[bhansali_hardik]

Hey!

Any inputs for 16 inchers for sonet? The tire profile is 215/60 and I'd like to keep that intact. Given the scare of how insurance and SC folks always find reasons to deny warranty and claims. I'm wondering if I should just buy the official alloys?

I just hate the hideous steel wheels given!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

Any inputs for 16 inchers for sonet? The tire profile is 215/60 and I'd like to keep that intact.

Always stick to OEM sizes and / or within 2% diameter difference. Assuming you are talking about upgrading a lower variant's rims to the 16" size:

- The right upgrade size will be 215/60 R16 (i.e. stock size of higher variants).

- I personally wouldn't recommend it as it will come with a ride quality penalty. If I owned a lower variant of the Sonet, I'd stick to the 15" rim size.

[bhansali_hardik]

Originally Posted by GTO

Always stick to OEM sizes and / or within 2% diameter difference. Assuming you are talking about upgrading a lower variant's rims to the 16" size:

- The right upgrade size will be 215/60 R16 (i.e. stock size of higher variants).

- I personally wouldn't recommend it as it will come with a ride quality penalty. If I owned a lower variant of the Sonet, I'd stick to the 15" rim size.

Thanks for moving this over and my bad, should have given more inputs.
So the variant I'm talking about is HTX and it already comes with the 16inch steel wheels instead of alloy wheels.
The stock profile is 215/60.
I wouldn't want to change that profile too. Might swap the tires to soft compounds as I certainly hate MRF and can live with Apollo but wouldn't enjoy them.

[sathya.bhat]

I was looking at alloys for Sonet and found this on Neo Wheels site. I feel they are closer to OEM alloys and will suit the Sonet well.

http://neowheels.com/neowheels-product.php?design=pulse

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

I was looking at alloys for Sonet and found this on Neo Wheels site. I feel they are closer to OEM alloys and will suit the Sonet well.
Attachment 2065242

These indeed look great & if I’m not wrong, these exact similar wheel design is now seen on the rumoured Crysta Facelift.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Saw these Sonet pictures with a wider stance and it looks smashing IMHO, though not legal. Alloys are from Neo wheels.





Pic Source

[vishal.jayakuma]

Just booked my Kia Sonet GTX+ D-AT. I'm planning to do a Tyre swap right after delivery after hearing bad reviews on the MRF wanderers. I'm considering the Michelin Primacy 3ST, Pirelli P1 and P6 Cinturato, Continental ContimaxContact MC5 and Bridgestone Turanza T001 (All of the above in the 215/60 R16 size a.k.a stock size). Any recommendations based on previous experience with these would be much appreciated! Personally I prefer the Primacy 3ST after reading glowing reviews.

[WhiteSierra]

Go for Michelin Primacy 4ST, they are better than the outgoing 3STs.



They are also available in your desired size too (215/60/R16).


https://www.amazon.in/Michelin-Primacy-215-Tubeless-Tyre/dp/B07MXH5X4H

[vishal.jayakuma]

Originally Posted by WhiteSierra

Go for Michelin Primacy 4ST, they are better than the outgoing 3STs.



They are also available in your desired size too (215/60/R16).


https://www.amazon.in/Michelin-Primacy-215-Tubeless-Tyre/dp/B07MXH5X4H

Thank you for the tip on the updated tyres. These come very close to the Pirelli P1s price point. So the Michelins are the best bet for a long tyre life, is it?

[WhiteSierra]

Originally Posted by vishal.jayakuma

Thank you for the tip on the updated tyres. These come very close to the Pirelli P1s price point. So the Michelins are the best bet for a long tyre life, is it?

I'm not sure about Pirelli P1s, but had fairly average experience with Pirelli Scorpions on my cousin's 1st generation Fortuner which did close to 3 lakh kms.

The Pirelli scorpion tyres were good for 60 k kms, where as Michelin LTX Force were good for 90 k kms. The stock Dunlop tyres lasted 70 k kms.

Both are similar brands, both offer comfort but Michelins are much better in terms of giving smooth ride. About long tyre life, no tyre will perform well after 4-5 years, it will cause hardening and small cracks due to age and flatspots will be formed if the car is parked at the same place for long. So enjoy Michelin tyres for butter smooth ride quality, if you are using the car regularly, these are the best in business.


If you want longer tyre life, go for Bridgestone or MRF, the grip will last longer but provides hard ride quality, it takes forever for the grip to wear out on these tyres But again, after certain age, say 4-5 years, those micro cracks will form and the tyres will get hard.

[bhansali_hardik]

Originally Posted by vishal.jayakuma

! Personally I prefer the Primacy 3ST after reading glowing reviews.

If you get the primacy, good! Personal I did not find them to be in stock in Bangalore any where. If you get them go for it, if not contimax 5. They are pretty good!

[vishal.jayakuma]

I just spoke to a Tyre store in Chennai regarding Michelin Primacy 4ST tyres for the Sonet. Turns out there's a ban on importing tyres to India. The only acceptable replacement offered, that was already on my list, were the Continental MC5s. Does anyone else know more about this issue?
Also, the exchange rate offered was maximum INR2500 per tyre for the stock MRFs

[greendream]

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

I'm wondering if I should just buy the official alloys?

What’s the price of official alloys? Are they readily available? I am contemplating the same. And are the gtx+ alloys available?

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

I was looking at alloys for Sonet and found this on Neo Wheels site. I feel they are closer to OEM alloys and will suit the Sonet well.

Yes they are similar, if there is a significant difference in price between these and official ones, they can be considered. Btw what is the Neo alloys price?

The Sonets alloys are IMHO good looking oem alloys. Interestingly,aftermarket ones in 16” from different brands,don’t look that good on Sonet.
Any idea if Kia dealers give some buy back for steel wheels if we purchase official alloys? Thanks in advance for your replies.

[ram_bishop]

Hello BHPians,

Looks like this thread is not alive for a while, as a newbie I got some questions in mind, please share your experiences and suggestions.

1) Anyone recently changed official alloys for Sonet HTX? Is it done during delivery or after?
2) If we are going for alloy from showroom during delivery will they take steel wheels for exchange? If so what's the cost.
3) What about the new Apollo tyres coming in Sonet now, are they good or still needs a change?

[praveen900]

Hey guys

I took delivery for Sonet HTX and checked with the dealer Kis Autobahn in Mumbai regarding the alloy swap. He quoted Rs 38000 as the cost for putting on the alloy wheels which are available on HTX+ version but did not agree to swap the steel wheels.

He suggested that I can sell the steel wheels to scrap dealer or any local wheel shop who is willing to buy.

I ended up not getting the alloys yet. I am thinking once the my novelty factor/new car feel dies down in a year or so, then I will get the alloys to spruce it up.