[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by black_rider

Since your tire was old, it could have taken a hit anytime during its life, something you may not even recollect, results of which showed up now.

This is the 3rd of the 5 OE tyres that have gone bad. The odds of all of them taking a hit are real low, given the low mileage of the car and the fact that it is mostly used by my Dad (not a fast/rash driver).

Originally Posted by black_rider

Tires are really strong things, with steel wires and hard vulcanized rubber, they would not tear up by themselves like this, that too just lying around.

See the previous post by Roy.S - he has also reported similar coming-apart issues.

Originally Posted by black_rider

About bad quality. Tire manufacturing facilities have automated machines and human operators too. Errors can and do happen, on both. Almost all faulty products are caught and scrapped, but minor things can get through quality checks as well.

Well, then JK needs to really take a hard look at their QA process because it is not just my 3 tyres, but many others have also reported issues with their tyres.

[saket77]

This is not the first 'one-off' case demonstrating the average quality of these tires. Here's a link to Tanveer's adventure of using them: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...ightly-so.html

[bharatsomany]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

This is the 3rd of the 5 OE tyres that have gone bad. The odds of all of them taking a hit are real low, given the low mileage of the car and the fact that it is mostly used by my Dad (not a fast/rash driver).

See the previous post by Roy.S - he has also reported similar coming-apart issues.

Well, then JK needs to really take a hard look at their QA process because it is not just my 3 tyres, but many others have also reported issues with their tyres.

Originally Posted by saket77

This is not the first 'one-off' case demonstrating the average quality of these tires. Here's a link to Tanveer's adventure of using them: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...ightly-so.html

This is a sad truth. JK has been having serious quality issues.
I've used 2 sets of JK Vectra 205/60R16 which is the OEM fitment Chevrolet Cruze. Although the tyres that came factory fitted were fine, I literally had to dismount the new sets I got from the tyre dealer as the car would literally vibrate over 70Km/h. On inspection it was discovered that the tyres were oval and not round! By a good 4/5mm!
I still have them lying around if anyone else wants to give them a go...
I've been trying to get rid of them @ 1,500 a piece with no luck! Which is another testament to people not wanting JK.
On the other hand, Apollo takes their QA and testing very seriously.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by bharatsomany

This is a sad truth. JK has been having serious quality issues.
I got from the tyre dealer as the car would literally vibrate over 70Km/h. On inspection it was discovered that the tyres were oval and not round! By a good 4/5mm!

JK should stick to selling cement.

My Alto had similar vibration issues since the day I got it. Maruti tried everything and finaly told me that the tyres may be bad. I got two of them replaced from JK after two years of suffering. The vibration had reduced but it was not eliminated. Maruti changed my shockers under warranty in November last year and somehow the vibration returned.

Yesterday I took it for alignment and balancing where I was shocked to know that the manufacturing date is fudged on the replaced wheels and one of them is slightly oval. Now I cant go back to them as I have no paper/proof of getting them from authorized dealer. The only way out is to get rid of them as soon as possible.

My advise to all new car buyers is to get rid of JK tyres as soon as possible if they are OEM fitment on your car.

[navsjab]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

My advise to all new car buyers is to get rid of JK tyres as soon as possible if they are OEM fitment on your car.

Seriously, I do not understand why Maruti sticks to JK Tyres for their stock tyre brand.

My WagonR had similar issues with the 155/65 R13 stock JK Tyres. They started to bulge on the outter walls. On the very earliest opportunity of replacing them I went for an upsize, 165mm and shifted to Bridgestone. Since then Bridgestone has been my personal favourite.

[SS-Traveller]

And the JK Vectra saga of weird failures continues.

A dear friend's Ritz was on OE JK Vectras. Last year, on his way to and from a trip to Kolkata from Ghaziabad, he lost two tyres because the tread debonded from the carcass (around 22,000 km on the odo). However, he took the tyres back to a JK tyre dealer he knew in Delhi, and they replaced these with a 55-60% discount based on tread wear. He was happy. I was not.

Last week, on the way back from Kolkata, a third tyre (of the older OE stock) running on a rear wheel, decided to lose its tread rather violently. The tyre deflated, there was some body damage, but the gentleman and his family were safe. He had some kind of feeling about something going wrong just a few seconds earlier, and had slowed down from 100-110 kmph, wanting to stop and check. But before he could come to a halt, at around 80 kmph, the tyre had already disintegrated. This was at around 30,000 km on the odo.

He did a close inspection of tyres along with the rest of the car before departure, and the tyres seemed just fine. And I am just glad he wasn't running the older tyres up front as some folks advise.

[supremeBaleno]

And the saga with the crappy JK Tyres Vectras on our Swift continues - an update on the remaining 2 OE Vectras :

On 20-Mar-15, we had a drive to Vaikom planned & in the morning I check air in all tyres of the Swift. Topped up air in the 4 running tyres (1 OE JK and the rest being Bridgestones & Goodyear that replaced the 3 prematurely damaged JKs). On a whim, decide to check the spare too, though I had topped it up only few weeks ago. To my surprise, find it completely empty. Try filling air in it, without success.

It was too early to get the puncture fixed and anyway I reckon the odds of another running tyre getting punctured is low. Could not have been more wrong, as I was to learn in a few hours.

Drive to Vaikom (~90kms from our home in Kerala), with the last 10kms being bad roads. Park the car and as I do the usual look-over after locking the car, the rear-right tyre is low on air. Since I had topped up only couple hours ago, obviously a puncture. No prizes for guessing which tyre it was - JK Vectra.

Anyway, by the time we return after finishing our business some 4 hours later, the tyre is completely flat. Since the spare is flat, decide to inflate the running tyre with the portable compressor in the car and drive to the nearest tyre shop 10kms away. While the tyre does inflate, I can see air escaping through the puncture. Not confident of making it to the tyre-shop, I remove the tyre, load it on an auto-rickshaw and reach the tyreshop.

The guy puts a plug in and inflates the tyre. Only to see a nearby portion bulging up. Not to mention a previously fixed puncture in the adjoining area. Anyway, the tyre is clearly not good for further use. Dump it and buy a Bridgestone (B290 I think) which I fit in the car. Old & new punctures and bulge marked in the snap below :


Since the tyre shop is on our way back, we stop and take out the spare to have it fixed. Only to see it has gone the way the other JKs had gone - as if someone had sliced it with a knife. Pic below.


A pic of the tyre alongside another one that was damaged in the same way.


I buy another B290 and we have come full circle. All the crappy JK Vectras are purged.

Later at home, I put the lone Goodyear as spare, so that all running tyres are the same Bridgestones.

The Swift is now rid of the useless JKs, but both our A-Stars came with OE Vectras. Time will tell how they fare. Anyway I am not taking any JK tyre in future, even if given for free.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

...crappy JK Tyres Vectras...

Wow. Between just you and me that makes it... what?... at least TEN JK Vectra tyres that have disintegrated in a similarly unusual way. 3 of mine, 3 of my friend's (as detailed in the post above yours), and 4 of yours.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

And the saga with the crappy JK Tyres Vectras on our Swift continues - an update on the remaining 2 OE Vectras :

Since the tyre shop is on our way back, we stop and take out the spare to have it fixed. Only to see it has gone the way the other JKs had gone - as if someone had sliced it with a knife. Pic below.
The Swift is now rid of the useless JKs, but both our A-Stars came with OE Vectras. Time will tell how they fare. Anyway I am not taking any JK tyre in future, even if given for free.

Wow, looks like a bio-degradable tyre. JK should patent this and mark it as a green eco friendy tyre.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Both our A-Stars came with OE Vectras. Time will tell how they fare. Anyway I am not taking any JK tyre in future, even if given for free.

My A-Star Automatic is shod with JK and man what a pain they are from day one. The car is close to 2 years old having hardly done 8K kms and am so desperate to get rid of the JKs due to the shoddy ride they offer. More so, as I am used to Michelins in my Civic and Esteem. I wonder how on earth Maruti is using JK for their OE supplies.

EDIT: The only reason for me not to upgrade is that this is a car taken on company lease. If at the end of the lease period, (which is more than a year from now) I decide the buy back the car, then the first thing on my list is to get rid of the tyres.

[saket77]

My Zen came with JK Ultima XP as OE fitment. After covering ~14K kms, the tires had lost their grip on road and the wheels would get locked on slightly harder braking. Changed to Michelins XM1+ and there was a difference between night and day.

However, some people I know, particularly relatives who are a generation older to me would insist on JK tires even while changing the set (or whatever tires the car came with as OE fitment). Their logic is that the car manufacturer has chosen this tire for this particular car and hence it must be good. Little they know about the cost cutting to this extent. It is difficult to argue with this logic. I suggested a relative of mine to buy Michelins or Bridgestone for their 45-50K kms run Alto, but later came to know they opted for Ceat because the seller assured them that the set will last for at least 50K kms!

[SS-Traveller]

Photos of JK Vectra from my friend's Ritz...

[saket77]

^^The treads have come off like those of badly resoled tires! How many kms did these tires run before signing off?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by saket77

^^The treads have come off like those of badly resoled tires! How many kms did these tires run before signing off?

About 30,000 kilometres.

[condor]

rr_zen : EDIT: The only reason for me not to upgrade is that this is a car taken on company lease. If at the end of the lease period, I decide the buy back the car, ....

You can upgrade even now. You could just keep the original tyres there, or dispose/exchange them.

And any reason not to buy the car then ?