Recommended Tyres For Maruti SX4 ZXi

[jesrani]

My SX4 Zxi has done 51k kms. Is it time to change the such JK tyres? How do i decide if tyres are bad? My monthly running is 1.5k kms with 50% on highway. I use car in Gujarat and roads are not that good. Highways are excellent though.
Which make would be recommended if i have to change? Going on a road trip next month so thinking i should change the tyres.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Take a one rupee coin, hold it vertically with the Ashoka facing you and insert it between two longitudinal tread patterns. If the tread does not cover any part of the Ashoka, its time to replace your tires.

If you don't understand the above, just go ahead and replace your tires as 51000 kms are good enough to wear them out. Which tire should you go for depends on what you want from your tires. If you are happy with the JKs, by all means get another set.

Let us know what are you looking for.

 

[jesrani]

Is this coin method correct? The tread comes nowhere close to the Ashoka, except the stepney. So it's surely time to change the tyres it seems.
My monthly running is 1500km, with 50⅝ on highway. The other 50% is not on very good roads. Which make and type is recommended?

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Go for Bridgestone Turanzas.

 

[jarpickle]

What are you looking for in the tires?

 

[jesrani]

Go for Bridgestone Turanzas.

What are you looking for in the tires?

I have had no complains with the stock JK's as such but had a number of punctures and one tyre was torn on the sides too. So I do want to change.

I have read on number of forums that Michelin and Yokohoma are soft, so not sure if they are suitable for regular driving in my town, where roads are bad.

Have read only good things about Apollo Acelere. But is the grip and specially braking as good as JK, I read elsewhere that the braking is not that good. I go upto 130kmph on the highway so need good braking also.

I also read about the new Apollo, Alnac 4G, which seems to be superior. Would anyone recommend this? Got a price of Rs.6,500 per pc for this tyre.

How would the Bridgestones compare to Apollo?

Anything better than the JK with similar or better braking, noise and grip in dry and wet conditions should do.

 

[TAIDhana]

Jesrani
50k kms is a good mileage you have extracted from stock JK tyres and also considering the number of punctures, tyre wear and planned trips etc I would recommend replacement of tyres.

We cannot generalize nature of tyres based on manufacturer (like Michelin and Yokohama are soft etc). Each manufacturer has different types of tyres and you can pick what best suits your needs. For example, if you take Bridgestone I am aware of following tyres:
* Touring tyres - Turanza series (Soft & Silent tyres - good for highway cruising)
* Performance tyres - Potenza series (Hard, but could be noisy especially after 50% life)

In between the 2 extremes discussed above (i.e 'Soft' Touring and 'Hard' Performance tyres) there are multiple options like Ecopia, which is new model Green tyres from Bridgestone which has lower rolling resistance - i.e. better mileage and tyre life. There are some standard tyres too from Bridgestone like B250 etc which again has been in usage for a long time.

Same way Michelin has Primacy series which is softer and one of the most silent tyres. But considering your condition you might want to check XM1 and XM2 series. Yokohama is also widely used - but again some models are soft.

I have had very good experiences with Michelin Primacy and Bridgestone Turanza - which perfectly met my needs for soft / silent ride. I have used Yokohama S drive too on my previous car too & extracted 45k kms - but changed when 10% life was still left because they became very noise.

Somehow I haven't had good experience with Acceleres (multiple punctures, including side wall punctures - forcing us to use tubes in tubeless tyres). My recommendation would be to keep away from Apollo, JK and MRF.

 

[jesrani]

Jesrani
50k kms is a good mileage you have extracted from stock JK tyres and also considering the number of punctures, tyre wear and planned trips etc I would recommend replacement of tyres.

We cannot generalize nature of tyres based on manufacturer (like Michelin and Yokohama are soft etc). Each manufacturer has different types of tyres and you can pick what best suits your needs. For example, if you take Bridgestone I am aware of following tyres:
* Touring tyres - Turanza series (Soft & Silent tyres - good for highway cruising)
* Performance tyres - Potenza series (Hard, but could be noisy especially after 50% life)

In between the 2 extremes discussed above (i.e 'Soft' Touring and 'Hard' Performance tyres) there are multiple options like Ecopia, which is new model Green tyres from Bridgestone which has lower rolling resistance - i.e. better mileage and tyre life. There are some standard tyres too from Bridgestone like B250 etc which again has been in usage for a long time.

Same way Michelin has Primacy series which is softer and one of the most silent tyres. But considering your condition you might want to check XM1 and XM2 series. Yokohama is also widely used - but again some models are soft.

I have had very good experiences with Michelin, Bridgestone and Yokohama. But somehow I haven't had good experience with Acceleres (multiple punctures, including side wall punctures - forcing us to use tubes in tubeless tyres). My recommendation would be to keep away from Apollo, JK and MRF.

Thanks for the quick response. In Bridgeston, only Potenza GIII and Turanza GR90 are available in SX4 size. In Michelin only Primacy 3ST and LC are available in stock size. So which of these 4 are recommended for 50% bad roads and 50% highway.
Still keeping Acelere option also as they have generally received good reviews. Also trying to check out the Alnac 4G.

 

[TAIDhana]

Thanks for the quick response. In Bridgeston, only Potenza GIII and Turanza GR90 are available in SX4 size. In Michelin only Primacy 3ST and LC are available in stock size. So which of these 4 are recommended for 50% bad roads and 50% highway.
Still keeping Acelere option also as they have generally received good reviews. Also trying to check out the Alnac 4G.

Both Michelin Primacy 3ST and LC are softer tyres. 3ST is still new and not sure whether it can take abuse better than LC. I have heard good reviews about Continental too.. but no personal experience.

 

[jarpickle]

TAIDhana, Turanzas are harder than Potenza's.Potenza is the performance tire, it uses a softer compound.Turanza is made to last longer hence the harder compound.

I have Pm'd our inhouse tire guru.Hope he can provide more insights to help Jesrani.

 

[jesrani]

Though i would like to go for better performance it may not be practical in my situation. As I have said even the JK were good for me so something better should be okay for me.
Hope to get some good advice from the expert.

 

[jarpickle]

Our expert is already viewing the thread as I type this message.Hopefully you will get detailed answer soon.

 

[Tornado]

My SX4 Zxi has done 51k kms. Is it time to change the such JK tyres? How do i decide if tyres are bad

To be precise 1.6mm thickness of tread should be available so as to continue on same tyres. Other way is to see if the treads are have levelled to the level of bridges in between them If tread thickness and bridge thickness is same, tyre change is immediately required before a long trip as long trip means tyres would face high temperature and might give way.

I have had no complains with the stock JK's as such but had a number of punctures and one tyre was torn on the sides too.

You definitely require tyres with better and tougher sidewalls than stock jk.

I have read on number of forums that Michelin and Yokohoma are soft, so not sure if they are suitable for regular driving in my town, where roads are bad.

Softness depends on ply rating (chemical composition and number of plies ) and not on the brand name of tyre.

Have read only good things about Apollo Acelere. But is the grip

.Acelere are premium tyres but they are entry level amongst premium tyres . They are often used as OE fitment by various car makers as a part of cost cutting.

I go upto 130kmph on the highway so need good braking also

for this speed and braking, ideally primacy 3ST are suitable. ST stands for Silence Tuned or Summer Tyres, they are silent than LC also. They are specifically designed for Asian conditions. Biggest USP is braking distance , it is 1.6m shorter than primacy LC. This means in emergencies you can save half of a hatch from getting compressed between your car and a truck ahead.
But I don't advice primacy 3 ST and primacy LC because you run your car on bad roads for substantial distance. And side wall of both primacy is just one ply(polyster) thick, in view of history of sidewall cut in your case, primacy series is going to worsen the things.

I also read about the new Apollo, Alnac 4G, which seems to be superior. Would anyone recommend this?

I don't know about them as they are new in market , but looking at the price, better to buy time tested Bridgestone and Michelin brands .

Anything better than the JK with similar or better braking, noise and grip in dry and wet conditions should do.

For these requirements Michelin 3ST are best choice, they are better than LC on these requirements. But for sidewalls and FE concerns I do not recommend them to you.
Bridgestone Turanza are best for you because the side wall contains 2 plys of polyester , hence they have tougher sidewall. They are little noisy as compared to primacy. But one can live with the noise because in my experience the noise is not nuisance, once music and ac is on.
If we move our fingers on polyester cloth, it makes more noise as compared to cotton cloth.

To, comment on potenza, we need to know your driving style, overtaking habits, cornering habits etc.

 

[TAIDhana]

To be precise 1.6mm thickness of tread should be available so as to continue on same tyres. Other way is to see if the treads are have levelled to the level of bridges in between them If tread thickness and bridge thickness is same, tyre change is immediately required before a long trip as long trip means tyres would face high temperature and might give way.

You definitely require tyres with better and tougher sidewalls than stock jk.
Softness depends on ply rating (chemical composition and number of plies ) and not on the brand name of tyre.

.Acelere are premium tyres but they are entry level amongst premium tyres . They are often used as OE fitment by various car makers as a part of cost cutting.

for this speed and braking, ideally primacy 3ST are suitable. ST stands for Silence Tuned or Summer Tyres, they are silent than LC also. They are specifically designed for Asian conditions. Biggest USP is braking distance , it is 1.6m shorter than primacy LC. This means in emergencies you can save half of a hatch from getting compressed between your car and a truck ahead.
But I don't advice primacy 3 ST and primacy LC because you run your car on bad roads for substantial distance. And side wall of both primacy is just one ply(polyster) thick, in view of history of sidewall cut in your case, primacy series is going to worsen the things.
I don't know about them as they are new in market , but looking at the price, better to buy time tested Bridgestone and Michelin brands .

For these requirements Michelin 3ST are best choice, they are better than LC on these requirements. But for sidewalls and FE concerns I do not recommend them to you.
Bridgestone Turanza are best for you because the side wall contains 2 plys of polyester , hence they have tougher sidewall. They are little noisy as compared to primacy. But one can live with the noise because in my experience the noise is not nuisance, once music and ac is on.
If we move our fingers on polyester cloth, it makes more noise as compared to cotton cloth.

To, comment on potenza, we need to know your driving style, overtaking habits, cornering habits etc.

That's so very informative. I had run Turanzas on my previous car for about 15000 kms (replaced after 55k kms on Primacy LC) and completely agree with you. While LC is soft and silent, Turanza was slightly more noisy, but it will still be so far better than stock OEM tyres. I was evaluating Ecopia too while choosing Turanza, and left out since they were very new in the market and untested (then). Your thoughts about them?

 

[jarpickle]

There you go Jesrani, our guru Tornado has given you the detailed answer.