Team-BHP - Ford Figo : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

I own a Figo and was going through this thread..I have the same dilemma as many others here as to non availability of good 108PCD wheels/tires. I am attaching here a Figo done by Pete's of Kerala which is on another thread on T-bhp. Have not seen a better wheel/tire combo on the Figo. The wheels are Borbets i guess, very expensive but stunners nevertheless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemithomas (Post 3471169)

How would 185/70 fare on a Figo? Anyone with that upsize?

Ford Figo TDCi
185/70 R14 Goodyear:
34 months, 86000+ kms. These are my second set of this tire size setup.

Brilliant ride and superb ground clearance.
We, in Kanpur consider ground clearance on par or often at a greater level than fuel efficiency. Rides like a Cross-Figo if there was one :)

At the time of purchase, I had immediately chosen this tire setup on a friend's advise. He was using the same for his i20. By the way, he owns a renowned tire shop so wasn't a lay man. Hope this answers your curiosity.

With the 185/70 the difference from the stock tire (175/65) is more than 5 percentage.

So you are going much faster than your speedometer indicates.

Do your tires touch the body when the car is fully loaded or on turns?

BTW, I am running on 65 profile on the 185's and they seem adequate to overcome the Figo's low GC.

Regards,
BL

Recently did the tyre upgrade for my Figo from MRF 175/65 R14 ZV2K to Conti EcoContact 3 185/65 R14 (Rs 4600/Tyre at XL Tyre Point AnnaNagar, Chennai).

Initial Impression:
Ride quality has improved a little bit
The mud flaps which often scrap the speedbreakers in my office has reduced considerably.
The Steering feels a little light than before.
Braking has improved a tiny bit.
The car seems to accelerate a bit faster, due to low rolling resistance
Grip level increased a little. Need to test the tyre on mountain roads/Highway to find out the grip levels.

The Downside is, the car seems to jump on bad/bumpy roads, which reduced the confidence level in the car, i guess with some more miles i should get used to it.
And the road noise has increased by some too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramharis (Post 3514181)

I did check the tyre pressure, have 32psi all around (nitrogen). Had a chance to try out wet grip yesterday (heavy rainfall in Chennai last night), the tyres were gripy compared to MRF's.

I would suggest 34psi all around.

I have been running the same size CEC3's on my Figo since the last 32000 kms.
Except for the more than normal amount of punctures, I have no complaints. The tyre noise will increase after around 20k kms. I ran with the stock MRF's for just 1000 kms, so can't compare except that I know the ride softened quite a bit and since the contact patch was more than the stock, sharp turns were taken with no slipping or sliding.
Wet roads are were Conti's excel. It is extremely stable on very wet roads and is perfect for a Figo in those conditions. Dry weather grip may not be as good as other tires of the same size.

Overall they are good except that you need to avoid stones and sharp stuff on the road. Till date I have had around 6-7 punctures which included a valve failure and a sidewall puncture. The sidewall puncture tire could not be used again and I bought a new tire of the same type and make. The valve failure was my mistake, ran under-flated .

My Figo Titanium Tdi ran 55600 kms on 3 years 2 months on stock steel rims and tyres (MRF). One of the tyres is badly damaged and the rim also bent beyond repair. The tread of the other tyres have worn out. It is ,time for replacement. I request suggestions from my fellow Figoins on the following.
1. Should l go for upsize and if yes what size.
2. What brand- I have shortlisted Michelin and Yokohama.
3. Should I change to alloys? And if yes what brand.

I intend to keep this vehicle for another 2 years.
please share your valuable suggestions.

1. Should l go for upsize and if yes what size.
-- Stick to 14in rims with 185 section tyres.
2. What brand- I have shortlisted Michelin and Yokohama.
-- Yokos have proven to be good, Michelin is good too but they're softer imo.
3. Should I change to alloys? And if yes what brand.
-- If you have the budget then try to source ford oem alloys available with the current gen Figo, they look really cool for stock alloys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by envyravi (Post 3544613)

envyravi,

1. I believe you should certainly upsize. The Figo rides a lot better and benefits from the increased Ground Clearance. I got 195/70R14 mounted on a friends Figo and the car has been running for over 3 years and worn out a complete set with no complaints.

2. Both are good, for a good quality vs. price point, I got Yokohama A Drives.

3. You could, but they will not fetch you much value when you sell the car. Besides, people spend lots of money for a very small change in size. If you do intend to go in for alloys, I would suggest directly going to 7x16" with 195/55R16 tyres. You could put a sticker on your call calling it the King of Figoland or something with that! But honestly, I would not spend the money.

Thank you bharatsomany. I upsized to 185/65 Michelin XM2 tyres for Rs 19900 inclusive of fitting, wheel balancing and alignment. The ride is now smoother and the upsize added to the GC and I am now able to go over speed breakers more confidently. I agree with you regarding alloys and decided to continue with the old steel rims.

Guys, My figo tdci has run 34,000 Kms and needs a tyre change, currently running on MRF and there is uneven wear . I have shortlisted Bridgestone B290 and Yokohama Earth-1 of stock size ( 175/65 R14). Please let me know which might be better for the figo. I am looking at low noise , better handling and I dont want brands with soft sidewalls. Prefer to keep the new tyres for the next 30-40,000 kms

So let me know your views on this.

Keshav

Quote:

Originally Posted by vineet@bulbule (Post 3453982)

You are a life saver!!! I just found out and one of the dealers is quoting 4050/- with free fitting and the free vaccum cleaner. Do you think its a good deal?

Hi Vineet - Just wanted to get your feedback on the tyres and the dealer you bought it from (in Hyd?). I wanted to go for MRF ZLO, but looks like that is not available in Figo's stock size (175 65 R14). Earth 1 is the next best choice and I am looking forward to your review. Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by keshav1426 (Post 3559000)

Keshav, Go with Yoko Earth1. I've had them for 10k kms now, and have absolutely no issues with them. Just one thing, do upsize to 185/65. The ride will be lot better and the increased ground clearance won't hurt as well.