[CrackedHead]

I've abused the XM1+ a fair bit (155/70R12) on a couple of Bangalore/Udupi runs and they seem durable enough.

Abused them on all the worst stretches and they withstood the torturous roads no problem. (was afraid of getting sidewall damage - but no bulges found during the recent wheel balancing job that was carried out in Udupi)

[thirst4torque]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Yoko A drive is the only option right now i guess.

For me grip/steering feedback, breaking and durability (ability to take abuse) are the priority. Road noise and ride i really dont care.

So start shooting the options (if any).

Hi Jaggu, I have done some 2K km on Yoko A drives (195/65/14) after upgrading from stock. So my comparison will be based on stock JK's as reference.

1. Braking: Huge improvement. Have not yet got into a situation where the wheels have locked. Most of the 2K km drive was done on Mys BLR road which has numerous humps which invariably cause some panic braking.

2. Grip: Again huge improvement over stock. The car behaves much better while taking corners at decent speeds.Did not try to test them actually in wet conditions so I will reserve my comments on their performance under wet conditions.

3. Steering feedback: I can hardly make out any difference in steering effort and accuracy as compared to stock set up.

4. Durability: I guess its too early for me to comment on the durability aspect right now. Will wait for 1st tyre rotation and inspect the wear.

Overall I am quite satisfied with what I paid for them and considering we don't have too many options in this size. I do a lot of spirited driving on the weekend Mys-Blr and return trips and the tyres have not let me down as yet.

I guess this is OT so you could move it to appropriate thread.

[Nikhilb2008]

My personal experience based on a very very short drive in a car with A drives is that there seems to be a little more feel from the steering than in the case of the XM1+. However, it could also be because of the car. XM1+ was in a Lancer(old model). A drives was for a very short time in a Swift.

[Jaggu]

Thanks CrackedHead, thirst4torque & Nikhil feedback really helped. Let me see if i can get a trial ride on Yoko's i have a feeling they are gonna take priority over XM's for now.

Then again you never know

[Vid6639]

Jaggu 195/70-14 will have wider contact patch but the super tall profile will negatively impact handling as well.

I would suggest A.drives 195/65-14.

I would also not mind the Turanza ER-60 185/70-14. I say this because the Turanza ER-60 almost has a contact patch of 195 even though it is 185. If you keep 185 Turanza and 185 Michelin side by side you will know what I mean. When I bought my 195/60-14 Turanzas they were closer in size to Potenza G-III 205's. Many tyres are designed like this. The Yokos and the Michelins look the skinniest.

[Jaggu]

I know baba that taller profile will go negative on handling and hence looking for something with solid sidewalls. Assurance is supposed to negate this issue, thats what written about them.

WRT contact patch, what you see when you keep tires side by side might not be the case once mounted on rims and loaded, so i wouldnt take it as the last word. Though it can be a good indicator.

How are the Turanza's side wall? See my problem is moon sized craters which take the whole wheel IN and when this happens at 100 kph, i would need some major buffer.

Anyways keep adding folks!

[pkumar]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

How are the Turanza's side wall? See my problem is moon sized craters which take the whole wheel IN and when this happens at 100 kph, i would need some major buffer.

As per the general view here on Turanzas, the sidewalls are quite strong and take a lot of abuse. But I am a new user of Er-60 so would not know this based on my own experience.

[Nikhilb2008]

ER 60 is available in 195/70 R14.

[Eddy]

Jaggu, come to delhi and ride all that you want on my Swift with new A drives

Home made paranthas come free with the offer !!

[iraghava]

Jaggu, what you need is some good old MRF's, so hard no pothole makes a difference!

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

WRT contact patch, what you see when you keep tires side by side might not be the case once mounted on rims and loaded, so i wouldnt take it as the last word. Though it can be a good indicator.

How are the Turanza's side wall? See my problem is moon sized craters which take the whole wheel IN and when this happens at 100 kph, i would need some major buffer.

It is the same case when they are mounted as well. I saw a Lancer SFXi at the garage with the same alloys as mine but he had Michelin XM1 compared to Turanzas. Just looking at the 2 tyres you would never believe they were the same 195/60-14. The Michelins fit on the rim perfectly whereas the Turanzas were bulging out. They looked a size bigger.

I have seen the same with PP2's as well. They look huge compared to other tyres of the same size.

[xlsreenivasan]

michelins dont have rim protectors in 195/60r14 xm1+ where as turanzas have a wider shoulder build than michelin xm1+ thats the reason they look bigger
there is another point in all tyres they are the sea to hill ratio all the tyres that look big dont really mean that they put more rubber on road and the viceversa

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Jaggu, what you need is some good old MRF's, so hard no pothole makes a difference!

48 thousand kms on one set and i was pretty happy with them. No puncture, no sidewall issue etc etc. Loud they are, but then thats what ICE is for

How are the new eco version of MRF?

Originally Posted by xlsreenivasan

there is another point in all tyres they are the sea to hill ratio all the tyres that look big dont really mean that they put more rubber on road and the viceversa

Yup one of the factor that will decide on how effective a tire when dry, but then there has to be a balance to make it work for wet, this ratio thingie??

[ThE_DoN]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

48 thousand kms on one set and i was pretty happy with them. No puncture, no sidewall issue etc etc. Loud they are, but then thats what ICE is for

How are the new eco version of MRF?



Yup one of the factor that will decide on how effective a tire when dry, but then there has to be a balance to make it work for wet, this ratio thingie??

Jaggu: In case you are still considering the Michelin's - I have the same set on my Dzire - 195/70/14..

The slightly taller profile gives the tire an extremely comfortable feel and at the same time has better performance than my earlier stock MRF's.. I have personally done speeds slightly excess of 180kmph on Mumbai-Pune expressway and the tires performed more than what i expected : Hardly any vibrations and in good control..

The overall feel of the suspension has become softer and it has improved the comfort of the car by a Huge margin (maybe because of the higher and softer profile). However the road noise has definitely increased which i don't like. I think if your like you need high speed sharp cornering abilities than this might not be the best spec.

Lemme know (PM) if you have any other Q's..

[Jaggu]

Thanks Don, am not into very high speed cornering and driving, for that matter the max speed my car has done is somwhere close to 145 kph and that too for few minutes. What matters to me is 100-120 kph cruise mode, handling am ok with compromise, since the Swift D set up is already stiff and has enough buffer for my kind of usage.

Yes sidewall durability to take craters and wet weather braking is something i would be considering for the decision. Road noise again doesnt matter since i play music at low volume to compensate

Right now its between the XM1, Turanza and A Drives for me. Dont have any major long trip's planned for now (maybe apart from a short stint to coorg), my tires still have 5-7 k kms to tread wear indicators, so still holding on to the confused state