Aug 2021 - Continental UC6 Tyres
My previous tyre purchase was well thought out, checked out lot of models, visited a bunch of local dealers and then ordered online. On the contrary, this time all of this happened within 2 days from thought process to purchase, thanks to an irresistible offer from Amex card via Amazon platform (₹1500 instant discount + 10% cashback via EMI).
The Yoko Earth1 tyres on the car had completed 39K KM by now. Did a simple coin test and observed 2mm of tread depth left in them, enough to munch another 10K to 20K kilometers.
After initial search for stock sizes (175/65 R14) and talks with ATOM Club members on social media channels, I decided an upsize to 185/65 R14 which is the max width my 5J rims can take. I was ok with the 2.22% speedo error because I strongly believe Tiago is already reporting odo on the higher side anyways.
Also, none of the members had wheel arch rubbing problems with this upsize.
Continental UC6 was the tyre of choice for most of the folks, including our own
@CRACING who had recently switched from Michelin to Conti UC6 on his
Honda City. With his green signal, went ahead and placed the order for tyres and valve stems on Amazon.
The tyres reached me within a week and were in acceptable condition (though I expected a little more protection).
Two of them were from 2020 batch and the other two from 2021. Despite me requesting latest batch, seller had sent these without caring much about customer requests.
Apparently, UC6 are specialized for wet grip and not really all rounders. Special features of this model marked below (gathered from YouTube/Conti site)
My favorite Triton valve stems (also bought from Amazon). These are way better than the unbranded ones sold by tyre shops, for half the price.
Ready for installation (had to fold down rear seatback to accommodate these guys):
My previous alignment with Fathima Tyres (done by FNG) was very satisfactory and hence checked if they had other branches nearby. Luckily one of them was just 3KM from my office and it turned out to be an
MRF Tyre Tok shop (one of the only three in India, other two are in Chennai & Ahmedabad).
Automatic AC recovery & recharging unit. They quoted ₹1200 to run this on Tiago. I will give it a shot in a few months.
The shop was almost empty with only a couple of customers (two wheelers) so 3 guys started work on my car. Tyres were replaced and balanced within an hour including spare wheel. Paid ₹950 for installation, balancing (spare included) & alignment and was not bad.
Robotic Wheel Alignment:
This robotic wheel alignment was new to me. It does not have plate sensors which are normally mounted on wheels for measurements. Instead, the arms on either side moves front/back and the sensors go up/down to measure values:
Wpare wheel & its tyre were never used (stock Good Year from 2016). This may have to be replaced in a couple of years.
Ready to roll in new shoes.
Initial Impressions:
Right off the bat, the steering wheel felt super duper light and effortless even at crawling speeds. The car also felt a bit floatier at 60+ speeds on my usual roads (house to work, native place etc) giving nervousness at times. Lucikly, this wasn't the tyres but the 42+ PSI set by our MRF guys on all 4 tyres. Deflated to 33 PSI and found them comfortable to drive.
- Ride Quality: Slightly on the softer side, probably due to increased side wall as well as relatively softer compound compared to Yoko E1 (subjective opinion).
- Noise levels are difficult to gauge due to audible motor sound in Tiago (which some folks love, including myself) so can't comment on that. On a highway trip, I did not hear any road noise from the tyres (did a short coasting run to test this)
- Braking: This is something I cannot comment on due to my relatively sedate driving style for the most part. However, a couple of test panic brake attempts proved to be more than satisfactory.
- Cornering: No noticeable difference here as well on my regular routes which includes L and S curves here and there.
Conti vs Yoko:
Thanks to our roads, these freebies are annoying when they hit under body/wheel well and their rhythmic noise when hitting road:
Sold the Yoko E1 tyres for 4000 (1K per piece) to a Swift owner via Facebook Marketplace. Effective price of Conti came down to 12.5K
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
That's all for now folks! Will be back with few minor updates later.
![[glasses]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Glasses.gif "Glasses [glasses]")
. It's a DIY setup created by TAIger Gurubhai bypassing almost all negative points of generic / after market arm rests.
![[cheers]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Cheers.gif "Cheers [cheers]")
.will go ahead and fix with local mechanic..