Team-BHP - Ford EcoSport Facelift: Tyre bulging issue (R17 size)

Hi

I own a tyre store in Vijayawada and i have replaced 205/50R17 Tyres for 2 ecosport customers as of now ! One was Bridgestone and the other one was Apollo ! Both had tyre bursts / bulges due to high speed impact !

Both customers were frustrated to bear the cost of bridgestone ecopia tyre which is in the range of 9,000/- ! They were also complaining of lack of response from Ford !

I think the fault is not in the tyre quality but in the tyre size ! For the benefit of Ecosport owners I think it would be best for FORD to change the tyre size at the soonest !

Quote:

Originally Posted by aseemjuneja86 (Post 4359128)

I think the fault is not in the tyre quality but in the tyre size ! For the benefit of Ecosport owners I think it would be best for FORD to change the tyre size at the soonest !

Sir, which tyre size would you recommend on the 17" wheels in place of 205/50? And which brand would be preferable? Usage is mostly city and highways with occasional broken roads.

Here is a recent and of course funny conversation that a friend Mr. Markose had with someone from Ford, regarding the 17 inchers on his car:

Quote:

My recent conversation with the customer care lady:

CC: Hello sir,

Me: Yes Madam

CC: Sir there is some update regarding your complaint registered with us regarding your low profile tyre.

Me: Great, hats off to you Ford, you are very fast and prompt in follow up of customer complaints.

CC: Yes sir, we, at Ford are always committed to be with the customer as we are a customer-oriented company.

Me: Ok Madam, now tell me what is the recent update? I hope you are going to replace my 5 tyres and rim with the 205/60/16 tyres.

CC: Sir, sir.. what did you say 205/60.....16 tyres? I didn’t get you. I have not heard of this company?

Me: Madam, this is not the company name, it’s the size of the Titanium varient tyre I am talking about.

CC: Ok...ok..., sir I had discussed your case with our internal technical team and they confirmed that you can change the tyre either with MRF or Michelin as per your satisfaction.

Me: Really, very nice to hear that. I never thought that Ford will resolve my issue within such a short period!!! So what is the further procedure?

CC: Simple sir.... go to the nearby tyre shop and purchase 5 new tyres as per your choice

Me: Payment?

CC: Sorry sir, Payment you have to arrange your own and we are only giving you some suggestions.

Me: Really???

CC: Yes sir, my internal team instructed me to close your case as early as possible and that’s why I called you. They are telling that new Ecosport is designed such a way that the 17 inch tyre only will be suitable for the Titanium Plus varient. Nothing can be done in this regard sir.

Me: Speechless

CC: Sir Can I close this case sir?

Me: Still unable to speak from this shock

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008 (Post 4359192)

The old Ecosport came with 205/60-16 tyres and if there hasnt been a major change in suspension, the correct upsize would be 225/50-17. These are very nice, high profile tyres and should be far stronger on our roads.

The lower variants still come with R16 high profile tyres. Its only the Titanium+ that's now shod with 205/50 R17. And the suspension has also been made slightly softer. So 225/50 R17 might scrape the wheel wells while turning with full load

One aspect of changing from say 205 to 225 is that the wider tyres are going to need more steering effort. While friction is theoretically the same irrespective of the contact area (physics?), the real world truth is that wider tyres = more steering effort.

I have never driven a Ford, and have no idea about the ease of turning the steering / wheel. However, a perceptible difference exists between 255 and 235 in the steering effort required.

In case it is useful, the CRV fits a Michelin 225 tyre on the 17 inch rimes and works very well

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008 (Post 4359192)

If 205/50-17 to 225/50-17 doesn't touch anywhere this is indeed a good option.

Correct me if I am wrong but Michelin has P3ST in 215/55-17 as well. Which should also work well.

Apollo has 215/60-17 Apterra HP which might be a little too big in OD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 4359226)

If 205/50-17 to 225/50-17 doesn't touch anywhere this is indeed a good option.
Correct me if I am wrong but Michelin has P3ST in 215/55-17 as well. Which should also work well.
Apollo has 215/60-17 Apterra HP which might be a little too big in OD.

3 out of 4 brands in this post are known good - and certainly more premium than the JK / MRF / Apollo type tyres.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...ml#post4359190

Quote:

Originally Posted by hserus (Post 4359254)

3 out of 4 brands in this post are known good - and certainly more premium than the JK / MRF / Apollo type tyres.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...ml#post4359190

Agreed but 215/50-17 is a very small improvement over the stock 205/50-17.

The ideal option for someone would be to try 215/55-17 imo. The reason is these are closest to the stock 16" (205/60-16).

As Nikhil mentioned 225/50-17 is the closest in OD but the 205 to 225 is 2 sizes up in contact area and for a 100BHP diesel or a 120BHP petrol 225 is not really needed.

The other advantage of the 215/55 is the sidewall height is closest to the 205/60 which means you will similar ride comfort.

I prefer to see overall diameter over circumference as that figure gives a better picture on whether something will touch.

Disclaimer: 215/55-17 should be tried out first to ensure enough clearance before anyone actually goes for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 4359266)

As Nikhil mentioned 225/50-17 is the closest in OD but the 205 to 225 is 2 sizes up in contact area and for a 100BHP diesel or a 120BHP petrol 225 is not really needed.

Disclaimer: 215/55-17 should be tried out first to ensure enough clearance before anyone actually goes for it.

Correct. The thing is, with 215/55 there's an under 2% difference from the original tire - which means you don't end up either scraping the wheel walls or recalibrating the speedometer.

The other alternative would be to downgrade to 16 inch alloys and find an appropriate tire upsize - but that's extremely expensive as propositions go. And might / might not make sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by antony.henry (Post 4359303)

The thread started with 2 questions. one was about the tyre and 2nd was on "petrol engine running out of power / steam". I didn't see any reply to this, nor could i find another thread talking about this. is it safe to assume it was an edge case and the engine in most of the rest is running smooth.

Plenty of threads about petrol being blended with Ethanol. Now - if water gets into the petrol tank (eg: during a water wash or due to the storage tanks letting water in) - because ethanol is, to use a chemical term, hygroscopic, it attracts water .. then you get water in the fuel tank, and then your engine might stall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hserus (Post 4359317)

Petrol being blended with Ethanol? In India? :eek:
Since when has it been rolled out?
Or did you mean to say that this kind of adulteration is happening these days?