[jkdas]

Originally Posted by NIP

i understand what you're saying here jesal, but i drive this car in real bad roads and do a lot of weekend trips in the ghats/mountains. i do coorg at least once a month as well. so low profile tires are out. i simply cannot compromise on ride quality.

kpzen, the H-289 you mentioned dont really look unique to my eyes. here's two more designs that i've shortlisted:

which one did you chose? Was gonna post that black would look nice on a white Fusion bit now I am confused ! Liked both alloys!

[jkdas]

saw this one when I went for lunch.

[s0uljah]

Originally Posted by jkdas

saw this one when I went for lunch.

Pretty common design and available in many brands, not so great on the fusion but same pattern in 16" on my friends lancer is hot!

O/T : what was for lunch

[NIP]

hey thanks for that one jk. i dont see many fusions around with alloys so it gives me a fair idea what 'any' alloys would look like on the fusion. i think these are 15" alloys running stock rubber.

btw...havent decided on the alloys yet. i'm saving up for a goa trip in feb. so maybe after i get back !

[BUSA]

NIP - I kinda liked the alloys in post no. 23, they look hot and how. I think 20k for them is worth it.

[Glifford]

QUOTE=akshay1234;591639]
if only tyres then 205/55 r15 is fine.
[/quote]

Considering the stock tyres are 195/60 R15, the 205/55 R15 would actually be a down size! GC will also decrease? Surprisingly even Michelin considers an upsize here: Michelin India - Tyres For My Car-Results

A quick check at Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 2 of 2 indicates that for a :

195/60 R15, rolling radius is: 307.5mm and circumference is 1932.08mm

205/55 R15, rolling radius is 303.25mm and circumference is 1905.37mm

Clearly shows that the radius of the "upgrade" is smaller. Amounting to 1.38% difference in circumference.

On the other hand how bout a 215/55 R15?

215/55 R15, rolling radius is 308.75mm and circumference is 1939.93mm

This is negligibly larger than the stock and amounting to a difference of just 0.41%

But the big question here is,

1. Is the size available? I think Goodyear has them
2. Will they fit the stock rim? I guess they should
3. Will there be sufficient body/suspension clearance to support these wider tyres? Now that has to be seen!

[lambuhere1]

Bumping into an old thread, I am posting this for a friend of mine.

He wants to upgrade his tyres on his ford fusion. Most of the time, drive is spent on off roading, like jungles, sightseeing, mountain tracks etc. Which is the best set of tyres for upgrading ?

He has his eyes set on Yoko's. Wanted to have experts opinion on the same before placing the order.

Sorry, No change in stock alloys as of now

[Nikhilb2008]

MRFs!! I'm not joking. They will last you through the worst type of road conditions.

[Glifford]

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Bumping into an old thread, I am posting this for a friend of mine.

Will watch this thread keenly. I might need an upgrade soon.

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

He wants to upgrade his tyres on his ford fusion. Most of the time, drive is spent on off roading, like jungles, sightseeing, mountain tracks etc. Which is the best set of tyres for upgrading ?

Wow! Does he really manage to do that on his Fusion? From what I have read, the Fusion performs decently on bad roads (because of ground clearance). But then serious offroading is limited because of the fact that it is FWD.

Infact even I have found the fronts losing grip on serious acceleration (attributable to a nervous driver worried that it may roll back) from a standing uphill start (or over a speed breaker). Have heard of this on the Diesel one too on uphill crawl traffic.

It is still a car, definitely not an SUV!

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

He has his eyes set on Yoko's. Wanted to have experts opinion on the same before placing the order.

Which specific ones? What size? Yokos esp the AVS ES100 in the 195/60R14 (?) size are a popular one for Palio. Have seen several.

After posting some research above (in my previous post here) I did some physical investigation.

A couple of weekends back when I washed and waxed our Fusion for the first time, I took the opportunity to slip my fingers behind the tyres to see the clearance when locked on either side and pointing straight forward. And the result... well there's good news and bad news.

First the Good news: The clearance hardly changes when pointing straight ahead or when turned to lock.

Then the Bad news: The clearance on the stock front tyres on stock alloy rims is minimal. I could barely slip a finger (not even two decently) between the tyre and the strut of the front suspension.

So no way is a 215 gonna fit with ease (atleast on stock rims). 205
maybe at max. Atleast in front! :( . You may need atleast 4-5 mm spacers to get the clearance for 215s.

And as per my research above, 205/55s actually have a smaller diameter than the stock 195/60s so this means reduced ground clearance! Not a good thing to go off roading.

So I was actually considering a 205/60R15 instead. There is a small increase (1.95%) increase in rolling radius so that should be good (in terms of ground clearance). What say? Here is the analysis:

195/60 R15, rolling radius is 307.50mm and circumference is 1932.08mm
205/55 R15, rolling radius is 303.25mm and circumference is 1905.37mm
215/55 R15, rolling radius is 308.75mm and circumference is 1939.93mm
205/60 R15, rolling radius is 313.50mm and circumference is 1969.78mm

This means a 313.50-307.50 = 6mm increase in ground clearance. I don't think it will touch any body panels as well. What say guys?

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Sorry, No change in stock alloys as of now

So what? I too am of the same opinion.

Agreed that they are definitely not the best looking alloys around or the sleekest or most beautiful. Also what hurts is that they look exactly similar to the steel rim wheel caps . So an untrained eye can hardly tell the difference. No bling advantage there!

But because they are thick and the spokes wide, I am sure they would be stronger than most after market ones. Definitely helps if you are travelling bad roads or going off roading!

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

MRFs!! I'm not joking. They will last you through the worst type of road conditions.

Life is one thing, ability to grip smooth surfaces is quite another! And yes they are inversely proportional to one another. On my bike, the MRF Zappers live long but hardly inspire confidence on the wet or bad roads. The reason being hard rubber. Is that the same for MRFs?

How are Michelins (XM1s?) in comparison?

[Nikhilb2008]

XM1s are good. But somehow I doubt they will live through that kind of torture.

MRF zappers are not great. Especially the Zapper Y that comes in 100/90-18. The Zapper C (100/90-17) is much better.

When you go off road, the MRFs should give you decent amount of grip. That is my assumption. Will wait for an expert to correct me if I'm wrong.

[sachinayak]

Bumping an old thread... but have a query.

The low-speed ride of the Fusion is supposedly harsh (I dont have one yet , but may own one sooner than I had thought). Given this, can the ride quality be improved by a tyre upgrade, with the stock rims? What would it cost? What would be the best option (if budget was under 7K per tyre).

[Nikhilb2008]

7k per tyre is a very very generous budget. You can go for a lot of options. What is the stock size? 195/65 R15 right?

You can go for 205/65 R15. Will improve the ride quality. It is a wrong upsize and will result in speedo error though.

[kpzen]

Nikhil.
Stock size is 195/60-15.

[Nikhilb2008]

Aaah ok. Sorry.

In that case, you can go for 205/60 R15. It is still a wrong upsize, but will lead to better ride comfort.

[Glifford]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

Bumping an old thread... but have a query.

The low-speed ride of the Fusion is supposedly harsh (I dont have one yet , but may own one sooner than I had thought). Given this, can the ride quality be improved by a tyre upgrade, with the stock rims? What would it cost? What would be the best option (if budget was under 7K per tyre).

Well it is harsh compared to a plush sedan. But after you get used to it, it is a feature :P.

The hard ride at low speeds translates to amazing handling and cornering abilities at high speed. It can hold the line you command it to. I myself being a novice driver managed to lead a chase up Shiradi ghats last week against two Corollas driven by professionals as I was driving back from Mangalore. I finally gave up on the straights.

It also means it stays very planted at high speeds and you can take bumpy/badly laid roads at decent speeds without unsettling it and the suspension will not bottom out. Also it allows you to cross bumps and pot holes at good speeds without jarring you out of the seat.

Just a matter of getting used to I feel. Yes, if you are primarily city driven and your city (which happens to be my city too) doesn't have the best or roads, it will shake you up. But if you love the highways, there's not much to complain.

Read the last two posts of mine above. There is very little scope to upgrade on a Fusion unless of course you switch rims or use spacers (both not advisable, more so on a new car).

I suggest try the stock 195/60R15 Goodyears on your new car and you may not have many complaints. They will last you a good 50,000 km! After that, think of an upgrade.

That way I have seen a couple of 205/60R15s on Fusions and even one 225/60R15! It was on after market rims with a built in offset. Hence no spacers needed. Didn't look bad though!