Quote:
Originally Posted by predatorwheelz Updates planned for the 3rd year
1. Upgrade to 195/60 R14 tyres. The B250s are holding on gamely, but I can sense they're nearing the end of their working lives. Will replace them with something sporty, like Yoko ES100s or Advans. |
Yesterday I gifted Predator new tyres for Christmas
. As said, the B250s were nearing the end of their working lives. I'm a bit paranoid about tyres. I Check pressure 1-2 times a week, religiously rotate them every 5K kms, align and balance at regular intervals, and generally fill 2psi above normal. All this had ensured the B250s still had decent tread, and whatever wear had happened was uniform across the 5 tyres. Here's a pic of what they were looking like at the end of 33K kms:
That said, one of the tyres had been ripped by a stone during my Puri drive last year, and was being used with a tube. One tyre had seen a bad puncture across the tread, and the puncturewallah had done a hash job on the repair (chemical not cut off properly, hardened and made the tread irregular). 2 more tyres had seen 3 punctures each.
I had only one good tyre with no punctures in its entire working life.
With a long drive looming in end-December, it was the clear the B250s needed to go.
Choice of Tyre - Part 1 (Performance tyres)
Ever since reading Nikhil's thread on
Yokohama AD07's, I'd planned to get them for Predator. Unfortunately they've been discontinued now, and no one knows when AD08s will come in.
Other performance tyres I considered were Bridgestone Potenzas, Goodyear GSD3s, Yokohama ES100s and Hankook RS2s.
Potenzas are reportedly too noisy, and the Kolkata dealer quoted 5K per tyre which I found not worth for a 2 generation old tyre.
Goodyear I don't personally trust as a brand (very bad experiences with 2 sets across 2 different cars)
ES100s are used by NOS Power (Joseph) and SGChaudhuri (Souvik), 2 Kolkata bhpians and my good friends. Minku of Indo Radial Club also recommends them. I drove Joseph's car a bit to check them out. While grip was good, the tyres were too noisy. And the closed tread was a stone magnet! My car does about double kms per month compared to his, and I wasn't sure how comfy I'd be with these problems.
The
Hankook RS2s were a last minute choice. A clone of the AD07s for half the price, and decent reviews. Got people in Delhi and Kolkata to look for them. All searches proved negative.
That was the end of my quest for performance tyres
.
Choice of Tyre - Part 2 (Comfort tyres)
Next up, Comfort Tyres. I'm a bit of a Yoko fan, so first choice was to look for
Yokohama C-Drives. Premium comfort tyres with slightly sporty streak. A search with both Delhi and Kolkata dealers confirmed that they were only available in 185/65 R14 (my existing size) and not 195/60 R14.
Bridgestone Turanzas were my next choice. The local Bridgestone Wholesaler (Eastern Tyre House) asked for 4750 a tyre, a bit too expensive. Better and newer tech 14" tyres are available for cheaper.
Last consideration was the
Pirelli P6, something Minku showed and recommended. I even put up a thread asking for opinions, no one replied!
So what did I go for?
So in the end, I stuck to the brand I've known and loved for 2 years in my Indica -
The Yokohama A-Drives. They've already proved how comfortable, silent and durable they are. In the Verna their grip will be tested (compared to the naturally aspirated Indica!) but I'm sure they'll cope well.
Yesterday had the chance to drive around about 70kms after fitting the tyres. No remarkable change in handling. Ride feels a bit more comfortable. The noticeable change is in the absence of road noise! I had no idea my old tyres used to make a hum at high speeds (always dismissed it thinking it was engine noise) before I realized its absence yesterday!
The true test of the A-Drives will come in the (above 2000 kms) long drive that I'm planning in next week of December. Stay tuned.
Here are some pics:
Edit - Forgot to add. I got these tyres for 3750 each, plus Rs 600 cash back for my 4 old tyres.