[Gypsian]

As enthusiasts we love our machines to be different and unique, pursuantly we constantly try to come up with ideas that makes us and our beloved machines stand out from their counterparts. At times this very desire may get detrimental or disastrous.

Generally the most common modification that petrol heads aspire are the wheels for various reasons , aesthetic appeal, better road grip, tires to match the terrain or to corroborate the increased power and what not.

The protagonist of this story being the Audi Q7 ( 2016 Model ), the pampered baby of our family. Upon purchase the Audi Q7 was delivered with a 255/60 R 18 size wheels. Subsequently after couple of years upon proposal of the Audi service personnel, Bangalore to have a look at the new set of wheels with dimensions 285/40 R21, quite impressed by the looks we had instantly got it replaced by exchanging our old OEM wheel rim as also the old tires were up for replacement as they were at the verge of getting completely bald. The new Good Year tires with dimensions 285/40 R21 were plonked in. Must say that the already well planted Audi Q7 felt much better in terms of grip and all the other significant considerable aspects of a tire was top notch. I can rate 10/10 for the aforesaid tires.

Last month i.e. on 23rd June me along with my family members had visited Rameshwaram Temple which is about 600kms from our place in Bangalore. As usual the torque monster Q7 took us to the destination in about 9 hours, a pleasant non-hurried drive with no fancy speeds. Subsequently we had checked into hotel Rameshwaram Grand, which had dedicated parking space and accordingly the car was parked in the dedicated parking place.

On the following day in the morning, we had hopped into an autorickshaw to avoid parking hassles, for the morning temple visit and after “darshanam” we had few other places and were dropped back in the autorickshaw by evening to the hotel as we were scheduled to depart next day to Bangalore. Before heading to the dinner in the hotel complex I approached near the car to take my phone charger which was placed in the dash board. To my surprise the front left tire was flat. Initially I was under the impression that it might be a normal puncture, after close inspection, to my awe I observed a 2 – 2.5 inch rupture on the side wall and my sudden discern about the Q7 not having a stepney wheel!! No signs of any external damage to the car, rim or any collusion marks put me to further confusion.

Without further undulations we had sought for some local help from the hotel personnel who had promised to summon a puncture shop guy in the morning. After surpassing the sleepless night, a local puncture shop man arrived at the hotel and after taking a close look he came up with an idea of placing a canvas piece from inside and sticking it with a solution and then placing a canter tire tube to inflate the tire, he guaranteed us that we can comfortably reach Bangalore at moderate speeds by avoiding any major pot holes or likely road hurdles. 600 kms was no joke with such a desi arrangement on tires. In the meanwhile we had called Audi, Madurai the nearest Audi dealer and service centre to Rameshwaram which is about 180kms! As if the aforementioned ordeal was not enough the Madurai Audi personnel sought for 3 – 4 days time to procure the tires as they claimed the tires of aforesaid dimensions are very rare and can only be procured by prior order. Subsequently rung up Audi Bengaluru with some hope and guess what? They sought for about 7 days time to procure this tire! Cherry on the cake. To our further dismay we called three tire shops in Madurai and about ten tire shops in Bangalore and none came up with a positive response after hearing the tire size and everyone just said they will get back after enquiring and none did.

While contemplating on getting the car transported to Bangalore on a flat bed, I just remembered a tire dealer put up at TR Mills, Bangalore who owns a shop by name Amman Tires with whom I purchase Chinese MT tires for my Gypsy, with absolutely no hope I reluctantly called him and enquired regarding availability of the tire with that size and this guy comes up with an epic reply that he has never come across a tire of that size.
As I was browsing for nearby flatbed contact numbers, the owner of Amman tires telephones me and says tires are available at Sundar Tires, Chennai and that he will arrange for the tires to reach Ramnathpuram by next day afternoon in a private bus. In the sigh of relief had good lunch and there comes another “Canon Ball” a call from Sundar Tires, Ramnathpuram stating that they can only provide a pair of tires and that a single tire cannot be sold. An helpless Hmmm from my side and another “Canon Ball” he shoots a question, Sir how will you get your car here?? Our shop is about 65kms from Rameshwaram. I asked him to arrange flat bed from Rameshwaram to Ramnathpuram, which he did and arranged ot for the following day. He had stated that the relevant size tires of Pirelli company will be dumped on to the private bus that will reach Ramnathpuram from Chennai overnight.

Finally the next day the tires had arrived at Ramnathpuram and the Q7 was picked up on a flat bed to Sundar Tires. Must say a very professional garage setup and the work was done swiftly by replacing both the front tires and the guy at Sundar tires explained that these tires no matter what should not be removed and placed by desi puncture tools as the same can ruin the tire as well as rim and he quoted few examples were rims were shattered by hammering from a local puncture shop guy.

The rarity of the tire which had putforth all these ordeals. Costed 48000/- INR for each tire. Be that as it may, one must foresee the repercussion of any modification or alteration and must formulate a back up plan by forecasting such failures albeit they are rare to happen. The question remains as to how the tire incurred damage and to my dismay that specific parking area was not covered by CCTV cameras.

Well, got back safely, after a while applied for Team BHP membership, approved, happy to be on the forum, happier to have acquired status of Bhpian and happiest for penning down my experiences with my beloved members.

Some relevant images attached below:

[GTO]

Mod Note: Thread moved to the Tyres sub-forum!

[Turbanator]

Such sizes are indeed a pain; I am glad it worked out well finally. You could have got a smaller space saver or even a regular 18/ 19 and completed the journey at moderate speeds.

I remembered a similar incident in 2010, I took my almost 6-month-old X6 to Kandla from Gurgaon, and that car had 20inches; that size was almost unimaginable a decade back. Somewhere around 200 Kms before Gandhidham, I missed a big pothole on the road, and the RFT went flat-out. Due to a space saver, I could continue my journey and got the new tyre lifted from Gurgaon by Air To Ahmedabad. By pure luck, I found that tyre at Bird in those days. One person went to Ahmedabad with the tyre and replaced it at the local dealership as none of the outside tyres would dare to handle such a large size.

Lesson learnt but forgotten with time, I still have some crazy large sizes, but I don't take them so far. One should mandatorily carry a space saver on longer trips.

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Lesson learnt but forgotten with time, I still have some crazy large sizes, but I don't take them so far. One should mandatorily carry a space saver on longer trips.

Well that was a colossal mistake on my part for not having a space saver spare. As you rightly pointed out it turned out to be an expensive mistake and a lesson well learnt.

I can imagine a decade back, a tire of these dimensions would be unheard of and glad you have pulled it of well back then.

[shankar.balan]

I truly dislike RFT’s. After my experience when on a road trip vacation in rural France in 2019. (Pictures attached).

If this can happen in a place where largely the roads and surfaces are good, then there is no point using such tyres in most of India.

I agree 100% that one needs some kind of backup tyre if one is going long distance in a car without a spare.

I have done some long drives in my Mini Cooper which doesn't have a spare, but to which I have fitted tubeless tyres. Plus it is always best to carry an inflator.

At the same time towards early May this year I experienced a big bad shoulder slice/ side wall cut in one of my lovely Michelin Pilot Sports tubeless tyres which are on my Cooper. Caused by the ubiquitous construction debris that adorn almost all the roads in Bangalore as a garnish. No other go but to run to Madhus and beg for two Michelins. Luckily they were able to arrange these. So I ve put the two new ones on and am keeping the undamaged old one as my spare. Problem is there is absolutely no space in a Cooper to accommodate a spare.

Reference- Air lifting spare tyres into another city and all, its very dramatic but all this will require more resources than the average person has. Glad that you were able to do it! I don’t think I’ll have been able to.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I missed a big pothole on the road, and the RFT went flat-out. Due to a space saver, I could continue my journey and got the new tyre lifted from Gurgaon by Air To Ahmedabad. I still have some crazy large sizes, but I don't take them so far. One should mandatorily carry a space saver on longer trips.

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I truly dislike RFT’s. After my experience when on a road trip vacation in rural France in 2019. (Pictures attached).

If this can happen in a place where largely the roads and surfaces are good, then there is no point using such tyres in most of India.

I agree 100% that one needs some kind of backup tyre if one is going long distance in a car without a spare.

I have done some long drives in my Mini Cooper which doesn't have a spare, but to which I have fitted tubeless tyres. Plus it is always best to carry an inflator.

At the same time towards early May this year I experienced a big bad shoulder slice/ side wall cut in one of my lovely Michelin Pilot Sports tubeless tyres which are on my Cooper. Caused by the ubiquitous construction debris that adorn almost all the roads in Bangalore as a garnish. No other go but to run to Madhus and beg for two Michelins. Luckily they were able to arrange these. So I ve put the two new ones on and am keeping the undamaged old one as my spare. Problem is there is absolutely no space in a Cooper to accommodate a spare.

Ref air lifting spare tyres into another city and all, its very dramatic but all this will require more resources than the average person has. Glad that you were able to do it! I don’t think I’ll have been able to.

After having experienced such ordeals, RFT's do not inspire confidence as much as the regular tires do. Such a fear is instilled within a person having experienced these nightmares will certainly lay down an embargo to free spirited and confidence inspired driving.
It may still take ages to put up error free roads in every look and corner of our country and in all probability the RFT's dont suit for most parts of the Indian terrain. Glad that you could source the tires in short span of time.

[Porcupine]

This tale of woe is one of the most annoying ones. I had an unrepeatable puncture in my Panamera a few yeas ago and the tyre size was so odd even Porsche didn't have them (most Panamera's in India are sold with 18-19inch rims - mine had 20's) and had to be imported from Germany.

Going forward I always make sure I have a space saver, and in some cases even a full size spare with me while traveling longer distances.

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

This tale of woe is one of the most annoying ones. I had an unrepeatable puncture in my Panamera a few yeas ago and the tyre size was so odd even Porsche didn't have them (most Panamera's in India are sold with 18-19inch rims - mine had 20's) and had to be imported from Germany.

Going forward I always make sure I have a space saver, and in some cases even a full size spare with me while traveling longer distances.

Getting a tire imported is a misery. Probably in your case since it was a puncture, you were luckily not stranded as it would have been impossible to get out of the situation forthwith. When imperative parts of any automobile are subject to availability, they are sure to test patience.

[GTO]

Serves as a good reminder to all of us

1. Never upsize to ridiculous sizes. R19 and over wheels are for USA & Europe, not India. I personally like R17 max on sedans and don't think I'd go over R18 for a big SUV (if R17 is an option, I'd pick that).

2. Can't travel in India without a space saver spare.

[Gypsian]

Originally Posted by GTO

Serves as a good reminder to all of us

1. Never upsize to ridiculous sizes. R19 and over wheels are for USA & Europe, not India. I personally like R17 max on sedans and don't think I'd go over R18 for a big SUV (if R17 is an option, I'd pick that).

2. Can't travel in India without a space saver spare.

After facing the aforementioned ordeal, I will most certainly not opt for tire sizes which are uncommon and in all probabilities will carry a stepney tire or a space saver. It was indeed a lesson well learnt.
Having elders or aged persons accompanying us on the trip further adds to the misery, as for a moment nobody knows when and how we get out of the situation.

[vredesbyrd]

Originally Posted by GTO

. I personally like R17 max on sedans and don't think I'd go over R18 for a big SUV (if R17 is an option, I'd pick that).

Why not try these bad boys? I know they don't look as great as the MSport LCI 18" but these look terrifyingly good along with magic ride comfort benefits. Both are 17". The latter comes with the F30 LCI Luxury Line.





Drove an early 3GT (2014) sometime back with those multispoke 18" of varying spoke sizes. Took it on dirt trails and it was a terrifying experience. I'd love to put 16/17 on those with a lift kit and A/T tyres. 3GT Crysta Edition much?

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Thanks to Gy.psian and other members for highlighting the potential difficulty with such tyre sizes.

With such high end cars, I guess it shall be a pleasure to make long trips. And one shall not miss this pleasure simply because of odd tyre size.

Tyre size of 265/60R18 is relatively easier to source and way cheaper. Can we buy a set of new alloy wheels and change permanently to a more commonly available tyre size like 265/60R18?

[lionheart_mm]

I can understand your pain we have an Audi A6. Most tyre sellers won't stock sizes suitable for such cars, so we have to order well ahead for tyre replacement.

[Porcupine]

Originally Posted by Gypsian

Getting a tire imported is a misery. Probably in your case since it was a puncture, you were luckily not stranded as it would have been impossible to get out of the situation forthwith. When imperative parts of any automobile are subject to availability, they are sure to test patience.

Luckily I wasn't stranded. It was a puncture that couldn't be repaired properly and kept getting worse, over few days and required a change. But yes, the unavailability of parts can become miserable especially when the wait can be more than a few weeks.

[samitjain]

I had a similar experience with run flat in my BMW 525 D. While travelling in Punjab, both the right hand side developed side wall cut when it went over potholes. Tried reaching dealership but the tyres gave up about 40 KM from Chandigarh. Luckily the size was available at dealership. Flatbed came and towed the car to the dealership and insurance people cleared the case within 2 hrs. A space saver also would not have helped in our case as there were 2 tyres. Always felt a bit afraid taking BMW out on highways since. Took it only in case there was another car along on the trip.