Re: Renault Duster & Nissan Terrano : Wheel & Tyre Upgrade I want to share my tyre replacement (not upgrade) experience from about a year back. It was all very abrupt and unplanned. Ever since, I've been trying to assess the 'could', 'should', and 'what-if'.
We prepped for our drive from Bangalore to Calcutta in early April 2022. The 2016 Duster got its service done towards the end of March from Renault Whitefield. I mentioned to the SA, a long journey was coming up, and specifically requested him to take a look at the tyre condition and advise. He gave an all clear, offered the RSA pack, which I gladly took. Test drove the car, and all seemed fine. Within a week, we set off. Was careful to get the tyre pressure set as prescribed for loaded vehicle.
My personal driving comfort-zone is between the 90 to 110 kmph on divided highways. On day 1, enroute Vijayawada, however, those sections leading to Tirupati were too inviting to push a little harder. But at just under 130 kmph I felt extreme vibrations, up the steering too. This was new for me. The car has always handled 130 kmph admirably well. The speed needed to reduce anyway after those sections, and I didn't want to risk it. Stage 2, enroute Vizag, I felt those shudders again, but this time - I don't know if my mind played tricks on me - just above 110 kmph. All this while I didn't suspect the tyres could be problematic. But upon reaching our hotel for the night on the outskirts of Vizag, when I inspected the tyres closely, noticed cracks on the sidewall. All four of them. Immediately decided to extend our stay by a day, took the car to the nearest MRF showroom (Utham Tyres, Srinivasa Nagar, Vizag). The owner/manager advised immediate replacement - stock MRF Wanderer Sport. Cost me around 50k, and could immediately feel the difference. Rest of the way, and until this day, all's been smooth. No vibrations at 120+ kmph speeds.
What bothers me is that at the time of this replacement, the Duster had run just under 25k KMs. in about 5-and-a-half year, with periodic maintenances (mostly) on time. Tyres typically maintained at 29/30 PSI, treads in great condition still. How suddenly did the sidewall cracks develop? My theory is, the was driven very less over the previous two years. Covid is to be blamed - first the lockdown enforced WFH, company taking remote-first approach, overall decline in numbers and distances of roadtrips. Prolonged unuse causes tyre wear, I understand? Was the replacement premature? Was it even the tyres? What if, I didn't push it to 120+ kmph speeds to feel the vibrations, could it have been dangerous? Assuming the Renault SA, did inspect the tyres per my request and found nothing unusual, and the interim period of about one week saw little to no driving, then the cracks would have happened during the drive to Vijayawada - and that would be an abrupt degradation?
Unfortunately, I no longer have pics of the tyre conditions then, but they didn't look too alarming either.
Members' thoughts/advise would be immensely welcome. |