[girishglg]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

You can go for 145/80-12 itself or 155/70-12.

Edit - You are right just figured out tubeless is cheaper than tube type.

As the reason for something economical is that this car will be going out in the next year or so. Given that which brand would fit the bill?

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Edit - You are right just figured out tubeless is cheaper than tube type.

As the reason for something economical is that this car will be going out in the next year or so. Given that which brand would fit the bill?

Go for something like MRF or Apollo or something. They would be the cheapest.

[akhil_007]

Planning to change our M 800 tyres(all 5). Which tyre brand is the best for city drives + occasional highway drives. Also, should I go ahead with 145/80 R12 or any other size?

Currently running on stock rims, but 2 of them are bent slightly. Any suggestions where I can buy a new stock rim?

Thanks in Advance.

[fighterace]

Originally Posted by akhil_007

Planning to change our M 800 tyres(all 5). Which tyre brand is the best for city drives + occasional highway drives. Also, should I go ahead with 145/80 R12 or any other size?

Currently running on stock rims, but 2 of them are bent slightly. Any suggestions where I can buy a new stock rim?

Thanks in Advance.

Get the rims repaired, and mount Ceat Milaze 145/80-R12. The tyres are comfortable and VFM.

[Kumar R]

Last week I had a puncture in the Maruti. Fortunately it was just before I was scheduled to park and replacing it with the spare was easy in the shelter of a bay instead of a roadside change in the rain.

Yesterday I got the two rear tyres changed at Indo Radial Club, Bhowanipore. The proprieter, Minku Agarwal is well known to Team BHPians and the change was done in a jiffy.

Here are snaps of the new tyres (Goodyear GPS2 145/70 R12 Tube). (Rs 2050 each). Manufacture is 28th week of 2015 (about a month ago). I find the stock rims of these older Marutis (with the oblong holes), very aesthetically pleasing and much nicer than the round-holded stock rims on the later models and the Alto. It suits the car well!





This is one of the tyres that were replaced, Birla Milano Radials 145/70 R12 bought in Jan 1998 (for Rs 1400 each) done about 1,09,000 kms (one was badly punctured, the other was not worth saving as is evident).



After the change the change in the ride quality is dramatic (although that has as much to do with the pitiful state of the replaced tyres). Even Rolling resistance has reduced significantly.

The front two tyres are MRF Zigma, purchased in 2009.

[akhil_007]

@fighterace- Thanks for your suggestion. I went with Goodyear 145/80- R12 since Ceat was not in stock.

Ride quality has improved drastically but pulling has gone down. I suspect it due to the tyres being heavy. Paid 10K for 4 tyres + alignment + balancing + Nitrogen.

[Leoshashi]

Fifth set of tyres on my 2000 model 5 Speed M800 DX

The last set of bridgestones had done only about 8000 odd kilometers in its one and a half years of usage. The tread pattern was visually fine, so many would ask- Why this expenditure?? Let me explain

Issues with BS S322

1. They had developed conicity, and three of the 4 tyres had this issue. They used to violently pull in whatever random direction they wished to. As usual, no help from the Bridgestone dealer

2. Back then, I didn't know much about how to "read" tyre manufacturing date. I hate to admit, but I was cheated, and all the tyres were of 2011 make, I bought them in July 2013.

3. Dealer also cheated me by putting different sized tubes inside the tyres. May be this is what damaged the tyres, but fact is, I was at the receiving end.

4. Other persistent issues like air leakage, wobbling at 70kmph and offlate, development of bulges freaked me out. The dealer was of no help, and as expected, no warranty claim was even considered.

Like all other BHPians, It pains me when my cars don't drive the way they are supposed to. Being a student, managing the financials was the toughest job, but Where there is a will, there is a Way !!

My friend owns a Goodyear dealership, and he helped me to get what I wanted. Tyres considered were

1. MRF ZVTS
2. GoodYear GPS2
3. GoodYear Ducaro Hi-Miler
4. Michelin XM2+

This time I was specific about going for tubeless. Hence only options left were Ducaro and XM2+.

Michelins were pretty expensive, but love surely knows no bounds. I was okay with it, but rejected it only because it was again a slow moving model, and it was a year old, Once bitten, Twice shy perhaps!!


Got a buyback price of Rs.1500 per tyre for my old BS. Goodyear Ducaros costed Rs.2050 per tyre. So that's a pretty nice deal which I got. Additionally, GoodYears were manufactured in Aug 2015.


Old Bridgestone S322 tubetype radials

New GoodYears, Tubeless type






After getting the balancing and alignment done at the best outlets in the city, drove my car for about 100kms.

Initial impressions
1. More grip than my bridgestones.
2. Less road noise compared to Bridgestones.
3. Ride appears to be far more supple.
4. No pulling or pushing
5. Drives as good as a new car!!

All in all, Money well spent, and a lesson well learnt!!

Regards

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Fifth set of tyres on my 2000 model 5 Speed M800 DX

First of all, kudos to you for coming down to the root cause of the problem. Such a diagnosis is mostly not possible at MASS because of the lack of time the SAs devote to each car.

Coming to your new set, hope you have researched well on the Goodyear model that you have chosen. What kind of compound are they? Did you look into tires like Apollo Accelere/ MRF ZLO/ Yokos? Any feedback or observations on those?

When I was looking for a set, my consideration set consisted of B'stone (Turanza), Michelin and Yokos. Finally went with Michelin and honestly, that was an easy decision to make; except for the price premium because when you buy a Michelin, you not only pay for tires but also for those 8 letters. And yes, I was armed with the knowledge of decoding manufacturing dates when I stepped into the shop. Chose the most recent ones. The oldest I got was about 6 months old. Back in 2011, one tire cost me about 3100 bucks plus Rs. 85/- for each valve. However, it has been a great experience with Michelin XM1+ which have clocked about 12K kms as on date. They run absolutely silent and grip levels are amazing. Wheel lock up, which was a regular stuff on the OEM JK rubbers is a thing of long gone past.

Now that you have gone with a tubeless set up too, I would keep following your experience since you are on steel rims. Avoid pot hole hits as minor bends can lead to slow leaks. Do consider upgrading to alloys if you plan to keep the car for long (I know you wish to).

Drive safe!

Regards,
Saket.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by saket77

First of all, kudos to you for coming down to the root cause of the problem. Such a diagnosis is mostly not possible at MASS because of the lack of time the SAs devote to each car.

Thanks Saket bhaiya for the wishes. I have been lucky that my MASS did all the troubleshooting for me. They didn't hesitate to swap parts from my car with new ones, just to make sure its not a parts related issue. They also changed bushes as a hit and trial method, but didn't charge me for them as my issue wasn't resolved. They did tyre rotation followed by TD 4 times, it is surely a tiring job, but never did my SA or mechanics bat an eyelid.

Coming to your new set, hope you have researched well on the Goodyear model that you have chosen. What kind of compound are they? Did you look into tires like Apollo Accelere/ MRF ZLO/ Yokos? Any feedback or observations on those?

I didn't wish to go for an oversize(155/65 R12), hence the options left to me in the 145/70 R12(Stock size) were:-
1. JK Ultima NXT- Rs. 1800
2. MRF ZCC- Rs.1850
3. MRF ZVT- Rs.2000
4. MRF ZVTS-Rs.2250
5. Ceat Milaze-Rs.1800
6. Apollo Amazer 3G-Rs.2100
7. Bridgestone S322-Rs. 2800
8. Michelin XM2-Rs.3000
9. Falken - Rs. 2100
10. GoodYear Ducaro Hi-Miler-Rs.2400(But dealer being my friend, agreed to give them to me at their cost price of Rs.2050)

MRF ZLO and Yokos don't come in stock size of 145/70R12

JK's, Ceat, Apollo and MRFs(except ZVTS) were rejected due to owners feedback. Didn't go for Falken as its customer service was still unknown.

Michelins and Bridgestones were NICHE tyres for 800, very few people go for them. Hence I was getting tyres as old as 2 years in Michelin and BS. Not again!!!! I had burnt my hands with BS, and didn't want to repeat the same mistake again. May be I would love to experiment when I have money of my own. But this time, I wished to go the safer way with scholarship money. Hence those two were rejected. Also my uncle had Michelins in his Honda City, and it was rated as too soft since it developed side wall cuts too easily.

From what I have seen, the Goodyears are medium type compound- Not as soft as Michelins, but way softer than JK, Bridgestones or MRFs.

Also by first drive impressions, road noise, grip levels and ride quality seem to have improved by leaps and bounds, hence would like to believe that they are medium hardness compounds.

When I was looking for a set, my consideration set consisted of B'stone (Turanza), Michelin and Yokos. Finally went with Michelin and honestly, that was an easy decision to make; except for the price premium because when you buy a Michelin, you not only pay for tires but also for those 8 letters. And yes, I was armed with the knowledge of decoding manufacturing dates when I stepped into the shop. Chose the most recent ones. The oldest I got was about 6 months old. Back in 2011, one tire cost me about 3100 bucks plus Rs. 85/- for each valve. However, it has been a great experience with Michelin XM1+ which have clocked about 12K kms as on date. They run absolutely silent and grip levels are amazing. Wheel lock up, which was a regular stuff on the OEM JK rubbers is a thing of long gone past.

Michelins are awesome, no doubt on that. Now with the XM2 range, the sidewalls have been stiffened a bit. You are lucky that your tyre size is 145/80/R12. Fresh stock was easily available in that size. But in 145/70, I was getting tyres with manufacturing as old as 2213. That was simply not acceptable to me. Also Goodyears have an unconditional warranty with them, and the dealer(PitStop, Kanke Road) is known to me, so I am in safer hands. I know people who have got tyres with sidewall cut replaced under warranty. This is something you can't expect from any other brand.

Now that you have gone with a tubeless set up too, I would keep following your experience since you are on steel rims. Avoid pot hole hits as minor bends can lead to slow leaks. Do consider upgrading to alloys if you plan to keep the car for long (I know you wish to).

Yes, now I will be more careful with the wheels. However you will be pleased to know that in the last 15 years, we didn't suffer any rim bending or any puncture in this car, so you can imagine how much care we take while on roads. I still went ahead and changed all rims recently as their stud holes diameter was widening up a bit.
Would surely love to upgrade to alloys, have shortlisted a few designs. But that upgrade is a few months away. I somehow love the freedom of stock rims- even if apocalypse strikes them, you can change them for Rs.850 a piece. Alloys cost way over Rs.3500 for a piece. But surely, I will upgrade them to alloys for better brakes cooling and other benefits.


Regards
Shashi

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

1. JK Ultima NXT- Rs. 1800
2. MRF ZCC- Rs.1850
3. MRF ZVT- Rs.2000
4. MRF ZVTS-Rs.2250
5. Ceat Milaze-Rs.1800
6. Apollo Amazer 3G-Rs.2100
7. Bridgestone S322-Rs. 2800
8. Michelin XM2-Rs.3000
9. Falken - Rs. 2100
10. GoodYear Ducaro Hi-Miler-Rs.2400(But dealer being my friend, agreed to give them to me at their cost price of Rs.2050)

Leoshashi,

This morning, I too changed our beloved 800's 8 year old tyres to Goodyear Ducaro, Costed INR 2000/tyre post INR 200/tyre buyback price. Nothing much had left in old tyres. They came with 22,000 Kms/2 years warranty.

As you mentioned in the earlier thread, I too observed more grip and silent nature of tyres. Wobbling is completely gone and I am more than happy.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by MunnabhaiMBBS

Leoshashi,

This morning, I too changed our beloved 800's 8 year old tyres to Goodyear Ducaro, Costed INR 2000/tyre post INR 200/tyre buyback price. Nothing much had left in old tyres. They came with 22,000 Kms/2 years warranty.

As you mentioned in the earlier thread, I too observed more grip and silent nature of tyres. Wobbling is completely gone and I am more than happy.

Congrats on getting yourself a new set of tyres.!!

Have you gone for the tube or the tubeless setup?? Ducaros come in both. If its the tubeless one, I'd suggest you to check the rims for rust/damage.

I have driven around 1200 kms on these tyres and am very much satisfied with them.

Some observations-
1. Excellent grip in wet, mostly due to the tread channels.
2. Very low road noise from tyres. Fairly cushioned ride, much better than JKs.
3. Excellent mileage, specially due to the slightly hard compound.

What I didn't like-
1. Dry grip is just about average. Under very hard braking, it squeals sometimes.

I am very much satisfied with these tyres. And the unconditional warranty statement from Goodyear( and some insurance company) is reassuring.

Regards,
Shashi

[johannskaria]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

I didn't wish to go for an oversize(155/65 R12), hence the options left to me in the 145/70 R12(Stock size) were:-

10. GoodYear Ducaro Hi-Miler


From what I have seen, the Goodyears are medium type compound- Not as soft as Michelins, but way softer than JK, Bridgestones or MRFs.

Hope the tyres are fairing well.

My 800's tyres are due for a change so thought of upgrading them along with the overhauling process. When i had bought the vehicle from the previous owner it had three brands of tyres ranging from MRF's to Bridgestones so anyway it was time for bringing the tyres to my level of satisfaction. Problems i was facing range from low grip in rains and tyre squealing in turns. But I'm in a small dilemma after reading your response.

When i had searched around the 145/70 R12 tyres choices were very less in number. But 13 inchers had plenty to choose from.

Accordingly i'm split between three choices.


Choice 1

Change the wheel hub to that of Wagon R to get 100 PCD as well as to fit the 13 inch steel wheels of Wagon R to access the wide variety of choices.
As well as open up the choices in alloy wheels.

Complexity and reliability of the process is what concerns me.

Choice 2

Use the direct fitting 100 PCD MGP rims which use to be the standard fitments in Maruti Zen which was prone to rim bending. My theory is that since the weight of 800 is much lesser than that of the Zen, it would work without giving any troubles.

Now the only problem being sourcing them. Is the 13 inch MGP part still available?

Choice 3

Use the Good year Duraco 145/80R12 as you had put in.

Or a 155/80 R12 could give me a better grip and doesnt look like it would give clearance issues.


Which of the above would you suggest or anything else i should try out?
The car is going to be my daily driver once i bring it down to Mumbai after its KL overhaul.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by johannskaria

Accordingly i'm split between three choices.

About converting to 100PCD: No idea about this buddy. Even I had this idea recently, but forgot to ask my SA.

About getting Zen's 13 inchers: They are the same PCD as M800(114.3). So the rims should be a direct fit. Availability wont be an issue since Esteem too used the same rims and PCD IIRC. Have seen those rims readily available. If possible, get black ones. That way if you plan to get wheel caps, it will look genuine. Hate silver wheel caps on silver rims.

About Goodyear Ducaro 145/70R12: I am extremely satisfied with them, and would happily recommend them, since the Michelins are no longer available in that size. If VFM is what you need, there is simply no competition. They also come with 2 year unconditional warranty, which is also honoured. I have replaced 2 of my tyres, which had sidewall damage due to my carelessness and a puncture.

My take on the best upgrade for M800: If you ask me, my personal choice will be 155/65R12. Bridgestone has a tyre in that size, and it is what I'd recommend. Rest MRF, Ceat and JKs are available. Not only you get additional grip, your profile and tyre dia remains same. I am not a big fan of oversizing and playing with overall diameter.



My opinion about 145/80R12: While I am definitely not a big fan of this size, since it changes the dia more than the recommended 2%, many people go for this size without many issues. I'd list the pros and cons:

Pros:
Michelin and other good brands available.
Increased ride height and ground clearance.
Ride quality improves.

Cons:
Speedo and Odo error.
Driveshafts get additional load.
Body roll increases a bit due to extra flex in sidewall.
People have reported rear wheel arch scraping under full load. This however happens mostly due to weak rear suspension.



Hope this helps.

Regards,
Shashi

[johannskaria]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

About converting to 100PCD: No idea about this buddy. Even I had this idea recently, but forgot to ask my SA.

Curious to know. Please do share when you get an answer.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

About getting Zen's 13 inchers: They are the same PCD as M800(114.3). So the rims should be a direct fit. Availability wont be an issue since Esteem too used the same rims and PCD IIRC. Have seen those rims readily available. If possible, get black ones. That way if you plan to get wheel caps, it will look genuine. Hate silver wheel caps on silver rims.

My bad ,Zen uses 114 PCD. And i was sleep typing.

Esteem rims are an inch more in width as they accommodate 175 profile tyres. My concern in that was the clearance issue in the wheel well.

Hopefully Zen rims fits in perfectly without any issues.

In an update my uncle has already sourced the Zen 13 inch wheels, but could only get 4.

If this is the option i go with, would a 155/65 R13 be sufficient?
Yet to search if Goodyear Duraco is available in that specs

As for the wheel caps, i love the small central wheel hub caps that used to come in the earlier 800's. So mostly would use that. Still deciding on what shade to powder coat the wheels though. Hate the silver shade of Maruti wheels.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

About Goodyear Ducaro 145/70R12: I am extremely satisfied with them, and would happily recommend them, since the Michelins are no longer available in that size. If VFM is what you need, there is simply no competition. They also come with 2 year unconditional warranty, which is also honoured. I have replaced 2 of my tyres, which had sidewall damage due to my carelessness and a puncture.

My take on the best upgrade for M800: If you ask me, my personal choice will be 155/65R12. Bridgestone has a tyre in that size, and it is what I'd recommend. Rest MRF, Ceat and JKs are available. Not only you get additional grip, your profile and tyre dia remains same. I am not a big fan of oversizing and playing with overall diameter.

The 65/R12 's look so small in that wheel well.
The reason for choosing 65,70/R13 is the way it fills the well as well as the change in ride comfort it would give over the smaller tyres.

After your post I'm gonna stick with Good Year. Even the OEM Good Year Assurance on our EcoSport have served us well for 4+ years.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by johannskaria

Curious to know. Please do share when you get an answer.

Had a brief chat with my SA, he said swapping the front hubs is somewhat easier, but its at the rear where the problem will happen. Still, doable.

But he too recommended going for the Zen's 13 inch rims if you want to go for the upsize.

Hopefully Zen rims fits in perfectly without any issues.

One issue which you'll probably face with any upsize is keeping that as the spare. You may need to bend some metal.

The 155/65R13 is still smaller in overall diameter compared to 145/80R12 which is the popular, but wrong size IMHO for M800. So there shouldn't be any clearance issues, but if it happens, don't try to work around it by using spacers etc. It only indicates a bad/weak suspension and appropriate action should solve it. Specially the rear dampers go bad, and be sure to replace them with 5 Speed specific damper only.

As for the wheel caps, i love the small central wheel hub caps that used to come in the earlier 800's. So mostly would use that. Still deciding on what shade to powder coat the wheels though. Hate the silver shade of Maruti wheels.

Not a big fan of painting the rims, the reason being, weight distribution of the rim suffers big time, and it somehow never becomes normal no matter how many times balancing is done. Painting the alloys is fine to some extent as they don't have those deep grooves which steel rims have. So if you are going for the paint/powder coating way: kindly make sure the paint is absolutely fine and even.

The 65/R12 's look so small in that wheel well

The 155/65R12 will look exactly the same as the stock size. 155/65R13 will definitely fill the wheel arch better.

After your post I'm gonna stick with Good Year. Even the OEM Good Year Assurance on our EcoSport have served us well for 4+ years.

You may have a look at Michelins too. They have a tyre in that 155/65R13 size. They offer better braking, handling and comfort, but are expensive compared to GYs. If you travel mostly on good roads, you can consider them too.

Regards,
Shashi