re: Toyota Innova : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread There are various reasons people choose tyres over the OEMs, a few being, silence, endurance, drivability, wet grip, high speed grip, better looks, sturdiness etc.
However, that does not mean the OEMs are suited for certain specific purposes or sectors of users.
Each tyre has its pros and cons. It is our endeavor to learn through such discussions which suits best to own need.
The Bridgestone B390 is not bad tyre at all. In fact I have seen numerous cases of it having proven worthy to last longer in lot of cases. So will be the case with Goodyear GT3 which Toyota used to ship Innova with, not sure if it does now, although not so great.
The only way we can learn about these tyres is from personal experiences and discussions being shared amongst us as there is no other quantitative measure to it, inspite of whatever manufacturers may claim about their tyres.
While I have Yokohama C-Drive on my Innova which I find extremely good for grips on wet slippery roads, they lack from sidewall strength and are developing cracks while in their 40Ks in the 4th year. It is possible that my Ladakh trip may have had an impact on the same. The earlier Goodyear GT3s did not age well either and hardened early, but were good enough for normal highways and decent speeds though did not feel confident on wet roads.
On other hand, the Bridgestone B390 factory fitted on other Innova are still running well beyond 50K in their 4th year and that added with the same Ladakh trip done by the two Innovas together. They seem to do well for still some more time.
On aspects of silence on road, high speed handling and wet grip, the Yoko C's would seem better than the B390 and definitely better than GT3. But that does seem to hamper B390s on driveability, usability and B390s seem to outlast the newer Yoko C's and without much significant difference if I am to stick to stipulated speeds. Even for high speeds, we have been able to do stable 160s on the B390s without any worries.
I learnt that Primacy LC/XM ranges too are not too great on the sidewall strength though probably marginally better than Yoko Cs. XM2s are the new breed claimed to have even stronger sidewalls, but do not know the first hand long term experience of these newer tyres.
It would be so much better if there was a measure and tyre manufacturers started rating the usage upto certain KMs on standard tracks, just like ARAI mileage in standard conditions, just to give customers some perspective.
I saw numerous taxis as well as personal Innovas in Ladakh. Especially the taxis still seemed to be on OEMs. So the endurance of these basic OEMs on gruesome roads also does not seem to be a big issue.
I am feeling I will go for B390 or just to try out first hand switch to Primacy LC/XM1/XM2 next time I change.
IMO it is best these tyres not labelled for any segment but seen from own outlook, requirement, need and usage perspectives combined with experience feedback. |