Need Help

[tharindu6]

Hi Guys need your valuble inputs very badly.

Today i went to this tyre shop since one of my car tyres was loosing its pressure on a regular basis.

The guys at the shop had a look at it and then removed it and told me that I have to replace that tyre since its beyond repair

They have me 2 options

1) To put a Ceat tyre ( hope I spelled it correctly) which costs 4600/=

2) To put a Nankang Tyre which costs 5700/=

Seems that I have to replace both front tyres since they are worn out.

My Questions

1) which tyre is the most suited to our road condition ( and have to think about the prevailing financial situation also)

2) do I have to replace both or just one? or all four

3) A place where I can buy them for a Cheaper Price ( If there is any) ( if its ok with Mods)

Cheers

[Saturn]

Many people say bad stuff about the ultra cheap tires (Ceat, etc), e.g. "they wreck your suspension".. In my case I use this type of tire and it does OK.

I do have the tires very slightly underinflated so it is quite soft and not too stressfull on the suspension.

Seems theres just a 1100 difference so I'd recommend the nankang as they seem to have better reputation

Summary: if you can go for the nankang or better, if money matters go for the Ceat..

Edited January 16, 2009 by Saturn

[tharindu6]

saturn thank you verymuch for the quick reply.

[tharindu6]

any ideas guys?

[MasterDon]

first of all make sure it's the tyres fault(most of the time it is),i had a tyre which kept losing pressure,but when i removed it from the rim and put it back it was fine.sometimes the tyres don't fit properly to the rim thus it looses air pressure.

when it comes to tyres i go for the best brand i can afford,as a biker,i know the importance of having the best tyre possible,because on a bike the differance between a good tyre and a bad one is very clear,it has saved my life many times...the same goes for cars....of the two you have mentioned go for the nankang.

it would be good if you replace two atleast,either front or back,but make sure the treadwear is the same on a pair...put the new one's according to your cars drivetrain(in the front if you have a front wheel drive car and vice versa).but it is better if you can replace all four,and switch them back and forth every six months so they wear out equally overtime.

for a few hundred bucks more you can have a Goodyear GA/GP/GT series...which is excellant - http://www.amwltd.com/goodyear/default.htm

Edited January 17, 2009 by HelRazor

[tharindu6]

HelRazor Thanks machan

[Devinda_Z]

The guys at the shop had a look at it and then removed it and told me that I have to replace that tyre since its beyond repair

a damaged rim can have a similar effect with tubeless tires..

[JadeyBlitzen]

tharindu, i can recommend gt radial. its not really a performance tyre. i fitted them once when i couldnt find the potenza's of the right size. they had dissapointing grip compared to the potenzas but if u can drive smoothly even when u r caning it, u wont notice the difference. and im sure they fair much better than the ceat. its quite cheap too. at that time a similarly sized potenza was around 15k whereas the gt was a tad below 6. they cater pretty much all the sizes imaginable depending on your needs.

i'm not sure how it works out. but my dad manages to get me a discount on some company car policy. i think it works out when u are employing over 20 people or something. so see if you can get that discount from a friend. i think the deal is you get 4 tyres for the price of 3 or 5 for the price of 4. ask the company if they offer such discounts. most companies usually throw in those buy 4 and get a discount offer. i think it'd be a worthwhile investment getting all 4 replaced. try a main agent for gt.

if you wanna buy them seperately i suggest u do it in pairs, on each axle. unless you are fitting a new tyre on an axle with a similar tyre with over 3mm of thread on the other end dont do it. your car might start crabbing. and the handling will be unbalanced on various conditions. especially under braking.

and dont worry about too grippy tyres ruining ur suspension cos unless they are slicks our normal roads never offer enough grip to strain the mechanical bits.

[tharindu6]

JadeyBlitzen & Devinda_Z Thanks a loot for your feed back.

If im not mistaken I currently run on set of GT radias which i used for about 4 years. Today i checked the tyre it has a crack sorta thing abt 1 inch long. And obviously cannot be repaired.

If I can find a way to get a special discount like JadeyBlitzen mentioned it would be great.

Guys if I look in tyre shops near Sugathadasa stadium will I be able to find Better Deal.?

Or shall I buy them from a Place near my town ( I live in Kiribathgoda)

Since I replaced my Suspensions recently costing 30K i dont want to wreak them as Saturn has mentiond previously.

[JadeyBlitzen]

JadeyBlitzen & Devinda_Z Thanks a loot for your feed back.

If im not mistaken I currently run on set of GT radias which i used for about 4 years. Today i checked the tyre it has a crack sorta thing abt 1 inch long. And obviously cannot be repaired.

If I can find a way to get a special discount like JadeyBlitzen mentioned it would be great.

Guys if I look in tyre shops near Sugathadasa stadium will I be able to find Better Deal.?

Or shall I buy them from a Place near my town ( I live in Kiribathgoda)

Since I replaced my Suspensions recently costing 30K i dont want to wreak them as Saturn has mentiond previously.

yea try all the shops next to sugathadasa stadium. thats where i usually shop for tyres. there's another place next to auto court as well. they throw in free balancing and wheel aligning but i think most places do. with less grippy tyres like gts u'll never mess ur suspension. ask for what discounts they offer before u buy the tyres.

[MasterDon]

tharindu, i can recommend gt radial. its not really a performance tyre. i fitted them once when i couldnt find the potenza's of the right size. they had dissapointing grip compared to the potenzas but if u can drive smoothly even when u r caning it, u wont notice the difference. and im sure they fair much better than the ceat. its quite cheap too. at that time a similarly sized potenza was around 15k whereas the gt was a tad below 6. they cater pretty much all the sizes imaginable depending on your needs.

sorry to nitpick...but you can't even hope to compare potenza's to gt radials...the bridge's are in a differant league compared to the GT's,and thier differance is very evident even when driving slow,hence the higher price...

and i find it hard to believe you failed to find the right size potenza's....autodrome always has a very heavy stock....even up to 20"....hell they even managed to find tyres for my dad's 2cv,which has a very rare rim/profile/baloon size...

[MasterDon]

If I can find a way to get a special discount like JadeyBlitzen mentioned it would be great.

Guys if I look in tyre shops near Sugathadasa stadium will I be able to find Better Deal.?

Or shall I buy them from a Place near my town ( I live in Kiribathgoda)

Since I replaced my Suspensions recently costing 30K i dont want to wreak them as Saturn has mentiond previously.

machang checkout crown tyres near sugathadasa

and in kiribathgoda checkout sandagiri battery works(near the bridge),they are the sub-agents for goodyear and gt radials...

and also go to the place oposite the sarasa hotel(before pattiya junc)..they have nankang and yokohama

Edited January 18, 2009 by HelRazor

[JadeyBlitzen]

sorry to nitpick...but you can't even hope to compare potenza's to gt radials...the bridge's are in a differant league compared to the GT's,and thier differance is very evident even when driving slow,hence the higher price...

and i find it hard to believe you failed to find the right size potenza's....autodrome always has a very heavy stock....even up to 20"....hell they even managed to find tyres for my dad's 2cv,which has a very rare rim/profile/baloon size...

i was looking for potenza G III 185/55/15 81v tyres cos thats what the sticker said. they had 195/50/15s but not the 185s at that time. not sure if they didnt stock it or whether they were just plain out of stock. there was absolutely no thread left on the inside of my tyres. and gt radial was the only brand that catered for my size at that time. there could have other brands. but with the rainy season impending i went for it. mind you this was in 2005

[MasterDon]

i was looking for potenza G III 185/55/15 81v tyres cos thats what the sticker said. they had 195/50/15s but not the 185s at that time. not sure if they didnt stock it or whether they were just plain out of stock. there was absolutely no thread left on the inside of my tyres. and gt radial was the only brand that catered for my size at that time. there could have other brands. but with the rainy season impending i went for it. mind you this was in 2005

i see...you must have been really unlucky machan...usually they have ample stocks...and with 15" being a very common size.one would expect them to have the variants of it.

Edited January 18, 2009 by HelRazor

[fuzzo]

if it's a side wall tear, then amila tyres at karagampitiya will do the repairs. they will charge around 750 for the job

[MasterDon]

if it's a side wall tear, then amila tyres at karagampitiya will do the repairs. they will charge around 750 for the job

hey thanks for the info..i got a pair of 17s with side wall tears

[tharindu6]

My one is not a side wall

[isam]

Agree with JadeyBlitzen on GT Radial, as they were truly value for money. Tharindu, if you are doing a lot of city driving, and if you are a conservative driver these would do OK. But if you are one of the Speed Demons, who has a heavy foot, better go for a brand like Bridgeston which offer more grip.

Always remember its a trade off between safety and cost.

[maithri]

Hi All,

I have my sympathy for your predicament, every salesman will say his is best, here's a few clues from a man who was an area manager for a huge company who is a large tyre retailer, and been to more tyre training courses than most

CEAT GT Nankang etc are all budget brands, they do an adequate job, are extremely un likely to wreck your suspension, definitly no competition for the pot holes in SL roads! Taking into account the average speeds in SL I think buying a Superior brand for more than double the money rarely makes sense. Un like in europe where speeds on the Autobahn's can exceed 100 MPH (160KmH) In SL the speed rarely exceed 60KmH, the surface is poor that even a premium tyre will struggle to maintain grip. So by all means buy the best that you can afford but do not waste your money on abilities you will not use.

As for fitting sets etc, if needed do all four but if only 2 are needed just do 2 and fit them to the back, YES THE BACK! regardless of front rear or 4 wheel drive, if you need to know why look up the Michelin web site for fitting advice, their resarch is second to none and the advice derived from it is free!

If you are looking to replace just one tyre try and match with the tyre on the opposit side of the axle to maintain stability.

Maithri.

[Devinda_Z]

As for fitting sets etc, if needed do all four but if only 2 are needed just do 2 and fit them to the back, YES THE BACK! regardless of front rear or 4 wheel drive, if you need to know why look up the Michelin web site for fitting advice, their resarch is second to none and the advice derived from it is free!

If you are looking to replace just one tyre try and match with the tyre on the opposit side of the axle to maintain stability.

Maithri.

Thats why :

http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/ca...0314172074.html

[MasterDon]

Hi All,

I have my sympathy for your predicament, every salesman will say his is best, here's a few clues from a man who was an area manager for a huge company who is a large tyre retailer, and been to more tyre training courses than most

CEAT GT Nankang etc are all budget brands, they do an adequate job, are extremely un likely to wreck your suspension, definitly no competition for the pot holes in SL roads! Taking into account the average speeds in SL I think buying a Superior brand for more than double the money rarely makes sense. Un like in europe where speeds on the Autobahn's can exceed 100 MPH (160KmH) In SL the speed rarely exceed 60KmH, the surface is poor that even a premium tyre will struggle to maintain grip. So by all means buy the best that you can afford but do not waste your money on abilities you will not use.

As for fitting sets etc, if needed do all four but if only 2 are needed just do 2 and fit them to the back, YES THE BACK! regardless of front rear or 4 wheel drive, if you need to know why look up the Michelin web site for fitting advice, their resarch is second to none and the advice derived from it is free!

If you are looking to replace just one tyre try and match with the tyre on the opposit side of the axle to maintain stability.

Maithri.

yes the budget tyres will do an adequate job,but i think even in SL a "better" tyre is a better tyre,i have found out first hand that the reputed branded tyres have far less stopping distance and they offer more grip on a dry/wet surface,and even in our "meagre" speeds at 60kmph those factors can mean life and death.and I believe better tyres are needed here than the civilised autobahn,where unexpected sudden stops and heavy down pours are a normality,and one shouldn't forget that no matter how many safety precautions you take it's only that thin piece of rubber that will decide your fate,i'm not suggesting that every go an put on expensive/branded tyres but as that old saying goes you get what you pay for.

even among the well reputed tyres there is a huge performance differance http://www.autocar.co.uk/VideosWallpapers/...228551&CT=V

[JadeyBlitzen]

yes the budget tyres will do an adequate job,but i think even in SL a "better" tyre is a better tyre,i have found out first hand that the reputed branded tyres have far less stopping distance and they offer more grip on a dry/wet surface,and even in our "meagre" speeds at 60kmph those factors can mean life and death.and I believe better tyres are needed here than the civilised autobahn,where unexpected sudden stops and heavy down pours are a normality,and one shouldn't forget that no matter how many safety precautions you take it's only that thin piece of rubber that will decide your fate,i'm not suggesting that every go an put on expensive/branded tyres but as that old saying goes you get what you pay for.

even among the well reputed tyres there is a huge performance differance http://www.autocar.co.uk/VideosWallpapers/...228551&CT=V

spot on mate! im living proof that those fact are true. well almost dead really. i was racing with a friend a few years back on marine drive when i was running gts. i was trying so hard to overtake him i didnt realise i've run out of road. this was when the road ended in front of the bamba station. i was doing close to 180 at that time. and i hit the breaks and i could have read a small book before the car came to a halt. actually it didnt stop. i went flying into this ditch at the end of the road. luckily only my bumper got a little scratched.

its not just straight line braking. when i steer hard the car just keeps going where it was heading earlier until it slows down enough to catch the slide and start turning.

lifes much better with potenzas

[tharindu6]

Guys Now Im confused

[jerryda]

Thats why :

http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/ca...0314172074.html

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec...e.jsp?techid=52

[MasterDon]

Guys Now Im confused

so sorry bro...go for a medium price range(5000Rs - 7500Rs) passenger tyre...it should be adequate for normal everyday driving.GT,nankang are all good and they will do a good job...but if the wallet permits go for a goodyear which is about 6500/- for a R13 passenger car tyre.

Edited January 21, 2009 by HelRazor