[avi_swift]

I have a 2013 2nd gen swift which has run almost 43k KMs. For the past couple of months, the front right tyre was consistently showing low pressure compared to the others whenever I went to top up air. I recently visited a tyre shop and the guy advised me to change all of them since they were more than 8 years old (there was a leak in the that particular tyre). I pointed out that there were still quite a lot of tread left in the tyres but he said that after 8+ years, the rubber must have gotten hard and it would be better to change them all. The car was running on JK tyres which came from the factory but he basically said that JK Tyre was the worst and advised me against it. He suggested Apollo or Bridgestone, the latter being almost 1K more expensive per tyre than the former. Since I do mainly highway runs, I think its better to get new shoes for my car now.

Please suggest what brand I should go for? I don't plan to change size or anything else. My only requirements are: the new tyres should be reliable and long lasting like the current ones. Also, if would be very good if they offer better emergency stopping distance than the current JKs, since we all know what kind of brakes the Swift has.

[Crow]

Originally Posted by avi_swift

Please suggest what brand I should go for? I don't plan to change size or anything else. My only requirements are: the new tyres should be reliable and long lasting like the current ones. Also, if would be very good if they offer better emergency stopping distance than the current JKs, since we all know what kind of brakes the Swift has.

Your tyre guy is right about needing to change the tyres after 8 years. Especially if your car is parked outdoors, Indian summers are harsh on tyres. Eventually the rubber will develop cracks and that can have disastrous consequences.

I have a 2015 Swift ZXI, which should be the same generation as yours. If you have a ZXI or ZDI, it should have 185/65/R15 size tyres. If it’s a lower variant the size will be smaller. You can go with tyres of the same size and get a good upgrade on the stock tyres for sure. My car shipped with MRF ZVTV that I preemptively changed at the end of 4 years/15k kms, ahead is a 2,000-km round trip to Rajasthan.

I went with Yokohama BluEarth GT and the performance has been excellent so far. The car has done 15k kms on these new tyres in two years, mostly on the highway. I’d highly recommend going with Yokohama tyres—Earth 1 is another good option from the same company.

My BluEarth GT reduced road noise significantly and gave a much smoother ride immediately. It’s got just one puncture which was during the lockdown in 2020 when I didn’t use the car much. Otherwise I’ve taken it on smooth highways of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, and MP, with no issues. It’s performed well on broken roads in MH and other states too.

I don’t find the Swift’s brakes to be bad. I’ve adopted defensive driving mostly so maybe I have more time to brake. With new tyres braking performance improved but if I were you, I’d probably also get the brake pads checked once.

Finally, I’m sure you know better than I do about tyre pressures. I didn’t know what the recommended tyre pressure for my car is until last week. It’s mentioned on the inside of the driver side door. For 185/65/R15 tyres on the 2015 Swift, Maruti recommends 29 psi. It’s higher for smaller tyres that ship with LXI and VXI.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by Crow

I don’t find the Swift’s brakes to be bad. I’ve adopted defensive driving mostly so maybe I have more time to brake. With new tyres braking performance improved but if I were you, I’d probably also get the brake pads checked once.

Non-ABS variants used to come with smaller brake booster and had inferior braking performance. So that could be one factor as well.

Rest as you have already suggested, I'd also advice the OP to go for softer rubber. Wider tyres are also an option, there are many people satisfied with 185/70 R14 on stock rims.

[avi_swift]

Originally Posted by Crow

Your tyre guy is right about needing to change the tyres after 8 years. Especially if your car is parked outdoors, Indian summers are harsh on tyres. Eventually the rubber will develop cracks and that can have disastrous consequences.

I have a 2015 Swift ZXI, which should be the same generation as yours. If you have a ZXI or ZDI, it should have 185/65/R15 size tyres. If it’s a lower variant the size will be smaller. You can go with tyres of the same size and get a good upgrade on the stock tyres for sure. My car shipped with MRF ZVTV that I preemptively changed at the end of 4 years/15k kms, ahead is a 2,000-km round trip to Rajasthan.

I went with Yokohama BluEarth GT and the performance has been excellent so far. The car has done 15k kms on these new tyres in two years, mostly on the highway. I’d highly recommend going with Yokohama tyres—Earth 1 is another good option from the same company.

My BluEarth GT reduced road noise significantly and gave a much smoother ride immediately. It’s got just one puncture which was during the lockdown in 2020 when I didn’t use the car much. Otherwise I’ve taken it on smooth highways of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, and MP, with no issues. It’s performed well on broken roads in MH and other states too.

I don’t find the Swift’s brakes to be bad. I’ve adopted defensive driving mostly so maybe I have more time to brake. With new tyres braking performance improved but if I were you, I’d probably also get the brake pads checked once.

Finally, I’m sure you know better than I do about tyre pressures. I didn’t know what the recommended tyre pressure for my car is until last week. It’s mentioned on the inside of the driver side door. For 185/65/R15 tyres on the 2015 Swift, Maruti recommends 29 psi. It’s higher for smaller tyres that ship with LXI and VXI.

Blue earth seems to be a good choice, going by a cursory search on the forum. Sadly, both tyre dealers near my locality told me that Yokohoma does not manufacture Blue earth for Swift (my car is LXi). Do you know if this is indeed true? They mentioned Earth 1 as a possible alternative. But I saw few posts here where members recommended Blue earth over the Earth1. I went to Yokohoma India website and they are showing Blue earths are manufactured for 14 inch wheels, but when I search by car, after providing model, year etc. the result only shows Earth1.

Both the shops told that I can get Earth1 for 3700/- per tyre. They also told Bridgestone S248 as another option, this costs around 3800/- per tyre. If I cannot get Blue earth, which is the better option among Earth1 and S248?

Also, I had the front brakes changes less than a year back, at around 39K KMs. The difference must be due to booster size as mentioned by self_driven. I also drive defensively but I guess in Indian road conditions, you can never let your guard down, specially on the highways.

As for tyre pressure, the dealer told me to fill 33 PSI when purchasing the car and I have stuck with that ever since. And I top up with air every 2-3 weeks as I read somewhere long back that tyres develop leaks if driven on low pressure for long distances. I'm actually surprised that they recommended a good 4 PSI lesser for the Z models of the same car.

[Crow]

@avi_swift: Your research appears to be correct. I couldn’t find the BluEarth tyres in 165/80/R14, which is the stock size for Swift LXI and VXI. I have no experience with Bridgestone so I can’t comment on that. However I know a lot of people who use Earth 1 and no one has complained about those tyres. You can check reviews on the forum for a better idea. I’m sure you’ll find some in this thread too.

The sticker on my car says that 165/80/R14 tyres should be at 33psi and 185/65/R15 should be at 29psi. I’m not an expert in this area to know the exact reasons behind this, but I can tell you that I used to fill the tyres at 32 or 33 psi all this while. The car felt a bit bouncy but I never bothered much about it.

Now that I switched to the manufacturer recommended 29psi, I think the higher pressures almost felt like a trampoline. At 29psi the car feels planted and the ride is very smooth. There’s also a slight improvement in fuel efficiency.

You’re right to always stick to manufacturer recommended air pressures and to keep refilling the pressure. I’m sorry I can’t help any more than this, but I look forward to hearing which tyre you end up with. Cheers.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by avi_swift

Blue earth seems to be a good choice, going by a cursory search on the forum. Sadly, both tyre dealers near my locality told me that Yokohoma does not manufacture Blue earth for Swift (my car is LXi). Do you know if this is indeed true? They mentioned Earth 1 as a possible alternative. But I saw few posts here where members recommended Blue earth over the Earth1. I went to Yokohoma India website and they are showing Blue earths are manufactured for 14 inch wheels, but when I search by car, after providing model, year etc. the result only shows Earth1.

Both the shops told that I can get Earth1 for 3700/- per tyre. They also told Bridgestone S248 as another option, this costs around 3800/- per tyre. If I cannot get Blue earth, which is the better option among Earth1 and S248?.

A quick search on Tyremarket.com shows only Earth1 from Yokohama in 165/80R14. So possibly Bluearth isn't manufactured in this size. It's available in 185/70R14 though if you plan to upsize.

Instead of Bridgestone, I'd suggest Continental CC6/UC6 if available in your desired size. These are softer, comfort (CC6) or performance-oriented (UC6) tyres as opposed to hard-compound ones such as Bridgestone, JK, Ceat etc focused on durability. Earth1 comes somewhere in between these two types, while Bluearth is softer and biased towards comfort as compared to Earth1.

Hope that helps you narrow down your choices.

General thumb rule is that:

1) Harder compound tyres offer less grip, more road noise but are long lasting and more resistant to damage over bad roads.

2) Softer compound rubber will offer better grip, more comfort and lower road noise. But they wear out faster and have weaker sidewalls which makes them more prone to damage over bad roads.

[Maky]

Originally Posted by Maky

Hello everyone,

My Maruti Swift is almost 9 years old now, has done 46k kilometers and the tyres are almost completely shot well beyond the recommended tyre change period, I had originally planned to change start of 2020 but then the pandemic hit and barely used the car last 1.5 years, since I now see myself using my vehicle again I've decided to change out the tyres it came from factory with new ones. I tried attempting reading through the thread but its too far big to go through : )

Could some one please recommend me tyres for an early 2013 Maruti Swift VXi petrol. My desire is to have ultimate comfort with as much silence as possible, if this helps you help me. I also do not know what tyre size to go with for this requirement : )

Thanks in advance.

Whilst no one was able to reply, the following person was in a similar situation as mine so read up and took self_driven's advice earlier & went with the 'softer' but comfort oriented Continental CC6 165's for my 2013 Swift VXi:



The groove design is delightful to look at :P... much more 'colourful' than the stock MRFs the car came with







I also had a complete suspension change for my 9 year old swift a day ago so it just seemed to make sense to go as much comfort as possible for the last 2-3 years I will be using this car.



The total cost paid by me for Continental CC6s was 20,500/- for 5 Tyres along with Wheel Alignment and Balancing included.
One last question, the tyre shop person told me to fill 30 psi and no more. I had been doing 33 so far. Could anyone comment on the correct amount for this set of tyres?

Thank you.

[Crow]

@Maky: I’m assuming that you have an LXI or a VXI Swift, going by the tire size of 165/80/R14. You should fill the tyre pressure recommended by the manufacturer. It’s mentioned on the part where the driver side door meets the body of your car. There’s a sticker there which shows the tyre pressures for all variants of stock tyre size.

My 2015 Swift ZXI has that sticker and it suggests 33psi for your tyre size (and 29 for mine, which is 185/65/R15). Under-inflated tyres are more prone to bursts/punctures etc, so please don’t risk it.

[Maky]

Originally Posted by Crow

@Maky: I’m assuming that you have an LXI or a VXI Swift, going by the tire size of 165/80/R14. You should fill the tyre pressure recommended by the manufacturer. It’s mentioned on the part where the driver side door meets the body of your car. There’s a sticker there which shows the tyre pressures for all variants of stock tyre size.

My 2015 Swift ZXI has that sticker and it suggests 33psi for your tyre size (and 29 for mine, which is 185/65/R15). Under-inflated tyres are more prone to bursts/punctures etc, so please don’t risk it.

33 PSI is exactly what I had been doing thus far, I wonder why this man told me to fill between 28 to 33 then.
He also told me not to push it 1-2 PSI over, as i used to 35, for long highway runs.

[pranjal1984]

My 6.5 year old Swift ZXI came with Goodyear Duraplus Tyres as OE Fitment. I have replaced them with Continental UC6 185/65 R15 yesterday @ 5880 per tyre. Manufacturing period is 4221 and 4321.The stability of the car has improved considerably plus the comfort has increased. Road noise is now manageable. Will update once I drive for atleast 500 kms.

[avi_swift]

Originally Posted by Crow

You’re right to always stick to manufacturer recommended air pressures and to keep refilling the pressure. I’m sorry I can’t help any more than this, but I look forward to hearing which tyre you end up with. Cheers.

Apologies for the late reply. Although more than half of my team are currently working from home, I was selected for going back to office twice a week. So over the past few weeks, I drove back to Delhi from Kolkata and gradually settled in here, that's why I was unable to reply sooner. I went with your suggestion and got Yokohoma Earth 1 and the upside of moving back is I got to enjoy these on the highways for 1500 KM.

So far the experience has been excellent. Compared to the old JK's, these tyres are so silent that it almost feels like a completely different car. On the Agra Lucknow EWay, which is made with tarmac instead of concrete (like Yamuna EWay), the silent nature of the tyres were even more evident. At 100 KM/H, the road noise was probably less than half of the previous JK's. I just hope these tyres are as reliable as the previous OEM ones and should I face an emergency, they help me with the stopping distance. Below is a picture of my car wearing her new shoes

Originally Posted by self_driven

A quick search on Tyremarket.com shows only Earth1 from Yokohama in 165/80R14. So possibly Bluearth isn't manufactured in this size. It's available in 185/70R14 though if you plan to upsize.

Thanks for your suggestion. For reasons mentioned above, I was unable to check Team-BHP, and I had already purchased Earth1 by then. The guy at the tyre shop recommended me to go for new tyres after 5 years, and definitely not to go above 6 years. So if these lasts for 5-6 years, I would be very happy. Although I used the original JK's for around 8 years, a quick search here and Google told me that its indeed not advisable, so I definitely will change these before the 6 years mark, irrespective of the tread left in them.

A question for the members here: While fitting the new tyres, the guy filled up to 35 PSI instead of the usual 33. He said that since its a new tyre, its advisable to fill a little higher. I took his advice and drove from Kolkata to Delhi with 35 PSI. Its around 1800 KM with the new tyres and they are around a month old by now. Will I switch back to 33? Previously, I used to fill up every 2-3 weeks up to 33 PSI.

[manikanth01]

Hi Guys,

I am going for a tyre replacement on my 2nd Gen Swift VDI (June 2012).
Please let me know which tyre would be better. As I will be changing the car in coming 2 years, I don't want to go for an upgrade or costly tyres. At the same time, don't want to end up with any cheap ones either. Please suggest brands which are good in quality and value for money. Thanks in advance

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by manikanth01

Hi Guys,

I am going for a tyre replacement on my 2nd Gen Swift VDI (June 2012).
Please let me know which tyre would be better. As I will be changing the car in coming 2 years, I don't want to go for an upgrade or costly tyres. At the same time, don't want to end up with any cheap ones either. Please suggest brands which are good in quality and value for money. Thanks in advance

I suppose it depends on if you want a reduction in road noise. Reduce tyre damage due to rough roads.
I had ZV2k on my Swift and switched to CC5 (around an year ago) the tyre noise is significantly reduced. Of course there is the worry that I could face sidewall damage while running on broken roads etc. With the ZV2K the road condition was never a worry.

Perhaps if you could list out the key factors you are looking out for, would help in giving a suggestion.

If you were satisfied with the stock MRF/JK, why not continue with them?

[manikanth01]

@Whitewing

Thanks for taking time to reply. My car had Bridgestone tyres earlier. At present, I am looking at other alternatives to save some cost as its an old car already. However, doesn't want to compromise on safety. Noise is not a concern as i drive mostly within the city. Durability and safety are the priorities

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by manikanth01

@Whitewing

Thanks for taking time to reply. My car had Bridgestone tyres earlier. At present, I am looking at other alternatives to save some cost as its an old car already. However, doesn't want to compromise on safety. Noise is not a concern as i drive mostly within the city. Durability and safety are the priorities

I would suggest MRF ZV2k.
I have no feedback on Ceat/JK/Goodyear which probably would be available at a similar price point.