[idly]

Guyz, I have decided to upsize my zen (Zen VXI 2003) tyres from stock to 155/65R 13 (after reading a lot of threads) this saturday. But I have 2 doubts

1. Which brand shall I go for??. S322 is a definite NO, XM1 is my second choice, if there is no other better manufacturer. I thought of Yoko A 300 earlier, but few say its wet tyres so a little confused.

2. From the forum disscussions I find the best dimension for alloy for zen and 155/65R 13 tyres would be 13 x 5J, but apart from Aura I donot see other manufacturers having the dimensions required. So, please mention if any other manufacturer have good alloys with similar dimensions. Also would 13 x 5.5J damage my tyres?

Please help me in choosing the right manufacturer, if possible also mention the shop in bangalore I can get it from, and an approx cost.

cheers
sharath

[VJ_MAVRICK]

I ride an alto 1.1 with 13" and 5.5 J with 165/65 R13 XM1 and as its only me and my wifey, i dont find any problem and i might if its fully loaded. You can go ahead and install spacers if thats an issue.
13" and 5J are a good combo and you will not have any probs with scraping the tyres and all. XM1 155/65 R13 is a good one. Alternatively you can try Bridgestone too in the same dimension.

From your post i understand you are planning only tires and not wheels? is that a correct inference?

[idly]

<<From your post i understand you are planning only tires and not wheels? is that a correct inference?>>

Thanks for the reply Mavrick, but what do you mean by the above statement. Please explain a bit. Is there anything else I need to look for..

[redfire]

Originally Posted by idly

<<From your post i understand you are planning only tires and not wheels? is that a correct inference?>>

Thanks for the reply Mavrick, but what do you mean by the above statement. Please explain a bit. Is there anything else I need to look for..

Hehe, what he meant is are you changing only tyres (the rubbery thing) or both tyres and rims (steel wheels to alloys probably)? . The tyre wheel upgrade can be done in 3 ways. 1)Change only tyres keeping the existing steel/alloy wheels 2)change only rims (steel to alloy mostly or alloy to alloy) and keep the existing tyres 3)change both (tyres and rims)

[idly]

Thanks for clarifying redfire....Iam chaging both tyres and rims.

That was the reason why I have posted question on the rim(alloy) profile aswell..

Anyways confusion resolved :-)

[harry2223]

sorry for posting in your thread IDLY. can anyone plz guide me to plati website as i have to select alloys for my coming soon zen. i am interested in plati as they are easily available in our city.
i am also going to upgrade the tyres to r13 175/60 . plz suggest me tyre brand in which this size is available. tyre should not be much costly.

[akroy]

Michelin XM1+ 155/65R13 can be nice upgrade.

Abhi

[adityamunshi]

Have you considered apollo aceleres ?

Excellent tyres for the price.

[zeeshan suleman]

I have just got new tyres for my 99 carb zen, i got michelin 155/65/ r13 but i really dont know wat model they are, besides the run pretty well and i did a top speed of 155 km/hr on the mumbai-pune expressway just after putting the tyres. i am planning to go in for alloys soon as at the moment my car is in for paint, my mechanic says Dont go in for alloys that make the tyre look broader and the alloys should be the same width as the stock rim to maintain Fuel Efficency or else my average will drop and also my steering would become tighter, please help, is there a particular size i need to look at in a rim while buying ?

[ak916]

Hi Idly. . I am using R12s tubeless tyres.. Bridgestone turanza... I found them to be good over bad/wet surfaces.. also hold its line... I have maxed the speedo on my 2004 Zen Vxi. I paid about 11k for all 5 tyres... kept the stock rims...

[A S H V I N]

hey zeeshan, with your current set of tyres I dont think there will be any problem with getting 13inch 5J alloys. the stock rims are 4.5J. its a very marginal difference and there will be slightly better grip and very very minute change in Fuel Efficiency. irrespective of whether your car has power steering or not there will be no change in steering tightness with 13X5J rims with 155/65R13 tyres! Go ahead and get those rims!

[rudrah]

Originally Posted by zeeshan suleman

I have just got new tyres for my 99 carb zen, i got michelin 155/65/ r13 but i really dont know wat model they are, besides the run pretty well and i did a top speed of 155 km/hr on the mumbai-pune expressway just after putting the tyres. i am planning to go in for alloys soon as at the moment my car is in for paint, my mechanic says Dont go in for alloys that make the tyre look broader and the alloys should be the same width as the stock rim to maintain Fuel Efficency or else my average will drop and also my steering would become tighter, please help, is there a particular size i need to look at in a rim while buying ?

Hi Zeeshan,

The tyre weight should be appropriately taken care by the Alloy wheel you are buying. So width cannot be the criteria, The idea is to keep the car wheels stable, which means the width should be enough to take care of the tyre weight, otherwise the high speed car turns can cause heating of the alloys (lesser area for heat exchange) and can sometime damage the suspension system. Generally weight of alloy wheels is lighter than steel. So the width the Alloy wheels developed with taking care of the tyres added over them. Also the lighter the lower unsprung weight, higher performance (riding experience + pick ups).

And you are correct the steering will be little tighter, if you go for the heavy alloy wheels than what your car expect. Fuel efficiency has hardly effect by changing over to Alloys. Its a style symbol, don't add any fuel effects.

My friend recently applied a new set of 4 tyres [145/80/R12 Michelin XM1+ Tubeless] in Zen Vxi (2004) for 9k. Applied it on existing Steel rim. Didn't up-size the tyre. He want to change the Alloy wheels. Any suggestions on which brand to go for?