[dhuli]

In another section I had posted about my old set of tyres with couple of pics on wear. Today I went to Millivisions Bangalore and purchased a replacement set of 5. The choices for a 155/65/R13 tubeless came down to 1) Yokohama A-drive (AA01) and 2) Michelin XM1+. There was a Goodyear promising 100000 kms too, which I ignored! Michelin was priced around 2950/- per tyre. Interesting difference between A-drive and XM1+ was in the Treadwear rating. The A-drive was rated at 340, XM1 was 400. The side wall of XM1+ did seem stiffer than the A-drive. My assumption was - Adrive might have a shorter life than this XM1+ I saw, but comfort might be better.
I picked up A-drives finally at Rs.2600/- per piece inclusive of 13.5% VAT. I also bought new valves from Wonder (made in Italy) for Rs.100/- per piece (seemed over priced...but didnt negotiate!). Should mention that I didnt find the treadwear, temperature and traction ratings on Yokohama tyres. I spoke with their representative (Mr.Apachu) who said these were made in Philippines for Asian markets where it is not statuatory to disclose this info. However, he checked his charts and told me the Treadwear was 330/360 and Temperature was A. He didnt have the Traction info.
The ride quality surely was better than the worn goodyear G3's I had. Steering seemed smoother and curved roads at 60kmph seemed more stable and in control with no roll. Sound - couldn't tell much of a difference between old tyres and new ones. Maybe it is my poor acuity!
The pictures I am sharing are of the new tyres and the wonder valve and a picture of my alloy. Guess I missed taking one of the wheels after fitting! Thanks to all the members who shared so much about tyres and their choices in this forum. It surely helped my research.

[sagarpadaki]

Congrats on your rides new shoes.

Does Millivisions fit the tyres too or does he outsource it to some one else?And is the fitting cost extra?If so how much?

[sushrutha]

I have used Both Michelin XM1+ Yokohoma A. size being 185/70/R13
I would rate Michelin above Yokohama in Braking+handling.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Congrats on your rides new shoes.

Does Millivisions fit the tyres too or does he outsource it to some one else?And is the fitting cost extra?If so how much?

Nopes he doesn't fit.
He'll refer you to Vijay Wheel alignment @V.V.Puram.

[dhuli]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Congrats on your rides new shoes.

Does Millivisions fit the tyres too or does he outsource it to some one else?And is the fitting cost extra?If so how much?

Millivision doesnt do the fitting. He recommends you go to Vijay Alignment nearby. I did as I was in a hurry. However, Vijay's place (key guy - Sanjay) was a bit chaotic. They dont print out the wheel alignment variations. You have to accept what is told verbally. Tyre fitting+wheel balancing+wheel alignment (front) costed me around 550/- including the weights. There was a chap (hawks) waiting to pick up old tyres for a steal. I was a bit lost and lost the bargain. I gave off my old tyres for 1000/- bucks.

[dhuli]

Just got back from a Pondicherry trip. As pointed out on this forum, the stretch between Krishnagiri to Tirunvanamalai is quite terrible. Unfortunately, I had a tyre give way. Didnt realize till some distance when it was totally devoid of air. At the nearest town, asked if they had a 'kit' for tubeless tire fixing. He said yes and filled up my (flat) tyre with air. Soon, the futility of fixing became apparent as the tire was gone at 3 places along the side walls. One of them was a 1/4" gash. I am attributing it to one pot hole I couldnt avoid (at 60kmph). Well, I went on without a spare tyre and for return journey picked up a Michelin XM1+ of same specs (155/65/R13) in Pondicherry. There was no other choice!

In retrospect, I had compared both the Yokohama and Michelin. I found the sidewalls a bit more firmer on the Michelin and assumed Yokohama's will offer more comfort as a result. The comfort surely was better with the Yokohama (compared to the Bridgestones). I am left wondering if the Michelins would have survived the bad roads better.

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by dhuli

Just got back from a Pondicherry trip. As pointed out on this forum, the stretch between Krishnagiri to Tirunvanamalai is quite terrible. Unfortunately, I had a tyre give way. Didnt realize till some distance when it was totally devoid of air. At the nearest town, asked if they had a 'kit' for tubeless tire fixing. He said yes and filled up my (flat) tyre with air. Soon, the futility of fixing became apparent as the tire was gone at 3 places along the side walls. One of them was a 1/4" gash. I am attributing it to one pot hole I couldnt avoid (at 60kmph). Well, I went on without a spare tyre and for return journey picked up a Michelin XM1+ of same specs (155/65/R13) in Pondicherry. There was no other choice!

In retrospect, I had compared both the Yokohama and Michelin. I found the sidewalls a bit more firmer on the Michelin and assumed Yokohama's will offer more comfort as a result. The comfort surely was better with the Yokohama (compared to the Bridgestones). I am left wondering if the Michelins would have survived the bad roads better.

I agree with you. My Yokohama C.Drive picked up a thorn in the sidewall that probably the Michelins Enery XM1 (185/65R14) in my Baleno would have avoided. I have really abused the Michelins and they have never let me down through the last 42 k kms.

The puncture in my Innova was very small (~10 psi loss per MONTH) and I got it repaired through a patch inside the tire ad it have behaved for the past 10k kms.

While purchasing too, the Yoko sidewall felt softer compared to the Michelins. And a lot of people who sat in My innova have said that it rides cushier compared to regular Innovas (despite me upsizign to 225/60R15)

[rana_kirti]

i was in the same place at one point in time choosing between the a drive and xm1+ for my Swift. i got the a-drives.

but i'm not very happy with it's cushioning. I find it to be bouncy on mumbai roads. the grip is quite good though and is confidence inspiring but the same can't be said for the ride.

i'm want try the michelin this time as i have to upgrade the tires for my City.

It would be nice if someone has tried both A-drive vs. XM1+ on the same car to come forward and share their experiences on the ride quality & grip.

[goandude]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

It would be nice if someone has tried both A-drive vs. XM1+ on the same car to come forward and share their experiences on the ride quality & grip.

I have 184/70/14 A drives on my car and my son has same size MichelinXM1+ on his swift VDI.

Now to check out the two I filled 33psi in front and 29 at the rear (checked when cold with my own gauge) . Then drove down the same stretch of cobbled stone road. Found michis to be more cushioning and the roughness of the cobble stones was very little, whereas with the yokos I could feel the rippling of the cobble stones.

But i have driven the yokos for 20k kms mostly on highways and find them very grippy on turns. Never drove with michis on the highway.

Hope this helps

[dhanushs]

+1 .

Michelin infact scores high on comfort, and its because of its soft side walls. This turns out bad for handling potholes.

The Yokohama A-Drive is strictly a VFM product, and the XM1+ should score higher anytime. Well, at a premium price of course.

[rana_kirti]

Originally Posted by goandude

I have 184/70/14 A drives on my car and my son has same size MichelinXM1+ on his swift VDI.

Now to check out the two I filled 33psi in front and 29 at the rear (checked when cold with my own gauge) . Then drove down the same stretch of cobbled stone road. Found michis to be more cushioning and the roughness of the cobble stones was very little, whereas with the yokos I could feel the rippling of the cobble stones.

But i have driven the yokos for 20k kms mostly on highways and find them very grippy on turns. Never drove with michis on the highway.

Hope this helps

Thanks i'm getting michelins this time !

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

Thanks i'm getting michelins this time !

I am sure that C.Drives cushion significantly better compared to A.Drives and similar or better compared to Michelins. But not sure if you will get them in 80 or 70 profile that OEM Swift needs.

see http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...ml#post2022454 for a comparison between A and C drives