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Old 1st December 2014, 09:47   #361
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

Hi All,
My Vento TDI highline is well past its 4 years now and still going strong with Michelin Primary LC 195X60XR15 shoes from day 1 on stock alloys. Now after 44k kms, they are starting to show signs of wear & tear with one tyre having a minor crack on side wall and couple of bent rims.

Hence looking at replacing both the alloys and tyres. I know it has been discussed in depth, but is 205X55XR16 advisable to consider since I'm upgrading my alloys as well?

What would be my options to consider?
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Old 19th December 2014, 17:45   #362
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by ventoman View Post
Hi All,
My Vento TDI highline is well past its 4 years now and still going strong with Michelin Primary LC 195X60XR15 shoes from day 1 on stock alloys. Now after 44k kms, they are starting to show signs of wear & tear with one tyre having a minor crack on side wall and couple of bent rims.

Hence looking at replacing both the alloys and tyres. I know it has been discussed in depth, but is 205X55XR16 advisable to consider since I'm upgrading my alloys as well?

What would be my options to consider?
Hi Ventoman!

Any specific reason to upgrade to 16" from 15"? I hope you are considering the cost factor as well, for both the tyres as well as the rims.
Coming to the rubber, do look at Michelin Primacy 3ST since you've been using Michelins all this while. I have posted a detailed review on the same in a different thread. Check it out if you feel like.
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Old 19th January 2015, 09:50   #363
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by ventoman View Post
Hi All,
My Vento TDI highline is well past its 4 years now and still going strong with Michelin Primary LC 195X60XR15 shoes from day 1 on stock alloys. Now after 44k kms, they are starting to show signs of wear & tear with one tyre having a minor crack on side wall and couple of bent rims.

Hence looking at replacing both the alloys and tyres. I know it has been discussed in depth, but is 205X55XR16 advisable to consider since I'm upgrading my alloys as well?

What would be my options to consider?
Hi Ventoman,

I for one have been in love with the stock alloys of the Vento. Recently cracked in a horrible accident and remembered that the OEM 7 spoke alloys were a whopping 23K. However, was pleasantly surprised on a random visit to VW. They have reduced the prices of 7-spokers to 6 grand, in case you are looking to change only the two.

Cheers!
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Old 29th January 2015, 22:36   #364
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

I need your help fellow Vento owners. I had shifted to Bridgestone Potenza MY01 195/60 R15 the day i had got delivery and i have been very very happy with the tyres so far. I drive the car fast, corner hard and 80% of my running is highways with very bad roads thrown in once every 3 months when the car makes a trip to Himachal.

The grip has been splendid, they have never squealed yet in 34,000 kms, wet grip is average and the noise is high like other performance tyres. No sidewall cuts etc, just a few punctures so far.

Now i want to shift to 205/55 R15 as i want better grip from my tyres. The increased sidewall height in 195/60 ruins the cornerning ability. The 2 tyres i have shortlisted are Yokohama S drives and Hankook V8 RS. Which is a better bet out of the two tyres?

I need a tyre with a stiff sidewall that does not flex too much and a tyre which can withstand a little abuse. I know Yokohama's are pefect for those who want a sporty tyre but worried if they will have issues with sidewall bulge/cut etc. Hankook V8's have got good reviews on other forums and they are a perfect blend of ride + grip.

Am so confused between both the tyres. Am wary if the Hankook's have poor grip levels, regularly drive my friend's Rapid shod with Michelin XM1's and they just dont inspire any confidence at all. They squeal like a pig and the car rolls a lot so i want a tyre which can corner well and has great grip levels.
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Old 29th January 2015, 23:33   #365
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by coolboy007 View Post
Now i want to shift to 205/55 R15 as i want better grip from my tyres.
Try the ZLO once, i am sure you wont be disappointed . I am currently using 3rd set of ZLO .
Superb grip level and i feel they are perfect for our Indian road conditions. But yes, after 10k they tend to get noisy.

Otherwise, S-Drives should be it.

Cheers
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Old 31st January 2015, 18:40   #366
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

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Originally Posted by noopster View Post
I was expecting this kind of response, to be honest .
=========
The fact is that I *am* a bit of a softie and it's no secret. But commonsense tells me that this is probably the best outcome that could be hoped for me under the circumstances. A shrewder member would have pushed for more.
I'ts obviously been some time since you posted this so this is a rather delayed response. Really appreciate your fairness in the matter Anoop. We sometimes tend to forget the responsibility that we have as consumers, drivers and citizens. Awesome stuff man!
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Old 14th February 2015, 09:52   #367
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

My VW Vento 1.6 TDI HL just completed 46k kms in 2 years, and was due for a change of shoes.
After a lot of research, I went ahead with the personally tried and very trusted Yokohama AVS ES100.
Ive used the ES100s previously on my remapped Swift, and Im mighty impressed with the tyres.
Yes, they are a bit noisy at higher speeds, but they are amazing in the corners and in the wet. I have very fond memories of my Swift and a lot of that comes thanks to the 205/60R14 ES100s. I ran through 2 sets of tyres in 55k kms.

But Im a very sedate driver these days, and once in a while like to go corner carving.
I was very sure that I dint want to go over 195 section, as I dint want to kill performance (I have a RaceDynamics DieselTronic Tuning Box as well). So 195/60R15 it was. But which tyre?
There were many options but I could not convince myself hard enough to try an unknown tyre. Hence, the ES100s.
Replaced the spare tyre too, with 205/60R14 Yokohama ES100.
The tyre calculator shows a circumferential difference of 2.23%, which is higher than the acceptable 2%, but Im okay with it.
I cant imagine being stuck in an emergency situation, paralysed even more thanks to a space saver 14" 175 section tyre and limited to 80 kmph. I never want to be stuck in such a situation, hence the brand new, untouched spare tyre was also replaced.
The tyres has made the car slightly better in terms of ride quality (suspension thuds reduced), and the difference in handling is obvious. Also no more torque wheelspins, and the car feels quicker. Plus, they look great.
Will keep updating this thread with more, as and when.
Attached Thumbnails
Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-img_1445.jpg  

Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-img_1448.jpg  

Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-img_1458.jpg  

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Old 24th February 2015, 17:47   #368
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

I was getting bogged down by punctures with extremely high frequency in my 2012 Vento. And I was getting more and more suspicious that VW bean counters compromised on quality and decided as to which Tyre to equip the car with.

I checked all Tyres available at an online retailer that were correct size for vento and sorted in decreasing order for price and the stock Tyres - JK Vectra TL are at the very bottom of the lot!


Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-capture1.png

Last edited by noopster : 24th March 2015 at 14:36. Reason: No expletives please, not even masked ones!
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Old 24th February 2015, 17:56   #369
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

I mean how can VW explain this as I always thought safety is definitely one of their USP.

They equip a car which can easily do 180 Kmph with Airbags and ABS but go to the bargains bin and hunt the absolutely cheapest set of tyres available!?
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Old 24th February 2015, 23:32   #370
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
So that you better understand type size & profile, I'm including a comparo of the various options from 1010tyres.com calculator.

- Don't go by the "55" profile number alone. Compared to the stock 185/60 R15 tyre, the 205/55 R15 has a taller sidewall and will thus give you the same / better ride quality.

- It is also the closest in terms of overall diameter (0.55% difference) to the stock.

As Akshay & Goandude have posted, 205/55 R15 is the perfect upsize. It will give you the grip AND ride quality you desire.

Attachment 475356



It can, actually. The quality of tyre is more important than the width. Thus, a 195 patch tyre of better quality will make a HUGE difference over the OEM crap that most Indian car manufacturers use. Heck, even a high quality 185/60 R15 tyre will be WAY better than stock.
One question though. Has anyone tried 205/55 R15 in his Vento and faced any body clearance issues?
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Old 28th February 2015, 04:48   #371
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

I've done over 14000kms on the Pirelli P7's since my switch from the stock apollo's at 37000kms and I am immensely pleased by it. It runs with low noise and has phenomenal grip in wet conditions. It performs best at 34psi. I don't know if it is available in the markets now, because I found mine after quite a bit of a search in Chennai. I would definitely recommend these tyres to anyone looking at 195/60/15 upgrade.
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Old 19th March 2015, 23:00   #372
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

After a lot of consideration and research, have zeroed in on Yokohama S drive 205/55 R15 for my Vento. Currently running Bridgestone Potenza 195/60 and completed 35,000 kms with them. They have served me well till now with just a few functures, tread is still around 2.5 mm but am sensing a loss of grip during cornering and hard braking so switching to new tyres soon. Do not want to go for 195/60 as car rolls a bit more with this size due to added sidewall and steering does not weight up to my expectations.

Want to go for a performance tyre and S drive seems a good bet, can bear the road noise and a bit stiffer ride, infact i hate tyres with soft/mushy sidewalls like XM1.

Will update the thread as soon as i get new shoes for Vento.
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Old 22nd March 2015, 22:14   #373
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

Discarded the OEM JK Vectra even though they were practically new and upgraded to Michelin XM2 in factory spec size.

New tyres are extremely silent and I feel a more surefooted car.

Immensely satisfied.
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Old 27th March 2015, 22:00   #374
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re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

After atleast 3-4 months of planning, getting reviews from so many helpful members of Team bhp and searching for long hours on internet, have finally found and bought tyres which suit my taste and driving style.

Thanks to the following members for their immense help - Nikhilb2008, shibujp, Hells_Fury, saint, ACM, speed kills, santoshr, Kryptonite, kingofmyworld and special thanks to rana_kriti who helped me multiple times and replied so many times for my silly doubts.

I knew before hand that when i had bought this car, i had made a big mistake of going for 195/60 R15 Bridgestone Potenza MY01 as this increases the sidewall height, ruins the cornering and quick lane changes on highways are spoilt due to the sidewall flex. I knew i would not be going for this size for sure, i drive relatively fast, most of my driving is on highways and i love cornering hard wherever i can.

Next best upgrade was 205/55 R15, 2 options were Hankook V8rs and Yoko S drives. There are not much reviews on Hankooks and S drives had mixed reviews, some were happy while some were very disappointed. I asked buddy rana_kriti since he has driven his Polo GT on both tyres and he said that if you prefer handling over comfort, then go for S drives - this sealed the deal for me.

Bought the tyres from Bombay Tyres, Punjabi Bagh as the shop is owned by a close friend of mine. He gave me 2 options, either July 2014 stock which was made in Phillipines or Jan 2015 stock which was now Made in India. Chose the latest production Indian made S drives and got the tyres swapped. A buyer on OLX was interested in my old tyres so have sold them to him.

Tyres cost me 5500/tyre including balancing/alignment etc and it was a pleasant experience at the shop. Delhi owners can give him a try, rates are very competitive and they stock all brands.

Have just driven 60-70 kms on new tyres and what a difference they have made compared to the old rock hard Potenza's. The car has become super smooth, no road noise (i know they will create a racket later) and despite being in running in period, the tyres are providing stunning grip levels. Against my expectations, the ride has improved by leaps and bounds, maybe the old Bridgestone had become very hard. Expansion joints are going unnoticed now. Steering has weighed up significantly and they look superb on the car. Will click a few good shots in a few days.

Due credit to Bridgestone MY01 as well, they provided exceptional grip in the dry, had very low noise and were super super durable. The kind of abuse i had put them through, S drives would not be able to survive even half of that. These tyres were miles superior in grip compared to XM1, had Bridgestone release Adrenaline 001 here, i would have bought that for sure. It is a no fuss tyre, very durable and a good mix of every thing.

Have put in 32PSI front and 31PSI rear for now and will experiment a bit later.

Vento/Polo owners, if you love comfort, then only go in for 195/60 R15. If you are an enthusiast driver, please go for 205/55/R15, you will totally love the feel. Sidewall stiffness also matters a lot during cornering, compared to Bridgestone 195/60, the XM1's (on my friend's Rapid) in the same size squeal like a pig during cornering and the car rolls a lot more. Choose wisely.

Worn out Bridgestone's
Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-bridgestone.jpg

New Yokohama AS01 205/55 R15
Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-yokos-1.jpg

Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-yokos-2.jpg

Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread-yokos.jpg

Last edited by coolboy007 : 27th March 2015 at 22:12.
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Old 9th June 2015, 12:38   #375
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Re: Volkswagen Vento : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

Hello fellow BhP'ians,

I'm a newbie member and this will be my first mssg here, although I have been following this forum arduously for advise for the last 7+ years and will continue to do so.

I have a Terra Beige 2013 Vento TDI Highline that's covered 47k/kms, and is in need of a new set of shoes ASAP.

My usage :

Usage within city limits is minimal just pottering around with most of the 47k kms traveled coming from late night drives just outside the city to interstate travel.

I love driving and do a lot of interstate, south TN to Kerala right upto Goa & Mumbai.

I tend to keep to well paved roads even if i have to go the long way around.

A lot of ghat sections involved but i'm not into corner carving on the twisties or ghats, prefer using the cars momentum with smooth turn-in's.

The max i've done on a ghat is 80-100kmph and 176kmph for a few mins in an almost straight line on the AH47.

Otherwise speeds are between 85-130kmph depending on the road conditions with one eye on the fuel mileage counter which i like to see reading between 19 and 20kmpl.

I've gone through the forum and found a lot of discussion about :

1. Up-sizing to 205/55 R15's

and

2. The most talked about tyres being yoko S-drive's and Conti CPC2's

Question :

1. Till now i have been driving with the stock Apollo 185/60-R15's and to be honest apart from 5-6 punctures and one "pant wetting" incident i really haven't felt the need for a better set of shoes for the car.

What i would like a bit more though would be less noise and a bit more comfort...albeit not at the cost of safety and grip.

2.Given my usage and driving style do i need to up-size to 205/55 R15's ?

3. Has anyone had any experience with other brands like Maxxis, Pirelli, Bridgestone, Michelin & Hankook ?

4. I understand from other parts in this forum that Maxxis and Hankook are lesser known brands but up there with the big guys in terms of quality and performance...any advice ?

5. I have no intention of going near JK or Goodyear, and have been advised by the VW service mgr to avoid JK , Apollo , Bridgestone and Goodyear. His advise was to go for Michelin.

I'm really really looking fwrd to your inputs ASAP coz i need to change the tyres in the next 2 days, as i have another 2 road trips planned for this month ... first is a pilgrimage to Nagapattinam with family and then a trip to Kerala with friends.

Best regards,


Reg the "pant wetting"incident - Just as an eyeopener information to everyone else on what to expect on Indian roads to be prepared and possibly how to react ...

it was on interstate 206 on the way to Goa / doing 125+ kmph overtaking a scorpio on the right. An 'AH' on the phone driving a JCB excavator 50-60 mtrs in front suddenly decided to cross the road from left to right. Scorpio being in front seen the move and braked but because i was overtaking and the scorpio was between me and my line of sight with the excavator i was absolutely clueless. Braked (thank God for ABS) , cut gears, by which time the scorpio had already braked hard and was behind so just as the scoop was about to take my roof off yanked the hand brake and turned sharply to the left and stopped.... phew... !!!!...

Lesson : never overtake till you know for sure there's nothing hiding behind the vehicle your overtaking...
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