[Nikhilb2008]

205/55-15 C drives are non-existent. What you want are the S Drives. However, the ride comfort isnt great.

Personally, I will suggest 195/60-15 ZLOs or Primacy LCs or C Drives.

If you are getting 185/60-15 Aceleres with your car, then it is not absolutely necessary for a tyre upgrade. YOu can manage with the existing tyres. The Aceleres are very good tyres. Check out the Acelere thread to get an idea of how good the tyres are. Save your money for fuel for long drives!

[samarjitdhar]

Are Yokos the only option in the 205/55/R15 size for the Vento? Is there absolutely no other tire brand (and I mean the good ones) who sell something in this size? I hunted and found that nothing. Appreciate if someone could shed some light on this.

[bala80]

You get continental CPC2's and Pirelli's in this size. Yoko S drives is too unavailable due to the ISI regulation thingy and you only get CPC2 widely available in this size. Feedback is pretty mixed about CPC2 though, and hence I gave it a miss.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Are Yokos the only option in the 205/55/R15 size for the Vento? Is there absolutely no other tire brand (and I mean the good ones) who sell something in this size? I hunted and found that nothing. Appreciate if someone could shed some light on this.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by bala80

You get continental CPC2's and Pirelli's in this size. Yoko S drives is too unavailable due to the ISI regulation thingy and you only get CPC2 widely available in this size. Feedback is pretty mixed about CPC2 though, and hence I gave it a miss.

Thanks so much Bala. Was it the Yoko S or the Michelins with the soft sidewall issues? I remember both you and Souravc had your sidewalls burst when going over potholes at high speeds. I was thinking a 205 upgrade should make the grip better but am very skeptical about the Yoko S due to their soft sidewalls. I think the stock Apollos held up pretty well over the road trip I took. I even have liked the Bridgestones which I have used on my old Zen. Now I have run out of options for the 205 upgrade for the Vento. I was thinking at least 205 should give some significant improvement in grip, please correct me if I am wrong.

On another note, why did VW had to give this unique out of the world specs for the tires which becomes very difficult to upgrade

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

I think the stock Apollos held up pretty well over the road trip I took.

You can look at the apollo aceleres since you had a good experience with them. They are good tyres. available in that size acc to apollo website.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by guptavis

You can look at the apollo aceleres since you had a good experience with them. They are good tyres. available in that size acc to apollo website.

Actually I have had a look at the Apollo site and the 205 options that are available for 15 inch alloys are in a profile which will push the differential of the upgrade beyond +/-2% or above which is not recommended. Same is the case for most other tire brands .

[bala80]

It was the c drives. I didn't have an issue with them, but wasn't satisfied with the steering feel and feedback, hence changed them. Sourav had a sidewall damage on his c drive. Please note that c drives doesn't come in 205 profile. We were using the 195 ones.

S drives are actually the sporty ones in yoko lineup. But these aren't officially available anymore due to some new regulations. These are noisy though and ride quality wouldn't be any softer.

Continental is german too, like VW, see the connection:-)

Why not consider the 195 profile? There is a whole lot of options in this spec.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Thanks so much Bala. Was it the Yoko S or the Michelins with the soft sidewall issues? I remember both you and Souravc had your sidewalls burst when going over potholes at high speeds. I was thinking a 205 upgrade should make the grip better but am very skeptical about the Yoko S due to their soft sidewalls. I think the stock Apollos held up pretty well over the road trip I took. I even have liked the Bridgestones which I have used on my old Zen. Now I have run out of options for the 205 upgrade for the Vento. I was thinking at least 205 should give some significant improvement in grip, please correct me if I am wrong.

On another note, why did VW had to give this unique out of the world specs for the tires which becomes very difficult to upgrade

[aniket.tiwari27]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

205/55-15 C drives are non-existent. What you want are the S Drives. However, the ride comfort isnt great.

Personally, I will suggest 195/60-15 ZLOs or Primacy LCs or C Drives.

If you are getting 185/60-15 Aceleres with your car, then it is not absolutely necessary for a tyre upgrade. YOu can manage with the existing tyres. The Aceleres are very good tyres. Check out the Acelere thread to get an idea of how good the tyres are. Save your money for fuel for long drives!

Hello Nikhil,

I got JK Vectra's in my Vento TDI Highline. So, how are these as compared to the apollo aceleres.

Should I plan for an upgrade? If yes, what would be the best option to consider.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by bala80

It was the c drives. I didn't have an issue with them, but wasn't satisfied with the steering feel and feedback, hence changed them. Sourav had a sidewall damage on his c drive. Please note that c drives doesn't come in 205 profile. We were using the 195 ones.

I stand corrected then. Do the 195 ones provide noticeable improvement in grip after the upgrade? Steering feedback is always a sore point with the Vento I guess. Even with the stock Apollos I don't think it is anywhere near good. Did you change to Michelins? How is the feedback now?

Originally Posted by bala80

S drives are actually the sporty ones in yoko lineup. But these aren't officially available anymore due to some new regulations. These are noisy though and ride quality wouldn't be any softer.

Don't all Yokos suffer from a soft sidewalls. Thats something I would be scared of as most of my city driving involves an unusually large no. of potholes.

Originally Posted by bala80

Continental is german too, like VW, see the connection:-)

Can you please elaborate the issues with Continental? Do they sell in India? I had searched for them but didn't find an India specific site here.

Originally Posted by bala80

Why not consider the 195 profile? There is a whole lot of options in this spec.

Does a 195 upgrade give you better improvement in grip? I was thinking a difference of 1 cm might not make too much of a difference hence was thinking of the 205. Also the 205 tires should make the car look way better

[bala80]

You bet! I have Bridgestone turanza ER 60 in 195/60/15 profile and can vouch for the improvement in grip levels. The Yoko C drives were pretty grippy and super silent, but the steering feel was a let down. Bridestone offers the best of both worlds, but the tyres are a wee bit noisy than the C-drives and ride quality not as soft as the C drives. This was a compromise I was willing to make. The steering feels pretty OK now (not much improvement from stock).Please note the BS ER-60 are expensive than the C-drives in the same profile.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

I stand corrected then. Do the 195 ones provide noticeable improvement in grip after the upgrade? Steering feedback is always a sore point with the Vento I guess. Even with the stock Apollos I don't think it is anywhere near good. Did you change to Michelins? How is the feedback now?

Not really. S drives are performance oriented tyres which means harder sidewall which doesnt flex much during cornering. Problem is, these arent available officially anymore. These offer superior grip levels at the cost of tyre noise and ride quality. Take your pick

I had Michelin XM1+ on my swift earlier and those tyres never let me down in 4 years of driving through all sort of road surfaces and Michelin's were supposed to have pretty soft sidewall. The apollo acelere which came stock on the vento burst when I drove through a pothole at medium speed which were supposed to have strong sidewalls. Point is, any tyre is susceptable for damage depending on the road conditions and the soft sidewalled one's are more vulnerable. So you need to take some additional care while driving, that's all.

Don't all Yokos suffer from a soft sidewalls. Thats something I would be scared of as most of my city driving involves an unusually large no. of potholes.

Oh yes, CPC2's are available in 205/55/15 spec. I didnt go for them because

- Mixed feedback from the forum (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...tal-tyres.html)

- Felt they were expensive at 6400 Rs per tyre for this spec.

Can you please elaborate the issues with Continental? Do they sell in India? I had searched for them but didn't find an India specific site here.

Dont go by just the width of the tyre alone. A good tyre in the same 185 profile will give you better grip than the stock apollo acelere's. The acelere's lose traction very early and are noisy as hell.

Following are the pro's and con's of 195/60/15 profile compared to the 205/55/15 spec

Pro's -

- Many choices available. You get michelin's, yoko's, bridgestone's and even MRF ZLO's in this size. Comparitively cheaper too.
- Better ride quality due to the increase in height of sidewall compared to 205/55/15 profile.
- Wee bit increase in GC owing to higher sidewall in this profile. Given our road conditions, every mm increase in GC is more than welcome, isnt it?

Con's

- Increased body roll (more flex of the sidewall), a little bit of compromise on handling.
- Doesn't really look very meaty or wide compared to the 185 profile. (Nikhil commented on another thread that the contact patch between 185 and 195 tyres will almost be the same!)

Having said all these, if I get good options in 205/55/15, I will definitely go for them over 195/60/15.

Does a 195 upgrade give you better improvement in grip? I was thinking a difference of 1 cm might not make too much of a difference hence was thinking of the 205. Also the 205 tires should make the car look way better

[noopster]

The more I drive this car the more comfortable I get with the stock Aceleres. Nikhil is right- it is not worth upgrading to 195/60 right at the outset. I was pretty set to change after year/15,000km but surprisingly after about 10,000 km these tyres wore in really well and my biggest problem: high tyre noise- is no longer that obvious. I like the braking and the grip is more than adequate.

I have A-drives on the Swift in 185/70R14 and *love* those tyres. Since Nikhil rates the MRF ZLOs as high as the A drives, it makes sense for me to switch to 195/60R15 ZLOs when the time comes (maybe another year/15000 km at least in my reckoning).

Just have this mad desire to upgrade to 16 inchers though EVERYBODy from my friendly neighbourhood accessories guy to GTO advises me against it It will be quite an expense considering I would need to change the alloys as well. And apparently 16 inch tyres are expensive! But just in case I win the lottery, any suggestions?

[aniket.tiwari27]

Originally Posted by noopster

The more I drive this car the more comfortable I get with the stock Aceleres. Nikhil is right- it is not worth upgrading to 195/60 right at the outset. I was pretty set to change after year/15,000km but surprisingly after about 10,000 km these tyres wore in really well and my biggest problem: high tyre noise- is no longer that obvious. I like the braking and the grip is more than adequate.

I have A-drives on the Swift in 185/70R14 and *love* those tyres. Since Nikhil rates the MRF ZLOs as high as the A drives, it makes sense for me to switch to 195/60R15 ZLOs when the time comes (maybe another year/15000 km at least in my reckoning).

Just have this mad desire to upgrade to 16 inchers though EVERYBODy from my friendly neighbourhood accessories guy to GTO advises me against it It will be quite an expense considering I would need to change the alloys as well. And apparently 16 inch tyres are expensive! But just in case I win the lottery, any suggestions?

I got JK Vectra's with my Vento. Just got the delivery 3 days back on Sunday. Have posted a picture of the same at below link :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post2718706

I have received mixed reactions from the people and hence, unable to decide. What is your take on this?

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by aniket.tiwari27

Hello Nikhil,

I got JK Vectra's in my Vento TDI Highline. So, how are these as compared to the apollo aceleres.

Should I plan for an upgrade? If yes, what would be the best option to consider.

JK Vectras arent that great. You would benefit from an upgrade to Apollo Aceleres in 195/60-15.

[bala80]

I'll tell you what. When one of my alloys broke and I was shopping around for a new alloy, I was tempted to actually go one up and upgrade to 16 inchers. I found there were very nice designs in this size, but, even if you are willing to forget about the ride quality and price for a moment, you land up in the same old problem - lack of good tyre options. If I recollect it was 205/50/16 (Am i right?) and I had only pirelli's in this size which was quoted at a whopping 7200 per tyre. There wasnt much choices in this size too. I dont know about the current situation, but this was the case around 4 months back...

Originally Posted by noopster

Just have this mad desire to upgrade to 16 inchers though EVERYBODy from my friendly neighbourhood accessories guy to GTO advises me against it It will be quite an expense considering I would need to change the alloys as well. And apparently 16 inch tyres are expensive! But just in case I win the lottery, any suggestions?

[souravc]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Thanks so much Bala. Was it the Yoko S or the Michelins with the soft sidewall issues? I remember both you and Souravc had your sidewalls burst when going over potholes at high speeds. I was thinking a 205 upgrade should make the grip better but am very skeptical about the Yoko S due to their soft sidewalls. I think the stock Apollos held up pretty well over the road trip I took. I even have liked the Bridgestones which I have used on my old Zen. Now I have run out of options for the 205 upgrade for the Vento. I was thinking at least 205 should give some significant improvement in grip, please correct me if I am wrong.

On another note, why did VW had to give this unique out of the world specs for the tires which becomes very difficult to upgrade

Samarjit , I have been using Yokos C drives for more than 8000 kms on my Vento and I am pretty satisfied - I use very bad pot hole riddled roads for my daily commute to office so can vouch for the fact that the worry about soft sidewall cracking my in bad Indian roads is overdone. The tyre failure that happened in my car was a pretty catastrophic one , the car was fully loaded and was travelling at around 80-90 kmph and I think it went over a piece of metal jutting out at the edge of a crater or the road since it showed 2 areas of rupture where seemingly a sharp knife like object has sliced through and through ( pictures are there on my thread ) . I do not think any tyre would have survived that kind of an "assault" , it was surely not caused due to plain pot hole bump. The C drive gives great grip , good ride quality and improves braking for sure in addition to marked reduction in noise . My tyres have not deteoriated in any way the steering feel though I must say that I am used to light steerings and prefer them too as long as they are "point and shoot' kind of accurate which the vento's is .
I must mention one aspect though - when my C drive got spoiled i replaced it with a michelin primacy so I have 1 mich and 3 yokos . After similar number of kilometres ( mich has done a 1000 km less) the michelin treads seem to wear out faster than C drives , nothing alarming but all the same .

The size I use is 195/60 / R 15