[VKumar]

Dear members, I have booked a Trend 1.5 Dragon Ti-VCT and the delivery of the car is on 17th Feb (It's already billed today), now I was surfing through the internet, and discovered that some owners have reported the issues with:
1) The petrol engine running out of power / steam
2) 17 inch rims causing tyre damage

Second one is irrelevant for me, but I want to know if any Ecosport petrol owner over the forum ever faced any issue like the engine lights and the vehicle stalling? I had a word with an owner and he seems to be very much frustrated over the fact that his Ecosport petrol isn't just right and is giving issues after issues. The vehicle already had a wiring harness change and is still giving him stalling problems.

Additionally, a decent number of people have complained about sidewall fracture on the cars with 17 inch rims, I understand that it all boils down to the tyre pressure, but if I am not wrong then Toyota also shifted from 17 inchers to 16 inchers on the Innova crysta due to similar kind of issues.

[VKumar]

Got these pictures over whatsapp, I guess we already have a case of tyre failure on the 17 inch rims here in this thread too. I don;t understand why Ford went for 17 inchers for Indian road conditions or they are waiting for something like the Firestone fiasco before sitting up and acting on this issue:

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Got these pictures over whatsapp, I guess we already have a case of tyre failure on the 17 inch rims here in this thread too. I don;t understand why Ford went for 17 inchers for Indian road conditions or they are waiting for something like the Firestone fiasco before sitting up and acting on this issue:

Attachment 1730768

Attachment 1730769

The alloys in that pic have hit something as can be seen from the deep scratches on the rim. Not much can be done in that case.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The alloys in that pic have hit something as can be seen from the deep scratches on the rim. Not much can be done in that case.

Aha, thanks for your observation Viddy, things are a bit clear now.
But I have taken a hit on my VW Polo highline rim too and although there came a bubble, but nothing was close to the one seen here, please do enlighten.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Got these pictures over whatsapp, I guess we already have a case of tyre failure on the 17 inch rims here in this thread too. I don;t understand why Ford went for 17 inchers for Indian road conditions or they are waiting for something like the Firestone fiasco before sitting up and acting on this issue

Yes, read about this in the Facebook EcoSquads group where the owner had posted these. He had already driven 4k kms and this happened. Around 10 owners in that group have faced issues with the 17" tyres. Seems like an issue with the Bridgestone Ecopia.

[suku_patel_22]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The alloys in that pic have hit something as can be seen from the deep scratches on the rim. Not much can be done in that case.

Wouldn't a higher profile tyre helped here?

The 205/60R16 has a 2.39% larger circumference over 205/50R17.

Ford coulld easily have gone with 205/55R17 which would have had a 0.75% larger circumference with minimal sidewall impact.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by suku_patel_22

Wouldn't a higher profile tyre helped here?

The 205/60R16 has a 2.39% larger circumference over 205/50R17.

Ford coulld easily have gone with 205/55R17 which would have had a 0.75% larger circumference with minimal sidewall impact.

Higher profile might have helped. Can't really say as it depends on the impact.

205/55-17 is not available as far as i know. Very rare size. As you go up in rim size you lose high profile tyres.

[suku_patel_22]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Higher profile might have helped. Can't really say as it depends on the impact.

205/55-17 is not available as far as i know. Very rare size. As you go up in rim size you lose high profile tyres.

Even the 205/50R17 is rare. Nothing apart from Bridgestone Ecopia is available in India.

What precautions and care should we take with these low profile tyres?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by suku_patel_22

Even the 205/50R17 is rare. Nothing apart from Bridgestone Ecopia is available in India.

What precautions and care should we take with these low profile tyres?

YEah looks like Ecopia is the only choice in that size.

Only advice is drive slow on bad roads and avoid hitting sharp stones. Perhaps reduce the pressure by 2psi than recommended.

[suku_patel_22]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Reducing it very low will be a higher risk however 2psi lesser will help as it will allow some flex on impact. Same reason why high pressure results in bouncy ride whereas ride gets soft with slight low pressure.

The manual says 30 PSI in all tyres for normal load, and 35 and 41 PSI for front and rear tyres respectively.

While 30 seems okay to me, 41 is just insane.

Would 32 in all be a good bet?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by suku_patel_22

The manual says 30 PSI in all tyres for normal load, and 35 and 41 PSI for front and rear tyres respectively.

While 30 seems okay to me, 41 is just insane.

Would 32 in all be a good bet?

Yup. 30-32 is perfect! 35 and 41 is asking for these tyre bulges.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by suku_patel_22

The manual says 30 PSI in all tyres for normal load, and 35 and 41 PSI for front and rear tyres respectively.

35 will be my bet, this is in fact my favorite tyre pressure and I fill this only - always, it always gives em the best compromise between all the factors.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Yup. 30-32 is perfect! 35 and 41 is asking for these tyre bulges.

My suggestion will be start opposite, 30-32 psi means sure shot damage in case of the 17 inchers. You hit a pothole or stone hard and the damage is guaranteed. It's more like, the inflation in the tyre / the air inside works more as a cushion too and helps spread the impact in a wider area - lesser the air, severe will be the impact on the wheel rims. Ehh, let me check if I can design a rim or get one from anywhere, get rubber info and conduct a small finite element analysis to prove my point.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Yes, read about this in the Facebook EcoSquads group where the owner had posted these. He had already driven 4k kms and this happened. Around 10 owners in that group have faced issues with the 17" tyres. Seems like an issue with the Bridgestone Ecopia.

Whoa!! 10 owners reporting one such issue in a small Facebook group has potential to raise eyebrows. If I go by guesstimate method, then:
Number of members in the group - 5000 ( a big group)
Number of new Ecosport owners - 1500 (it's a new product and many people don't use Facebook)
Let's be a bit optimistic and take that 33.33% of the new Ecosport owners have gone for the Titanium+ trim - that makes 500 owners.

Out of 500 owners, if 10 are facing this issue - that makes it 2%, which is too far from what should be acceptable, ideal we shouldn't even bother to talk about.

IMO Ford needs to take a note of the problem and try to reach a viable solution.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The alloys in that pic have hit something as can be seen from the deep scratches on the rim. Not much can be done in that case.

After reading about this discussion on this thread, the owner has reported in Facebook that he had washed the wheels and the water droplets are making it look like scratches from some angles. He has posted another close-up pic as well to clarify.

He has also reported that he went to the dealership and it seems like this issue has finally got Ford's attention. The dealership has received mail from Ford about this and they'll be replacing the tyres after verifying with Ford. Awaiting further updates.

Originally Posted by VKumar

Whoa!! 10 owners reporting one such issue in a small Facebook group has potential to raise eyebrows. If I go by guesstimate method, then:
Number of members in the group - 5000 ( a big group)

IMO Ford needs to take a note of the problem and try to reach a viable solution.

The group has 557 members as of now. It seems Ford is aware of this issue and might take some action. Have to wait and see.

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Higher profile might have helped. Can't really say as it depends on the impact.

205/55-17 is not available as far as i know. Very rare size. As you go up in rim size you lose high profile tyres.

Originally Posted by suku_patel_22

Even the 205/50R17 is rare. Nothing apart from Bridgestone Ecopia is available in India.

What precautions and care should we take with these low profile tyres?

I just had a word with a Yokohama dealer regarding the 205/50/R17 replacement. I wanted to swap these tyres on getting delivery of our T+AT.
He mentioned that as there is only the EcoSport having this size, the resale value is very less Rs. 500 - 1000 per tyre, he also advised me to use them and look for a replacement thereafter