[Sheel]

MRF is ahead of Ceat and for sure above JK Tires. Who all remember Yamaha R15 [V1 launched in 2008]. The tires were leeches. Haven't seen anything like that from other indigenous manufacturers.

Then we have Perfinza, Wanderer series. Apollo too has decent tires. Alnac 4G is not one of them. Few friends have praised JK Elanzo, but apart from that, no one has praised JK [save for value conscious buyers].

[haneeshN]

I think the main reason is the dealers' willingness to promote a brand. Still majority of the consumers are uninformed and they mostly go with the suggestion of the dealer who stock multiple brands.

The dealer will be inclined to promote a brand which gives them more margin and incentives. From the earlier responses it seems to be clear that MRF manages the dealers professionally and also compensate them well. This inturn will motivate the dealers to convince a customer to buy MRF though they might have considered ceat as an option.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Has anybody noticed that CEAT has quietly dropped their 'Born Tough' tagline in ads?

I for one loved that tagline and the rhino. The latter probably cause I was around 10 years old.

I don't recall what the tyre was but I believe it was a Ceat radial that my dad fitted to our Ambassador in the 90's. It had tiny little "Z" pattern and not a deep thread. It was awesome. Obviously; we fitted it only at the rear cause who really cared about grip and comfort at the front. Radial at the back and some cheap nylon stuff up front. Made a world of a difference to the ride and NVH as a result of the tires not whining like the nylon ones. These tyre's also made the car look like it was sitting lower than it really was owing to the appearance that they always appeared under inflated. It made our Ambassador look pretty slick when viewed from the rear.

Fond memories of this once iconic tyre brand.

[su1978]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

A small example: As a tyre dealer, we get cases on a daily basis of damaged tyres(sidewall cuts, bulges, etc etc). We submit the cases to the tyre company. Sometimes the company obliges and gives a discount to the consumer on a goodwill basis. We then install a new tyre on the consumer's car and it's done. However, we are compensated the discounted amount by the company by way of credit notes sometimes.

There are schemes occasionally and again, we are compensated through credit notes.

With MRF, there is NO reason to ever check. The credit notes just come automatically. With most other companies, we have to keep an eagle out and ensure we get what we are owed. Not with MRF.

These are just some of the reasons MRF is ruling and other companies find it hard to dislodge them from their perch.

Mate, i just simply beg to differ. i stay in NCR region and unfortunately my Honda city i-vtec run on MRF ZVTF tubeless radials. My brother drives it and i will frankly admit that he is a bad driver and does not care much. Every 2-3 months his tyres suffer a sidewall cut. But the dealers here have always clearly refused the replacement. Whereas on other side, the tyres on my Ritz VDI are JK tornadoes. When they suffered a sidewall cut, the dealer was very prompt in offering me a replacement with very minimal differential. So when the OEM tyres-Bridgestones on my Mobilio i-Dtec gave way, i got JK-UX1-Royale and they are wonderful. Even though these are up-sized tyres than the Bridgestones but still they have lesser noise than the Bridgestones and offer much better road grip and are much smoother as well. They are cheaper too. Bridgestone Ecopias cost 5300 per tyres and the JK-UX1-Royale cost me 4500 per tyre.

So next time it is only JK for me.

[techn0l0gist]

Some time back, I was trying to buy Ceat GRIPP 185/60R14, i could not find those anywhere, the ceat dealer coudn't source it even after 2 weeks.I ended up buying apollo alnac 4g which were readily available. Probably Ceat doesn't have a proper supply chain in place to add to their woes!

[maverick.munish]

From a consumer perspective having used a few of the tyre brands, I can confidently say that CEAT is never one anyone's top of the list choice. They are selling as 4th or 5th choices in Tier 1 cities and as 2nd or 3rd choices especially in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities wherein the volumes are low and the options are limited.

From my experience, given a choice to rate tyres on parameters such as "affordable" and "available", the ranking would be as below:
1. Bridgestone >> Excellent tread options and minimum wear and tear
2. Apollo >> Multiple options and price ranges
3. Michelin >> The best tread but availability in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities is an issue
4. MRF >> Availability excellent
5. JK >> Availability is good but tyre noise is an issue
6. CEAT >> If only none of the above are available, do I even have any other option


As far as the face off between MRF and CEAT is concerned, the brand ambassadors of both the brands says a lot about them.

MRF --> Sachin, Virat, Lara, Steve Waugh, AB DeVilliers, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir

CEAT --> Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane

[NiInJa]

Ceat might not be leading in passenger vehicles and motorcycles, but it has a some share (very small) in trucks and commercial vehicles. So financially they are doing good or great for now, depending on how you look at it.

Interesting, look at the PAT and EBITDA numbers of Ceat !

https://www.hdfcbank.com/assets/pdf/...e_Auto_Anc.pdf

I worked in RPG group's IT company and I can tell you for sure that they are not risk takers and like to play safe and are averse to experiments. That does not mean they are not good at what they do. Maybe the same philosophy is applied to their tyre business ? I dont know

Fun fact: Rohit Sharma was once endorsing MRF before moving to Ceat !

[MaheshY1]

I'm no expert in tires. But, I occasionally ride off-road on my bike.

I do 90% on-road, 10% off-road but wanted something a bit more aggressive, like 70-30. For that purpose, I haven't yet found something that can match the decent road-worthy behavior and the outstanding off-road manners of the CEAT GRIPP/GRIPP XL. At least not at the Gripp's price point.

I loved this tire so much that my Activa's rear has it. My Navi has it front + back. My Impulse has it (obviously - it's the OEM spec.)

RE also chose the Gripp XL for the Himalayan. Most likely, the Xpulse will also pick it for the carb version while the FI could retain the Metzelers shown on the Expo display unit.

Internationally, only Kenda can rival the Gripp in all areas but we don't have it here. And, importing makes it almost as expensive as the Pirelli Scorpions.

The only drawback I see is that I can't find them in tubeless format. That way, I can install the Tubliss kit in the Impulse and not worry about tubes and nasty punctures.

I can't tell how much I miss the tubeless-ness of the Gripp. Just yesterday I lost the rear of my Navi while riding on the highway at 70km/h. It went flat with no warning whatsoever. Thankfully, the drivers behind me were attentive and slowed down immediately after seeing me fishtail across the three lanes. I walked away with negligible bruises and rash on my calf from the footpegs.

Still, they're so good off-road that I can't afford to replace them with anything else. You might think that I'm compromising safety for fun, but my village roads are sandy and gravely. Plus, you never know when you might run into loose gravel or stagnant water.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by swissknife

Recently, I had seen an advertisement for CEAT tyres that said that it could run for 1 Lakh Kilometers!! Now. that seems like an extremely hard tyre compound.

They seem to be way behind the times. Maybe such a sales pitch will still appeal to some rural folks, but not to the urban market.

[satishv1987]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

On the contrary, I hear that RE Himalyan owners are not at all happy with the CEAT tyres that come as standard with the bike. Lots of complaints and unresolved issues!

Agree.The CEATS on my Himalayan are decent but not very confidence inspiring.I have to be doubly cautious around fast corners.

[rohing]

My RE Himilayan has it and it has NOT been confidence inspiring.

The bike skids around quite a bit especially if you are riding hard and in not so great conditions. You have to be really really right in getting your front-back brake balance else you rear will shift. Also, in not so dry conditions, the grip is quite scary

The only place where I find it acceptable is offroad.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by MaheshY1

I'm no expert in tires. But, I occasionally ride off-road on my bike.

I do 90% on-road, 10% off-road but wanted something a bit more aggressive, like 70-30. For that purpose, I haven't yet found something that can match the decent road-worthy behavior and the outstanding off-road manners of the CEAT GRIPP/GRIPP XL. At least not at the Gripp's price point

True about the CEAT Gripp, the off-road tractability is something to write home about, the tarmac grip is also decent and leagues better than what the MRF's of the same cadre offer, the MoGrip's are absolutely pathetic when it comes to performance on tarmac.

As for tube blasts, the only feasible means to counter the issue is by periodically replacing the tubes, no other go. But I'd still prefer a tube to tubeless simply because they hold air better in less than ideal conditions, same goes to dealing with punctures in less than ideal conditions.

[MaheshY1]

Originally Posted by MaheshY1

Just yesterday I lost the rear of my Navi while riding on the highway at 70km/h. It went flat with no warning whatsoever.

Update: Lost another tube yesterday. A 2inch X 1/4 inch piece of iron pierced through. I removed it before taking it to the puncture wala but the valve ripped due to the dragging and fishtailing for 300m.

I think I'll move to the tubeless TVS Jumbo GT for the rear if I lose 2 more tubes in the next 6 months. I can't be too harsh on the Gripps, they're so lovable.

Originally Posted by satishv1987

Agree.The CEATS on my Himalayan are decent but not very confidence inspiring.I have to be doubly cautious around fast corners.

Originally Posted by rohing

My RE Himilayan has it and it has NOT been confidence inspiring.

The bike skids around quite a bit especially if you are riding hard and in not so great conditions. You have to be really really right in getting your front-back brake balance else you rear will shift. Also, in not so dry conditions, the grip is quite scary

The only place where I find it acceptable is offroad.

That's not the tire's fault. The rear brakes of the Himalayan lack feel and progression. Try going hard on the front. You'll find that those are lacking in bite. I have no such problems with my Navi or Impulse. In fact, I'm able to modulate the rear very well and it skids only when I stand on it or when I'm riding on low grip surfaces.

On the Himalayan, the rear locks up with very little effort.

[anubhav3110]

Did anyone tried CEAT's Securadrive range?
I see them as OE fitment for a wide range of vehicles now notably from Hyundai and Kia.
The article from Auto Tech review have objectively highlighted a few significant positives for CEAT's Securadrive.

[AnandSharma_71]

Originally Posted by anubhav3110

Did anyone tried CEAT's Securadrive range?
I see them as OE fitment for a wide range of vehicles now notably from Hyundai and Kia.
The article from Auto Tech review have objectively highlighted a few significant positives for CEAT's Securadrive.

I am looking to change tyres too for my Eco Sport. I enquired about Michelin but it seems there is some shortage in the market due to import restrictions. I asked the dealer about Indian brands and he did recommend CEAT SecuraDrive. Checked for reviews online and found some positive reviews about SecuraDrive on YT. Any other suggestions?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX3YZmKnErc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGrylxdbyqI