[iraghava]

A Drive's do tend to look a bit on the skinnier side which as Nikhil has explained is due to a tyre's individual design and specs decided by the manufacturer. Contact patches accordingly also do wary, some manufacturers like to make it a bit wider and some a bit thinner, both with their own sets of advantages and disadvantages and both designed by the company keeping the target profile and customer expectation in mind.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

Planning for a drive of 100+ kms drive shortly. Will post my initial experience in a couple of days.

Here is the update - the tyres are named "ASPEC" and are H rated 210 kmph?! Treadwear Indicator says 300; Traction 'A' and Temperature 'A'.

The 100 kms trip turned out to be more like 150 kms, over a variety of roads so as to test the tyres and it turned out to be good test!

So here goes -

Noise - I can't silent; there is a definite humming sound - however, compared to Bridgestones, definitely less noisier. Can hear the engine now! And some odd rattles and squeaks... more of that later. But the difference is very much apparent when you drive on bitumen roads - NH4 was like a sonata....

Braking - Definitely improved. Now, all Palio owners know the 'mushy' feel of the brake pedal (it will take time for driver of any other car to get used to) - but A300s are a real treat - the same force (old habits die hard ) car stops without any fuss and much ahead than what the S322s used to, without any additional noise!!

Handling - Steering is lighter (my wife is going to love it!). And reminded me of the Getz - turns are easier now. However, I miss the feed-back of S322s. Let us see what happens when I cross 100 kmph.. And I also felt that S322s handled the corners better.

Ride - Tyres are much softer (an additional impact because of filing it with Nitrogen?). They were definitely lighter when I picked them during fitting. So on smooth roads, it is 'hushed' ride (except for the odd rattles and a squeak which I have to attend to). However, on bad roads the imperfections of the road filter in - and cause some objects within the car to vibrate (like CD's, toolkit etc. in the glove). Time to check the shocks?

Odo Reading / Mileage - Can't really say. There appears to be not much of a difference - usual home to office reading was same as per odo. Filled in about 15 litres before the journey, the needle was approaching empty, and it is pretty much at the same place after the trip. Will be doing the tankful method on the long trip...

Looks - You decide - pictures are here










Sukiwa, I now know how tough it is to get a good angle.

Personally, the tyre looks bigger, but the wheel wells are h-u-g-e!! The treads looks attractive (!?) and caught the fancy of a few. Compared to S322s, there is a definite improvement.

(Note to self - no more parking close to the kerb - see the scratches on the wheel caps?. Start hunting for some spare caps....)

[madhav]

I've been reading up on the internet about tire cupping and feathering which can be caused due unbalanced wheel (most common cause), alignment, loose wheel bearings, worn bearings, shocks, struts, springs, deteriorating bushes or other suspension components. Over inflation of tires with a marginally soft or weak shock or spring to add uncontrolled "bounce" that cups the center of the tread. All these factors seem to affect the tire's wear, performance and noise. We as normal car users end up noticing the most obvious - alignment and balancing (at the time of w/a, w/b). But what about the others reasons? Each of the other cause seem to be something that might not be easily spotted unless we have a complaint in these areas.

Some one mentioned that their new A drives on the Octy started to become noisy after about 1K Kms. Could this be due to one of the above mentioned problems? Some of these problems start small for the driver to realize, but the effects are transferred to the tires immediately. Soon the tires show symptoms which we consider as problem with the tires. Once the tires are affected there is no way to fix them and only solution is to limit the damage.

I'm starting to believe that we should get the entire suspension, bearings etc completely tested before changing tires. It could be some extra bucks but at least the tire investment would last longer!

Read about the various types of tire wear:
HOW TO READ TIRE WEAR

[itzzme]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

Hi friends

I have 195/65/14 A Drives on my Swift Diesel. I want to shift over to Michelin XM1+ as i find the Yoko's to have high trye noise and very bumpy.

Can i fit the above mentioned size to my Honda City ZX?

The Honda has stock 175/65 R14. Can it be replaced with the A Drive 195/65/14 ?

Thanks.

what I/P do you run on?

[gigy]

Is 4500/- fair enough price for 195/65/R15 A-drives?

[Nikhilb2008]

Dear god! No way! It should be around 3500-3700

[gigy]

are you sure this price is for 15inches? i have already taken them. will have to go and speak to the dealer otherwise. have to give a bad reputation to him since his shop is mentioned in good dealers of mumbai for tires and alloys.

[Nikhilb2008]

Yikes!! Sorry! My bad. I was looking at 195/65 R14.

4500/- is an ok price for R15. However, I think there is room for bargaining!

[buntydey]

Finally went for new shoes for my 2005 Swift VXI. I initially wanted Michelin 185/70/R14, but the tyre dealer in our area had only Yakohama tyres. A quick look at TBhp, and I made up my mind to go in for Yakohama. Cost at 3450 each (185/70/R14), the total came to Rs 14555, which includes 4 tyres, and alignment/balancing/nitrogen (plus got 2 free refill of nitrogen valid for the next 3 months). Immediately found the difference with the stock tyres that I was running for the last 5 years (it was when one of them burst opened, I decided to go for new shoes for my Swift). So far I am extremely satisfied with these, and the rattles in my swift has come down drastically. Will post reviews once I reach 1K kms on these new shoes.

[MutantX]

Guys , how much does the Yoko A-Drive 175 65 R14 Cost. A dealer in chennai has quoted 3500 per A drive. Is there any room to bargain. My stock has done 225 kms so far :d Please suggest!

[Nikhilb2008]

That sounds about ok. You can bargain a bit on the used tyres as well right?

[Soccerfan]

My A-drives which have done 5k kms have become more noisier in the past few days. Did a 200 km drive on highway today and the noise was very high...

[thewhiteknight]

waitaminute, I have 2 questions.

1. Do A-drives 205/15/R15 v S-Drives 205/15/R15 have less contact surface?
2. Why are unidirectional tyres noisier than, um, non-unidirectional tyres?

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

My A-drives which have done 5k kms have become more noisier in the past few days. Did a 200 km drive on highway today and the noise was very high...

Did you check Tyre pressure? I do find them nosier if pressure is above 45psi (which of-course is high, but sometime fault pumps, tire shop gauge you can't help it)! Do you feel noise when you keep around 30 PSI?

Other suggestion, do a wheel balancing may be that may also contribute.

[MutantX]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

That sounds about ok. You can bargain a bit on the used tyres as well right?

I guess I need to think twice before going to yokos. I get the michelins (175 65 R14) XM +1 for 4075 per tyre! i guess it would be a better deal. The dealer here says the tokos are made of natural rubber and michelins are made of synthetic rubber and that would make a real difference in long run? any pointers here?