[Newtown]

A topic very close to my heart. I have changed tires to Michelins on all my cars on delivery day.

The ONLY exception to this is my current Tiagun. I really wanted to give the Good Years a chance. They are just about acceptable.

I cannot wait for the day I need to change them and put on Michelins. I am looking forward to the softer rubber for a more comfortable and grippier ride & lesser braking distance.

The softer compound Michelins are worth their weight in gold. Congratulations on the change. Let us know how it felt after your long drive.

[thirdmainroad]

Originally Posted by kvamshi04

I have driven my Altroz for 40k on the OEM MRF tyres. It's time to replace them, any inputs on Bridgestone Sturdo.

TIA
First time car tyre buyer !!

If you can afford it, go with Michelins. You can also take GTO's and other people's advice and go with Yokohamas.

Originally Posted by TorquePull

Michelins are available but was told that they are smuggled in from Nepal, you probably can't claim warranty. Price was also on the higher side, for Creta 215/60 r16, the difference was 2k per tyre when compared to Earth1. So we decided to go with Earth1.

Yes, price is higher than all other tyres. You are wrong about warranty and smuggling though. You get a message from Michelin on your mobile after purchase confirming your warranty.

Originally Posted by Newtown

Congratulations on the change. Let us know how it felt after your long drive.

Thank you my friend. How have you been and did you sort out your OBDEleven issues? I've just reappeared after a six month or so ban on the forum :P

I did hit the highway somewhat just now.. went on an 100 km drive on the East Coast Road, which is a good enough road and drive for a taste of the highway.

The car is definitely feeling much better in every sense. It feels more comfortable - potholes and rough patches are felt substantially much less than on the Ceats. It also has a sort of floating on air feel - without interfering with driving dynamics, yet maintains a very planted feel. I hard tested the brakes a few times, jamming them at triple digit speeds after making sure there was no one behind me. Without doubt the braking has improved by a substantial margin - the ceats had a jerky feel (not the ABS kicking in) and would roll and slip. The Michelins didn't, held the road and line firmly. I could also steer better while hard braking. I could asko weave between barricades more confidently.

I do feel that the acceleration has decreased by a little bit, I have to check this more though. I am also keen to see how the tyres will perform under hard braking on gravel.

I will soon hit the Ghats and a proper long drive,and will keep this thread updated.

But so far, I am really happy with the purchase, and really am kicking myself that I didn't get the Michelins sooner.

[GeeTee TSI]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

with a wee upgrade from 205 to 215 /55 R 17.

I had this question plaguing my mind around upsizing OE tyres (width in your example) - what happens to recommended tyre pressures? Does one stick to the same rating on the manual?

[thirdmainroad]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

I had this question plaguing my mind around upsizing OE tyres (width in your example) - what happens to recommended tyre pressures? Does one stick to the same rating on the manual?

That's a very interesting and pertinent question, which completely slipped my mind.

According to VW, its between 33 (light load) and 48 PSI(heavy load) for the Taigun. I've been filling 35.5 PSI, hoping the the pressure will be 35 PSI.

Could any experts on this matter please advise? What happens to recommended tyre pressures when there is a slight or significant upsizing on tyres?

[Gotcha]

Are Indian car manufacturers cheaping out on the tyres too? They don't even seem to care about a bumpier ride or increased tyre noise nowadays. Sadly they're doing this even with their flagship models and trims.

https://youtu.be/Yi7dtd9cNQ8

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by TorquePull

Michelins are available but was told that they are smuggled in from Nepal, you probably can't claim warranty.

A neighbor of mine worked as a GM in the Michelin factory in Chennai before he was posted to their Thailand factory last year. He told me they had stopped selling car tyres in India, except for certain select premium model cars/SUVs, above a certain tyre size only. Car tyres have to be imported because the company manufactures only truck/bus/two wheeler tyres in India. And tyres imported from France cost way above Indian brand tyres. It is not known when they will commence manufacture of car tyres in India. He used to offer me employee discount coupons for the tyres a few years ago, but I did not fancy the brand.

So there might be some substance in what you say, though I doubt whether authorized dealrs will sell smuggled tyres.

[Zippy_wheels]

I felt a huge difference when I changed my tyres, on polo, from goodyear to continental. I found it to be so much smoother. In fact, my family was irritated that I would delibrately go over rough patches on the road just to show them the difference. But is it really such a huge difference between brands? I agree there would be some difference but we are really comparing our recent experience with a tyre driven 30k+ and brand new tyres. I honestly dont remember the quality of ride when the goodyears were new and the same rough patch is not available to compare.

So, yes, a new tyre will make a difference to ride quality anyways. Premium brands will give a better feel compared to the generic one's but I dont think the difference will be a LOT if we compare two new tyres of different brands.

[thirdmainroad]

It is indeed a huge difference. The car is not old, the memory of it being brand new is still fresh and plus, someone I know purchased the same car - Taigun GT 1.5+ a few months ago since she really liked my car. Her car too came with the Ceats I had. I’ve driven her car extensively and still do, though it hasn’t munched miles like mine has. It has about 2500 km on it over 4 months. Today, I took her car out for a spin just to check and .. no doubt - huge difference. The ceats are really low grade thrash compared to the Michelins and I was just so damn stupid not to have flung them away much earlier. Should have as planned gone straight to the tyre man upon delivery.

They really make the car feel a notch less comfortable - I can’t figure why VW and other brands will take such a huge hit in the name of cost cutting.

[The VAG32]

Originally Posted by Zippy_wheels

I felt a huge difference when I changed my tyres, on polo, from goodyear to continental.

How is your experience with Continentals? I have tried them in my Baleno upsizing them to 205s but was not extremely satisfied with them. I experienced a lot of tyre noise with them and they eventually lasted only 40k kms.

I went and changed to Yokohama. The car is in the third set of tyres now and has clocked 1.3lakh km.

[Zippy_wheels]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

They really make the car feel a notch less comfortable - I can’t figure why VW and other brands will take such a huge hit in the name of cost cutting.

Will try to source michelin's next time I have to upgrade tyres. I am halfway through the current ceat's lifecycle. What are your views on Continental's? General opinion seems to be michelin then yokohama but I felt continental were good too (better than cear, goodyear, bridgestone etc.)

[Zippy_wheels]

Originally Posted by The VAG32

How is your experience with Continentals?

I only had the continentals for 2k kms and then I sold the car. My previous goodyear tyres were fine but one of them developed a tear, due to a big nail, when I was on a highway so I replaced all 4 since they were already 32k old. I loved the continentals for the short duration I had them. Roads were smoother and the vehicle just glided over rough broken roads. I was also told by the seller (and noted it as well) the continentals had a different pattern of tread which was meant to reduce noise and I did feel a lot of difference on highways - I know it because I kept windows open on highways just to confirm the difference. One other thing I noted was that the car glided further than before (after releasing accelarator and not applying brakes). Now I am comparing new tyres to 6 year old (32k km) goodyear tyres so I cant say if the continentals would be a significant upgrade over new goodyears (or other tyre brands) but I have mostly heard good reviews for continental UC's from others too. I may go for michelin next time, but at that time, michelins were not available in the city I was in so I went with continental. However, if for some reason, michelin's are not available next time too, I will go for conti's.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

I am pretty sure the discussion below will turn into how good CEATS are, or how good MRFs are.. but if driving is your thing, if comfort is your thing - ditch those OEM and Yokohamas and MRFS - and go for Michelins. Your only regret will be that you hadn't done so sooner!

I for one, can't wait to drive all the roads I have been on of late on the Taigun, and enjoy the drive so much more because of the Michelins. I'll be taking off to Ooty on Saturday, and then to Coorg and then to Goa and then to where the road takes me!

As they say better late than never . As much as I agree that Michelins are lot better, but difference being so stark is also due to the fact that CEATs are fairly worn and gotten hard vs brand new Michelins with softer compound. Even Michelins will harden with life but not as bad as CEAT. On cars with higher road noise it helps even more. I had similar experience when I switched from bridgestones to Contis on my XUV500. Suddenly engine sound became lot more apparent.