Just got Yohokahama Earth 1 165/80/R14 installed on my Maruti Swift Vxi this morning. Had an amazing experience purchasing these tires online, so wanted to share.
Background:
I bought a pre-owned Swift recently and it had done ~32K+ Kms on stock MRF ZV2Ks in last 6 years. Although the tire treads were still good, the rubber had aged and there were cracks on all the 4 tires. I was facing regular pressure drop and had to refill air everytime I took the car out. I recently went on a week-long road trip to Gujarat and did ~3500km in the round trip. I lost one of the tires on the first day itself and the spare too had ~11 puncture (around side wall as well). I made up my mind that I will change the tires soon after reaching back Pune (somehow I managed to complete the trip).
I read various reviews for Michelin Energy XM2 and Yokohama Earth-1 and finally decided to go with Yokohama based on all the discussion on this thread (Yes! Yokos felt more value for money to me. Also, I'm a fairly new driver so I don't think I would have been able to appreciate the VFM on Michelin XM2s as they are more susceptible to wear, given the conditions I drive in).
The Buying Process:
I reached out to various dealers in Kharadi/Viman Nagar/Wagholi areas in Pune and got the following quotes:
Poona Tyres Wagholi = 3350/-
Darshan Tyres Viman Nagar = 3250/-
Other nearby dealers I contacted to didn't stock Yokohamas. I also got quotes for Bridgestone and Michelin, but they were expensive for my budget. I also wanted to get balancing and alignment done, but Poona tires didn't have alignment facility and Darshan Tyres was charging ~800-1000 Rs. extra. I finally decided to check online for the cost of these tires and services.
I was hesitant to order the tires online initially because I was very skeptical of the vendor quality and delivery services. But then, I came across a great deal on Amazon (cost details to follow). I dropped an email to the dealer (WHEELS LOVER STOPPAGE) to inquire about the latest stock availability and got a reply within 15 mins from the owner (VARUN AGARWAL). I also asked him some follow-up questions regarding warranty, delivery services etc. and overall the dealer was very responsive. He also offered to give me complementary valves and shared his personal contact details with me for any warranty related help.
Finally I placed the order through Amazon. Got the delivery within 4 days (earlier than estimated time as shown on Amazon). And finally got the tires fitted today
Order Details:
I got the tyre for Rs. 2844/- and the delivery charge was Rs. 350/- extra
Total Cost: 2844x4 + 350 = 11726/-
Installation
For installation as well, I got quotes from different dealers. I found Kings Tyre Viman Nagar to be most reasonable for a complete package of installation (with nitrogen filling in all 5 tires)+balancing+ alignment. It costed me a total of Rs.800 and I got Rs.300 as buy back for my old tires (3 tires were in okay condition and 1 of the tyres was bent from the centre). I found the servicemen to be very professional and also got the alignment report (Kings Tyre have Hawkeye alignment system).
Total Damage:
11726 + 800 - 300 =
12226/-
Overall, I am pretty happy with the experience and the cost at which I got the tires installed. I don't think I would have gotten a better experience at any of the dealerships around Pune at this cost. I would really recommend this dealer on Amazon if anyone wants to purchase Yokohama tires.
Post Installation Experience:
I drove for only 20kms after getting the installation done today, but I can feel a significant difference in ride quality. The steering wheels feels really light and tire noise is very low. Overall I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Will update on performance after I complete a significant mileage.
Some pics for my order:
[IMG]C:\Users\rc5000\Desktop\Tires\IMG_20180214_0917529 50.JPG[/IMG]
The order came packed well in the nylon sack
[IMG]C:\Users\rc5000\Desktop\Tires\IMG_20180214_0932096 08.jpg[/IMG]
Tyres were latest stock (5117)
[IMG]C:\Users\rc5000\Desktop\Tires\IMG_20180214_0938472 95.jpg[/IMG]
Complementary valves