Tyre Condition of My Tata Safari

[Ani191]

Hii TAI-gers.... I own a preworshipped Tata safari EX Dec-07. She still runs on her stock tyres Bridgestone Duelers 235/70 R16. She has 53080 km under her belt. Yes I agree she has run very low keeping in mind her age and the odometer reading is genuine. The tyres have surely done with its life but I wanted to know the life left in them if any as my accounts won't allow me to replace them in the next 2-3 months due to other emergencies. I have asked few mechanics and few tyre dealers and they told me that the tyres still have about 6000-7000 kms left in them.! I am attaching the pictures and would be really helpful if you experts can guide me. There is still immense amount of rubber above the arrow mark on the tyre but there are also visible cracks on them so I still wanted to ask you experts and conform.! Thank you..!

 

[Ani191]

Re: Tyre condition of Safari.

The first pic is the Rear left tyre and the second is the front left tyre

 

[bhvm]

Re: Tyre condition of Safari.

rubber has gone hard and is having hairline cracks. is suggest to immediately replace them for the sake of safety.

 

[Ani191]

okay bhvm. thank you! I will see when can I change them

 

[anshuman8]

The tire conditions are not great since lot of cracks are there. I hope these are tubed tires. Yes you can run another 5K at most at low speeds in city only. Do not try at highway at high speeds with these tires.

Advise - Why dont you try retreading these tires for a new life.

 

[bhvm]

Advise - Why dont you try retreading these tires for a new life.

I don't think Raidal Tyres (Tubeless) can be re-treaded. Also Its suprising if a Safari owner would re-tread them. These are high performance vehicles and Safety at highway speeds is important. I would suggest a full new set.

Re-treading is for Low speed vehicles like tractors, vans and Trucks. They're mostly driving below 50.

 

[Releesh]

There is no issue to use the tire for 2-3 months for local trips at less than 80 km/hr. Continuous usage(long trips) or over speeding will damage the tire instantly.

 

[amitpshelke]

Re-Tread should only be done on flat bed tyres like Trucks & Buses, as its heavy weight and moderate speed wont generate much risk.

In your case these tyres can still run 5000 [7000 in worst case]. But be aware that don't try to over speed or sharp turns at good speed, tyre my tend to loose grip on roads.

Since you said that you are little tight on budget, so there is little work around, to reduce the tyre pressure by 3 - 5 psi to get more grip; it will reduce the chance of slipping of tyre by some %. But still the risk remains!!.

Also if this would have happen 2 -3 months back the risk was little less, as with the next 1 month the rain will start and will create more problems on concrete/tarmac roads.

Get them replace as soon as possible.


One suggestion:
If you are looking for new tyres go for Michelin Latitude Cross.
you can upgrade tyres from stock to 255/65R16 if you have steel rims or 255/65R16 if you have alloys.

 

[bhvm]

I've had very bad experience with michellins on my Safari (3L)
The Tyres wore out only in 40k KM and also suffered multiple large Punctures. Mitch and Such import brands are not suitable for Indian tough conditions.
My Fav tyres for safari are Yokohama Geolander AT/s
Next comes Apolo HAWKZ AT. They're on my Fortuner and already done 69k KMS. Perhaps 5k more.

 

[Ani191]

The tire conditions are not great since lot of cracks are there. I hope these are tubed tires. Yes you can run another 5K at most at low speeds in city only. Do not try at highway at high speeds with these tires.

Advise - Why dont you try retreading these tires for a new life.

I wil try my best to stick to low speeds but I have a lot of highway miles to be covered in the next 2 months.! Let's see wat I can do. I wil avoid doing re threading because tyres are a long term investment. So I wil change once and can have a peace of mind for a long time to come.!

 

[Ani191]

Re-Tread should only be done on flat bed tyres like Trucks & Buses, as its heavy weight and moderate speed wont generate much risk.

In your case these tyres can still run 5000 [7000 in worst case]. But be aware that don't try to over speed or sharp turns at good speed, tyre my tend to loose grip on roads.

Since you said that you are little tight on budget, so there is little work around, to reduce the tyre pressure by 3 - 5 psi to get more grip; it will reduce the chance of slipping of tyre by some %. But still the risk remains!!.

Also if this would have happen 2 -3 months back the risk was little less, as with the next 1 month the rain will start and will create more problems on concrete/tarmac roads.

Get them replace as soon as possible.


One suggestion:
If you are looking for new tyres go for Michelin Latitude Cross.
you can upgrade tyres from stock to 255/65R16 if you have steel rims or 255/65R16 if you have alloys.

I agree with you Amit about the re threading concept. Ya I am avoiding high speeds at turnings as the squeaking sound is clearly audible during turnings on tarmac. I am leaving the tyre pressure at 31psi rear and 30psi front. I had a chance to drive from lonavala to pune on pune expressway on a day which had a heavy downpour and the performance was good on the roads at high speeds.
Michelin tyres are way too expensive and I have read various reviews that they have weak sidewalls. I really can't comment as I have not used them. I just read the reviews

 

[Ani191]

I've had very bad experience with michellins on my Safari (3L)
The Tyres wore out only in 40k KM and also suffered multiple large Punctures. Mitch and Such import brands are not suitable for Indian tough conditions.
My Fav tyres for safari are Yokohama Geolander AT/s
Next comes Apolo HAWKZ AT. They're on my Fortuner and already done 69k KMS. Perhaps 5k more.

Sorry to bring out this point but I have been reading mixed reviews about geolanders. It was said that these tyres have weak sidewalls and they are prone to side punctures but the ride quality increased due to weak side walls. How is the performance of the A/Ts? I do less of off roading so was thinking about H/T tyres and geolanders do have H/Ts. Coming to Apollo Hawkz, how are these tyres? Are they noisy? I hope they are not prone to punctures. What is the average fuel efficiency you have achieved with them? Please can you tell me the cost of apollo hawkz 235/70r16 size.

 

[bhvm]

yes geolanders are expensive but totally worth it. I
don't have prices above latest prices. fuel efficiency
is same.

HT tyres on suv is a Shame. manufactures give them just for lower costs.

 

[Ani191]

yes geolanders are expensive but totally worth it. I
don't have prices above latest prices. fuel efficiency
is same.

HT tyres on suv is a Shame. manufactures give them just for lower costs.

Point noted sir!:p
So according to you there is no change in the fuel efficiency when we put on A/T tyres.

 

[Ani191]

Hello TAIgers! Finally bought new shoes for my Safari..! MRF WANDERER A/T 235/70 R16. The handling has improved massively. Potholes are just like tiny tiny. Hahaha . Just loving the drives. No squealing and squeaking around the corners at decent speeds. Before I felt the car was running on musical instrument rather than tyres.! :P Braking is just superb now. I never thought changing tyres would has so much of a change. Just loving everybit of driving.
It costed 27500 for 4 tyres including Alignment and Balancing(including weights on all 5 tyres). He even filled up all tyres with Nitrogen for free.! Well I did a little market survey around Pimpri and Lonavala and found this rate was more or less the same. Freebees were not a part of the deal in other places. Took it from an Authorised MRF dealer in Pimpri.
Thank you all for your inputs.!