[tsk1979]

I have updated the review with 30K kms report

[abhibh]

Hi,

tsk one question are these better than michelin's Certis and XM1 ?

Cheers

[tsk1979]

I have absolutely no idea.
The only other tyres I have used on this indica are the Goodyear Ducaro 185/60(Spare wheel, sparingly used) and MRF ZVTS(original fitment).
for this car I find these potenzas more than adequate. On a diesel indica where the normal high highways speeds you would do are 110 or so, you dont need anything more potent, its overkill.

[kpzen]

Tsk
nice review...

And my rims are much happier. No more bending rims in small potholes(A typical Tata Indica/go problem).
Overall a great tyre, but then nothing is perfect. The breaking is same, if not worse than my semi worn out ZVTS. As long as you manage to not lock the wheel its fine. But once the skid starts seems you are on ice. They dont smoke, dont leave deep skid marks. They just start sliding, and this is on hard tarmac. ZVTS even in a skid would slow down the car quite a bit, but would smoke a lot and would leave large patches of rubber. I guess Bridgestone went on a rubber saving spree. And this has happened not once but thrice. The air pressure i used to maintain with the ZVTS is the same. I think straight line grip needs to improve, or softer rubber needs to be put, but maybe that will lessen the life.

The reason behind poor braking n no rim bending are partly the rims u running on....

185/60-13 tyres on 4.5J rims.....

[aZa]

Abhibh : Potenza's have road noise, low speeds and u get wine. our fellow member hellspawn has put Energy XM1's and the dealer said it was "comfort tyres" after taking a test drive i felt they are far more comfortable than potenza's.


Kpzen: bhai whats the correct rim size for 175/60/13 santro tyres ?

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by aZa

Kpzen: bhai whats the correct rim size for 175/60/13 santro tyres ?

It's 5J-6.5J (Sorry to steal your thunder KP)

[shibujp]

superb handling, acceptable ride comfort and good looks - this has been my ownership experience of the g111s.

Tire size - 165/60 R12
The tires they replaced were JK Ultimas 145/70 R12s. I used the stock steel rims for the first 8k. The biggest improvement was the ride. Potholes that earlier used to be felt as sharp thuds were much more muted and damped with the new tyres. Handling was great too with a 20kmph improvement in most corners.

After 8k i changed over to alloys which if i remember correctly were 4.5j. This made the ride a bit more harsher. Handling was pretty much the same...all in all a very tolerable difference.

Now i wouldn't say that the ownership experience was entirely problem free but I think most of the problems was ignorance as it was my first time with directional tyres. spacers to raise the height of the car messed up the back tyres which started wearing out on the inner sides. removing the spacers fixed things but the damage was done so i have had to live with uneven tyre wear since 25k.

I came to understand that directional tyres last better if you flip them on the rim every 10k kms. Is this correct?

Well now at 35k the fronts are almost slicks but in the dry, grip and brake superbly. I'm sure wet conditions would be a different ballgame. But even in such a state the performance of the tyres simple amaze me. Grip was and still is terrific. The tyres hold firm though the car rolls more since cornering speeds have increased!!

And i'm looking forward to my next set which i hope to take better care of

Drive on!!
Shibu.

[elf]

@shibujp: Try Goodyear Venturas. Spectacular tyres. You can check out my garage for the tread design.

[wolfinstein]

could it be the grip factor mentioned is poor because of the small wheel size of the Indica or Santro, The G3 in my lancer have gone through toughest monsoon roads in Delhi-Lucknow strech, Have sudden braked in town, but somehow the grip never went down, it seems they are kind of stuck onto the roads..! Even medium speed turning at 50 Kmph or so din't cause skidding in wet weather. Specially at the NFC-Modi Mill Flyover turning..! Clocked 20 K on the G3.

Disadvantages are Road noise but only after 30-35 K as is the case with all Bridgestone.Yet to notice any increased noise levels.

Speeds at max Clocked with Stability is 120 Kmph- 135 Kmph...Beyond that I'm sure all tyres would jiggle or so..!

So for a person aiming at a great tyre, affordability, Tubeless factor and occasional Highway trips..Bridgestone Potenza G3 would be a Good Option..! I don't hold it disadvantaged in comfort to XM1...! Waiting to burn the rubber of the XETA and get the Apollo changed into a Potenza G3..!

[zen-ith]

My 2 cents. I shifted to Bridgestone Potenza GIII 165/60 R13 and Aura 5j alloys (C9350 Hypersilver) for my 2000 model Zen from the stock 145/80 R12 on steel rims the day before yesterday. And I feel it is the best decision I have ever made. Firtsly, the performance is so vastly improved. Corners that i used to feel a bit nervous about at 60 kmph, I took them comfortably at 100+ kph and it felt amazingly stable. Not the slightest hint of tire squeal. The steering wheel used to feel light and sort of disconnected at over 90kph. It does not now even past 130 kph. Though I do not know if this is entirely due to the new tires or the balancing+alignment job too. And braking is vastly improved. I cannot quote numbers as i honestly did not clock it. But i can safely say a near panic braking from 120kph down to 30 kph felt so controlled, and the tires did NOT lock. Ever. I used to wonder if tires can make any substantial difference in performance. Now I know. And I am still finding it hard to believe. And talking about the looks, the car looks a whole lot beefier now. I shall post the pics soon.

Overall, I would say,
PRO:
a. Excellent grip and handling.
b. Confidence inspiring response during braking and cornering.
c. Terrific looking.

CON:
a. Price: Rs. 2850/- per tire * 5 = 14,250/- (The alloys costed me Rs. 16,900
for a set of 5)
b. Tire noise is high after 80 kph
c. Increased rolling resistance and tougher to park in tight spots (no PS!)
d. Error of about 1.5 % in speedo readings.

[kpzen]

Great decision zen-ith..!!!!

GIII is all about grip n road noise above 80kmph is normal for this tyre....

I think the GIIIs costs more in Bangalore ....I got 185/70-13 GIII for the same price......

Can u post some pics here...!!

[karan561]

hey,
i got G-III's as well ...... 225/45 R/17 , good grip at high speeds , and very stable at high speed lane changes ......

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by wolfinstein

Speeds at max Clocked with Stability is 120 Kmph- 135 Kmph...Beyond that I'm sure all tyres would jiggle or so..!

No if the tyre's & wheel's condition is good & they are correctly balanced then there should be no wobble at any speeds. I've run two sets which had no wobble upto 190+kmph when correctly balanced.

[rks]

I am wondering about the tyre life of the peformance tyres lke ER-60 or GIII if a lot of high-speed driving (say 120-140 kmph on the Expressway) is involved? These tyres should be made of softer compound, so from that point of view they should have lower life as compared to S322. But on the other hand, they are meant to handle higher speeds (H-rated, as compared to the S-rating of S322), so will that increase tyre life in high speed driving. Does the H-rating mean a thicker (and so heavier) tyre as compared to the S322?

I am tempted to go for the ER-60 for my next tyre change; presently I am having stock-size S322 tubeless tyres on stock rims (done 7500 kms so far, no issues, should last about 30 K for my severe usage). But I am doubtful due to the severe road conditions on the Pune-Mumbai route and in Pune city during the monsoon season. Plus H-rating seems like overkill for my Santro, with a top speed of 150-155 kmph. Nevertheless the temptation is very strong after reading T-BHP.

[tsk1979]

These tyres are made for high speed driving, that's why there are H rated etc.,