[Ascari]

Guys my laura is up for a tyre change.I have done 44000 kms on stock NCT5's.
My options are the Pirelli P1,Michelin 3ST, Yokohama V550 and the Earth 1.
I prefer my cars to be highly chuckable and do drive at high speeds.The conundrum now is I do drive on very badly paved sections too, so would like to have tyres that are quite comfortable, noise less and sidewalls which are pretty strong.
Do you guys advise an upsize to 205/65.I am unwilling to compromise on rediced ground clearance so that is only upsize I am willing to use.

[maheshramaling]

Had a side wall puncture on the front wheel of my Laura and the puncturewala while fixing it - the side wall got a crack of about 2 inches. Though puncture is fixed - I don't think it is safe and would like to replace it.

One of my other tyre also has a side wall puncture a while back but the normal puncture fixing helped and I am not finding any issue with it.

However - I am thinking of changing all the tyres (though there is enough rubber left to run for another 10,000) considering;

1) It is Good Year NCT5's - which I did not like it from the day one
2) It has already done 30,000 and 3 years old now.
3) Had 3 to 4 punctures in the last 1 month.

I have been a fan of Michelin and had very good experience with it. The ones in my Innova lasted 55,000kms and the LC I have in my Pajero has already done 36,000 with loads of rubber left for another 10 to 15k kms.

So - having decided to replace all tyres and go in for Michelin - now comes the question of which model - which is where I need some suggestions;

Here are the list of tyres as I see in michelin.in;

Primacy 3ST (91/W): Not sure of the price
Primacy LC (91/W): INR 10,153 as quoted in changemytyre.com
Energy MXV8 (91/V): Is this Unidirectional one?

Also - suggest if you know of prices.

BTW - my tyre size is 205/55/16 and I am going to retain it.

[Nikhilb2008]

Please dont go for MXV8. It's an old tyre and it's getting long in the tooth.

The MXV8 was replaced by the Primacy LC which has also reached the end of it's production and has been replaced by the Primacy 3ST.

Primacy 3ST is around 11k give or take a few.

So, please make sure you go in only for the P3ST.

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Please dont go for MXV8. It's an old tyre and it's getting long in the tooth.

The MXV8 was replaced by the Primacy LC which has also reached the end of it's production and has been replaced by the Primacy 3ST.

Primacy 3ST is around 11k give or take a few.

So, please make sure you go in only for the P3ST.

Thanks Nikhil!

I am fixing P3ST's later today.

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Thanks Nikhil!

I am fixing P3ST's later today.

Just got Michelin Primacy 3ST's fixed and drove few kilometres to office. Can't figure out any major difference but will keep you posted as I drive more.

Total dent on pocket: INR 50,490. Tyre cost alone was INR 48500 (INR 9700 * 5) and rest were for 2% credit card charges, alignment/ balancing, misc items and minus 1000 for 3 tyres (1 was considered scrap because of side wall cut and 1 which was mounted to spare wheel - I took it back). Tyre manufacture date was 4813 i.e., Nov - 2013.

It was fixed in SLNP as recommended here; http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangal...bangalore.html

The team of people were very good and efficient. My entire job was done in less than 1 hour and it was good to interact with Vijay who is the owner.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Just got Michelin Primacy 3ST's fixed and drove few kilometres to office. Can't figure out any major difference but will keep you posted as I drive more.

Total dent on pocket: INR 50,490. Tyre cost alone was INR 48500 (INR 9700 * 5) and rest were for 2% credit card charges, alignment/ balancing, misc items and minus 1000 for 3 tyres (1 was considered scrap because of side wall cut and 1 which was mounted to spare wheel - I took it back). Tyre manufacture date was 4813 i.e., Nov - 2013.

It was fixed in SLNP as recommended here; http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangal...bangalore.html

The team of people were very good and efficient. My entire job was done in less than 1 hour and it was good to interact with Vijay who is the owner.

What other items did you buy? 2,000/- bucks is a lot. Alignment and Balancing must have cost around 700/- or so. Did you buy a pressure gauge or inflator or something? These are pretty useful to have in your car as well.

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

What other items did you buy? 2,000/- bucks is a lot. Alignment and Balancing must have cost around 700/- or so. Did you buy a pressure gauge or inflator or something? These are pretty useful to have in your car as well.

Here is the break-up;

Tyre cost: 48500 (9700 *5)
Tyre Valve or Mouth: 1000 (Picked the chrome one at 200 each)
Alignment and Balancing: 750
Nitrogen: 240
2% Credit Card Charges: 1010
Total: 51500
Minus 3 tyre cost: -1000
Grand Total: 50500

But - I paid only 50490 finally i.e., 10 rupees lesser. So - somewhere it has been rounded off.

[maverickgenius]

Hi All,

I want to change the tyres on my Laura since they are old and have developed cracks.

The car is currently on 205/55 R16 91V Bridgestone Turanza. I plan to retain the spare tyre and change only 4 tyres.

Which model would be the best. Most of my drives are within the city with occasional highway drives.

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by maverickgenius

Hi All,

I want to change the tyres on my Laura since they are old and have developed cracks.

The car is currently on 205/55 R16 91V Bridgestone Turanza. I plan to retain the spare tyre and change only 4 tyres.

Which model would be the best. Most of my drives are within the city with occasional highway drives.

I am using Michelin 3ST's in my Laura and they are very good. I can feel the noise level being very low compared to the NCT5's I had earlier. Apart from that - not finding any major difference. But - going by the experience I had with Michelins in my other cars - I am hoping the rubber will stay strong & longer!

[maverickgenius]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

I am using Michelin 3ST's in my Laura and they are very good. I can feel the noise level being very low compared to the NCT5's I had earlier. Apart from that - not finding any major difference. But - going by the experience I had with Michelins in my other cars - I am hoping the rubber will stay strong & longer!

Thanks for the reply.

What about grip levels and comfort. Would they be on par with the Bridgestone Turanza?

Also, what was the price?

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by maverickgenius

Thanks for the reply.

What about grip levels and comfort. Would they be on par with the Bridgestone Turanza?

Also, what was the price?

I have not used Turanza's - so can't comment on them. But when compared to NCT5's - I am happy with the grip levels and comfort in 3ST's, but it's not a huge difference. Actually NCT5's were equally good in grip and comfort.

I got it for 9700 per tyre in Bangalore on 21st March.

[dezrskb]

I would like to say something here. I have run my Laura 40K now in 2 years. Had a horrible experience with the tyres. By 15K Kms two of my factory fit GY NCTs were lost with a sidewall fracture after I hit pot holes with moderate speed. It was always front tyre. Third one got punctures so many times that I decided to discard it. by 20 K Kms, I decided to take the bite and changed to 4 new Yokohama decibels after reading reviews. There was some improvement in road noise and all but by next 20K Kms I had sidewall blebs in two of them. Again front wheels with weekly pressure checks and mostly kept at 33PSI. Unfortunately I had long drives coming up and I didnt want to risk anybody hence I bought two Bridgestone Potenza GIIIs and put them in front and remaining 2 Yokos at back. Then everything was fine for some time. Unfortunately inspite of telling them Skoda Service rotated tyres on last service and put Yokos in front again. Now After hitting a small pothole I have another sidewall bleb on left front Yokohama. Now again I have to drive to Bangalore and dont want to take the risk. So I have ordered one Potenza GIII and waiting for it. Till then I have two of the same in front and a remaining Yoko directional tyre as one back tyre and a non directional Michelin Primacy LC as another !!!!!! Has anyone else had such bad experience with tyres? Im not buying Yokos again.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by dezrskb

I would like to say something here. I have run my Laura 40K now in 2 years. Had a horrible experience with the tyres. By 15K Kms two of my factory fit GY NCTs were lost with a sidewall fracture after I hit pot holes with moderate speed. It was always front tyre. Third one got punctures so many times that I decided to discard it. by 20 K Kms, I decided to take the bite and changed to 4 new Yokohama decibels after reading reviews. There was some improvement in road noise and all but by next 20K Kms I had sidewall blebs in two of them. Again front wheels with weekly pressure checks and mostly kept at 33PSI. Unfortunately I had long drives coming up and I didnt want to risk anybody hence I bought two Bridgestone Potenza GIIIs and put them in front and remaining 2 Yokos at back. Then everything was fine for some time. Unfortunately inspite of telling them Skoda Service rotated tyres on last service and put Yokos in front again. Now After hitting a small pothole I have another sidewall bleb on left front Yokohama. Now again I have to drive to Bangalore and dont want to take the risk. So I have ordered one Potenza GIII and waiting for it. Till then I have two of the same in front and a remaining Yoko directional tyre as one back tyre and a non directional Michelin Primacy LC as another !!!!!! Has anyone else had such bad experience with tyres? Im not buying Yokos again.

You've had one too many sidewall ruptures to blame the tyres in my view.

Your Laura runs on 16" 55 profile rubber. Anything below 60 in India requires some amount of extra care. Also Euro cars have stiff suspensions, so the tyres need to absorb most of the energy when you crash into a pothole. You need to slow down to a complete crawl for large and sharp potholes, if the pothole is unavoidable in the first place. If you frequently travel on bad roads it may not be a bad idea to downsize to 65 profile 15 inchers that used to come with the Amition/ Ambiente variants of the Laura.

[dezrskb]

Thanks for the comment.
I didnt have much of technical knowledge on this matter. But I told the same thing to Skoda service. They didnt suggest anything. Neither did the shop where I buy tires from. Interestingly I saw a New Skoda Octavia there with factory fitted NCTs with a large bleb on front tire. What you say might be true. Any idea which company makes tires in that profile? I kept changing tires with the stock tire profile.

[Santoshbhat]

My Laura TSI is due for its third set of tyres.

First set was 205/55/16 Michelin Primacy LC which lasted 43,000 kms. Second set 225/50/16 Michelin Pilot Sport 3 has now completed about 28,000 kms and is close to wearing down to the TWI mark. Do note the car was remapped and stiffer dampers were added around the 40k mark and its been driven much harder since.

I don't think there's much choice in the size I'm looking for : 225/50/16. As per online research I've got the foll. options

1) Michelin Pilot Sport 3
2) Yoko Advan sport
3) Conti Sports Contact 3

I don't think I can go back to 205/55s especially since I've got wide Borbet alloys. Performance wise the PS3s are fantastic but the main drawback is the fast wear rate. They were good upto 20,000 kms. But the last 5,000 kms were not pleasant. The rubber kind of hardened and the ride's been a bit harsh and the tyres have also become noisy. Now there is about 1mm of tread depth left before it is down to the TWI mark and grip levels have gone down quite a lot and I don't want to stretch it any longer.

Pricewise all three are expensive and as per intl reviews all of these are out and out perfomance tyres and expected to wear out fast. In fact of the three, the Michelins score higher on wear rate than the rest.

Rs. 50k every 25,000 kms translates to almost Rs. 2 per km for tyres alone

I would have liked something like a P3ST , but sadly its not available in this size. Any other decent tyre available in 225/50/16 that won't burn a hole in my pocket and also do justice to the car?!!