[roms]

Originally Posted by finneyp

But, I love the superb ride comfort it offers!
Also the improved braking ability & driving on rainy wet roads.

Originally Posted by mobike008;13860044.

Finally the most important aspect, braking has improved drastically. Previously the car never stop in a hurry ( read when your above 100kmph) but, now i dont even have to downshift or engine brake, even in overdrive, the car stops beautifully.

Have done about 5K kms on them and i am totally satisfied with these tyres

Thanks Finney & mobike008. Good to know that you guys have similar observations and experiences with these tyres.

And yes, two things I completely forget to comment on - braking & wet weather performance. Thanks for reminding -

- The braking has definitely improved over the stock tyres, though I have had a couple of instances where the tyres have locked up under hard braking. But I guess you do need ABS to completely avoid wheel lock ups. Overall, the brake feel has improved.

- Yes, the wet weather traction of these tyres seems to be pretty good, better than its dry weather grip and inspires confidence to go fast.

[prashantrana]

Phew, read the whole thread, very informative.

I have an Esteem and will be changing its tyres this weekend, I had decided to go for Michelin XM1+ 175/70 R13 but the last few posts about the cornering grip have made me think. I am residing in Delhi & working at Gurgaon and will be taking my car every 3-4 months to Parwanoo, Himachal (parents) and occasionally to Manali/Shimla.

So does the Bridgestone Turanza ER-60 do a better job?

[roms]

Originally Posted by prashantrana

Phew, read the whole thread, very informative.

I have an Esteem and will be changing its tyres this weekend, I had decided to go for Michelin XM1+ 175/70 R13 but the last few posts about the cornering grip have made me think. I am residing in Delhi & working at Gurgaon and will be taking my car every 3-4 months to Parwanoo, Himachal (parents) and occasionally to Manali/Shimla.

So does the Bridgestone Turanza ER-60 do a better job?

Its like this. If you are the kind of driver who likes to go hard on corners, then the XM1+ are not meant for the purpose. But otherwise, for a regular driver they do the job quite well. The handling and grip levels are quite decent and predictable for a regular user. Where they really score high are brilliant ride comfort, low noise and also wet weather performance.

As far as the Turanzas are concerned, there is a dedicated thread :-
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...-worthy-4.html

If you go through user reports , you get the feeling that the Turanza ER-60 are indeed better all-rounders than the Michelins. That is, they do have a good balance of ride comfort, low noise, good handling and grip levels. Some members who have used both (lohithrao I believe) do mention that the Turanzas are much better at tackling rough/ bad road conditions. So based on user reports, I think they have an edge over Michelins, especially in the grip and cornering parameters. Add to that the fact that they will be cheaper by a few hundreds than the Michelins.

The one thing, though its definitely not a negative, nor a reason for choosing tyres is the fact that when you keep the two together and have a look at them, you will instantly fall for the way the Michelins look and feel. The Turanzas definitely dont look great. Infact, the Turanzas were my first preference as well. At that point of time, based on the reviews here, I thought the two would almost be identical (and they are in most parameters, except the difference in handling/cornerning bit which I know of only after I have used them). So I instinctively went for the Michelins the moment I saw them.

[Nikhilb2008]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1390846-post61.html

[finneyp]

Lohith, Would like to know how is the cornering ability of Turanza ER60 compared to Michilin XM1+ ?

[lohithrao]

finneyp, i think i liked Turanza better.... i was more comfortable and confident, Mich Squeals when cornered hard but Turanza never made any noise...

[prashantrana]

Finally I bought Yoko A Drives, tire noise is nil and the steering is light as compared to Michelin XM 1 (not plus) I had before but they had weared out a lot as well. There was a 5 Year warranty. It has only been a day. Rest lets see.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

On the verge of picking up a second hand Esteem Vxi - 2007. In good condition. Would like to upgrade the wheels and tyres which as far as I know are the standard 155/80/13. For the tyres I am pretty much decided on Michelin Energy XM1+. However, I would also like to upsize from the standard 13" to 14" i.e. 165/70/14. As per the Excel sheet on the Tyre and Alloy section, it says this is possible but on speaking to two tyre dealers they advise against it as the tyres are likely to touch the body and once fitted they will not take the tyres back. Having had one bad experience in the past with oversize tyres, I am extremely wary now about upsizing. Could the gurus please advise if the size mentioned would be OK on an Esteem - when fully loaded / on bad roads / on full wheel lock etc.
Also, how would this upgrade affect the comfort, steering, braking and road holding of the car? With the roads in their present state, I do not want to be crashing into potholes and jarring the occupants.

Thanks guys,

SS

[Nikhilb2008]

In 14", you can go for 175/65 R14. The size you have mentioned is not available.

175/65 R14 should not touch on the Esteem. It should be very comfortable.

I would like to know your reasoning behind going in for 14". It makes no sense. You may well stick to 13" and get 175/70 R13. This will give you marginally better road comfort as well.

[suzuki san]

Hi Nikhil,

Thanks for your prompt reply.
I was wanting to go for the 14 inchers as i intend to do some mods on the engine and was hoping that the 14 inchers would give better road grip, cornering etc.
Looks like I may have to stick to the 13 inch but will check on the size you recommended.
I have spoken to two more shops since my last post and they are also against 14 inch rims/tyres.

Thanks again.

SS

[Nikhilb2008]

If you do go to 14", you can go for Yoko S drives in 185/55 R14.

[madhukar_n]

I use potenza gIII on my baleno. I must say i am quite happy with the performance especially on the corners. the noise is also very less. handling has improved.

i use turanza on my zen(just changed it recently ..maybe about 2K kms). They are also very good. i changed the tyres after about 55K kms.( the previous was JK it think) and difference was mind blowing. the handling was good, noise level down.

all in all, happy experience with the Bridgestones :-)

[longford]

Really exhausting worthwhile and informative thread!! Phew 2 straight hrs of reading this and I am brainwashed to decide for my change of tyres for my accent glx of 2001.

My darling has gone for 46000 kms on the stock s322 13" stock alloys.. and still has decent rubber on it. I have a long drive coming up in abt 10 days and need to decide on the tyre.

from the reads, both the ER-60 and the XM1+ are equally good except for the observations on the hard cornering, which does not concern me much.

My observations on both these two, the treads are quite similar except xm1+ has a double tread running thru with longer side lines.

at close to midnight, i am drooling on the xm1s and must be good feeds to my dreams tonight.

btw, i observed that both the cos have the same dealer in my parts of the world and the michelin site was gracious to let me know the list price - 3200. now i can try and get a few bucks off

me just changing the tyres and maybe with a 185/180/175 60/65 config.. not decided, thats tomorrow's reads.

again thanks a ton for all the responses, really should drive a chill down the spines of the dealers when they know you are TeamBHPian.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

Decided to take the advice and have stuck to 13 inch Neo alloys with Michelin XM 1+ tyres. Absolutely satisfied with the ride so far. Tremendous difference after the 20K old JK's. Have filled nitrogen in the tyres and noticed a difference as well from when I fitted the new wheels till after the pump where I filled the N2.
Thanks guys for all the help.

SS

[longford]

Decisions! Decisions! Decisions

Man! Its tough call between the BS ER-60 and Mich XM1+ But I have more or less fell for the Michelins

Haggling at the dealership got me these prices
XM1 185/70/R13 - 3800
XM1+175/70/R13 - 3150

BS ER60 175/70/R13 - 2775
BS ER60 185/70/R13 - 2900

The dealer, when asked for his advice as well, mentioned the XM1+ was the best choice of the lot and I am beginning to believe so after the whole read up as well..

Of crse the allignment+balancing is free and am getting the nitrogen filled by default as well..

So, it to be today... will let ya know how it goes incl dealer review .. tomm...