Bridgestone Turanza / Yokohama A drives.

You can use 100 PCD alloys with a little grinding to make it fit. Don't suggest this to the alloy shop. Let him suggest that to you. Ask him if there is any problem. If he say no problem (which he will), tell him you will want a replacement or a full refund if there is a problem.

[architect]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

You can use 100 PCD alloys with a little grinding to make it fit. Don't suggest this to the alloy shop.

I would not advise that at all. By griding 100 PCD alloys to 98 PCD PCD, one would make the bolt-holes bigger, leaving room for play. I wouldn't be comfortable with such a situation at high speeds. I would ride steel wheels with better tyres anyday than try this sort of jugaad.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by architect

I would not advise that at all. By griding 100 PCD alloys to 98 PCD PCD, one would make the bolt-holes bigger, leaving room for play. I wouldn't be comfortable with such a situation at high speeds. I would ride steel wheels with better tyres anyday than try this sort of jugaad.

Agree. That's why I said to let the alloy dealer suggest it. If it dosen't work well he'll have to take back the alloys.

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by architect

I would not advise that at all. By griding 100 PCD alloys to 98 PCD PCD, one would make the bolt-holes bigger, leaving room for play. I wouldn't be comfortable with such a situation at high speeds. I would ride steel wheels with better tyres anyday than try this sort of jugaad.

From your comments and from other sources I have come to know that replacement of even a broken bolt of an alloy wheel may be hard to find, especially at places like my city. Better tyres, however, are an absolute necessity if one intends to drive fast. I have learnt it all over again, the hard way .

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by finneyp

For tyres, check out Michelin XM1+ / Bridgestone Turanza / Yokohama A drives.

Michelin XM1+ (185/70 R13) is Rs. 4100 MRP here in my city. Before negotiating with the dealer I would like to know what is the current street price. Like to know the street price of Bridgestone Turanza also. I would have preferred Yoko A drives (because Architect is happy with them) but they are not available here.

[architect]

A thousand kilometres is too early to judge a tyre. Ask other people, don't depend on my opinion. XM1+ was around Rs 3,900/- in Delhi so it's not too bad for Guwahati I suppose.

Yokos and Michelins are softer compound tyres. If you live in an area with lots of sharp pebbles, gravel, stones, look for harder compound tyres like MRF, Goodyear (the stock tyres are quite hard and robust, though too thin).

Originally Posted by tortoiseNhare

Michelin XM1+ (185/70 R13) is Rs. 4100 MRP here in my city. Before negotiating with the dealer I would like to know what is the current street price. Like to know the street price of Bridgestone Turanza also. I would have preferred Yoko A drives (because Architect is happy with them) but they are not available here.

[bottle]

I m using XM1+ and it works well even on bad terrain.

[Ice]

Give the Bridgestone Potenzas a shot. I picked mine up for 3,000/tyre in Madras. Got 1,100 for each of the original tyres, and ended up paying 1,900 per new tyre. the 185 Potenzas are a good uprage option, and I vouch for Bridgestone's balance between handling and tyre life.

[FanaticOnWheels]

It's sad to hear that your vehicle got involved in such an accident. Hope you've wriggled out of the fix.

I have no sympathy for such brainless pedestrains who don't even care about the car drivers on road. I am not defacing all pedestrains, but there are a few who just jump into the road from nowhere, without bothering about the traffic on the road. When the ultimately get hit, by the law of life, the car owner gets bashed up by the public. I just hate it.

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by Ice

Give the Bridgestone Potenzas a shot. I picked mine up for 3,000/tyre in Madras. Got 1,100 for each of the original tyres, and ended up paying 1,900 per new tyre. the 185 Potenzas are a good uprage option, and I vouch for Bridgestone's balance between handling and tyre life.

I suppose the Potenzas are unidirectional. In that case 5 wheel rotation would not make sense. Perhaps I can swap 4 of the originals and keep one of them strictly as spare. Comments are solicited.

Originally Posted by FanaticOnWheels

... by the law of life, the car owner gets bashed up by the public. I just hate it.

It's a common thing, especially in village areas, to always put the blame on the driver and extort cash. In worst cases one gets beaten up, his car broken and faces police harassment too on top of cash losses for no fault of his.

[FanaticOnWheels]

Yeah. Such people must be burnt upside down.

[tortoiseNhare]

When I reached office in the morning the odo reading of my car displayed 15,001 km. This milestone was achieved without any significant problems. Some niggles regarding plastic parts are there, notably, the inside rear right hand door locking lever.

I had talked to the service centre guys about the replacement (under warranty) of the lever during the 3rd free service. The part that had arrived turned out to be broken and so I refused to get the servicing done yesterday. Since I am leaving for Gurgaon this afternoon, it will have to be done after 3rd October. That also means that my car will be on extended rest for the first time since she was acquired in late December 2008. My long term ownership report will come soon.

PS.1. My brother, myself and our family are undertaking a road trip on his U-VA to Kashmir from Gurgaon starting the day after tomorrow early in the morning.

PS.2. A long term ownership report being due, I request the mods to close this thread now.