Here is an anecdote. A bit long winded but it involves Perfinzas.
I encountered a bad tyre sidewall cut in early May because of some construction debris on the road, on my Michelin Pilot Sports 4 - 205/55/16 which I’ve been using on my Cooper since Sep 2020.
Since Michelins are generally very hard to come by, especially in rim size 16 because of the GOI embargo on all imported tyres below 17 inch rim size, while putting in a request to Madhu’s for help, I had also made some backup arrangements with my friend from MRF, for a set of 4 Perfinzas in 205/55/16.
Because as per all the feedback I have read as well as recommendations from various friends who use Perfinzas, these are a very worthy replacement for Michelins.
As it happened Madhu’s were able to get me 2 Michelins of the size I needed so I was able to replace my torn tyre and keep the intact old one as an additional spare. In fact when I had bought these Michelins in 2020 there was a tyre insurance scheme for which I had signed up. And this scheme ensured that I got nearly full compensation for the damaged Michelin. Sadly this tyre insurance scheme no longer exists.
In all of this I suddenly found myself the owner of a set of 4 Perfinzas too and in the same size 205/55/16. These were manufactured in week 39 of 2021. And they felt soft and pliant to the touch. I picked them up from Sapthagiri Tyres (special delivery) in Chamrajpet one Saturday morning in May.
I then rang my Dad in Madras and told him I ll give him the Perfinzas and we can change out his Yokohama Earth tyres on his Glanza.
Incidentally the Glanza was bought in 2019 June. And as soon as we bought it we changed the OEM 195/55/16 Apollo Alnacs immediately to Yokohama Earth 1 205/55/16. We got a decent value of Rs 14000 for the Apollos and paid 10000 to get the Yokos. So the Yokos were in great shape having done only 12000kms in 3 years.
So I loaded the brand new Perfinzas into my Gypsy, asked my Dad to drive down to Vellore and meet me halfway so that I could trans-ship the Perfinzas into his car for him to use. We did that and the next day he fitted up the Perfinzas and gave the 4 Yokos to a tyre dealer for Rs. 8000/-.
(Incidentally even my Gypsy runs on Stock OEM Spec F78-15 MRF Estate Cross Ply Nylon Tyres - only MRF and CEAT make this size and type of tyre and generally these are only available in rural markets - so here also my friend from MRF came to my rescue and I picked these tyres up locally (special delivery) in HSR Layout at Grand Tyres)
A couple weeks later he drove down to Bangalore from Madras on his new Perfinzas. And pronounced these tyres of a high quality in terms of feel, pliant ride, greatly reduced road noise, greater grip around sweeping curves and definitely better braking as well, owing to their softer compound and performance oriented tread. He had mentioned the same feedback after driving a few days in the city too.
My first experience with these Perfinzas tyres was last Friday afternoon, when I drove his car on the NICE road to visit IKEA and again when we drove his car for a joyride to Halli Mane Restaurant on the BLR- Hassan Road last Saturday morning for breakfast.
There is absolutely no doubt that these Perfinzas are very very good tyres. They will be a worthy replacement for the Cooper, when my Michelins either wear out or age.
I am really happy that MRF is addressing the softer more pliant performance tyre market in this manner.
So in conclusion, basis my own experience above, I d say don’t stress too much. Get those Perfinzas. They are better than the Yokos.
Quote:
Originally Posted by madhav I'm trying to get the Perfinza's and the dealers in Bangalore seem to have stock which is 34th or 36th week of 2021. That's almost 10-month-old tyres!!
All of them are saying no production of Perfinza in 2022, and they also end up saying that the Perfinza's are fast-moving. This is completely counterintuitive to the claim that no production for a fast-moving product.
At this price point, the Yoko's seem to be the best alternative, but I'm not convinced.
Are 10-month-old Perfinza tyres worth it? |