Hello,
My 2004 WagonR Lxi has done nearly 47,000 kms and needs a change of tyres. The current tyres are OEM JK Ultimas (tube-type) in 145/70 R13 size, riding on stock pressed steel rims. One of the tyres recently suffered a deformation, probably due to excessive wear. That tyre is a write-off, and it is the reason why I'm looking to change all the tyres, since I feel it is only a matter of time before all it's siblings give up too, since they are also worn-out to the same extent (tread has almost reached wear-out marker, about 1/2 mm depth left). Also, micro-cracks are visible in the treads of all the tyres, especially in the grooves. As of now, I'm driving around without a spare tyre, and I urgently need to implement this change. I am planning to upgrade to 155/65 R13 size for better ride and handling. I had even considered the 165/60 R13 BS Potenza G3, but I have heard that it is too noisy and gives a hard ride, so I dropped the idea.
Now here is my predicament. I visited 3 dealers over the weekend (4 actually, but the fourth one, Anand Trading Corp. at Phugewadi was least interested in my business. He just gave a cursory arm-chair quote of 2300/- for Bridgestone S322s, so I just let him be). Here I list my experiences with these dealers.
Dealer 1 - Maharashtra Tyres, Pimpri.
I would call this is a "shop" rather than a showroom. It doesn't have an air-conditioned glass display area, hydraulic car-lifts (with a high-end fancy car propped up by default, as is always the case with tyre "showrooms"), alignment/balancing equipment and all the fancy toys and gizmos you would normally find in a tyre "showroom". It's just a small store with tyres put up on metal racks and wooden desk for the owner. He does have the tyre mounting/unmounting machine though. All the work is done on the sidewalk by a few employees.
When I told him of my requirement, he asked how old the car was. When I told him 5 years, he suggested going for tube-type tyres only, as such old rims might not be perfect and may cause leakage in tubeless tyres. He implied that I can have tubeless tyres at my own risk. Here are his quoted rates (which haven't been negotiated):
1. Bridgestone S322 tube-type Rs.2300/-
2. Bridgestone S322 tube-less Rs.2150/-
3. Apollo Amazer tube-type Rs. 2100/-
4. Apollo Acelere tube-less Rs. 1950/-
5. There was one more tube-less pattern in Apollo for which he also quoted Rs. 1950/-.
I think he also had an MRF tube type, about which I dont recollect much, except it cost more than Rs. 2000/-.
These rates do not include any wheel balancing/alignment/nitrogen, for reasons already mentioned above.
Dealer 2 - Tyre Plus, Kasarwadi.
This is a relatively new store. I think he is a Michelin Priority Partner or something, because his store sported a huge Michelin signboard (other brands were also displayed on a separate board in smaller size). Air-conditioning, proper service bay, the works. The guy who attended to us was very friendly, said there will be no problems whatsoever in using tubeless tyres with steel rims. He said most cars which are used within the city for personal and home use (like mine) do not have any rim problems. He claimed that they had even fitted tubeless tyres on 10 year old M800s without any issues. His (again, not negotiated) quotes:
1. Michelin XM1+ tube-less Rs. 2750/-
2. Yokohama A-drive tube-less Rs. 2500/-
This rate includes wheel balancing, alignment and nitrogen filling.
Dealer 3 - Darshan Tyres, Balewadi.
Again, a proper "showroom" with all the fancy toys. The same Michelin signboard, this time in jumbo size (other brands were also displayed on the same board in smaller size). Sales guy was quite friendly, said he would "check" the rims on my car and then determine whether I could go tubeless or not. I had my bike that day, so he kept insisting that I get the car to his showroom so that we could "sit across the table and discuss" (read negotiate). His (non-negotiated) quotes are:
1. Michelin XM1+ tubeless Rs. 2750/-
2. Continental tubeless Rs. 2450/- (cant recall sub-brand)
3. Bridgestone S322 tubeless Rs. 2250/-
Rate does not include wheel alignment (Rs.250/-) and balancing (50 paise per gram, no labour). Also, no nitrogen (no machine).
Now, me being a VFM type of guy, am already leaning towards the Apollo Aceleres (dealer 1). But I am apprehensive about going tubeless on account of what the dealer said. If I do go for them and face any problem later, he will probably adopt the "I-told-you-so" line. Also, he has no facilities for checking or straightening the rims. So, that is a risk I have to take. Now, here are my questions:
1. Given the above scenarios, what is the correct approach to take if I want to install tube-less tyres, considering the age of the rims?
I do not wish to hear the word "alloys", my car is too old for that now.
2. Is it really justified paying 1.5 times as much for Michelins than for Apollos?
I found the Acelere tread pattern to be almost similar to XM1+, except that the latter is asymmetrical. The fellow at Darshan Tyres told me about the "silica versus carbon" thing, but I still feel 1.5 times is too much of a price difference for an intangible feature that the customer cannot actually "see". Thats just my opinion, maybe it's the VFM side of my brain speaking, I may be wrong. Please don't shoot me!
(In any case, I have serious apprehensions about Michelin after reading the numerous threads here about sidewall bulges on those tyres. Even the Darshan Tyres fellow fleetingly referred to "driving carefully" with Michelins to avoid answering my "Michelin sidewall issues" query. The tyre dealers I spoke to plainly declared that warranty claims for sidewall bulges/cuts are directly rejected by ALL manufacturers. If that is the case, I will go for the cheaper ones. That way, I won't regret losing as much money as I would on a "premium" tyre. Not that I expect to have sidewall issues, but why take the chance
. There is nothing I hate more than losing my hard-earned, 9-hours-a-day, TDS-deducted peanuts.)
3. Assuming I go ahead with the tubeless Aceleres, I would first like to get my rims checked and also treated for rust. How do I go about doing this?
4. If I just go ahead and change to Aceleres without any rim checks/treatment and then run into issues with air loss, I assume the best thing to do would be to change the rim(s) in question. In that case, what does a new WagonR rim cost?
Thank you for your patience in reading my post. Any opinion/feedback is highly appreciated.