[Ricky_3007]

Hi All,

This weekend I checked with all possible Tyres Shops in Kolhapur for the tyres for my 550 . I was curious about the prices and availability of these tyres at my place. I found below info.from the tyre dealers and some tyre experts.

Size - 7.50 X 16

MRF Sandgrips - Not possible to source as these are only meant for Army Supply

Appollo Bullet - Possible - Take some time 8-10 days to get - 4K a tyre (tube extra) - life is not good - about 15-20K max

Size - 235 /70 /R16

Apollo Hawkz - Tubeless radial - Rs 5350 a tyre - I didnt like it much

MRF Wanderers - Tubeless radial New entrant - No info on life - looks good but have to wait for reports - Rs 5700 a tyre. Not that cost effective -

BF Goodrich - Tubeless Radial - Rs 5625 a tyre - Good looks, good reports , if not very much brand oriented then its one of the best tyre -life approx 50K

Yokohama Geoladers - Tubeless Radial - Approx 6K a tyre - Good looks and as per life but I found very negative approach in experts regarding Yokos - I dont know why they say its not valu for money.

Michellin LTX AT2 - Tubeless radial - Rs 6575 a tyre - Exellent but most expensive. Very good trade pattern - Good Value for money (Michellin LTX AT- discontinued)

All 235/70/R16 can be fit in 5.5inch Army rim with 16 inch dia - As per all dealers and experts
And there is approx 2.5inch height reduction in changing Sandgrips to 235/70/R16

Expect your feedbacks.

Cheers

Tarkesh

[starter]

Dear Tarkesh,
That is one detailed report
I have also been checking out the prices of exactly these tyres in Bangalore. From what i've heard here, Michelins are the best. Ofcourse, it comes for a price.
Cheers,
Deepak

[harjeev]

Hey tarkesh,
The Apollo Bullets I am sourcing for 4560 in karolbagh. But these are with tubes. Also i have been told by the vendor that these tyre do run for 40k kms. +/- 10-20%.
Also see arka's post no 311 on this issue. Further I have said this earlier is
that the army generally drives their vehicle for 75-100k kms. So if these Bullets are good only for 15k kms Do you think that the army will change the tyres 5-6 times in the ownership of a jeep. Maybe susan will be able to cmment on this.

Also army vehicles run quite a lot on-road and off road too. When army regiments are relocated their entire convoy travels 000's of kms on road only and not shipped to transported on trains. So the on road performance has to be good.
But as I have already booked them I wiill be using for atleast the next couple of years and will be in a better position to comment and this will be a 1st had experience.

I had even contemplated using BF's for my jeep but the only reason I dint go for it was because of the height difference. 2.5 " is alot.
Consider this
2.5" comes to 63.5mm (2.5 incher X 25.4mm). The total ground clearence GC of the MM550 is 210mm. So if I reduce the GC by 63mm its a reduction of almost 30% which I consider alot.
IF you are ok with the reduction of 2.5" then I thing that you should go for BF's otherwise the minimum size acceptable is 275/70/16's or if you can manage 235/85/16. I also saw BF's in karol bagh which were 245/75/16's. These were really nice tyres the only hitch is the mrf. year is 2006.

[vishwaschettri]

Originally Posted by harjeev

Hey tarkesh,
2.5" comes to 63.5mm (2.5 incher X 25.4mm). The total ground clearence GC of the MM550 is 210mm. So if I reduce the GC by 63mm its a reduction of almost 30% which I consider alot.

If I'm right the reduction in ride height will be half of it i.e. 1.25 inch. Same for ground clearace.

Originally Posted by harjeev

Vishwas

Please post some pics on the Jeep pic thread. I will like to see your jeep. Have you done any other modification to it??

Modification!!
No brother, I haven't even restored it fully yet. She's still running the same as I picked it from mayapuri.
Got all the mechanicals overhauled. Electricals were surprisingly all working. Even all the bulbs. Just added a bit here and there. Now running out of tires.
I'll post a pic in the pics thread. I really like the surprise people get when a battered lookin jeep starts at half crank or overtakes them at 120+ .
Maybe i'll never get it painted.

cheers
vishwas

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by vishwaschettri

If I'm right the reduction in ride height will be half of it i.e. 1.25 inch. Same for ground clearace.

I just googled and found this

1 inch = 25.4 millimeters

Take for instance the 235/70/R16's tyre

So 235mm is the width and 70% of the width is the sidewall.
The sidewall works out to be 70% of 235mm = 164.5mm.
Double the sidewall 164.5*2=329mm
Divide this my 25.4 comes to 12.95"
So the sidewall is 13 inches and 16 inches is the rim width.
Therefore the height of the tyre will be 29 inches. this is shorter by 2 inches atleast if compared to the 7.5x16 Bullets.

I might be wrong, maybe the tyre experts T-Bhpians can clarify on this.

Originally Posted by vishwaschettri

Modification!!
No brother, I haven't even restored it fully yet. She's still running the same as I picked it from mayapuri.
Got all the mechanicals overhauled. Electricals were surprisingly all working. Even all the bulbs. Just added a bit here and there. Now running out of tires.
I'll post a pic in the pics thread. I really like the surprise people get when a battered lookin jeep starts at half crank or overtakes them at 120+ .
Maybe i'll never get it painted.

cheers
vishwas

Thats a wicked thought man, but I like that
I just want to see your jeep in person. Will be in Greater noida next week & if its ok, I will like to drop in!!!
If you are ok with it, pm me your number.

[Alfa_Kilo]

Originally Posted by harjeev

Hey tarkesh,
The Apollo Bullets I am sourcing for 4560 in karolbagh. But these are with tubes. Also i have been told by the vendor that these tyre do run for 40k kms. +/- 10-20%.
Also see arka's post no 311 on this issue. Further I have said this earlier is
that the army generally drives their vehicle for 75-100k kms. So if these Bullets are good only for 15k kms Do you think that the army will change the tyres 5-6 times in the ownership of a jeep. Maybe susan will be able to cmment on this.

Also army vehicles run quite a lot on-road and off road too. When army regiments are relocated their entire convoy travels 000's of kms on road only and not shipped to transported on trains. So the on road performance has to be good.
But as I have already booked them I wiill be using for atleast the next couple of years and will be in a better position to comment and this will be a 1st had experience.

I had even contemplated using BF's for my jeep but the only reason I dint go for it was because of the height difference. 2.5 " is alot.
Consider this
2.5" comes to 63.5mm (2.5 incher X 25.4mm). The total ground clearence GC of the MM550 is 210mm. So if I reduce the GC by 63mm its a reduction of almost 30% which I consider alot.
IF you are ok with the reduction of 2.5" then I thing that you should go for BF's otherwise the minimum size acceptable is 275/70/16's or if you can manage 235/85/16. I also saw BF's in karol bagh which were 245/75/16's. These were really nice tyres the only hitch is the mrf. year is 2006.

Hi,

The Army often run jeeps which rarey go offroad on 6.00-16 NDMS tyres because these are cheaper and last longer than 7.50-16 block pattern tyres.
Another problem with Indian made block pattern tyres is that their tread voids become very narrow after just ~30% wear, making them quite useless for mud.

235/70R16 tyres should be installed on a 6.5"-7" rim. On converting from 32" tyres to 29" tyres, there will be a GC loss of ~1.5". The axle ratio should also be made taller.

[vishwaschettri]

@ Harjeev - Yes the tyre height will be lesser by 2 inch but ride height of jeep will be affected by only 1 inch as it will be reduced on both sides of the axle. I hope i'm able to convey this to you.
You are most invited to see and drive my jeep. I put up at surya nagar, that is near anand vihar in east delhi. Will pm you my no.

cheers
vishwas

[kittigadu]

235/70R16 tyres should be installed on a 6.5"-7" rim. On converting from 32" tyres to 29" tyres, there will be a GC loss of ~1.5". The axle ratio should also be made taller

If not totally offtopic, can you explain more on the "taller axle ratio" thing with change in tyre width.

Anyone tried sourcing Lenso 16" alloys with 139.7 PCD in Delhi ?
I have checked the Lenso web site and the following is listed :

well, bigman. my previous owner said that he got them from UK personally and paid somewhere around 800-1000 Pounds those days.

Regards,
Krishna.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Ricky_3007

BF Goodrich - Tubeless Radial - Rs 5625 a tyre - Good looks, good reports , if not very much brand oriented then its one of the best tyre -life approx 50K

What do you mean not brand oriented, BF Goodrich is a well known brand worldwide and is owned by Michelin, the premier tyre company.

Originally Posted by Ricky_3007

Yokohama Geoladers - Tubeless Radial - Approx 6K a tyre - Good looks and as per life but I found very negative approach in experts regarding Yokos - I dont know why they say its not valu for money.

This tyre is highly regarded in the Bangalore offroad circles. Just yesterday I saw it in person, looks very good.

Originally Posted by Ricky_3007

Michellin LTX AT2 - Tubeless radial - Rs 6575 a tyre - Exellent but most expensive. Very good trade pattern - Good Value for money (Michellin LTX AT- discontinued)

If it is most expensive, how is it value for money?

Originally Posted by Ricky_3007

All 235/70/R16 can be fit in 5.5inch Army rim with 16 inch dia - As per all dealers and experts

According to any rim width calculator you can find, the rim width for a 235mm tyre would be between at least 6.5 inches to 8 inches.

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[bigman]

Originally Posted by kittigadu

If not totally offtopic, can you explain more on the "taller axle ratio" thing with change in tyre width.

well, bigman. my previous owner said that he got them from UK personally and paid somewhere around 800-1000 Pounds those days.

Regards,
Krishna.

Yes Lenso alloys still sell for similar prices for a full set in the UK. Would be interested to know how much they go for in Delhi as they do stand out in a crowd.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by bigman

Yes Lenso alloys still sell for similar prices for a full set in the UK. Would be interested to know how much they go for in Delhi as they do stand out in a crowd.

The Delhi dealer is located in Karol Bagh. Will try & locate their phone number.

[Alfa_Kilo]

Originally Posted by kittigadu

If not totally offtopic, can you explain more on the "taller axle ratio" thing with change in tyre width.

well, bigman. my previous owner said that he got them from UK personally and paid somewhere around 800-1000 Pounds those days.

Regards,
Krishna.

The tyre rolling radius affects the overal gearing of the vehicle. 32" to 29" is a subtantial change, and should be accompanied with a change in the ring and pinion (or some other component, but that is often impractical).

New axle ratio/old axle ratio = 29/32
= 4.87.

So one needs a new R&P set with a ratio close to this figure.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by Ricky_3007

....All 235/70/R16 can be fit in 5.5inch Army rim with 16 inch dia - As per all dealers and experts

Not the most ideal situation.

Originally Posted by Alfa_Kilo

235/70R16 tyres should be installed on a 6.5"-7" rim.

Originally Posted by Samurai

... According to any rim width calculator you can find, the rim width for a 235mm tyre would be between at least 6.5 inches to 8 inches...

. A 235/75 tyre should be on a 6.5 - 8" rim.

Having said that, I still have my 235/75 on the stock 5.5J rims and I have seen Mukund running 255(or 265)/15 on his stock 5.5J rims.

My 235/75 should be on alloys soon. 7.5J with some -ve offset.

[Baburajs]

Dont know if this is off topic. But can any one give me direction to know what -ve offset is. In My jeep the tyres are scrapping the leaf springs at the front at the lock positions of steering. My tyre size is 235/75/R15.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Baburajs

Dont know if this is off topic. But can any one give me direction to know what -ve offset is. In My jeep the tyres are scrapping the leaf springs at the front at the lock positions of steering. My tyre size is 235/75/R15.

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