[arvi86]

I am taking delivery of my pre-owned Civic this Friday and the first thing that I have to do with the car is change its stock tires. Which of the following upgrades is better for Civic - 205/65 R15 or 215/60 R15? And which tires should I go for? I am planning to change the tires at Tyrestore as word-of-mouth is that its so good.

[r_devakumar]

Any feedback about Haute Car Zone at OMR, Chennai?

I visited their shop to check the tyre and alloy options. I am planning to buy ford figo and want to replace the tyre and change to alloy. Blow are the points i got related to that. Want to check their price and any of your experience. Also suggest me any other good shops for alloy and tyres preferably around Velachery, Adyar.

I am mainly looking for their quality of service and price competitiveness. I am yet to do the research on what tyre to go and will go with my research mainly through team-bhp and not by the shop suggestion.

- Buy back price for Appollo Accelartor (< 100 KM) - Rs.2K per tyre

New tyre price (before any negotiation)
-Michelin XM+, Rs. 5300/Per tyre (175/70/R14)
-Yokohama ES100 Sports pattern, Rs. 4500/- per tyre (185/60/R14)
-Yokohama Comfort / Economy (don't know the exact model), Rs.4200/per tyre, (185/60/R14)

[2theMax]

Originally Posted by r_devakumar

Any feedback about Haute Car Zone at OMR, Chennai?

I visited their shop to check the tyre and alloy options. I am planning to buy ford figo and want to replace the tyre and change to alloy. Blow are the points i got related to that. Want to check their price and any of your experience. Also suggest me any other good shops for alloy and tyres preferably around Velachery, Adyar.

I am mainly looking for their quality of service and price competitiveness. I am yet to do the research on what tyre to go and will go with my research mainly through team-bhp and not by the shop suggestion.

- Buy back price for Appollo Accelartor (< 100 KM) - Rs.2K per tyre

New tyre price (before any negotiation)
-Michelin XM+, Rs. 5300/Per tyre (175/70/R14)
-Yokohama ES100 Sports pattern, Rs. 4500/- per tyre (185/60/R14)
-Yokohama Comfort / Economy (don't know the exact model), Rs.4200/per tyre, (185/60/R14)

Haute is expensive ! There's one in MG road Sastri Nagar.

I would suggest you make a trip to Tyrestore in Greams road and Raja Tyres in Pycrofts road. Iam sure you will return happy.

Contact persons are Deepak (Tyrestore) and Pramod(Raja) and do quote the forum.

[Daewood]

The best place to hunt for new alloys and tyres is Whites road in Royapettah. There are around 10 such dealers in that road alone, and few others in nearby roads. In fact most of them operate under the same name "Lals", with some initial differentiating one from the other.
Just park your car nearby and take a stroll in that road, and you'll find umpteen number of options. Most of them have a showroom and work area in the ground floor, and huge alloy stock in the first floor.

The first Lals on the left while coming from Satyam Cinemas was the best as per my experience.
As others have said it's best to avoid XL tyre point.

[username]

Hello All,
I am to change my Swift stock tyres (MRF zv2k) after 66k kms. I am looking at Michellin / Bridgestone tyres. Any suggestion on the brand?

Btw, Is Tyre Store still good the same way as it used to be? I see a lot of people recommending them...

Thanks for the help.

[Gapo]

I'll be buying a new set of tyres for my Civic in Chennai.
Most probably will do it at Tyrestore as per majority of the threads recommendation.

Planning to upgrade from stock Goodyear Eagles 196/65 R 15s to probably Mchelin PLCs either at 205/55R 16 or stock sizes only.

Will give an update to the thread after I do so.

[keshav1426]

Originally Posted by Gapo

I'll be buying a new set of tyres for my Civic in Chennai.
Most probably will do it at Tyrestore as per majority of the threads recommendation.

Planning to upgrade from stock Goodyear Eagles 196/65 R 15s to probably Mchelin PLCs either at 205/55R 16 or stock sizes only.

Will give an update to the thread after I do so.

I am also going to change my stock MRF tyres on my Figo tdci . Car has run 35k kms and i am planning to go in for Bridgestone or Yokohama, planning to stick with the stock size 175/65 r14. But I stay in Medavakkam and prefer to go somewhere close to home.

[eyesice]

Originally Posted by keshav1426

I am also going to change my stock MRF tyres on my Figo tdci . Car has run 35k kms and i am planning to go in for Bridgestone or Yokohama, planning to stick with the stock size 175/65 r14. But I stay in Medavakkam and prefer to go somewhere close to home.

Since you are at medavakkam, I would recommend you to avoid xl tyre point, velachery at all costs. They are a bunch of ignorant clowns who will mock you if you tell them the tyre size you need to upgrade. I would recommend tyrestore in greams road for quality and price

[Gapo]

I went ahead and changed my tyres.

So, I wanted to change my tyres from the stock 195/65/R15 Goodyear NCT to possibly 205/65/R15.

Ended up getting 205/60/R15 Michelin XM2.

Changed all 4 tyres for 6800 each.

They bought back a tyre for Rs.50.

But the tyres were so worn out that I did not really feel like I'll get a better price and even if I did was not sure whether it would be worth the effort.

I went to Tyrestore after giving Deepak a call. He was pretty good and open. But did not let me bargain a bit.

Anyway, the thing he said was that 205/65 R 15 would mean that the tryes would hit the wheel arches whenever it hits a breaker. I then asked him to get me all three tyres and tried to check them.

The difference was barely visible. It was in the range of 1cm

I'm already pretty scared of the GC in the Civic and hence, decided to upsize but stick to the original tyres.

The service was professional and fast.

They did wheel alignment, wheel balancing and filled nitrous. Also, had a chance to meet another old chap [Deepak's Dad or Uncle] there who actually took me through the entire process and explained wheel balancing in particular in depth.

For example, they put these kind of weights on the tyre to balance instead of the ugly old clips I had.



I enjoyed the experience and the entire thing took about 25 mins, after I finished selecting my tyres.

Would thoroughly recommend going there if you want a professional premium experience, but at least are ok paying up for it [ but not too much I feel ].

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Gapo;3563102
I went to Tyrestore after giving Deepak a call. He was pretty good and open. But did not let me bargain a bit.

Anyway, the thing he said was that 205/65 R 15 would mean that the tryes would hit the wheel arches whenever it hits a breaker. I then asked him to get me all three tyres and tried to check them.

The difference was barely visible. It was in the range of 1cm lol:

I'm already pretty scared of the GC in the Civic and hence, decided to upsize but stick to the original tyres.

The service was professional and fast.

They did wheel alignment, wheel balancing and filled nitrous. Also, had a chance to meet another old chap [Deepak's Dad or Uncle

there who actually took me through the entire process and explained wheel balancing in particular in depth.

For example, they put these kind of weights on the tyre to balance instead of the ugly old clips I had.

Attachment 1301987

Deepak doesnt bargain. He gives the best service and in return MAY charge a premium. :P I've rarely seen people come back with a complaint to him though. His dad has done business with my granddad and dad and I still have to pay for whatever I buy from him or whatever alignment I have to get done! But no complaints. I dont mind paying for quality.

205/65-15 is the best size for a Civic. I've been using it for the last 40,000 kms and couldnt be happier.

The elderly gentleman must have been Loonchand Uncle. He is Deepak's dad. He's a veteran of the tyre trade. Probably 40+ years.

The weights they have used are called "Sticker Weights". That is what should be used on alloys. They are used on alloys in most good tyre shops. They are marginally more expensive so some local tyre shops ignore them in favour of the clip on weights.

[Gapo]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Deepak doesnt bargain. He gives the best service and in return MAY charge a premium. :P I've rarely seen people come back with a complaint to him though. His dad has done business with my granddad and dad and I still have to pay for whatever I buy from him or whatever alignment I have to get done! But no complaints. I dont mind paying for quality.

205/65-15 is the best size for a Civic. I've been using it for the last 40,000 kms and couldnt be happier.

The elderly gentleman must have been Loonchand Uncle. He is Deepak's dad. He's a veteran of the tyre trade. Probably 40+ years.

The weights they have used are called "Sticker Weights". That is what should be used on alloys. They are used on alloys in most good tyre shops. They are marginally more expensive so some local tyre shops ignore them in favour of the clip on weights.

Wow .. you just answered all the missing pieces of information I could not collect.

Tyrestore seems to be the best place in Chennai till date for best change of tires.

[Sridhar K]

Since I am near Tambaram, the city based shops are not ideal for me. Hence, I usually go to G N Tyres in Tambaram Sanatorium on GST Road opposite to the Govt. Siddha hospital for my tyre needs. The shop is adjacent to the Panasonic showroom when driving from Chrompet towards Sanatorium.

The owner Anand is an extremely nice chap and gives pretty good deals in tyres. He deals mainly with Yokos, Michelin, Apollo and Pirelli. He has recently upgraded his shop and sells alloys and accessories as well.

Had bought 5 different set of Yokos (A drives, Earth-1, and c drives), 1 set pf accelere, 1 Pirelli for a Passat, multiple portable tyre inflators for myself and friends from them apart from numerous wheel alignment and balancing there.

Contact Details
GN Tyres :
Anand:
+91 9003046545
+91 9444918046

[Visaster]

I was looking for a 16" alloy for the CIAZ, went lal's and came back confused.
They try to sell what is in stock and don't acknowledge personal preference. They give you all sorts of stories to make the deal, what is the ideal choice for a particular car one day becomes a very bad choice and something else better on another day.

They have discouraged me to go for a 16": alloy but get a 17" as more options are there.
They have HRS, AXA, GTR and onyx, so they are the only best.
They have confused me totally on the tyre upsize too.

Anyways was offering alloys set of 4 -

16" - Rs. 29500
17" - Rs. 31000

Buy back for a 15" company alloy - Rs. 12000 - 15000

Michelin 201/55/16 - Rs.9900/tyre

Buy back of factory new tyre - Rs 3200 - 3400/tyre

Can anyone suggest anywhere else I should shop?
I have bad opinion about HRS, haven heard of AXA/GTR

XL tyre point was my next stop, But I know they do unfriendly business.

Who are the other big dealers for alloy wheels and tyre in Chennai, its kinda urgent.

[altius]

For tyres, you can go to Tyre Store at Greams Road. I don't think they have a wide selection of Alloys, but Deepak should be able to give you a good idea of pros and cons of 16 and 17 inch sizes and tyre and alloy brands.

[quote=Visaster;3597855]I was looking for a 16" alloy for the CIAZ, went lal's and came back confused.
They try to sell what is in stock and don't acknowledge personal preference. They give you all sorts of stories to make the deal, what is the ideal choice for a particular car one day becomes a very bad choice and something else better on another day.

They have discouraged me to go for a 16": alloy but get a 17" as more options are there.
They have HRS, AXA, GTR and onyx, so they are the only best.
They have confused me totally on the tyre upsize too.
QUOTE]

[bharatsomany]

Originally Posted by Gapo

Ended up getting 205/60/R15 Michelin XM2.

Given the Civic's natively low ground clearance, 205/60R15 is a poor choice.

Anyway, the thing he said was that 205/65 R 15 would mean that the tryes would hit the wheel arches whenever it hits a breaker. I then asked him to get me all three tyres and tried to check them.

The difference was barely visible. It was in the range of 1cm

The diameter of each size is:

195/65R15 - 634.5mm
205/65R15 - 647.5mm
205/60R15 - 627.0mm

I'm already pretty scared of the GC in the Civic and hence, decided to upsize but stick to the original tyres.

Exactly the reason not to go for the 205/60 and reduce the GC further! The original size is 195/65R15, so now the tyres are actually downsized!

They did wheel alignment, wheel balancing and filled nitrous. Also, had a chance to meet another old chap [Deepak's Dad or Uncle] there who actually took me through the entire process and explained wheel balancing in particular in depth.

HUH! You got a tyre shop to refill a nitrous bottle!!! And got a smaller diameter tyre with a super-boosted engine!!! No offence friend, but it sounds unbelievable that you would do so drastic a modification with little or no preplanning or homework!
Let alone going thru the wheel balancing process with some old fellow, you should be searching for the Hunter GSP9700. There is a company called Madhu's Garage Equipments that can help you find the best tyre shops that have such equipment!
Here is a link to their website:

MadhusIndia.com

For example, they put these kind of weights on the tyre to balance instead of the ugly old clips I had.

These are very common and the only correct solution for use with alloy wheels.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

205/65-15 is the best size for a Civic. I've been using it for the last 40,000 kms and couldnt be happier.

Seconded! Whole Heartedly... so it's hard to digest that this tyre guy is a veteran if he is so inexperienced as to say that the 205/65R15 will rub on a Honda Civic! Eh?

Originally Posted by Visaster

I was looking for a 16" alloy for the CIAZ, went lal's and came back confused.
They try to sell what is in stock and don't acknowledge personal preference. They give you all sorts of stories to make the deal, what is the ideal choice for a particular car one day becomes a very bad choice and something else better on another day.

They have discouraged me to go for a 16": alloy but get a 17" as more options are there.
They have HRS, AXA, GTR and onyx, so they are the only best.
They have confused me totally on the tyre upsize too.

Anyways was offering alloys set of 4 -

16" - Rs. 29500
17" - Rs. 31000

Buy back for a 15" company alloy - Rs. 12000 - 15000

Michelin 201/55/16 - Rs.9900/tyre

Buy back of factory new tyre - Rs 3200 - 3400/tyre

Can anyone suggest anywhere else I should shop?
I have bad opinion about HRS, haven heard of AXA/GTR

XL tyre point was my next stop, But I know they do unfriendly business.

Who are the other big dealers for alloy wheels and tyre in Chennai, its kinda urgent.

Although I cannot help you with shop locations in Chennai, but given the huge fender clearances on the Ciaz, you could easily get away with 205/55R16 or even 225/45R17. The 17" would certainly make for a more worthy upgrade given that the top-of-the-line Ciaz comes with 16" as stock as long as you can handle the reduced sidewall.