[iceman7]

Well, for the longest period of time I thought that changing/upgrading tyres on my car would be a hassle free and a no brainer job. I was so wrong!

You see, the situation is such; I own a 2002 Palio 1.2. I bought it from the used car market in 2006 and the tyres that it came with were pretty decent (so i thought). Today, on 10th August at 15:41 in the afternoon, I have a Palio in my office parking that has eaten (blown) 2 tyres (GoodYear GPS2, if you like) in the 3 years of ownership that I have had.

The real problem is that the tyres on my car are really old. Some of them date back to the times when Dinosaurs existed. One of the tyres (left front) blew up on the Eastern Express highway last night, and the right front tyre is developing bubbles too (not surprising since they are from the T-rex times). The spare tyre is of no use too.

So, to cut a long story short, I need to upgrade/change the tyres on my Palio, ASAP. And it is not an easy choice to make. I had been to a tyre dealer in the morning, and that is where the confusion began. My requisites for the tyre were:

1. tubeless
2. Preferably anything apart from Good year

The dealer comes up with a huge list of options that i had (well i asked for it, did'nt I?) I could upsize to Yokohama A-Drives, since they weren't available in the stock palio size, or I could go in for Bridgestone Potenza, or Continental, or Falken, or Good Year. I am so confused.

So i switch to T-BHP for advice and after reading a lot of reviews i think the Yokos should be a good bet. Tyre gurus, I need your advice on the following:

1. From the given options, are the Yoko A-drives a good buy?
2. Will my stock rims support an upsize?
3. How will this effect the Fuel consumption and acceleration?
4. I read a lot on the abilities of the A-Drives to increase grip and reduce tyre noise. Is this true?
5. How is the tyre wear compared to the other alternatives?
6. Should I also look for options from Michelin and Pirelli?

A tyre upsize is not absolutely necessary. Will do it only if it is required.

Whoa... whoever said buying tyres was an easy task

[finneyp]

Check this thread, you will get all the info:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...e-queries.html

[Nikhilb2008]

I'm going to assume oyu have 13". The stock size is 165/80 R13. You can upsize to 185/70 R13. The stock rims can take this size without problems.

However, you need to make sure than the rims are not rusted. Especially at the edges where the beading is going to sit and at the neck.

You can also go for Continental. They are also good tyres. Stay away from the Bridgestones. Michelins are good but a little pricey.

1. From the given options, are the Yoko A-drives a good buy?
2. Will my stock rims support an upsize?
3. How will this effect the Fuel consumption and acceleration?
4. I read a lot on the abilities of the A-Drives to increase grip and reduce tyre noise. Is this true?
5. How is the tyre wear compared to the other alternatives?
6. Should I also look for options from Michelin and Pirelli?

1). A drives are a good buy
2).Yes
3). Fuel consumption will go up by a very small amount. Acceleration will decrease, but again not by such a big margin that you will feel the car has become sluggish.
4).Yes. It's true. Same goes for Conti and Michelin
5). Tyre Wear will be waaaay better than the goodyears which are considered among the worst.
6).Consider only Michelin. Pirelli only if you trust the dealer as the company is not officially present in India. Everything is through the grey market.

To make it simpler for you, my summation is this.

Outright comfort, price not considered: Michelin XM1+.

When you consider price: Continental or Yoko. Whichever you prefer. Continental as a brand has not been tested too much in India. But I've been told by the company rep that the Conti tyres coming to India in recent weeks have a slightly stronger sidewall than what came in the first 2-3 months. So, they should be ok.

[Live To Jive]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Pirelli only if you trust the dealer as the company is not officially present in India. Everything is through the grey market.
Continental as a brand has not been tested too much in India. But I've been told by the company rep that the Conti tyres coming to India in recent weeks have a slightly stronger sidewall than what came in the first 2-3 months. So, they should be ok.

Pirelli is officially available now. That's why the tyre shop I went to, told me.

Continental was present in India for a long time as Modi Continental. Their factory is near Reay Road Station in Mumbai. I remember going there once.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Don't go for Pirelli's. My boss had them on the Adventure and the ride was very harsh. I agree that the Goodyears are the worst. I had them on my old 2002 Palio 1.2. Switched to Bridgestone after 3 years. I can also tell you that the Bridgestone's are no different from the Goodyears.I think your best options are Yoko or Michelin.

Do you really need an upsize ? It will decrease your fuel efficiency. Just decide that based on your driving, if you do say 80% city driving, really no point in going up a size. But if you do lots of weekend driving and highway driving, there is case to be made.

[iraghava]

Pirelli is not available officially in the sense that the company is not directly represented here. The ones sold in India are brought in via an importer.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

Pirelli is officially available now. That's why the tyre shop I went to, told me.

Continental was present in India for a long time as Modi Continental. Their factory is near Reay Road Station in Mumbai. I remember going there once.

As Ishan said, it's just brought it by an importer who may or may not have official links with the company. Most of the time, a dealer will just buy tyres in bulk from someone in China/Thailand/Singapore and bring it in. Not even from the company directly.

Modi Continental was there long back. Then they exited the market for about 10 years. I'm not too sure for how long though. However, they have re-entered on their own. No tie ups with any Indian company. They have tied up with Modi only for their truck tyres. Their passenger car radials are made by Continental in other parts of the world and imported here directly.

[iceman7]

Thank you all for the tips. I am in a much better position to make a decision than I was in the morning. Please keep the tips flowing. I will be getting new shoes for the car over the weekend.

Originally Posted by finneyp

Check this thread, you will get all the info:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...e-queries.html

Thanks Finney. That was of help.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

I'm going to assume oyu have 13". The stock size is 165/80 R13. You can upsize to 185/70 R13. The stock rims can take this size without problems.

However, you need to make sure than the rims are not rusted. Especially at the edges where the beading is going to sit and at the neck.

You can also go for Continental. They are also good tyres. Stay away from the Bridgestones. Michelins are good but a little pricey.



1). A drives are a good buy
2).Yes
3). Fuel consumption will go up by a very small amount. Acceleration will decrease, but again not by such a big margin that you will feel the car has become sluggish.
4).Yes. It's true. Same goes for Conti and Michelin
5). Tyre Wear will be waaaay better than the goodyears which are considered among the worst.
6).Consider only Michelin. Pirelli only if you trust the dealer as the company is not officially present in India. Everything is through the grey market.

To make it simpler for you, my summation is this.

Outright comfort, price not considered: Michelin XM1+.

When you consider price: Continental or Yoko. Whichever you prefer. Continental as a brand has not been tested too much in India. But I've been told by the company rep that the Conti tyres coming to India in recent weeks have a slightly stronger sidewall than what came in the first 2-3 months. So, they should be ok.

Thanks Nikhil. Yes the stock are 13". I think my decision is tilting toward the Yokos. Michelins are a bit out of budget at the moment.

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

Pirelli is officially available now. That's why the tyre shop I went to, told me.

Continental was present in India for a long time as Modi Continental. Their factory is near Reay Road Station in Mumbai. I remember going there once.

I'll have a look at Conti too. But i think Yoko it is

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

Don't go for Pirelli's. My boss had them on the Adventure and the ride was very harsh. I agree that the Goodyears are the worst. I had them on my old 2002 Palio 1.2. Switched to Bridgestone after 3 years. I can also tell you that the Bridgestone's are no different from the Goodyears.I think your best options are Yoko or Michelin.

Do you really need an upsize ? It will decrease your fuel efficiency. Just decide that based on your driving, if you do say 80% city driving, really no point in going up a size. But if you do lots of weekend driving and highway driving, there is case to be made.

Well I am not pro or against an upsize. The only reason I will need to upsize is that the dealer told me that the tubeless Yokos aren't available in 13". + weekend driving includes a lot of highway driving and I also like throwing the Palio into corners.

Originally Posted by iraghava

Pirelli is not available officially in the sense that the company is not directly represented here. The ones sold in India are brought in via an importer.

I think I will keep away from Pirelli, however 2 of my friends upgraded to Pirelli from their stock tyres about 1.5 years back, and the tyres seem to be running pretty ok.

[Nikhilb2008]

Another word of warning: dont think too much! there is not much any of us can say apart from personal reviews.

Yoko A drive is a good tyre. Just buy it and be happy!

[iceman7]

The Good Year GP2's (165/80R13) are out and the YOKO A-Drives (185/70R13) are in. Yipee!!

I had no idea that changing the tires would make such a difference. The car just glides now. The ride is become so smooth and the steering softer. Also somehow I think the car turns much faster (smaller turning radius). I don't think this is technically possible, but still it feels good.

When I was at the tire shop, the owner recommended I get the Good Year's (forgot the model name). The tires looked good and had a nice tread design. They looked a bit more beefier than the A-Drives too. I liked them, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was at more comfort with the A-Drives. So after a lot of thought, the A-Drives were put on.

I initially had planned to get the Bridgestone Turanza ER60, but they weren't available.

I got the A-Drive at 3050 a piece, including 12.5 tax (the tax is horrible man. Total Tax on 4 tires was half the cost of 1 tire)

Many thanks to all who helped me understand the world of tires and make a decision.

PS - I haven't taken her for a spin on the highway yet to check the handling at high speeds. Will do it in maybe couple of days.

PPS - Is there a running in period for tires as well. I think I read somewhere on the forum here that they need to go through a couple of heating/cooling cycles?

[kri$hna]

Originally Posted by iceman7

The Good Year GP2's (165/80R13) are out and the YOKO A-Drives (185/70R13) are in. Yipee!!

I had no idea that changing the tires would make such a difference. The car just glides now. The ride is become so smooth and the steering softer. Also somehow I think the car turns much faster (smaller turning radius). I don't think this is technically possible, but still it feels good.

When I was at the tire shop, the owner recommended I get the Good Year's (forgot the model name). The tires looked good and had a nice tread design. They looked a bit more beefier than the A-Drives too. I liked them, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was at more comfort with the A-Drives. So after a lot of thought, the A-Drives were put on.

I initially had planned to get the Bridgestone Turanza ER60, but they weren't available.

I got the A-Drive at 3050 a piece, including 12.5 tax (the tax is horrible man. Total Tax on 4 tires was half the cost of 1 tire)

Many thanks to all who helped me understand the world of tires and make a decision.

PS - I haven't taken her for a spin on the highway yet to check the handling at high speeds. Will do it in maybe couple of days.

PPS - Is there a running in period for tires as well. I think I read somewhere on the forum here that they need to go through a couple of heating/cooling cycles?

Yokos are very reliable .. I am using A drives 185/60 14" on my palio, and am absolutely overwhelmed with the kind of feel i get behind the wheel !! Amazing silence on high speeds and very responsive turning... changings tyres makes a lot of difference to the handling !! and for me it was positive