Quote:
Originally Posted by kpzen No need to worry AFAIK, there's no fuel tank air filter in Getz.
I tried many times, but they (hyundai) had no clue whatsoever. Its there in the part BOM but can't be procured as its not there in the part ordering list.
Now at 77k kms i've completely forgotten about it.  |
I have let it go, after all the SMS and discussions I had with fellow BHPians with rockets!!
Here is a quick update on my rocket:
Before the car goes in for service this time, I wanted to relieve the S.Drives for their long pending retirement after 40k KM of impeccable service, the two tires getting sidewall cuts not withstanding.
As a part of this tire change, I also wanted to down-size to 14", and was looking at Yoko C.Drives in 185/65 R14 as the replacement. I also had Michelin XM1+ and Conti CEC2 in the list. After another round of discussions with fellow BHPians (thanks Prajesh (KPZen), Dhananjay (djay), Vikram (Headers) and Prasanna (pras.oct25)), decided to take the plunge for C.Drives in spite of being warned by Deepak (Tyrestore) of side-wall bulges / cuts issues. I felt that the ~600 bucks premium is not done for the Michelin, djay ruled out Maxxis - he switched back to 14" after having them in 15".
Prajesh warned me of steering issues with C.Drives in his car, where the steering got so vague that after 100 KMPH and gets dangerous to maneuver. Though good in terms of grip, the root cause of the issue was drawn back to the tires - A.Drives did not have this problem, and the entire steering / suspension was checked. I took his suggestion to have a test of how the car behaves before taking the plunge. His was one of the earliest C.Drives to be launched in India.
After a quick word with Vikram, called up Deepak and placed the order for the C.Drives yesterday. Called Deepak today just to see if the tires have come - and yes, got the confirmation by 2 PM. Headed there by 2:30 PM and had a quick look at the tires. They had a label mentioning March 2011 as import date. The side-walls were indeed soft to touch - I compared this with a used Goodyear and a new XM1+ - both were relatively firm.
The tires were mounted and balanced on the alloys I had picked. I loved my 15" alloys at first sight, and tried to find the same design comes in 14" (a colleague of mine has it in his Figo), but no luck. Picked a set from the bunch of designs (the home department played a role in the selection

) and had them balanced and mounted on the car. I did not have alignment checked, because the car is going in for the 40k service next week - will do the alignment after the service.
Some pics:

I liked the side profile of my 15" HRs - but this is not bad, is it?

An up close shot of the alloys...

...and the tire's thread pattern
First thoughts:
While reversing the car out of Tyrestore, the first thought I had was - the steering is relatively light. Much lighter than the S.Drives. And what Prajesh warned flashed.
I drove home, about 7 KM of evening traffic. The comfort of 14" is immediately felt. Going over rumblers with S.Drives even at slow speeds will feel like your butt is being kicked a few times. Even small inconsistencies on the road will be felt on the steering and by your body. I went over the same rumblers at relatively higher speeds, and I heard just a muted thud - didn't feel much.
The steering, like I said, was definitely lighter than the S.Drives. It was relatively effortless to turn it at near-standstill speeds.
After dropping my wife home, I drove to work - about 24 KM, with 7 KM on a 6 lane highway (Chennai By-pass). The car definitely felt more eager to move - I don't think this is placebo, as I know how much in-gear acceleration I have to make to get it moving, and there definitely was a difference.
On the flip side, the realized the braking is not what it used to be. The car used to stop like my wish is its command when wearing S.Drives. Now I am having to wish a bit harder. But that is to be expected when going down from 195 profile to 185, and from performance to comfort tires.
I did not want to push the tires all that much during their running. But yet Prajesh's warning nagged me - push it to a tad over 100 while on the Chennai Bypass, and did not feel any vagueness in the steering. I was able to make lane changes and overtaking maneuvers with the control I want.
I am reserving the verdict though - let them run in, and let me take them to the 140s they will have to tolerate, and then I will pass the judgement!
