[asitkde]

Originally Posted by outdoorlover

Hi Asitde,now that you've driven on your Continental MC5 for a few months now, how would you rate the experience compared to XM2 that you had before? I have stock XM2 on my 3.1/2 year old Honda City that I plan to replace soon with 195x60x15 tyres while retaining the spare tyre which hasn't been put to use yet.

The stock tyres on my City were XM1's and not XM2's, as I indicated in my earlier post you have quoted. Hence, I can compare the MC5's only with the XM1's. Even that is not a fair comparison, because the rubber of four year old tyres would definitely be harder than that of absolutely new tyres.

Well, the City is no longer my daily drive, it is now driven by our chauffeur, but on weekends I drive the car regularly. My regular drive now is a VW Polo GT TSI, but even on that new car, on the very next day after purchase I got the stock Goodyear 195/55/R16's changed to the Continental MC5.

That obviously says a lot, that I am very impressed with the MC5s. In the last 8-10 years, I have used, on 4-5 different cars, several Michelins (initially very very soft), Yokohama A-drives, Bridgestone Turanza ER60's and now the Continental MC5's. The general impression is that the MC5's stand out significantly.

I like them because of

• Silence (minimum of road noise)
• A very good balance between comfort and performance
• Excellent dry and wet grip

I have posted elsewhere that on the XM1's, on sudden application of brakes, the City engaged the ABS quite a few times. After the switch to the MC5's, this has not happened even once with me.

I'd mention one particular thing about them though. The MC5's need, in my view, a longer break-in period than most other tyres I am familiar with in the last 10-15 years. They need, in my opinion, about 1000 kms to completely break in, while many other tyres would need about 200-500 kms for that.

[nick17s]

Originally Posted by nick17s

Got Maxxis MAZ1 205 55 15 fitted on OE rim.

guys these tires worn out after running 55k kms. I am satisfied with the performance, only a little tire noise was an issue. I want to go for deep dish alloys with 205/50/16 alloys. Is this gonna be ok?

Pls suggest and also the best tire in that size.

[outdoorlover]

Now that MRF has launched its new tyres "PERFINZA" earlier this month, it will be good to see how they compare to the likes of Michelin XM2, Continental MC5 and Yoko Earth-1. These new tires appear to be squarely targeted at the high end cars with comfort being the focus.

[torquing_points]

Hi Guys

I am planning to change the rubber on my 2016 HC with the *sole purpose* of improving back seat ride quality. I do not care about anything else at all. For my other cars, the consensus from T-BHP normally was Michelin Primacy LC. But on this thread, I see a lot of good reviews about the Continental MC5s.

My questions to experts, as well as owners of MC5:
1. how is the ride quality on the MC5, and if ride-quality was the only criteria, would you suggest these shoes over the Michelin LCs?
2. If I wanted to improve rear seat ride quality, will up-sizing the tyres help?

Any other suggestions welcome. I dont care about mileage, long-lasting etc -- only a super soft rear seat ride.

Thanks!!

[ankitahuja]

Stock tyres had done 49,000 kms on my 2011 City. Got them changed to 195/60/15 last weekend - Yoko Earth-1

Considerable difference in the behaviour. Ground clearance has definitely improved and the low slung rear has a better stance. Road noise isn't something that I can be bothered about, 75% more silent than the balding stock Goodyear GT3 so I'm a happy man!

[prsnck]

Team,

I am planning to upgrade my tyres of Honda city ZX 08 model.It has stock OEM tyres run 45k km has done really good till now with proper rotation at all 5-10k intervals. Off late rubber has become hard and small minor cracks as you see an 10 year old tyre. Rear one of tyres slowly the air gets reduced very time monthly i check.

32 psi to 20 psi i reduces in a month :(

Ok coming back to upgrade :

Stock size : 175/65 R 14

Upgrade size : 185/60 R 14

I have gone through many reads as I got to know profile is right, hope its ok to go for this. Can you let me know if this is right upgrade , pro's and cons if any. If any one has done so practically and run some good mileage, it will be very helpful feedback than the theoretical experience.

Thanks
Prasoon

[krishnamarathe]

Hello BHPians!
So after following some precious advice here, I upsized my tyres last evening from Tyre Empire, HSR layout in Bangalore.
They bought back my stock Bridgestone B250s for INR 7000. One of the five had a side-wall puncture last week. I upsized to the Michelin Primacy 3ST 195/60/R15 and I find a noticeable difference in ride quality and even in braking. I paid a total of INR 35327 for 5 Michelin tyres, Wheel balancing and alignment excluding the buyback of old tyres. Also they are running an offer for "no fee 6 month EMIs" on major credit cards.

[Lovelydude77]

Folks,

Confused, Need help deciding on tyres for 2013 honda city.

Car has two new Michelin XM2 on the front, one of them has small side wall tear and needs to be changed (about 7000-8000 run in on these).

Two tires in the rear are old XM2 and tread is going off and need to be changed.

Also, I have one OEM XM1 as spare in mint condition.

Issues with current set of tires:
1. Road noise.
2. ground clearance.

I have learnt following facts, with some open questions:
1. Tires on same AXLE have to be of same make and type. However, you can go for different makes and types across AXLES. Latter is not advisable but no serious harm. Correct?
2. You cannot get XM1 tires in open market to use new stepney tire as these are sold exclusively as OEMs. Correct?
3. You can upsize to 185/65 R15 to get better ground clearance but all tires should be of same size. Correct ? what are the side-effects of upsizing ?



I have following options:
A. Buy three XM2 : Cost Rs. 16800
Pros:
1. Get to re-use existing good XM2 tires.
CONS:
1. Expensive
2. Have come to believe XM2 are not very durable for indian highways. Might be wron g about this.
B. Buy one XM2 and two Yokohama Earth-1. Cost Rs. 14600.
Pros:
1. Don't have to dispose good XM2 tire.
2. Cost effective.
Cons:
1. Disparate tires across axles.
2. Three tires types on the car (considering XM1 in the boot).
C. Replace all four tyres with Yokohama Earth-1 (Cost: Rs. 17,400)
Pros:
1. Gives more resilient/durable tyres than XM2.
2. Allows me to upsize to 185/65/R15 helping with ground clearance, if this is advisable.
Cons:
1. Boot tyre (XM1 0r XM2 would be smaller and different)
2. Road noise may increase ?


Please advise...

Lovelydude

[rahulskumar]

Originally Posted by Lovelydude77

I have learnt following facts, with some open questions:
1. Tires on same AXLE have to be of same make and type. However, you can go for different makes and types across AXLES. Latter is not advisable but no serious harm. Correct?

Lovelydude

If you have ABS , make sure all tires have similar grip levels, else it might mess up your abs. You might see abs getting engaged even for normal braking



1. I've booked Honda city 15 inch alloys ( pics attached ). Can anyone let me know what is the center hub cap size ? is it 58/60 mm or something else. Genuine hub caps are very expensive , each cost around 1400

2. Can we use same steel wheel nuts on these alloys ?

Thanks

[JayKavadi]

Its been almost 19 months on Yoko Earth1’s on my 2012 ANHC (stock size). I’ve done around 10K kms on these and the experience has been a mixed one, mostly positive though. In terms of road noise, I dont have any complaints. I wouldnt call them completely silent but I’ve never found them intrusive either. The overall ride on good roads is quite smooth. One gripe I have is that the ride has a hard edge to it especially at the rear. The car ‘thuds’ through potholes. And the thud is a pronounced. Not sure if this is due to bad suspension or due to the tyre. I maintain 32 psi in all tyres.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by Lovelydude77

Please advise...

Go to a good tyre retailer in Bangalore, preferably the big ones with multiple branches and brands under their name and ask them for their opinion before deciding.

Having said that, my opinion is, change all 4 at once. Things like rolling resistance, grip levels etc vary with each tyre and even though a Yoko and a Michelin might have same profile and size.. they may have altogether different noise/grip/rolling levels based on their weight and compound. Ask for a good buy-back price for the 1 good tyre and you may also get some money off for the other tyres (Rs.200-Rs.300) as long as they aren't damaged.

My preference honestly is for softer compound tyres, once you use them you can't even go back to intermediate compound tyres like Earth-1. If your running is low and you prefer comfort it is all the better. With higher running over Bangalore's craters, an Earth-1 is ideal. Honestly, not sure how much practical improvement you will see with a 10 mm GC increase because dynamic rolling will decrease a wee bit of that 10 mm due to lowering of contact patch compared to free radius of the unmounted tyre.

[Lovelydude77]

Thanks Dark Knight !

I have upgraded to Yoko Earth-1 195/60s back in August. No complaints as of now, car certainly feels much more planted with this upgrade and slightly lethargic, it being Automatic...

[Dushie]

Went through the entire long thread as i picked up a 2010 Honda City AT last week that came with original Michelin XM1 that were pretty old, hard and have developed cracks on tread and sidewall. Got a good deal on Continental MC5 and as recommended by most folks here i upgraded from stock size to 195/60 R15. I went for MC5 as i got a good deal for the same paid 5k per tyre at Darshan motors Pune. The alignment and balancing was done for free for all the tyres. Post the change the ride quality has improved a lot. Did not go for Michelin XM2 as they were expensive and i had to shell out 4000 more for the same.

My driving would be on the lower side and i do not expect to do even 20000 Kms in the next 3 years so did not felt the need to pay a premium for the XM2 and settled for MC 5.

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by Dushie

Got a good deal on Continental MC5 and as recommended by most folks here i upgraded from stock size to 195/60 R15. I went for MC5 as i got a good deal for the same paid 5k per tyre at Darshan motors Pune. The alignment and balancing was done for free for all the tyres. Post the change the ride quality has improved a lot.

My driving would be on the lower side and i do not expect to do even 20000 Kms in the next 3 years so did not felt the need to pay a premium for the XM2 and settled for MC 5.

How's the overall experience? Ride quality would definitely improve, any positive changes in handling/ braking?

How's the overall pick-up/acceleration with these bigger, heavier tyres? Any impact?

Thanks!

[ar@v1nd]

Guys, need your advice on a tyre query.

I have a 2011 Honda City (Type 3) with 2 Yoko Earth1s on the back axle, 2 Michelin XM2s on the front axle with all 4 tyres having more or less equal running and wear. And a Michelin XM2 with very less running as the spare tire with which I cant do rotation now with the other 4 tyres due to the difference in wear.

All 5 tyres are 175/65 R15s but I would like to upgrade to 185/65 R15s in the next tyre change to increase the ground clearance. The tyre shop tells me that it's fine to have the spare tyre as 175/65 R15 while the other 4 are 185/65 R15 (and do rotation only on these 4 tyres).

I know there's approx. 10 mm radius difference, but they are telling me this is not an issue at all since spare tyre will hardly be used and if at all used, it'll only be for a short distance. It seems such 'donut' tyres of different sizes are very common now and is not any cause for concern.

I can understand if the donut tyre was of the same diameter but different size (say lesser width and higher profile with low rim size but overall diameter same). Is it safe to do like they say?