[bharatsomany]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Bharat ---- The steering gets tighter when you increase the width of the tyres. Not when you only increase the height.

Secondly, even after going for wider tyres, the steering can become lighter. Why? Because the new tyre's rubber may be softer. Which means less friction with the road i.e less effort required to turn the steering wheel.

Nikhilb2008,
Agreed, width will certainly add to the steering effort but does not have as much of an effect as sidewall height. You'll be surprised how light the steering is with wide low-profile tyres.

Softer Tyre = Higher Friction = Harder Steering and vice versa.

Originally Posted by itzzme

Sorry, the steering effort required in case of a taller tyre would also be more.
And if newer tyres would have lesser coefficient of friction,the tyre would even grip lesser but that's not the case?

itzzme,
Certainly, taller sidewalls permit more rubber flex (twist), so a slight movement of the steering will be very light but it will need a greater amount of inertia to be countered beyond its twist angle so the steering will suddenly feel firm beyond a small movement.
There are lots of things in play, including the tread pattern, especially the width of the grooves and spacing of sipes on the side blocks, size & shape of contact patch, etc. but in essence you are correct in saying that low friction normally leads to poorer performance.

Originally Posted by automachine

I did check with few auto experts and they mentioned that as the tyres are new the tyre surface contact with road is less due to curvature of tyre and after later it would become better.

automachine,
This is not true. If the edge contact is very low it is simply due to excess inflation. The average tyre is in proper form with barley 50Km of driving assuming that it is of a recent production date. 200-300Km is all it takes for a tyre to be in its fully "run-in" state, so to speak.

[ivoidwarranty]

After reading through this discussions, I've ordered Earth-1 as an upgrade from tube to tubeless for my WagonR online from Snapdeal - 4x 155/65 R13 came to around 10.5K. Waiting for delivery!

Any tips while replacing it / afterwards?

[speedgun]

I have replaced stock JK tornado on my Ritz Vdi with Yokohama Earth-1 (165/80 R14). Have covered around 1200 km post replacement and I have to say its really VFM. Yoko-Earth1 offers decent grip as well brings a more aesthetic look to car.
Had bought it from Speed Tyes,Palarivattom,Kochi and paid around 3100 per tyre.

[Aston Singh]

Can anyone comment about the performance of Earth-1 on concrete roads? Are they too noisy?
How's the performance of the tyre after it heats up during long drives?

[allien936]

Check this thred - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modify...ml#post3588624
Tried the Earth 1 on skoda Fabia. They are really amazing. Wet grip is also pretty good as i tried it on NH 4 and mumbai-pune expressway during last week's unexpected heavy rain fall.
Rolling noise on concrete is there but not much noticeable.
Overall good set of tyres for indian roads.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Has anyone used Earth1 for more than 30k kms? I have Yoko AVS DB on my Punto and it was very impressive in the beginning- ultra low noise levels, good comfort and grip. But after about 25k kms- they have become noisy and rock hard.

Will be upgrading soon. And Earth1 is one of the options considered- although I don't have much faith in the brand now.

[Aston Singh]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

And Earth1 is one of the options considered- although I don't have much faith in the brand now.

Sir any reason for saying this? I am really confused between Michelin vs all other brands. Considering Earth 1 as well so any feedback would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by allien936

Check this thred - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modify...ml#post3588624
Tried the Earth 1 on skoda Fabia. They are really amazing. Wet grip is also pretty good as i tried it on NH 4 and mumbai-pune expressway during last week's unexpected heavy rain fall.
Rolling noise on concrete is there but not much noticeable.
Overall good set of tyres for indian roads.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess they are good value for money.

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[automachine]

Well I have finally decided to replace the earth-1 with OEM spec tyre for my etios-vd. Do not get me wrong as the tyres are probably good for anyone having OEM spec same as offered in this range ( I have 185/65R15 whereas my OEM spec is 185/60R15). However in my case I could not live with the lateral movement especially the change in feedback and grip felt when changing lanes quickly on highway makes me nervous. This experience was quite different than my original bridgestone er-300. I think the increase in sidewall from 60 to 65 is not suitable for my car atleast and I have therefore decided to move to OEM spec. For anyone needing the tyres I have put it on sale here: http://olx.in/item/oveyokohama-earth...d-IDTId0D.html.

[WasavaTyres]

Yokohama Earth-1 has been launched in 185/60/R15 size last month. You could go back to the dealer you bought your set of 185/65/R15 from and check if he's willing to do a decent buyback.

[automachine]

@WasavaTyres. Thank you and good to hear Yoko has my OEM spec tyre. I took the car to the tyre dealer 'checkpoint' and reported him about the poor steering feedback and loss of tyre grip at some higher speeds. They took a test drive and reported that tyres are all fine and suggested that probably my suspensions are worn out.

Not satisfied with them I then took my car to another tyre dealer 'Maniar Tyres' and got the alignment/balancing and tyre rotation done. Now this has resulted in drastic changes to my steering feedback issues and now the car feels more planted on roads and better steering response. So I can now say that the tyres are not at fault and the loss of steering feedback and tyre road grip was probably due to poor alignment done when I changed tyre. Could anyone comment how this could happen and also should I get my suspension checked?

[lone_driver]

Originally Posted by apurvapg

Exchanged the stock MRF ZVTV's straight and got the Earth 1' 185/65 R15 for my new Swift ZDi.

Initial impressions are very good. This tyre is very comfortable, the grip is good and the centre steel rim makes the handling feel well directed. The road noise is as good as gone and grip levels have definitely improved.

Overall would recommend these over XM2's for now.

How are the tyres performing on the zdi ? I have clocked 49500 on the stock mrf and looking for a tyre change soon !

[coolboy007]

Since i could not find a proper S drive thread am posting it here. Buying 205/55 r15 S drives for my Vento and have 2 options. Can either buy Aug 2014 stock made in Japan/Phillipines (cost 5500/ tyre) or Jan 2015 stock which is made in India from their new plant in Bahadurgarh (5600/tyre)

What should i go for? Made in India tyres are latest but worried if the quality would be similar since most tyres which get a made in india stamp are made more harder.

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Since i could not find a proper S drive thread am posting it here. Buying 205/55 r15 S drives for my Vento and have 2 options. Can either buy Aug 2014 stock made in Japan/Phillipines (cost 5500/ tyre) or Jan 2015 stock which is made in India from their new plant in Bahadurgarh (5600/tyre)

What should i go for? Made in India tyres are latest but worried if the quality would be similar since most tyres which get a made in india stamp are made more harder.

Comparing A-Drives from Philippines to Earth1 from Made in India, I See no quality issue! Earth1 are seems to be good tyres. So I do not think that Made in India means Inferior in anyway. I would still go with recent tyres to that of Made in Japan!

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

Comparing A-Drives from Philippines to Earth1 from Made in India, I See no quality issue! Earth1 are seems to be good tyres. So I do not think that Made in India means Inferior in anyway. I would still go with recent tyres to that of Made in Japan!

Thanks, the Earth 1 were designed for India and so manufactured in India itself while S drive AS01 is their high performance series.
Will go for the latest made in India S drives and report about the tyres later.

[adityasiera]

Originally Posted by automachine

I checked with the tyre shop and they asked me to put in the same air pressure of 32psi as it was with stock tyre. Also I have noticed the ride is now getting better with less lateral movement during quick steering. I had a long highway trip and I can say the road grip is good and even during hard brake the car does not skid or let the ABS kick in early. So overall I am happy with the purchase even though I would stick to stock ratings next time.

I agree. I have upgraded my stock Brio GoodYear tyres to 185/60R14, and with the manufacturer recommended pressures, this tyre is silent, cushy, grippier across both gravel, concrete and tarmac.

If you bump the PSI even by 1, it does start to get bouncy though.