[julupani]

@Rohit

I am happy to inform you, that your ground clearance is already at 171mm. Diesel Puntos GC is 171mm while petrol Punto its 173mm, according to company brochures.

From where did you get the value of 165mm?? Petrol Lineas have GC of 165mm according to FIAT. The GC of the Punto is more than good enough. The only issue with ground scraping occurs only due to the long snout of the Punto, but there is a good strong guard underneath to take care.

Though I am still in support of going in for better tyres. 205section tyres make the car look a lot better, though shifting from 195section Michelins, you wont really find much improvement in grip or noise levels.

[hemanth.anand]

My Yokos has suffered a sidewall puncture last week:(

Before people start bashing Yoko, let me explain:
I had gone to my sister's home.
A new apartment is being constructed opposite to their home.
Carpentry work was being done.
My brother in law who was driving my car, couldn't spot a wooden piece with a nail lying on the road.
It got stuck on the sidewall of the rear right tyre and a big hole was left in the tyre

I changed the wheel to the stock 165/80 with 14"steel rims and took it to the tyre shop (it was looking weird)

He told that the tyre needs retrading and it'll take 2 days.
Since the next day was service day for my car and it had some balancing issues, I wanted to give it to service with all 4 alloys

They have done a normal tubeless pucture repair right now

today evening I'm planning to give the tyre for repair.
I enquired in Madhus and they quoted around Rs300/- and 2 days.
Also Iyengar's quoted around the same.

Which is the best place to go and what exact process does the tyre undergo in such a repair?

[hemanth.anand]

Got the tyre "patched" last weekend for the sidewall puncture.
It cost me Rs450/- at Iyengar's.
They took it one evening and refitted the repaired tyre exactly 24 hours later.
Below are the photos. (Mobile photo in poor lighting conditions)


Outside


Inside

All because of a careless carpenter who had put some wooden piece with a nail on the road.

[Nikhilb2008]

Please dont use that tyre on your car. Keep it as a stepney or something. It is unsafe. Those patches are never 100%. They could give way anytime.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Please dont use that tyre on your car. Keep it as a stepney or something. It is unsafe. Those patches are never 100%. They could give way anytime.

Thanks Nikhil,
I was keen on your reply.
I presently have only 4 full size tyre+alloy.
The 5th one is a small sized tyre+steel wheel
I'm planning a 5th alloy next month. this will become a stepney after that

as a query, What is the best way to repair a side wall puncture? the normal tubeless tyre puncture(rubber strip filling) or these patches?

[Nikhilb2008]

You simply cannot repair a sidewall puncture. It's best to put some sort of patch like what you have done and keep it as a spare. I know it hurts to throw away a tyre, but it's much safer.

[Soccerfan]

My Punto is currently running A-drive 185/70 R14. Till date has run 26k kms. Looks like it will last another 5k kms. I am planning for 185/70 or 195/70 R14 tyres next time. Planning to try some other tyre this time. Which would be best among xm1+/goodyear assurance/hankook optimus/potenza re 88

cost for 185/70
xm1+ - 4500
hankook - 4250
goodyear assurance - 4200

cost for 195/70
potenza re 88 - 4750
xm1+ - 5100'hankook - 4500
I liked the pattern and tread of good year assurance

[MCR]

The time has come to replace the OE Bridgestones on my Punto. Current mileage is 25K kms. Recently the rear tyres have been suffering a lot of punctures.
The size I am looking at is 185/70 R14. I have shortlisted the following brands :

1. Yokohama A drives - costs Rs.3800/- per tyre.
2. Bridgestone Turanza ER-60 - costs Rs.4200/- per tyre.
3. MRF ZVTS - costs Rs.4500/- per tyre.

My requirements from the new tyres are that they should be highly wear resistant and be capable to ride on rough roads.

[Nikhilb2008]

A drive without a question. Paying a 10% premium over the Yokos for the bridgestones make no sense at all.

[sumobom4]

Earlier in this thread, I had mentioned how I got Yoko ES100s for my Emotion Pack Punto. Yesterday, when I was driving home from office, the car went into a fairly deep pothole at around 90 km/hr. This happened on the Mumbai Pune bypass road, just before approaching Chandni Chowk. At first, I didn't realise anything was wrong, but the steering continued to become heavy. I slowly rolled down the slope, got onto Paud Road and stopped. Later on, when I checked at a tyre shop, I found there is a small hole near the place where the tyre meets the alloy on the outside.

Any idea whether this can be fixed? Or do I need to buy another tyre?

[ronin]

[quote=hemanth.anand;2392747]Got the tyre "patched" last weekend for the sidewall puncture.
It cost me Rs450/- at Iyengar's.
They took it one evening and refitted the repaired tyre exactly 24 hours later.
Below are the photos. (Mobile photo in poor lighting conditions)

Sorry for the late reply. But that patch will not stand the conditions we drive in. Simply because that is a patch meant for bias ply tyres and not radials. The construction itself is quite different and will definitely come off in the long run.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by sumobom4

Earlier in this thread, I had mentioned how I got Yoko ES100s for my Emotion Pack Punto. Yesterday, when I was driving home from office, the car went into a fairly deep pothole at around 90 km/hr. This happened on the Mumbai Pune bypass road, just before approaching Chandni Chowk. At first, I didn't realise anything was wrong, but the steering continued to become heavy. I slowly rolled down the slope, got onto Paud Road and stopped. Later on, when I checked at a tyre shop, I found there is a small hole near the place where the tyre meets the alloy on the outside.

Any idea whether this can be fixed? Or do I need to buy another tyre?

Nope. That tyre is as good as gone. Get a new tyres. That's your only option.

No tyre will survive an impact with a pothole at 90kmph. Just the fact that the tyre didnt burst is really good. Maybe you need to post this on the Yoko-bashing thread!

[sumobom4]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Nope. That tyre is as good as gone. Get a new tyres. That's your only option.

No tyre will survive an impact with a pothole at 90kmph. Just the fact that the tyre didnt burst is really good. Maybe you need to post this on the Yoko-bashing thread!

No no...I am really happy with my tyres. They provide me with very good grip especially in the wet and the hard sidewalls are perfect for Pune.

Stupid pothole came up very suddenly! Anyway, since I will be buying only one tyre, can you tell me where to put it? I mean front or rear? Which will be better?

[Nikhilb2008]

Rear. No doubts about that.

[ManualShift]

After clocking 38K+ km in my MJD Epack the time has come to retire my stock GT3's.

Need the guru's advice to arrive at the fittest solution.

My requirement :-
- No change in size, will be sticking with OE alloys & tyre size 195/60 R15.
- Handling and grip is primary consideration as against comfort, as most of times its only me in the car, going about the daily chores of my job, except on weekends when wifey hops in for long highway drives. There again handling is paramount.
- Need stronger sidewalls, here in Gurgaon (and nearby sojourns) it's not tarmac that you drive on but potholes that greet you every now & then with wide open smiling faces. One OE tyre already have its sidewall busted after going through crater of a pothole.

Having gone through the entire thread and the consensus seems to be on Conti CPC2 and Michelin Primacy LC's. However most suggest that LC has soft sidewall and it more suited to comfort & ride than handling. If its true, what other option do I have apart from CPC2, given my preference.

The problem is that CPC2 is hard to find in Delhi or Gurgaon. Its either out of stock or not stocked at all. If any dear friend knows any decently priced shop in GGN or sought Delhi please let me know.

Raghav.