Tyre Selection: PST vs TMA vs V12 EVO vs F1 GSD 3 vs KR 20 vs CPC2 vs Alnac 4G

[Tornado]

One of my car Fiat Avventura has completed 37800 km.

Tyre replacement was on cards.
Earlier tyres, Goodyear EAGLE NCT 5
ideally should have been replaced at 32kkm, but as my father drives very carefully taking care of car & the tyres he managed to push them till now.

Tread pattern
Symmetrical & non directional.

UTQG rating :
Treadwear : 240
Traction : A
Temperature tolerance : A

ECE markings : E13, registered at Luxembourg.

European label : could not find.

Now,
It was 205/55 R16 Michelin PST vs Hankook ventus V12evo vs Goodyear F1 GSD 3 vs Apollo alnac 4G vs Kenda vs Continental CPC2 vs Goodyear TMA.

My requirements were
1) Something better than stock GY NCT 5
in terms of mileage & ,comfort and hardcornering and equally stronger sidewalls.

2) It is me who drive her on long highway trips & my father who drives her in rural areas. So wanted little more comfort & hardcornering safety for me & more comfort for my father.

Michelin PST :
Tread patern: Asymmetrical, (meaning good for hard cornering) & non directional.

Ply composition :
Tread : 2 steel + 2 polyester + 1 polyamide (polyamide gives better ride comfort) I wish, it was with 2 layers of polyamide, making it most resistant tyre against tread bulge/burst )
Sidewalls : 2 Polyester.

UTQG rating :
Treadwear : 340 (best amongst the other tyres in consideration)
Traction : AA.
Temperature tolerance : A

ECE markings : 'E2'mark present, registered at France under amendment 2 of the ECE regulations. ( no mention of S & W marks) This is probably due to introduction of EU label system by the EU and primacy ST got launched at the same time.

EU label :
fuel economy: C (one of the best amongt the others)
Wet grip.: A(Best amongst the others)
Noise : 69 dB.(one of the best)

Cheapest qoute : 7400 per tyre including fitting alignment balancing.


Goodyear assurance triplmax :

Tread pattern : Symmetrical & Non directional

Ply composition : It is similar to the stock Eagle NCT 5.

UTQG RATING
Treadwear :320
Traction : A
Temperature :A

E label : not found, not sold in Europe.

E marking :[/U]I don't remember.

Best qoute : 6800

Warranty : 3 year unconditional for sidewall bulge /cut, tread bulge burst too.

Barring the treadwear life of 800 units more than the stock tyre & the warranty there wasn't going to be a difference in the ride & handling.

Hankook ventus V12evo :
Tread pattern : Unidirectional & symmetrical (meaning good for wet grip).
Unidirectional tyres are often noisy but the V tread pattern of this tyre is instrupted by groves to make them less noisy.

UTQG rating :
Treadwear wear : 280
Traction :AA
Temperature : A

This tyre was not available with the dealer for inspection of sidewall & tread , since it is slow moving brand in India. they order it and make it available next day.
However, dealer was installing a different size as a upsize on a figo aspire.

I noted :
Ply composition :
Tread : 2 steel + 1 polyester +1 nylon. (1 less polyester as compared to other tyres in my consideration meaning prone for burst /bulge on bad roads)
Side wall : 1 polyester ( only one polyester ply meaning more prone for sidewall bulge or cut) most of other tyres in my consideration had 2 plies of polyester

I needed to see the tyres in my size to confirm above mentioned facts but waiting for a day was not possible. to wait. I speculated that there wouldn't be much difference for my size too.

1 polyester ply of sidewall & lack of a polyester in the tread would not be a good choice on rural roads, also there was not a worldly difference in treadwear life as compared to the stock tyres.

Cheapest qoute : Rs 6800

Goodyear F1 GSD 3 :

Tread pattern : unidirectional(again noisy) & symmetrical.

Ply composition;
Tread : 1 polyester + 2 steel + 1 polyamide ( only one polyester ply makes the tyre prone for bulge or burst, however the polyamide makes the ride comfort better than Hankook ventus V12evo which has nylon instead of polyamide)

Sidewall :2 polyester. (it is better than the Hankook ventus V12evo)


UTQG rating :
Treadwear : 280
Traction : AA
Temperature :A

E markings : found to be registered in EUROPE but don't remember the name of the country.

EU label : not found. Probably because they were discontinued abroad when EU label was made compulsory. However I see most of the uni directional tyres got ' F' ratings for fuel efficiency. (which we were not ready to accept) but they got A rating for the wet grip. Such tyres are more suitable for sport type of drivers.

Not a worldly difference in treadwear life as compared to stock tyres.

Goodyear doesn't offer the 3 year unconditional warranty which they offer for the triple max.

Best qoute : Rs 6700

Continental CPC2 :
Multi brand dealer told me that they are noisy & online reviews were not encouraging.

Ply composition : didn't check.

UTQG rating :
Treadwear 280.
Traction : AA
Temperature :A

EU label :
Fuel efficiency : E (this was unacceptable)

Traction :B( I prefer A rating because there is a difference of 3 to 5 feet in braking distance in between A & B.)

Noise : 72 dB ( moderate but better options were still available)

Hence didn't researched too much.

Best qoute : Rs 8500.

Kenda KR 20 :
Tread pattern : Symmetrical & unidirectional

Ply composition :
Tread : 1 polyester + 2 steel + 1 nylon (only one polyester, hence weak)
Sidewall : 1 polyester (again weak sidewall)

UTQG rating :
Treadwear : 300
Traction : A
Temperature :A

E markings : E4, registered with Netherlands. and has passed the Sound, wet grip tests there.

EU Label:
I couldn't found any, might be because it is not sold there. But other similar tyres in other size got F ratings for FE (Worst) & C rating for wet grip. So felt that there is no reason for them to bring a tyre with better ratings to India for such a price.

Best qoute : Rs 4000

Apollo alnac 4G ;
Tread Patten :
Asymmetrical, non directional.

Ply composition :
Tread : 2 polyester +2 steel +2 nylon ( sturdiest among the others in consideration, but pure nylon gives a bit harsh & little bit uncomfortable ride)
Sidewall : 2 polyester.

UTQG rating :
Treadwear 280
Traction : AA
Temperature : A

E markings : registered with EU (Netherlands)

EU Label :
Fuel efficiency : C (equal to Michelin PST)
Wet grip : B (lesser than Michelin)
Noise : 69 dB.

Best qoute : Rs 6100.

In the end,
I found that single digit variation in the size, speed, load indices, and suffix like EL, RF etc changes the tyre ratings by many units.

Other which were considered but rejected outright because no information regarding tyre quality found on sidewall,they don't bother to mention the ply composition leave aside the UTQG & E markings.
1) Bridgestone B 290
2) Yokohama Adrive R1 (AR01)

Final winner was Michelin PST for my requirements.

 

[Tornado]

Hankook ventus V12evo 205 55R16 : ply composition

Hankook ventus V12evo.
.
..
.
This tyre was not available with the dealer for inspection of sidewall & tread , since it is slow moving brand in India. they order it and make it available next day.
However, dealer was installing a different size as a upsize on a figo aspire.

I noted :
Ply composition :
Tread : 2 steel + 1 polyester +1 nylon. (1 less polyester as compared to other tyres in my consideration meaning prone for burst /bulge on bad roads)
Side wall : 1 polyester ( only one polyester ply meaning more prone for sidewall bulge or cut) most of other tyres in my consideration had 2 plies of polyester

I needed to see the tyre in my size to confirm above mentioned facts but waiting for a day was not possible. to wait. I speculated that there wouldn't be much difference for my size too.

1 polyester ply of sidewall & lack of a polyester in the tread would not be a good choice on rural roads, also there was not a worldly difference in treadwear life as compared to the stock tyres.

Today, finally got to see the tyre in 205/55R16 size mounted on a Verna.
I found that there is lot of difference in the ply composition though the UTQG rating is similar to what I had seen on other sized tyre.

Ply composition of 205 /55 R16.
Tread : 2 steel, 2 polyester, 2 nylon.
Sidewall : 2 polyester.

This ply composition makes the tread of the tyre sturdier & resistant to tread /sidewall burst /cut resistant.
The tread composition of Hankook ventus V12evo 205 55R16 (2 nylon) infact is sturdier than the Michelin PST(1 polyamide),however the polyamide makes the ride more comfortable than the pure nylon especially during short drives of up to 5 km.

Those whose daily running doesn't involve too many short drives and don't do hard cornering ( symmetrical tyres are not good as aymetrical tyres for hard cornering ) at high speeds should go for Hankook ventus V12evo. The treadwear rating of this tyre is 280 as compared to Michelin PST's 360. But there is a price difference too to compensate that.

PS :Treadwear ratings of 100 is equal to approximately 11 kkm to 12 kkm.

 

[Tornado]

UTQG Wet Traction test vs EU label Wet Grip test .

While researching I found few contrasting things.

Michelin PST 's UTQG Traction rating is ' A '(second best) and EU label Wet Grip rating is' A' ( first best) while that of Hankook ventus V12evo 's UTQG Traction rating is AA ( First best) and EU label Wet Grip rating is' B'.

Hence I researched further to clarify the confusion. I found following facts.

UTQG Traction test is carried out as follows.
1) with the tyres mounted on a axle attached to a test trailer.
2) on asphalted & concrete roads.
3) braking distance from 67 kmph is measured.

EU label or E marking Wet Grip test is carried out as follows.
1) with tyres mounted on the car & also on the axle attached to a test trailer.
2)on asphalted wet roads.
3)braking distance from 80 kmph is measured.

So mefeels, EU label Wet Grip test is more near the practical conditions also most of the roads in India are asphalted rather than concrete.
Posting a pics of ratings of these two tyres in 205/55R16 which are also available in India.

 

[sandy_fluidic]

I am getting more confused now. Which is more suitable tyre for my verna. As i have already used Hankook V12 Evo 205/55 R16, i am leaning to opt other tyre this time. Looking for tyres which fits my budget and tyre requirement

 

[Tornado]

@sandy fluidic, what's the budget? And how many kms you are likely to cover before you sell your car?

While fixing the budget, do not depend on prices qouted by online shops. Tyre dealers are selling tyres including fitting alignment at almost 25% lesser than online qoutes atleast in Pune. .Online shops had qouted 9 to 10 k/per tyre for Michelin PST 205 55R16 but I got them @7.5 k.

 

[Tornado]

Of late I also came across pirelli Tyres in 205/55R16 size they too have got better ratings on EU LABEL, especially FE is better than Michelin PST.

 

[Tornado]

On one of the US website, I got too see that UTQG rating for Pirelli Cinturato P7 is
Treadwear 260,
Traction AA
Temperature A

 

[Tornado]

Michelin PST are doing well on rural roads, Total running since installation 10 K KM.

 

[amitpshelke]

Whatever the paper says but for Indian roads Michelin is really a better option. There are other tyres that works well like the Conti, Yoko etc. but over the period of time Michelin has learnt lesson about India road and driving conditions.

One of my nearest relative have 5 cars and each car runs around 80K to 90K a year with mix terrain [highway, city, rural and sometimes in forest sites]. All the cars [Baleno, Swift, Pulse, Innova, Thar, BMW] they use runs on Michelin.

There feedback on the tyre is good for mileage, long run and quite on road.

 

[Tornado]

After running 35 to 40 kkm, PST developed hairline cracks all over on the tread. Also got few punctures which were irreparable hence had to install tubes in couple of tyres. So they lived up to their UTQG ratings of 360 . I should have replaced them then only but running was too less. Finally after they completed 50kkm I replaced all with Yoko Earth1 ( Rs 7600 per tire, alignment balancing included, new valves & balancing weight extra)

Experience after 100 km : steering on parking speeds and during quick serpentine overtaking maneuvers is hard now( this is coupled with hardness of HPS of my car) , however hard cornering is not affected much. Comfort levels are equal to Michelin PST. So, overall feel that Earth 1 are comfort tyres for passengers and touring and not driver's pleasure tyres. And feel that PST Michelin are tyres for both purposes but not for rural roads in India especially WIP highways however didn't suffered any sidewall cuts. . Please note that Earth 1 are symmetric tyres while PST were asymmetric.

Changed to Earth 1, though they don't mention UTQG, cause they come with 5 year replacement warranty on remaining tread thickness (there should be more than 50% tread thicknes available) for cuts, manufacturing defects and I am more interested in keeping them for years to come with lesser kms on Odo. If my running was going to be more, say more than 10 to 15 kkm per year, I would have opted for Bridgestone asymetric tires.