[nareshov]

Originally Posted by khoj

...
More importantly alloys do not go out of shape just like that. So unless you have really hammered them on bad roads etc, take up the matter with FIAt as this is clearly a manufacturing defect and the alloy should be replaced under warranty.

AVS dB can only be bettered in silent running by the P3ST and none other

I'm quite sure I've hammered them across the "wonderful" roads across Karnataka. I've even had to replace both my front struts couple of months ago. I've completed ~44k km as of today.

Michelin P3ST it is!

Originally Posted by bosporus

...
If I might add, the real saving is not on the alloys - 16" alloys cost barely Rs. 4-5000 more, for 4 alloys, than 15" alloys. The real saving is in the tyres, where 15" tyres tend to be about 40% cheaper than 16" tyres. But, since you're planning to shift to steel wheels, you might see an increase in unladen weight - steel being heavier than mag alloys, and am unsure if a 1" decrease in size will offset it. This may mean a marginal increase in mileage. Going in for 15" alloys will in fact lead to lower unladen weight, so may not be a bad idea.

Fiat Linea's 16" alloys cost ~11k, their steel rims cost ~1k.
The steel rims are reportedly (in other forums) lighter than the alloys.

If I want to replace all four alloys (~44k) and with new Michelin P3STs (~36.5k), it'll cost me: ~80k

If I go the 15" steel rim route, it'll cost me (~4k + ~25k) ~29k.

Bent rims a year or two down the line? Buy new for ~1k a piece!

Originally Posted by bosporus

...
Also, are you ok with the visuals of your car running on 15" - the lower sidewalls of 16" do look much smarter.

Perfectly OK with the visuals. They're usually covered with the glorious Bangalore road grime and the brake dustanyway.

Originally Posted by bosporus

...
The recommendation is because you are running a different size tyre with a different profile. The traction & grip characteristics will differ from your other 3 tyres, therefore high speed driving can be dangerous. Per se, 195 is not an inadequate width.
...

I see, this makes sense.

[PatchyBoy]

I have a Sept 2010 Line T-Jet. Since it is not the plus variant, it came with 15" steel rims shod with Appolo Accelere 195/60 R15. Those tyres barely lasted for 20 K Kms. I then changed to Yoko C drives in the same size. These were good, but not great. Were noisy as well. After another 35K Kms, decided to upsize.

Running OZ racing 16" alloys now with Pirelli P7 Cinturato tyres in 205/55 R16 size. The Pirellis are really good, awesome wet and dry grip and zero noise. Done almost 500 kms with the new setup and I am super happy so far.

[Charioteer]

My Linea MJD 2012 (March) with the stock Good year Eagle NCT 5 205 55 R 16 has reached 28000 km and its time for changing the tires. I have had only two punctures till date and the tires per se have never given me any problems.

The reason for the change is that the front tires have worn out from one side, thereby proving the shoddy job that was done a couple of years ago by the Fiat Tata dealership at Visakhapatnam while undertaking repairs to the front right wheel after a minor accident.

During the last servicing, Balaji Fiat shifted the rear tires to front, but now those too have worn out from one side, again proving that there is an inherent alignment issue

While I am invoking the warranty clause to ensure that this time around they give me a permanent solution, my query here is on the tires that I need to change to:-

(a) Threads on this forum generally are against Goodyear. Now I am getting following offers:-

(i) Goodyear Eagle 205 55 R16 at Rs 7200+

(ii) Goodyear Assurance Trimax 205 55 R16 ( 3 yrs warranty) for Rs 6500/-

(iii) Goodyear Assurance 205 60 R 16 ( 5 yrs warranty!!) at Rs 5400!!

(iv) Bridgestone ?? 91V of 205 55 R 16 at 8700/- from Balaji Fiat

(b) It is difficult to resist Goodyear Assurance 205 60 R 16 at Rs 5400, but my car already has enough ground clearance and I do not want to raise the height by another 10 mm (or would it be 5mm, I am not sure). I although have no idea why a tire with higher profile is cheaper than the lower profile!!

(c) Balaji Fiat also recommended stock tire size, saying the suspensions may get affected with 205 60 R 16. I doubt if the expert had an in-depth knowledge on tires.

(d) The reviews of Bridgestone are definitely good, but does it warrant paying additional ~9000/- for four tires?

(e) My daily usage is negligible, but I have a penchant for long trips with family. My Linea with the stock Goodyears has so far done following circuits:-

(i) Chennai- Pondicherry - Tirupati - Vizag
(ii) Vizag-Kolkata - Vizag
(iii) Vizag - Hyderabad - Pune - Mumbai - Kolhapur- Bijapur - Hyderabad- Vizag
(iv) Numerous Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai trips on e way.

(f) I am a high speed driver but that are mostly on empty stretches, where I frequently touch 130-140 kmph. In general I am a stickler to all traffic rules and do not abuse the car.

What probably may affect my choice is that I have not really found something terribly against my stock Good years.

Am seeking some precious inputs from fellow BHPians towards making an informed decision.

[pdma]

Originally Posted by Charioteer

Am seeking some precious inputs from fellow BHPians towards making an informed decision.

Hello Charioteer,

I have Linea dynamic which has done close to 11 k now and on stock good year 195 55 R 15 tyre's. I have done 3 long trips at various speeds and so far did not encounter any concerning issues. I have captured the feedback in my 10k update recently. I too read about the not so encouraging feedback about good year, however as mentioned no issues encountered so far in my relatively small ownership period till date.

Cheers,
pdma.

[nareshov]

Originally Posted by Charioteer

...
(e) My daily usage is negligible, but I have a penchant for long trips with family. My Linea with the stock Goodyears has so far done following circuits:-

(i) Chennai- Pondicherry - Tirupati - Vizag
(ii) Vizag-Kolkata - Vizag
(iii) Vizag - Hyderabad - Pune - Mumbai - Kolhapur- Bijapur - Hyderabad- Vizag
(iv) Numerous Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai trips on e way.
...

What probably may affect my choice is that I have not really found something terribly against my stock Good years.

...

Since your major usage is on the highway, I'd focus on the comfort and silence of the tyres which goes a long way towards reducing fatigue in a long drive.

[Swapnil4585]

For a friend's 2013 Linea, what would be the ideal all-4 tyre upgrade? The car would run more on bad roads. I suggested for B290s, for the reason that they have sturdier side walls. Tyres in options are Micheline/Yokohama.

[NoMind]

I am looking for tires for my Linea MJD as well. I had Michelins XMV8 195 65/R15 for 57k of complete fun and memories.

Now the tires are getting old with multiple slow leak punctures (no thanks to the bangalore-Mysore stretch) and shredded tread leading to almost baldness in the back tires(due to extensive bad road travel in KA's national forests/wildlife preserves bhadra WLS etc).

I'm looking for some more robustness that the previous ones. My driving as I summarise now is 5k of City driving 8-9k of Highway driving 2-3k of bad to very to non existent road driving.

Only caveat ...Not looking for sissy tires that can't handle bad roads.. ALL tire gurus... Please help !

[bharatbits]

My friend's Linea is running on stock 175/70 R14. The top end Linea comes in 205/55 R16 which in my opinion looks very good.

But, increasing the width of the tyre from 175 to 205 will sure have a significant impact on FE. He wants to upgrade from 14" to 16" which in my opinion look good too. I could not find any tyres with 175mm width and 16 inches in dia. So, i decided to increase the width slightly to 185mm (so as to have minimal impact on FE) and found 185/85 R 16 tyres in JK Tyres, Apollo, Ceat and MRF. Would this be a successful upgrade? The top end Linea's overall wheel dia is coming to 24.8 inches and the upgrade i chose is coming to 28.3 inches. Will this lead to the tyres touching the body and on turns when i turn the steering to extreme right or left?

I understand 185/85 R16 tires aspect ratio is quite high and can lead to side wall cuts on gravel roads etc. However, his usage will be limited to the city only or on highways once a quarter. The reason behind the upgrade is purely aesthetics and he is not looking for any improvement in performance. All he wants is to retain the current FE or maybe better it. He can live with the tyre noise as speeds will be under 50kmph in most city runs. He drives very sedately like a 50 year old man.

GC increase is welcome as long as it does not play a spoilsport with the aesthetics.

Also, which cars in India come with 185/85 R16 tyres in India so i can see to get a idea of how they will look on the Linea?

This is what i found when i was looking for images of 185/85 R16 tyres. I could find them only on SUVs and not sedans. Even more confused now. Please help.
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=18...9DFE4sQWNXM%3A

Tire calculators tell me the GC will increase by 2.368 inches which is 60mm (6cm). The stock GC is 185 mm. I think this will really spoil the looks. I want it to look like a elegant sedan and not a sporty sedan with mods.

Look forward to expert recommendations.

[bharatbits]

The next size closer to stock that i found is 195/55 R16. I think this will look elegant. But, the lesser aspect ratio will have an impact on the ride quality i feel. I plan to get 16" steel wheels with Fiat original wheel caps.

Expert views please.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by bharatbits

The next size closer to stock that i found is 195/55 R16. I think this will look elegant. But, the lesser aspect ratio will have an impact on the ride quality i feel. I plan to get 16" steel wheels with Fiat original wheel caps.

Expert views please.

The 16 inch steel rims are not available. Best bet is to stick to 195/65 R15 tyres. It will match the circumference of the 16 inchers and fill the wheel arches and the higher profile means it will give you plusher ride. The 15 inch tyres are cheaper than the 16 inchers which are atleast 40% costlier.

[bharatbits]

That's a valid point. I will not find 16" Fiat original wheel caps though I found 16 " steel wheels with 4 lugs from a friends Ciaz who upgraded to alloys. I think I will stick to 15 inchers with 195mm width and profile 65 or higher.
Thanks.

[FIAT3031]

I have a Fiat Linea (MY'12 Dec with Increased GC)
I have done 49,000 on my stock Good Year GT3 (195/60/R15).

The tires have been trouble free in their 3.3 years of life, however now its time to replace them owing to the low tread.

From this forum's discussion on the tire upgrade I have learnt about 3 makes and models suited for Linea 15" (195/60)

1) Michelin P3ST
2) Yokos AVS db 550v
3) Good Year GT3

However, GT 3 have been discontinued as per my discussion with the Co.rep from Good Year. As per him now they offer Good Year Assurance Triple Max

My usage is primarily(90%) city drives (Delhi NCR) and sometimes Highways

A friend has MRF ZLO on his Punto and is pleased with the service.
However, through threads I've learnt that MRF have hard rubber and harsh cushioning

Request Gurus to guide me here

[shijinpr]

Originally Posted by FIAT3031

I have a Fiat Linea (MY'12 Dec with Increased GC)
I have done 49,000 on my stock Good Year GT3 (195/60/R15).

The tires have been trouble free in their 3.3 years of life, however now its time to replace them owing to the low tread.

From this forum's discussion on the tire upgrade I have learnt about 3 makes and models suited for Linea 15" (195/60)

1) Michelin P3ST
2) Yokos AVS db 550v
3) Good Year GT3

However, GT 3 have been discontinued as per my discussion with the Co.rep from Good Year. As per him now they offer Good Year Assurance Triple Max

My usage is primarily(90%) city drives (Delhi NCR) and sometimes Highways

A friend has MRF ZLO on his Punto and is pleased with the service.
However, through threads I've learnt that MRF have hard rubber and harsh cushioning

Request Gurus to guide me here

Just in time!!

I changed the tires of my Tjet, 15 inchers two weeks back. Went for MRF ZLO!

Did a 900 km ride after that. The tires are just awesome, stick on to road like a glue. Ride quality is far better than the stock acceleres.

Bit noisy but not bothersome. Overall very happy and good value for money.

ZLO is not like the usual MRF tires, its made of soft rubber, comparable to big names.

You could also check the review

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...-tyres-16.html

[FIAT3031]

Originally Posted by shijinpr

Just in time!!

I changed the tires of my Tjet, 15 inchers two weeks back. Went for MRF ZLO!

Did a 900 km ride after that. The tires are just awesome, stick on to road like a glue. Ride quality is far better than the stock acceleres.

Bit noisy but not bothersome. Overall very happy and good value for money.

ZLO is not like the usual MRF tires, its made of soft rubber, comparable to big names.

You could also check the review

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...-tyres-16.html

Thanks a ton for the advice. However going through the post figured out an issue of humming at speed 40-50 km/hr.

Have you come across any ?

[TaciturN]

FIAT3031, I've been running Continental Max Contact 5 for about 2000 km now. I'm very impressed with the tyres.

I put up a short review comparing them to Michelin Primacy 3ST. Between the two I prefer the MC5.

Yokohama AVS DB V550 is an older tyre with good reviews. But they're also unidirectional, which you will need to consider with regards to your spare tyre.

Not many reports of the ZLO humming noise but the way MRF handled the whole issue doesn't inspire confidence.

Whether you choose MC5 or P3ST, coming from the stock GT3, the difference will be night and day.