[WasavaTyres]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

You are right. Goodyear and MRF along with JK, Apollo have a huge price advantage. They are not at all bad tyres. Just that we as T-BHPians look down at these tyres with a certain snobbishness.

I second that. I guess a majority of people feel that costlier the product,better the quality. While it may hold true to a certain extent,as long as tyres go the fact being that michelin/continental and other imported brands have to pay import duties+local taxes. Whereas Indian manufacturers just pay local taxes,and in some cases they don't. I know for a fact that pre VAT regime Goodyear's Maharashtra dealers used to get an additional discount since the goodyear plant is located at waluj in Aurangabad (MH) and they had some sort of tax holiday.

[Jaggu]

To tell you the truth if its normal usage i would prefer MRF and Appolo, they atleast are better built for our tough indian conditions

[tazmaan]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

To tell you the truth if its normal usage i would prefer MRF and Appolo, they atleast are better built for our tough indian conditions

I would second that for normal usage. But we @ team-bhp are not normal users

@anachronix: Yes I did get warranty on my continentals.

[Fountainheader]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

I would second that for normal usage. But we @ team-bhp are not normal users .

Or atleast we think we are not!

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

You are right. Goodyear and MRF along with JK, Apollo have a huge price advantage. They are not at all bad tyres. Just that we as T-BHPians look down at these tyres with a certain snobbishness.

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

I second that. I guess a majority of people feel that costlier the product,better the quality. While it may hold true to a certain extent,as long as tyres go the fact being that michelin/continental and other imported brands have to pay import duties+local taxes. Whereas Indian manufacturers just pay local taxes,and in some cases they don't.

I would disagree with both of you. What do the local brands have to offer us in their products apart from longevity?? Grip, Traction, Braking are words they've not heard of because they still belong to the quasi-socialist era of our society where competition was limited & what mattered in tyres was what they costed & how long they lasted.

The thing that has infuriated me for a long time is that even when we are ready to spend thousands/lakhs of rupees of wasteful items like ICE, Projector setups, Xenon lights, Body kits, Engine modifications why are we not ready to spend a little premium for a good set of tyres? I believe (and most know I've barked about this enough times already) they are the single most important components of a car when you're travelling & scrimping on them is nothing but asking for it.

I'm sorry, whatever the others (including professional dealers) might say, I'll still not skimp on spending good money on tyres simply because I value my car & lives of me & my fellow passengers too much.

And to all those who say we've not had a bad experience yet, let me tell you if you ever have a bad experience at high (God forbid) I don't think even God can help you much. A car with a burst tyre is almost impossible to control at any decent speed, so guys be careful of the choices you make.

[Whenasked]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

COntinental is coming into India hoping that people with Mercs and Audis buy COnti when it;s time to change the tyres. These cars and many European cars(VW included. Jetta and Passat) come with Conti tyres as the OEM tyres.

It's the typical mentality of, I have X tyres on my car. I want X only and dont want to try any other brand.

Also, they claim that the ride comfort and tyre noise is minimal.

BMW USA has been replacing OEM Bridgestone Turanzas with Continental Contipro Contact on the 3 series under warranty due to premature wear, road noise etc..that for sure tells some about this brand.

[WasavaTyres]

[quote=iraghava;1181829]Grip, Traction, Braking are words they've not heard of because they still belong to the quasi-socialist era of our society where competition was limited & what mattered in tyres was what they costed & how long they lasted.
The thing that has infuriated me for a long time is that even when we are ready to spend thousands/lakhs of rupees of wasteful items like ICE, Projector setups, Xenon lights, Body kits, Engine modifications [b]why are we not ready to spend a little premium for a good set of tyres[quote=iraghava;1181829]

I don't think any local brand is that bad.I do agree that some pricier brands may be superior in terms of grip/traction and braking. I'm not defending local co's but all companies are running a business, "jaisa paisa waisa maal" Apollo's accelere's are priced higher than the amazer xl's and B'stone has S322 as well as BS250/Turanza, Goodyear has it's GT3 as well as the Assurance. Like you rightly said,people will spend 50 grand on ICE and a similiar amount on accesories but skimp when it comes to good tyres. I have scores of swift customers who come and fit alloys and retain thier skinny 165/80/R14 Jk's saying "abhi toh tyre naya hain" I have no choice but to say fine,your choice. 'coz if I push too much for an upsize somebody else will make that sale. No amount of educating the customer actually bears fruit.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by iraghava

I would disagree with both of you. What do the local brands have to offer us in their products apart from longevity??

Um, ruggedness? The last few miles to my house are horrible. and even where there are good roads, potholes, stones, trees appear from out of nowhere frequently. The idiots who made the gutter in our lane laid them at ground level, leaving the slabs that cover the gutter sticking out. add to that its a narrow road. M800's and omni's barely pass through. I occasionally scrape my sidewalls and rims there. nothing that can be done about it. Right before the turn to my house , there is a steep incline. In the name of "fixing" the road, an idiot neighbour of mine dumped construction rubble onto it, some of them with rocks sticking out of it. Most of the folks who live in the lane dont have any vehicles, so they could care less.

I'm running my Bridgestone S322's on stock rims. They've taken all the abuse I've thrown an them, and still no issues ( The rest of the car hasnt been so lucky - have had to change a few suspension bits , + some power steering issues because of these rocks scraping my car's underside)

I'd like to buy some alloys, but i know i cant keep em, because they'll be kerbed and scratched in weeks, no matter how good i drive

I'd like to buy A drives or S drives or XM1's, but so many of these brands have been reported to have issues with bad roads in india. Why should i spend more on a product which cannot stand the roads that I have to travel everyday, from a manufacturer who will not honor the warranty, because , yes, i drove them over bad roads, which I shouldnt ? Indian brands may suck wrt to these "better" tryes with regard to grip, traction and braking, but they can stand the average indian road.

What should I do then, move to a place with good roads, or where I wont have to deal with these problems? run after the panchayat and get these things fixed? Buy a new tyre every time there is a sidewall seperation ?


I'm genuinely curious if there is an answer to this. I am enthusiastic about driving, I am aware that the grip and the cornering abilities of my car are nowhere near what it can handle ( i can feel the rear breaking loose every time i corner hard) I would really like more grip and control, but I cannot compromise on the type of roads i have to drive

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

I don't think any local brand is that bad.I do agree that some pricier brands may be superior in terms of grip/traction and braking. I'm not defending local co's but all companies are running a business, "jaisa paisa waisa maal" Apollo's accelere's are priced higher than the amazer xl's and B'stone has S322 as well as BS250/Turanza, Goodyear has it's GT3 as well as the Assurance. Like you rightly said,people will spend 50 grand on ICE and a similiar amount on accesories but skimp when it comes to good tyres. I have scores of swift customers who come and fit alloys and retain thier skinny 165/80/R14 Jk's saying "abhi toh tyre naya hain" I have no choice but to say fine,your choice. 'coz if I push too much for an upsize somebody else will make that sale. No amount of educating the customer actually bears fruit.

Well for enthusiastic driving tell me one good product from MRF/JK/CEAT apart from the Accelere from Apollo. These guys have been stagnant for so long that it's not even funny any more. But I understand where you're coming from on this subject, a majority of our customers still want the "sabse sasta" tyre and everything else be damned. As long as there are customers like these, these companies will have a captive market to cater to.

And yes, pushing them or educating them is usually an exercise in futility. Most get the impression that you're trying to fool them and make a quick buck by selling a product on which you might earn more. A very slender percentage of customers are genuinely interested in knowing the benefits of "better" tyres and as unfortunate as it is, that is ultimately the ground reality of the market.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Um, ruggedness? The last few miles to my house are horrible. and even where there are good roads, potholes, stones, trees appear from out of nowhere frequently. The idiots who made the gutter in our lane laid them at ground level, leaving the slabs that cover the gutter sticking out. add to that its a narrow road. M800's and omni's barely pass through.

I'm running my Bridgestone S322's on stock rims. They've taken all the abuse I've thrown an them, and still no issues ( The rest of the car hasnt been so lucky - have had to change a few suspension bits , + some power steering issues because of these rocks scraping my car's underside)

I'd like to buy some alloys, but i know i cant keep em, because they'll be kerbed and scratched in weeks, no matter how good i drive

I'd like to buy A drives or S drives or XM1's, but so many of these brands have been reported to have issues with bad roads in india. Why should i spend more on a product which cannot stand the roads that I have to travel everyday, from a manufacturer who will not honor the warranty, because , yes, i drove them over bad roads, which I shouldnt ? Indian brands may suck wrt to these "better" tryes with regard to grip, traction and braking, but they can stand the average indian road.

I'm genuinely curious if there is an answer to this. I am enthusiastic about driving, I am aware that the grip and the cornering abilities of my car are nowhere near what it can handle ( i can feel the rear breaking loose every time i corner hard) I would really like more grip and control, but I cannot compromise on the type of roads i have to drive

Well you say the road is bad, broken, full of stones jutting out & narrow to boot, right? If so then I assume that you can't drive at more than 20 kmph there. If my assumption is correct then I think most of these tyres can handle bad roads pretty well.

I've driven on some very, very bad roads & pretty frequently at that and most of these tyres have handles them pretty well. Sure, I did have a problem with one particular but one swallow does not a summer make. So I'm still fairly hopeful that by careful driving, tyre failures are going to be few & far between. And if you want to see proof, see the number of positive experiences people have had on the forum, I can assure you the number of people happy with their purchases out numbers the problem by some margin.

Ultimately, it boils down to a simple choice of what you prefer. Better grip, traction etc. etc. or longevity over bad or broken roads. I prefer the former.

[greenhorn]

apollo acelleres are my next upgrade . Thing is , I've seen so many complaints about these premium/sporty tyres - cuts, bulges etc, while none about these regular tyres, hence my apprehension.

[jack33]

How good is Nexen tires.Nexen N2000, 225/50/16 is available for 5900 Rs with five year warranty.

[Nikhilb2008]

@ishan --- I agree with you. I am talking abt most of the Indian customers. NOT T-bhpians!

T-BHPians are enthusiastic drivers and need the extra grip and stability given by the high end tyres like Michelin PP/PP2s, S drives, etc...

Most people dont drive like that. For them, a car is a place to go from one place to another. There are loads of people who dont drive much on highways and their driving is restricted to the city. In the city, they are very happy with the OEM JKs or MRFs.

The car manufacturer also has to have a bit of brains. Look at theANHC. Just for the sake of mileage, they literally invented a brand new size of 175/65-15. The attitude has to change from the tyre companies and the car manufacturers.

@Jack33 ---- I would stay away from the Chinese tyres.

[MA5K]

Hi guys!

Whats the starting size of ContiPremium Contact 2 in 14" size? Am looking for a new set of wheels for my 3yr old stock-clad Baleno. Planning to upsize to 14". Looking at 185/65 or 190/60 R14 upgrades.

Most of the driving is going to be on Mysore-B'lore highway.. 6-8 times a month, with minimal in-city driving.

Any suggestions?

[Nikhilb2008]

195/60 R14.

Apart from that, only in 15" and above.

[crazydiablo]

Check out the baleno wheel thread. you have umpteen number of suggestions there.