We have a 2007 SwiftZXi at Kerala which has done just about 22000kms in the last 5 years, which means the OE tubeless JK Vectra tyres are as good as new tread-wise and should normally go on for another 20000kms at bare minimum (the tube-type Bridgestones on my Baleno are almost as good as new after 60000kms, except for 1 tyre that wore off).
Anyway, since this was the first car in the family that had tubeless on it, I was initially very excited about the advantages (no sudden tyre-bursts / ability to drive on even with a puncture etc). However, the sequence of events led to disappointment :
1) Punctures and then moving to tube inside;
Everyone has punctures in their tyres, so when the same tyre had 2 punctures in the initial 2-3 years, it did not seem that bad (though as a comparo, I have had only 2 punctures in my Baleno tyres over 7 years). But when we were told that the tyre was now weak and we had to put in a tube, it was a shock - what is the whole point in having tube inside a tubeless tyre ? Ofcourse this was a minor shock compared to what was to follow. Anyway, we put the now-tubed tyre as the stepney.
2) Deformed tyres leading to jumpy ride :
Last April, my sister and family took the Swift on a Kerala-Kodai drive. Somewhere mid-way my BIL calls me to say that the car is kinda jumping, which is due to the tyre being swollen at one place on the circumference - having never seen/heard of such a thing, I am not sure what could be the cause. Especially on an almost new tyre. They show it at 2-3 tyre-shops who all say that the tyre is a goner and needs to be replaced. So now, this tyre goes in as the stepney and the tubed-tyre comes back on the running wheel.
Check out the pics :
The tyre in inflated condition is bent out of shape as if someone twisted it - also there are serrations at the centre running through the length of the twist.
See how the whole thing caved in once air was gone.
Can you imagine a 20K tyre looking like the mess below ?
3) Another tyre issue :
They return from the trip without any tyre issues and park the car at home only to see that one of the other tyres (with no issues till now) is flat. They get the puncture fixed, but again the next day it is flat. They take it to atleast 2 tyre-shops and the unanimous verdict is that the tyre is gone and needs to be replaced (something about a big nail going in sideways). Since now 2 of the 5 tyres are unusable, they buy a new GoodYear tubeless.
However, the stepney is still the swollen-tyre and it is too much of a risk to drive around without a working stepney, so I go tyre shopping. Nearest to home is a JK-Tyre shop with an employee who seems to detest customers - any query is met with a rude answer or a No for tyre availability. I ask him why he has the shop open if he does not want to do business. And move on, promising never to visit that shop again. In hindsight it was good I did not buy here.
Next stop is the Bridgestone dealer - even as I mention the swollen tyre, the owner asks which brand it is and when I say JK, he says that he has had other people also come in with similar issue on their JK tyres. Later in the evening when I bring in the bad wheel to change the swollen tyre, the mechanic also echoes the same thought - bad manufacturing quality of JK tyres resulting in the steel reinforcement breaking, leading to the cave-in and which has been observed earlier with other users.
Anyway, I replace the tyre and now the tubed-tyre goes in as stepney - with a mix of tyre-brands on the running wheels (2# OE JKs, 1# Goodyear and 1# Bridgestone).
In sharp contrast, have a look at how a 60000km run Bridgestone on my Baleno looks like today ;
Summary : Given the crappy quality tyres that JKTyres rolls out and the know issues so early on in the lifetime, please stay away from them. Not sure if one can choose the brand of OE tyres coming on their new cars, but if it is possible, stay from the JKS. I would think any other brand would be better than what they dish out.
I for one, am never touching a JK-Tyre again !!!
![Frustration](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Frustration.gif)