[harjeev]

At yesterday's OTR the Michelin on a Grand Vitara developed a hole in the side wall!!!

I am not ruling the tyre or the brand as this could have happened to any brand but it hurts to see this!!!


Anyways here are the pics

[tsk1979]

Thats serious damage.
BTW are Yokohama M/T available easily, all I see is A/TS etc.,

[Nikhilb2008]

@harjeev ---- That seems to be only the rubber. Not too serious and very frankly, to be expected on such OTR. As you said, it's just bad luck. Could have happened to ANY tyre. The sidewall strength(stiffnes) depends on not just the rubber, but the nylon cords also. In your case since the nylon cars are not severed, it could have happened even with the most durable tyre.

@Tsk1979 --- M/T is not widely available. Company people keep saying it will come but that too only in 15" . HT is also not available in many sizes. They are promoting mainly A/T.

[tsk1979]

I actually called up a few dealers and this is what I found out(all prices bill and warranty)
Michelin LTX - Only some dealers have the 235/70 R16, cost is approx 6700
BF Goodrich - Nobody has All terrain TA KO, only Long Trail which is sort of highway tire costs around 5600rs.
Yokohama ATS - Most commonly available 6150-6300 price range.
Continental CrossContact AT - Now this is available with some dealers, and from what I have seen in photographs and from online reviews, its a proper offroad tire, cost is 6300/tire

Apart from that for the budget spender there are 2 tires available for around 5200-5500
MRF wanderer AT and the Apollo Hawkz AT

I am tempted to get these, esp the wanderer but only limiting factor is that the tread looks very "on roadish".
Other than that I am sure its a hard sidewall tire and will tolerate abuse.
As for the Hawkz AT, it does not look like an offroad tire at all. The grooves are narrow which means it will turn to slick quickly inside mud.
Moreover there is no treadblock on the shoulder.

As for the Michelin, I am impressed with the damage. Such a cut and no bulging. This tires got one tough sidewall.

But at 6700 a piece, this goes squarely out of my budget. Yoko seems ok, but till date I have heard from 2 people that on stony tracks they suffered punctures with AT2. Maybe ATS is better, but it seems risky.
So that leaves me with continental or MRF wanderer. At 1000 less, the wanderer is emerging like a strong candidate.

[Nikhilb2008]

I say dont go for the Wanderer if you plan for the occassional serious off roading. I have it from the guru's mouth that it will be bad for off roading. Khan Sultan himself.

Go for the Continental. The company person told me they expect a very long life from it as well as being a good performer off road.

The Yoko Geolander is A/T. There is no ATS as such. I'm referring to the tyre model G012.

The Yoko is also tried and tested.

I suggest you change all 4. I get the impression that you are looking to change only 2. Putting 2 Yoko/conti and 2 of those JKs is quite ridiculous and a waste of oyur money. You may as well buy 2 more JKs.

[tsk1979]

I will be changing JKs around 50K mark once those have done around 35-40K kms.
Right now I am taking in 2 new rear tires.
As for Off roading, I am not looking for an off road tire per se. I am looking for a tire which has strong sidewall, and can do extreme bad road rocky road driving.
Some mud and sand ability is good, but toughness is the main criteria.

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I actually called up a few dealers and this is what I found out(all prices bill and warranty)
Michelin LTX - Only some dealers have the 235/70 R16, cost is approx 6700
BF Goodrich - Nobody has All terrain TA KO, only Long Trail which is sort of highway tire costs around 5600rs.
Yokohama ATS - Most commonly available 6150-6300 price range.
Continental CrossContact AT - Now this is available with some dealers, and from what I have seen in photographs and from online reviews, its a proper offroad tire, cost is 6300/tire

Apart from that for the budget spender there are 2 tires available for around 5200-5500
MRF wanderer AT and the Apollo Hawkz AT

I am tempted to get these, esp the wanderer but only limiting factor is that the tread looks very "on roadish".
Other than that I am sure its a hard sidewall tire and will tolerate abuse.
As for the Hawkz AT, it does not look like an offroad tire at all. The grooves are narrow which means it will turn to slick quickly inside mud.
Moreover there is no treadblock on the shoulder.

As for the Michelin, I am impressed with the damage. Such a cut and no bulging. This tires got one tough sidewall.

But at 6700 a piece, this goes squarely out of my budget. Yoko seems ok, but till date I have heard from 2 people that on stony tracks they suffered punctures with AT2. Maybe ATS is better, but it seems risky.
So that leaves me with continental or MRF wanderer. At 1000 less, the wanderer is emerging like a strong candidate.

ATS is good. I went through the trail and no puncture, overall good grip and perfect on road with less noise. I did put 255x70x15 in my Safari Michelin LTX AT, they also seem to be good tire but not as soft as Yoko

[jaysmokesleaves]

TSK >> Mrf wanderer tread is similar to the Bridgestone Dueller HT. I do not think it will perform in slush and rocky terrain. It will be worse in sand. Apollo sidewalls are pathetic for an AT tire.
I too like the BFG tread and have used it here in the desert and few rocky trails and having used the Yokos too on my Prado, i would vouch for the BFG for good offroad and decent onroad performance.

Im also looking at Kumho but cannot find the size in India, though it is available elsewhere. Check the Kumho australian website.

But id say forget the indian brands if you are seriously looking for AT.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by rhandle

ATS is good. I went through the trail and no puncture, overall good grip and perfect on road with less noise. I did put 255x70x15 in my Safari Michelin LTX AT, they also seem to be good tire but not as soft as Yoko

Earlier you had AT+ which got punctured in Bihar? So did you change them with ATS.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

The Yoko Geolander is A/T. There is no ATS as such. I'm referring to the tyre model G012.
.

In the pics posted in this thread, I see lots of ATS, even Suman got ATS.

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

TSK >> Mrf wanderer tread is similar to the Bridgestone Dueller HT. I do not think it will perform in slush and rocky terrain. It will be worse in sand. Apollo sidewalls are pathetic for an AT tire.
I too like the BFG tread and have used it here in the desert and few rocky trails and having used the Yokos too on my Prado, i would vouch for the BFG for good offroad and decent onroad performance.

Im also looking at Kumho but cannot find the size in India, though it is available elsewhere. Check the Kumho australian website.

But id say forget the indian brands if you are seriously looking for AT.

Sadly BFG does not sell All Terrain anymore. They have only long Trail TA tour which is a highway tire.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I actually called up a few dealers and this is what I found out(all prices bill and warranty)
Michelin LTX - the 235/70 R16, cost is approx 6700
BF Goodrich - only Long Trail ; highway tire costs around 5600rs.
Yokohama ATS - Most commonly available 6150-6300 price range.
Continental CrossContact AT - proper offroad tire, cost is 6300/tire

Apart from that for the budget spender there are 2 tires available for around 5200-5500
MRF wanderer AT and the Apollo Hawkz AT


But at 6700 a piece, this goes squarely out of my budget. Yoko seems ok, but till date I have heard from 2 people that on stony tracks they suffered punctures with AT2. Maybe ATS is better, but it seems risky.
So that leaves me with continental or MRF wanderer. At 1000 less, the wanderer is emerging like a strong candidate.

And tsk all the price you have quoted is for 235's? How much will the Bridgestones cost? And they come in 255?

Jay; I think Kumho is available at Bangy.

Guess highway people like me have very few option . BFG looks like what I should be getting after 2 months (43k odo now).

[tsk1979]

@jkdas, all prices are for 235/70. Bridgestone HT standard(OEM variety) costs 5600 so I guess the 255 will cost approx 6500 or so.

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by jkdas

And tsk all the price you have quoted is for 235's? How much will the Bridgestones cost? And they come in 255?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

@jkdas, all prices are for 235/70. Bridgestone HT standard(OEM variety) costs 5600 so I guess the 255 will cost approx 6500 or so.

When I bought my BEAR in Nov 07 at that time Bridgestone didn't come in 255's and I had to settle for Kuhmo 255/65/16's

Maybe now they've started manufacturing tyre in that specs

[Nikhilb2008]

BS dont have anything in 235. And even if they do, stay away!

[jkdas]

Need help! I have to change tyres pretty soon, 46500 done on the ones that came with the Safari. They are BG's.

I want to upsize and hence will be getting 255/65 R16 on OE alloys. I checked with one dealer; said they have only Yokos for 6950 Rs !

Now, is this rate high? And which model is this Yoko? If this is high, I can get tyres couried from other states cheaper and without tax issues? I happen to hate the dealer coz of their attitute and hence looking for more options.

[greenhorn]

Is buying from pondy a good option? went there recently, and saw huge bunch of tyre shops. seems all sorts of truckers re-tyre there. fill the truck up, fill yourself up, and get some new shoes

didnt see much premium stuff though.