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Pushed the tyres a little today (195/60-14) on the old Verna. Was doing between 100-120 on JJ flyover which was completely, blissfully empty. Car felt reasonably composed. Very grippy. However there was a fair amount of tyre squeal.
Bit of a contradiction, isn't it? Any inputs?

friends, I have a slight problem. I had OEM 155 80r13 on my Versa but since it had very little grip especially on inclines, I changed the rear to 195 60r14 and front wheels to 185 70 r13. The reason for the smaller rims upfront was to get a bigger sidewall for more ride-comfort and cushion. Rear tyres are MRF ZLo's and the front tyres were recently changed into Yokohama A-drives.

I had driven the car for a few months with rear 195 60r14 and front remaining OEM. Didn't bother to put the same spec up front because I had a fear that 195 60r14 would scrape the wheel wells and thus opted for a smaller spec with bigger sidewall upfront. Now the problem is after I get the front wheels replaced, the tyre-wallah says that you cannot do wheel alignement on different sized rims, and that it is only possible when all the rims are of the same size.

Is this true ? Have I committed blunder ?

lurker,

One must not drive a car with different sets of rims. This is a strict no-no and EXTREMELY dangerous! Rims of different sizes will affect the handling of the car adversely and can even result in a major accident. Forget about not aligning the car, you should not even drive a car with wheel rims of different sizes. Please refrain from driving the car until you have changed all the rims to the same size.

Who did this change for you in the first place? Was it a tyre dealer or an alignment centre? The guy needs to be :deadhorse for suggesting or even allowing you to go ahead with this change.

gpa, there is hardly any difference in the diameter or circumference even though the rims are staggered. What is specifically the problem then. A lot of rear-wheel drives are driving around with this setup. I have hardly used this car for past 2 years since I have a different daily-drive but I have used a staggered rim since past one year. Just recently I changed the front tyres, that's all.

I gave the car for servicing to Maruti as it's still in warranty, and even they didn't object. Have given it for running repairs on more than one ocassion to another MASS, and they didn't object either. And at that time the rims were even more staggered, front rims were OEM and rear were 195/60/r14.

Was driving the car today, and the grip, control of body roll, cornering, traction etc were all much superior to OEM tyre level. Searched around the net, and found that staggered rims on RWD's were a common phenomenon in west but the cars we are talking about are the Lotus Esprit, Mustang Cobra etc.

Well, the tyres now seem to be pretty beefy but the steering column seems to be all over the place. Landing on potholes means an extra effort on my shoulders because else the steering will swing violently. God knows what these Maruti guys make in the name of cars. Is there any way to tighten or strengthen steering play ?

Today, changed the Stock Bridgestone S248 Tyres of my new just delivered Ritz to Yokohama A-Drive 185/70 R14.

Yoko A-Drive Price : 4350 per tyre.
Michelin XM2 Price : 4750 per tyre.
Exchange Price for stock Bridgestone : 2700 per tyre.
Effective Cost per tyre : 1650 X 5 tyres = 8250 /-

Alignment, Balancing and Nitrogen Filling Complimentary. Also got 4 Wonder Valves free.

Had gone with the intention of getting the Michelin XM2 but ended up with the Yokos.
Michelin XM2 were slightly fatter than A Drive but i liked the Tyre Tread Pattern of A Drive more.
Also, i would have had to shell out 2000 /- more for getting 5 Tyres of XM2.

Road Noise has certainly reduced but cannot comment more as i have not yet driven a lot.

Hoping that i have taken a wise decision of going for the A-Drives and do not regret Not going for the XM2.

Planning to go for Yoko A Drives (195/60/R14) on stock Alloys for my Verna CRDI with ABS. Would you provide your opinion on the upgrade?

Also what would be a good price for these tyres as on today in Bangalore?

For this car, they're pretty good. The road noise is minimal and the steering does weigh up marginally (but very noticeably, considering it has absolutely zero feel with 175 section tyres). Grip is significantly better while cornering.
Overall, for this car I'm satisfied with the upgrade. I chose it over the Michelin XM2 mainly because those were 1000 bucks steeper (each).
I'm not sure about current prices, but I picked them up for Rs.4850 each. Got a set of 4. Wear has been pretty reasonable, 20k km down and they're at about half their life.
This was in late May/ early June last year.

Happy hunting!

I have the same car and upgraded to the same size A-Drives, 33k kms back. They're silent, much grippier than the stock B250s and have hardly lost tread in these 33K kms. Very good wet weather performance as well. My only grouse is that they have become somewhat puncture-prone lately.

Been a silent follower of your ownership thread and so I'm aware! :)

I'm looking for a less bouncier ride for the rear bench passenger as my father complains the car is bouncy! I know the suspension is pathetic but hope this tyre upgrade will improve things marginally at least! I'm not a very aggressive driver and my stock tyres have lasted me 48k km!

Any idea what might be the cause of punctures? And is this with one tyre?

try putting in 2Psi less in the tire and /or check the current pressure with a high quality guage. Maybe your car is high on air pressure and hence bouncing around

Surprised to know you get a bouncy ride. As Buffetfan said, try reducing your tyre pressure by 1-2PSI and see the difference.

The stock B250s are pretty durable tyres anyway. My (non-bhpian) friend who's an extremely aggressive driver has clocked 51K kms on his 2009 Verna CRDI with the stock tyres. I am begging him to change the tyres at the earliest.

The only reason I attribute to the punctures is working in Gurgaon, which is all about trash roads and construction material lying around everywhere. But then, many other users (who don't live or work in GG) have posted complaints about the tyres being puncture prone. And its not 1 tyre, but all 4.


Good to know that. Do break your silence the next time you're on my thread, its become very non-happening lately. ;)

Hello Fellas! I am getting a quote of 5100 per tyre from darshan tyres,Pune for the 195/60/15 A drives, wondering if its on the higher side?
Planning to swap them for the stock MRF's on my swift zxi.

Is it after exchange price or before exchange price ?

That's the original price. He's offering 3k per tyre for the stocks.