[jfxavier]

Hi Guys.
I wanted to get two of my 235/40R18 tyres renewed as one of them has developed a bulge on the sidewall.

Presently I have 2 nos. P Zero ZR and 2 nos. Contisport Contact 3.
One of the P Zero has developed a bulge.
Wonder which tyres are the best option considering poor road condition.
Dont want to replace only one tyre.

Looking forward to any advice/ suggestions.

[Nikhilb2008]

Just get whatever is available in that size.

You cant be too picky as options are very limited.

My preference would be the P Zeros as they have a great reputation. But CSC3s are also not bad.

[kingofmyworld]

You've got very limited choices. How about trying vredestein?
They have 2 options in your size. Drove an audi TT equipped with these and the tyres flared pretty well I must say. Worth giving them a shot.

Reference : http://www.vredestein.in/

[jfxavier]

Thanks for the quick response guys.
Will do some more search and narrow it down after that.

[bharatsomany]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Hi Guys.
I wanted to get two of my 235/40R18 tyres renewed as one of them has developed a bulge on the sidewall.

Presently I have 2 nos. P Zero ZR and 2 nos. Contisport Contact 3.
One of the P Zero has developed a bulge.
Wonder which tyres are the best option considering poor road condition.
Dont want to replace only one tyre.

Looking forward to any advice/ suggestions.

jfxavier,
I would strongly recommend the P Zeros. Although they are more susceptible to damage, they are most certainly better than the CSC3s on performance. I say this with own experience of having used both. The difference can best be told during hard cornering.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Just get whatever is available in that size.

You cant be too picky as options are very limited.

My preference would be the P Zeros as they have a great reputation. But CSC3s are also not bad.

Nikhilb2008 is correct but very parliamentary. There is honestly a noticeable difference and CSC3s would be a compromise.

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

You've got very limited choices. How about trying vredestein?
They have 2 options in your size. Drove an audi TT equipped with these and the tyres flared pretty well I must say. Worth giving them a shot.

Reference : http://www.vredestein.in/

kingofmyworld,
Seriously, Vredestien?
There are numerous complaints against the said tyres. Google it and you will certainly not recommend them. Here is a link to an Audi forum...

Audizine - Vredestein Tires Avoid at all costs

I do accept they could have improved, but I personally feel it is foolish to go for anything but the best and most trusted when it comes to tyres. After all, it could mean the difference between life and death. Cheaping out on tyres is like economising on the quality of one's food. Enough said.

[jfxavier]

Thanks Bharatsomany.
Where does Michelin fit in in all this?
Better than vredestien, close to Conti?

[bharatsomany]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Thanks Bharatsomany.
Where does Michelin fit in in all this?
Better than vredestien, close to Conti?

jfxavier,
Here is a ranking list, the way I see it:

Michelin Pilot Super Sport (NOT available in India, at-least legally).
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (Difficult to Source)
Pirelli P Zero
Yokohama Advan Sport v105 (VERY Difficult to Source)
Michelin Pilot Sport 3
Yokohama Advan Sport v103 (Wrong Load Rating?)
Continental SportContact 3 (Wrong Load Rating?)
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A (Pathetic Treadwear Rating, Wrong Load Rating?)

I am assuming that the correct load rating for Volvo is 95 and not 91. The short version is that an increase in load rating to the point that the correct inflation pressure is atleast 50% the max inflation pressure of the tyre is acceptable, but a decrease in load rating is NEVER recommended.
Hope I covered all the important stuff...

[jfxavier]

Thank you very much. Makes my research easier.

Originally Posted by bharatsomany

jfxavier,
Here is a ranking list, the way I see it:

Michelin Pilot Super Sport (NOT available in India, at-least legally).
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (Difficult to Source)
Pirelli P Zero
Yokohama Advan Sport v105 (VERY Difficult to Source)
Michelin Pilot Sport 3
Yokohama Advan Sport v103 (Wrong Load Rating?)
Continental SportContact 3 (Wrong Load Rating?)
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A (Pathetic Treadwear Rating, Wrong Load Rating?)

I am assuming that the correct load rating for Volvo is 95 and not 91. The short version is that an increase in load rating to the point that the correct inflation pressure is atleast 50% the max inflation pressure of the tyre is acceptable, but a decrease in load rating is NEVER recommended.
Hope I covered all the important stuff...

[jfxavier]

I owe you guys, especially the guys who advised me on the quality of various tyres an update on the tyres procurement for the T6. I got a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres from tirerack.com.
If anyone is interested in knowing the detailed story I can post it.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

I owe you guys, especially the guys who advised me on the quality of various tyres an update on the tyres procurement for the T6. I got a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres from tirerack.com.
If anyone is interested in knowing the detailed story I can post it.

We would be very interested in knowing the detailed story, the charges, etc. Please do update. Nice to see you have got one of the best (if not the best) set of tyres out there.

[jfxavier]

The pecking order on the tyres were clear from the responses that I got for my initial post. Michelin Pilot Super Sport was definitely one of the best options. Pzeros seemed to be more easily available. I located a pair of Pzeros for approx. Rs. 24500/- each. Michelin SS was turning out to be both elusive and expensive.
As two of the original Contisport C3s were renewed in between using Pzeros and now if I renew the same tyres again I felt that there would be a clear difference in the grip levels of the new ones and the old C3s.
Obviously the cost of changing all the tyres was a factor that I thought of, but I also remembered the post in tBHP about the tirecack.com purchase and import of Michelin Pilot Super Sport for a BMW which I had read some time ago. The cost had come down quite a bit through that route and I thought that it was something worth investigating. But the ever changing rules and requirements was of a concern. But I just thought that things should be getting better and not worse over time.
Got in touch with tirerack.com. They have a chat option in their website and I asked one of their sales reps. online about sending a set of tyres to India. He said that they do not send tyres to India and listed a few Asian countries to which they send. I thanked him for his time and it seemed like my choice had already been made for me. Pzeros it was going to be.
However I felt that I should post a query on their website about it as well, since I was already browsing through the site. I did post a query about a set of four Michelin Pilot Super Sports through the site and send an email on the contact address given and left it at that.
Next day I got a response both for my e-mail and the query. Apparently they did ship to India. I was interested in the proposal. I was to pay the customs duties etc. after clearance. The situation where the tyres were stuck with customs crossed my mind, but since the issue is only about the ISI mark on the tyres and not any real concern about the actual safety or quality standard of the Super Sports, I felt that any reasonable customs officer should clear it. That was the chance I had to take. Otherwise it meant that I had to spend more time and money to get it cleared.
Anyway, to cut the long story short I introduced my co-brother who is in USA to the tirerack "sales specialist" and the tyres were sent to my address. I could see that the tyres were sent in a couple of days as they had given me the tracking number for the courier. The courier company got in touch after a few days and got a KYC form, authorisation form and copies of various id & PAN documents sent to them for the clearance purpose. Now for me it was just to wait and watch what was happening through the courier tracking page.
It got me concerned a bit when I saw that tyres were waiting for clearance at the first entry point in India for a few days "Subject to regulatory review". Diwali happened in between and that could be the reason. I was getting a bit concerned but the courier site clearly said "No action required". Still gave a call to the call centre number and they did confirm that it will be released in a day or so and like they said it was observed on the site to be on the move again in two days time.
The local courier rep. contacted and told that a DD has to be made to their company for payment of duties etc. That was done the next day after they were informed that the DD was ready they delivered the tyres home and collected the DD.

[Akshay1234]

Thanks for that post. If you don't mind sharing what were the final costs paid by you including customs, etc.

[jfxavier]

The final cost for a Michelin Pilot Super Sport was less than what the dealers were asking for a Pirelli Pzero.
The expenses breakup is as below
Cost of a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sport 235/40R18 at tirerack.com = USD 188 x 4 = USD 752.
Cost of transporting tyres to India to my address = USD 462.35.
Total cost = USD 1214.35 = 1214.35 x 61.5 = Rs. 74682.
Duties paid to the courier company (by DD) = Rs. 22923.
Total expenses for 1 pc. Michelin Pilot Super Sport 235/40R18 = Rs.24401/-

[KingCheeese]

Hello guys!

i have a Volvo s60 as well and time has come to replace my 235/40 r18 tyres. the stock tyres given to me were Continental sportcontact 3. i've used them for about 30k kms and thankfully i've had no bad experience as such. but i do have a lot of torque steer so i was hoping to get new tyres that are rated for higher speeds to reduce the torque steer.

i noticed that the last post on this thread was posted on 2014 so i was hoping you guys could suggest some tyres for me.

i've contacted my local suppliers and they've mention the following options:
1) Pirelli P zeros
2) Michelin PS3
3) conti sportcontact 3

i was inclined towards the Pirellis but after reading this thread and finding out that they are more susceptible to damage i am in 2 minds. especially because these are low profile tires and our roads are horrible.

Another dealer mentioned that i switch to 245/45 r18 for the same rims. he mentioned that its better for our potholes filled roads but i am not too keen on changing the size as i feel like they might keep crashing in on the fenders on speed breakers.

please let me know your thoughts on this as well