[Behemoth]

Thanks Guderian, Pramods, Akshay, Sushil and others for your help and support.
HTS tyres should also work for me, if they are available in the stock size.
What really surprises me is that in the past in all my cars, none of the tyres had ever developed any sidewall cuts inspite of similar road conditions. I am getting a feeling that imported tyres may not be too longlasting (apart from AT tyres) , given the specific road conditions and the extreme temperatures in India.

[Guderian]

Hi All Ye 'Tyred' Yeti Folks,

Spoke to my chum in Yoko (who happens to be the RM West).

Now this is what he had to state - the size 215-60-R16 is not available in the Geolandars range at all no A/T, no H/T, no nothing - in India.
This size is available in what Yoko calls A 348 series which is basically a car tyre. It is generally fitted on the Camry and Toyota Innova.

The A 348 of this size can be fitted on the Yeti or any 4X4 with this size - but the issue is that it will wear out fast. How fast - is not predictable.

So general advice was to slip on these these boots only in case of a dire need. Yes, it is readily available.

Has anyone checked Bridgestone/Michelin etc ?

[Invinsible]

Originally Posted by SushilBajpai

Thanks Invinsible. I'm looking out for Yoko Geolander H/T (as A/T is not available in the size recommended for Yeti). However, in context of the damage to side wall, which is the cause of concern, would Yokohama H/T fare any better?

Geolander H/T surely has better sidewall compared to the Stock Goodyear tyres, it's neither soft as Goodyear nor it's as stiff as the Geolander A/T tyres. H/T tyres are designed keeping in mind for softroader/crossover than can handle some off roading bit, so I am guessing it should be much better than Goodyear you have which are mainly for passenger cars.

I suppose for the one that is readily available Geolander H/T will be a better choice. If one decide to import than there are few more choices.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi All Ye 'Tyred' Yeti Folks,

Spoke to my chum in Yoko (who happens to be the RM West).

Now this is what he had to state - the size 215-60-R16 is not available in the Geolandars range at all no A/T, no H/T, no nothing - in India.
This size is available in what Yoko calls A 348 series which is basically a car tyre. It is generally fitted on the Camry and Toyota Innova.

The A 348 of this size can be fitted on the Yeti or any 4X4 with this size - but the issue is that it will wear out fast. How fast - is not predictable.

So general advice was to slip on these these boots only in case of a dire need. Yes, it is readily available.

Has anyone checked Bridgestone/Michelin etc ?

Thanks Guderian,
But this bodes bad news for all us snow monsters with tanks who shall not be able to tread lightly over the snow clad mountains! Till the time that we get proper shoes for our monsters, we may not be allowed to take them to the hinterland! I have checked all the other brands too and none of them are available in AT versions in the stock size 215/60 R16. All the ones available in India Michelin Latitude Tour HP, Bridgestone Duelers, Geolandars are available in 215/65 R16. Changing to this size may not go well with the Czechk tank manufacturers, who are anyway notorious for finding loopholes not to honour warranty!
Till then we mere mortals shall remain relegated to the paved domains and dare not venture deep into the mountains

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

But this bodes bad news for all us snow monsters with tanks who shall not be able to tread lightly over the snow clad mountains!

Hi Behemoth,
Or experiment with the Yoko A348s and see how long they last !
Or import through a source as was suggested.

However what does Skoda have to say on this ? Anyone raised it with them ?

[Invinsible]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Thanks Guderian,
But this bodes bad news for all us snow monsters with tanks who shall not be able to tread lightly over the snow clad mountains! Till the time that we get proper shoes for our monsters, we may not be allowed to take them to the hinterland! I have checked all the other brands too and none of them are available in AT versions in the stock size 215/60 R16. All the ones available in India Michelin Latitude Tour HP, Bridgestone Duelers, Geolandars are available in 215/65 R16. Changing to this size may not go well with the Czechk tank manufacturers, who are anyway notorious for finding loopholes not to honour warranty!
Till then we mere mortals shall remain relegated to the paved domains and dare not venture deep into the mountains

Changing to higher profile is not going to affect the ride or harm the suspension in anyways. In most cases companies have issues to lower profile tyres than recommended. With 215/65/16 the overall diameter stays under 1% that of 215/60/16 which is acceptable.
Geolander H/T can be easily ordered in grey if that's fine.

[Behemoth]

The response I got from Skoda was a very Political one.. and verbatim as below:

"Greetings from Skoda India!!!!

This is in continuation to your below mail. We would like to inform you that we have noted your suggestions and has been forwarded to the concerned department for review.

However, any changes in the specifications & even as aftermarket requirement as per customer request which is suggested by the manufacturer require to be analyzed / tested / certified by Automotive Authority of India."

So that safely means a "No"!

There are some examples of a few Yetis in Russia who now wear bigger boots (65 profile tyres), but the examples are just too few to take a risk!
The difference in Outside diameter and rolling circumference is around 3.31%, which is also outside the typical safe limit of 2.5%.

[SushilBajpai]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi All Ye 'Tyred' Yeti Folks,

Spoke to my chum in Yoko (who happens to be the RM West).

Now this is what he had to state - the size 215-60-R16 is not available in the Geolandars range at all no A/T, no H/T, no nothing - in India.
This size is available in what Yoko calls A 348 series which is basically a car tyre. It is generally fitted on the Camry and Toyota Innova.

The A 348 of this size can be fitted on the Yeti or any 4X4 with this size - but the issue is that it will wear out fast. How fast - is not predictable.

So general advice was to slip on these these boots only in case of a dire need. Yes, it is readily available.

Guderian, many thanks indeed. I was really hoping that Geolanders H/T would be available. Based on the comments from Behemoth (see below) and Skoda's response, it appears that 215-65-R16 is also out.

However, I have another idea. How about 225-60-R16. The diameter of this tyre is only 1.81% larger than 215-60-R16. The stock rim on skoda should be able to take this size.

I need opinion whether this would work. The alternate would be broader by 1.0 cm and taller by 1.2 cm. What sort of affect this would have on handling, performance and comfort. This size, on face of it, is within the 2.5% recommended limit.

If the considered opinion is that this is safer option than 215-65-R16 then perhaps we need to find whether this size is available in India.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The response I got from Skoda was a very Political one.. and verbatim as below:

"Greetings from Skoda India!!!!

This is in continuation to your below mail. We would like to inform you that we have noted your suggestions and has been forwarded to the concerned department for review.

However, any changes in the specifications & even as aftermarket requirement as per customer request which is suggested by the manufacturer require to be analyzed / tested / certified by Automotive Authority of India."

So that safely means a "No"!

There are some examples of a few Yetis in Russia who now wear bigger boots (65 profile tyres), but the examples are just too few to take a risk!
The difference in Outside diameter and rolling circumference is around 3.31%, which is also outside the typical safe limit of 2.5%.

Behemoth, could you verify whether what I have mentioned is correct.

Invinsible has calculated the change for 215-65-R16 at less than 1%, while you've calculated the difference at 3.5%. There appears to be anomaly in these calculations. Could you please verify this and also what I have got from the e tire calculator, mentioned in an earlier post.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by SushilBajpai

Behemoth, could you verify whether what I have mentioned is correct.

Invinsible has calculated the change for 215-65-R16 at less than 1%, while you've calculated the difference at 3.5%. There appears to be anomaly in these calculations. Could you please verify this and also what I have got from the e tire calculator, mentioned in an earlier post.

Hi Sushil,
I checked my calculations with 3 different tyre size calculators and I am getting the same result of 3.3%. I have also tried the tyre size calculator from Rehaan's tyre and wheel upgrade thread.
The size you are suggesting will certainly be suitable, but the problem again is with availability of AT tyres in this size. I have found that the minimum sidewall of any AT tyres in India is 65%. Thus the dilemma remains! Lets see if we can convince either Skoda India to start importing AT tyres (Geolandars) in this size or find a reliable importer who can import them for us!

[Invinsible]

Originally Posted by SushilBajpai

Invinsible has calculated the change for 215-65-R16 at less than 1%, while you've calculated the difference at 3.5%. There appears to be anomaly in these calculations. Could you please verify this and also what I have got from the e tire calculator, mentioned in an earlier post.

It's always the overall diameter that is important in order to be on safe side with least error showing in speedo and gear ratio. Here's is the simple calculation guys:

Tyres size : 215/60/R16 i.e.
215 x .60 x2 = 258.
R16 x 25.4 = 406.4
The overall diameter of the stock size comes to 258 + 406.4 = 664.4

Same way for 215/65/R16 the overall diameter comes to 685.9.
To get the % just divide 664.4 with 685.9 i.e. +0.96%.

Hope this helps.

On a second note 225/60/R16 should also be fine.

[SushilBajpai]

Originally Posted by Invinsible

It's always the overall diameter that is important in order to be on safe side with least error showing in speedo and gear ratio. Here's is the simple calculation guys:

Tyres size : 215/60/R16 i.e.
215 x .60 x2 = 258.
R16 x 25.4 = 406.4
The overall diameter of the stock size comes to 258 + 406.4 = 664.4

Same way for 215/65/R16 the overall diameter comes to 685.9.
To get the % just divide 664.4 with 685.9 i.e. +0.96%.

Hope this helps.

On a second note 225/60/R16 should also be fine.

Thanks very much. In order to calculate the percent difference in overall diameter I used the following calculations:

Calculate the diameter in two case, just like you have done.

Get the difference in new and old diameters:
664.4 - 685.9 = 21.5 mm

Now to figure out what percent is 21.5 of 664.4:

(21.5/664.4)100 = 3.24%

I appear to be missing something.

If the difference is only 0.96% then we could chose 215-65-R16 without any worry - notwithstanding what Skoda may have to say. However, if the difference is 3.24% then we need more opinions.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by SushilBajpai

Guderian, many thanks indeed. I was really hoping that Geolanders H/T would be available. Based on the comments from Behemoth (see below) and Skoda's response, it appears that 215-65-R16 is also out.

However, I have another idea. How about 225-60-R16. The diameter of this tyre is only 1.81% larger than 215-60-R16. The stock rim on skoda should be able to take this size.

Hi Sushil,
Do let me know after due calculations, considerations and suitability checks whether this'll work.
Shall check with Yoko folks again.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Invinsible

Same way for 215/65/R16 the overall diameter comes to 685.9.
To get the % just divide 664.4 with 685.9 i.e. +0.96%.

Hi Invinsible,
Just a slight miscalculation in the last part above of your calculation.
The old tyre as a ratio vs the new size is close to 96.5% and the difference in the sizes is approx 3.5% (exact 3.25%). The percentage is calculated for the difference in Outside diameter.

[Invinsible]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Hi Invinsible,
Just a slight miscalculation in the last part above of your calculation.
The old tyre as a ratio vs the new size is close to 96.5% and the difference in the sizes is approx 3.5% (exact 3.25%). The percentage is calculated for the difference in Outside diameter.

It's the overall diameter that plays important role when talking about errors related speedo, gear ratio in which case it remains under 1%. If it was over 1%, wouldn't have recommended.

[Behemoth]

Hi Invinsible,
Maybe you can cross check with the tyre size calculator
Tyre Calculator - Alloy Wheels - Specialist supplier of alloy wheels and tyres packages, Fast Delivery, Buy Online.
This is one of the best tyre size calculators avl. It can also generate tyre size variants within an acceptable range (you can define the value).
I also tried to search on the alternative size of 205/65 R 16, and the luckily Bridgestone India does have B390 Duelers in this size. The difference with this variant is 1.28%, which is within acceptable limits. These tyres are probably the equivalent of Geolandar HT-S. If anyone can share their experience with the B390 tyres and their suitability for 20/80 Off/onroad use, it will be great.

Thanks!