[vigneshg]

Originally Posted by vigneshg

Hi all,

Once again, it has been quite a while since I joined in on the discussions at T-BHP, and I apologise for the inconsistency. Given how user experiences of tyres on an Estilo are somewhat hard to come by, I thought I should pen down mine to give other Estilo users an easier time deciding on tyres.

Oddly, my used Estilo LXi came wearing Bridgestone S322s in the front, and JK Optimas in the back with 35,000 km on the clock. After two years of use, and having added some 10,000km to the odo, I decided to change them as they started to look quite worn out. It was also becoming increasingly hard finding a tyre shop that mended tube-type tyres in case of punctures.

I had decided that I wanted 155/65 R13, a size of tyres that was offered on the VXi variant of Estilo (and Wagon R). The LXis, including mine, came with 145/70 R13.

Upon visiting the famous Sai Iyengar Tyres in Indiranagar, I gathered that the Michelin Energy XM2 and the Yokohama Earth-1 were the top tyres recommended for the Estilo. Bridgestone S322 and Goodyear GPS2 too were on offer but weren’t tubeless for this size.

Sai Iyengar Tyres quoted Rs 3000 per tyre for the Yokohama Earth-1s, and Rs 3500 per tyre for the Michelin XM2s.

After due research, I found both tyres to be equally good. Earth-1 was touted as a ‘Designed for India’ tyre by Yokohama, and user reviews were generally positive. Michelin XM2 was also a silica-based tyre that reportedly provided low rolling-resistance and good wet grip.

All things considered, I was decided on the Yokohama Earth-1s but sadly, Sai Iyengar Tyres had run out of stock. They, instead, tried to sell me the older Yokohama A-Drives, a model known to be soft and weak on the sidewalls. It was a cheap move by Sai Iyengar, if you ask me. Naturally, I refused. I tried contacting a few other tyre stores, and even waited a week or two for Sai Iyengar to receive stock of the Earth-1s.

When I heard that Yokohama stock was further delayed, I decided to quit waiting and buy the Michelin XM2s. Sai Iyengar did not charge me for wheel balancing and alignment.

I have only done some 200 km with the new Michelin XM2s so far and my initial impression of them are good.

Firstly, the added 10mm in width seems to have made negligible difference to steering tightness. It usually isn’t the case, but Michelin seems to have worked their magic on the rubber. This is already happy news to me.

The Estilo generally crashes into every pothole ungracefully with loud thuds and rattles all over, but with the new Michelins, things have improved a bit on this front. The thuds are now softer and fewer in number, and do less damage to my bones. I am hoping it will stay this way for a good 10,000 km at least.

The Michelins also provide great grip. Braking is now a more surefooted affair and the extra 10mm footprint is somewhat felt all the time while turning and braking. Even some of those unintentional first-gear wheelspins are minimised.

I shall post another review, maybe a few thousand kilometres down the line.

Thanks for reading my initial impression of the tyres and hope it helps a fellow Estilo user/Michelin buyer some day. Feel free to write to me if you’ve got questions.

Happy motoring.

Cheers,
Vignesh

UPDATE ON THE MICHELIN ENERGY XM2s ON MARUTI ESTILO

Hi all,

It's my pleasure to let you know that these Michelin XM2s have served me well for close to 6 years and ~50,000 kilometres with no more than one or two punctures. I would have carried on using them, but I recently moved from Bangalore to Noida and the extreme Delhi weather has done a number on them. You can find a picture of the of the damage below.

Because I frequently travel to Agra on the Yamuna Expressway (a 180+km stretch of mostly concrete roads), I felt it was wise to switch to new shoes without any further delay. And so, I went to Tyre Shoppe in Sector 5 and got myself a set of four Continental ContiComfortContact CC5s. I spoke to Mohit Jain at Tyre Shoppe, who was kind enough to assist me through the entire sale without favouring any one brand too much. It also helped that he conversed with me in English (since I speak terrible Hindi). The staff was equally kind and wore protective gear to combat the coronavirus spread (masks, gloves, plastic seat covers).

Each Continental CC5 tyre costs Rs 3,500 but I paid only Rs 3,000 as Continental is apparently buying back old tyres for Rs 500 apiece. My final bill amount for four CC5s (tax included) and weights was Rs 12,120. I paid using PayTM without any hassles. Given that my older Michelin XM2s cost a bit over Rs 14,000, I am rather satisfied with today's deal. The first few kilometres on the CC5s were smooth (turning the wheel was a tad easier and thuds felt muted), but it's too early to say anything more.

I hope to keep you all updated on the performance of the CC5s sometime soon. Thanks for reading. Happy motoring!

Regards,
Vignesh

[roushan84]

I have been looking for XM2+for my Ignis Zeta and planning to upsize it to 185/65 R15 from the Stock size of 175/65 R15. Most tyre stores in Gurgaon are quoting 5600-5800 per tyre which seems high as https://www.michelin.in/ recommends tyre prices at 5616/tyre. Can someone please advise if these prices are OK.

I was also told by one dealer that By paying an additional 350 bucks, I will get insurance (of one tyre) and as and when if anything happens to the tyre, I can claim insurance and get a new tyre. One can also pay extra and get all 4 tyres insured. Has anyone opted for such insurance for Michelin tyres?

Would really appreciate thoughts of fellow BHPians and also, if someone can also recommend a good dealer in Gurgaon.

[Hunter3077]

Hi guys,
I have a Renault Lodgy Stepway RXZ with the stock Apollo 185/65 R15 Tyres which came with the original purchase. It has been 52,000 km and 3.5 years now with not one instance of flat till date. As is evident, the tyres have done some heavy duty on many a long ride. Now I am planning on replacing them. I have shortlisted the Michelin XM2 + Tyres as they are considered top notch.
Need recommendations for the following :-
1. Any other suggestions or reviews of first hand experience of XM2 +.
2. Do I have a choice of going for a deviation from 185/65 R15 if I want to better the ride?
Thanks

[Hunter3077]

Originally Posted by Hunter3077

Hi guys,
I have a Renault Lodgy Stepway RXZ with the stock Apollo 185/65 R15 Tyres which came with the original purchase. It has been 52,000 km and 3.5 years now with not one instance of flat till date. As is evident, the tyres have done some heavy duty on many a long ride. Now I am planning on replacing them. I have shortlisted the Michelin XM2 + Tyres as they are considered top notch.
Need recommendations for the following :-
1. Any other suggestions or reviews of first hand experience of XM2 +.
2. Do I have a choice of going for a deviation from 185/65 R15 if I want to better the ride?
Thanks

Apologies for the back to back posts. Bumping up the same query. Any leads please?
Thanks

[rayjaycleoful]

Originally Posted by Hunter3077

Apologies for the back to back posts. Bumping up the same query. Any leads please?
Thanks

1. Yoko Earth 1 is a better choice for bad roads. Goodyear assurance too, but they are too hard and noisy in exchange for an extremely long life.
2. You can upsize to 195/65/15, many available brands.

[setuniket]

Hi,

Need advice and input for choosing new set of tyres.

Better half's 2104 Celerio Vxi (165/70-14 MRF ZVTV) OEM tyres are due for change (side wall cracking and tread is almost gone). Since now I am in-charge of maintenance and upkeep, I am looking to choose between XM2/XM2+, Yoko Earth-1 or Bridgestone B290.

The car is strictly for commute in Delhi-NCR and not likely to be used for long highway drives; I am looking at 1. Comfort 2. Grip 3. Ride Quality; bumpy ride after tyre change will be very expensive for me

The car is likely to be replaced within a year or two for city, I am not looking at longevity or longer running mileage over comfort.

Suggestions welcome.

Thanks

[SnS_12]

Our Brio is now six years old and so are the Yokohama Earth 1 tyres, which were swapped with the company fitted tyres on the day of delivery.

The Earth 1 have served me well and provided good grip in all conditions. I have driven on these tyres from Mumbai to Bangalore-Kodai and Chennai. I only use the car in the city on weekends and mostly outstation trips. So in six years the kilometres covered is 42,551.

Now, the Earth 1 still had some life left in them but they were six years old and plus the right rear tyre had a slow puncture. Hence, I decided its time to change all four.

My initial preference was to go in for Michellin PS4, but unfortunately I just learnt they don’t have this size in India. So, the next best option was to go in for the XM2 range. I have tried this tyre on a Jazz which I had driven to Kodai and could compare it with the Earth 1 on the Brio. The grip levels were far superior to the Earth 1 and I was totally astonished to see such a huge difference.

However, due to the current import ban Michellin has absolutely zero stock and most of the dealers I checked with had no stock as well. I finally managed to get hold of a set of four with a dealer who had the last set available with him in the size I was looking for.

So, I managed to get the latest version which is the XM2 + manufactured in September 2019.

They Earth 1 served well except for the regular punctures on our F1 track like smooth roads. six years old and so are the Yokohama Earth 1 tyres, which were swapped with the company fitted tyres on the day of delivery.



Manufactured in mid July 2014 and fitted on the car in October 2014.















Had some life still left but was already six years old.



ODO reading at the time of changing to XM2+



Road to Kodai is oneof the most beautiful and enjoyable ghat sections in India



I was so impressed with the performance of the tyre that I stepped out and checked which make were they as the car belonged to one of my uncle.





Manufactured in Sept 2019. So just a year old tyre. Good that I took the decision at the right moment or else I don’t know what option would there be left in the market due to the import ban.















I have driven just 10 kms on these new XM2+ but the immediate difference I have noticed is that the sidewalls are more pliant and make a noticeable difference on bad stretch of road as compared to the Earth 1.

[HTC]

Originally Posted by vigneshg

UPDATE ON THE MICHELIN ENERGY XM2s ON MARUTI ESTILO

Each Continental CC5 tyre costs Rs 3,500 but I paid only Rs 3,000 as Continental is apparently buying back old tyres for Rs 500 apiece. My final bill amount for four CC5s (tax included) and weights was Rs 12,120. I paid using PayTM without any hassles.

Is the continental buy back offer still going on ? I checked a couple of shops in mysore and they say they are not aware of any buyback.

My michellin xm2 tyres have run 60k kms and are still good for another 5k kms as per Madhus tyre shop guy.

Looking out for possible replacement. Since my highway speeds wont exceed 90, want a tyre which gives comfortable ride quality.

Might go for xm2 again if i dont find a suitable replacement. Suggestions re welcome

[vigneshg]

Originally Posted by HTC

Is the continental buy back offer still going on ? I checked a couple of shops in mysore and they say they are not aware of any buyback.

My michellin xm2 tyres have run 60k kms and are still good for another 5k kms as per Madhus tyre shop guy.

Looking out for possible replacement. Since my highway speeds wont exceed 90, want a tyre which gives comfortable ride quality.

Might go for xm2 again if i dont find a suitable replacement. Suggestions re welcome

Hi HTC,

My dealer here in Noida (Tyre Shoppe in Sector 5) informed of the offer. I'm not sure if it's still on though. Maybe check with other dealers? The XM2s are fine tyres, but at the moment, I'm extremely pleased with the performance of the new Contis. They're comfortable, grippy, and have made the steering noticeably easier to turn.

Good luck!

-V

[RSR]

Gentlemen, please don't go by the soft compund nature of the XM2 and assume its sidewall is also soft.

Yes, the Michelin Energy XM2 is indeed a soft compound tyre, but it also has a stiffened sidewall (I don't know about the XM2+).

What this means is that while the ride quality on the XM2 is decent/good, it is also not as cushy as a soft compound tyre without a stiffened sidewall. On the flip side, stiffened sidewalls also translate into lower potential for damage on our nasty roads.

[Leoshashi]

Indeed. I was apprehensive of going for Michelin XM2 for my new car, specially when I travel on 90% non existent broken roads. And they have been holding up beautifully well while giving silent ride and awesome grip compared to the hard compound tyres.

I don't know about XM2+ but XM2 feels invincible for Indian roads.

Regards,
Shashi

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by roushan84

I have been looking for XM2+for my Ignis Zeta and planning to upsize it to 185/65 R15 from the Stock size of 175/65 R15. Most tyre stores in Gurgaon are quoting 5600-5800 per tyre which seems high as https://www.michelin.in/ recommends tyre prices at 5616/tyre. Can someone please advise if these prices are OK.

I was also told by one dealer that By paying an additional 350 bucks, I will get insurance (of one tyre) and as and when if anything happens to the tyre, I can claim insurance and get a new tyre. One can also pay extra and get all 4 tyres insured. Has anyone opted for such insurance for Michelin tyres?

Would really appreciate thoughts of fellow BHPians and also, if someone can also recommend a good dealer in Gurgaon.

Order online from https://www.tyremarket.com/ or get from karol bagh. You will get best prices there.

[tiger_stripes]

My Michelin XM2 tires have developed some fine cracks and I am unsure if it is a cause of concern. Should I have them replaced?
They are 3 years old, covering around 30k kms. There is no damage to the sidewalls. My driving is mostly on city roads with the occasional highway drive.

[Artyom]

Folks I need your thoughts on the following setup.Front 2 tyres are 16 inchers(Goodyear Assurance Triplemax,Both Tyres are around 2700 km run and around 15 days old)For the rear I am planning to go for Michelins PS4T.Is that a good idea or should i place the Michelins in the front and Goodyear at back.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by tiger_stripes

My Michelin XM2 tires have developed some fine cracks and I am unsure if it is a cause of concern. Should I have them replaced?

Keep a watch on them and since you are city driving you should be fine. You can take an opinion from reputed tyre alignment stores in your city. I find MRF to be neutral and give good advice and not try to sell their tyres.