Every thing you need to know about upsizing

Tyre Upsizing in India is a growing market. Upsizing tyres definitely adds a personality to a car and is seen as a style statement . However most of the drivers going for tyre upsizing give only one brief to the tyre dealer- "I want broader car tyres" and then he leaves it to the dealer to decide which tyres are put on his car. Generally tyres with aggressive design patterns are pushed and gullible drivers have no option but to go with dealer recommendation on the tyre brand which they will have on their wheels.

Indian tyre market is awash with stories how consumers have been cheated on various accounts. Vehicles have been fitted with tyres which touch on side panels when turning , taken off tyres smuggled from Dubai have been installed, completely unknown Chinese and Taiwanese brands have been fitted, instead of doing inch up the tyres have been down sized and many more . It is clear that consumer education is lacking when it comes to tyre upsizing. Situation has been compounded by the fact that consumer does not have time to do research for his tyres while he goes shopping. Moreover not much information is available on upsizing tyres and even if it is available then it is scattered.

Before we studied brands it was important that we pick the tyre size which is best for upsizing for a given car. There are quite a few alternatives when it comes to replacing OE fitted tyres. However not all qualify for upsizing. We fed the tyre sizes into special computer software programme and then came with perfect technically suitable tyre size. Hence our readers can be sure that the best tyre upsize has been selected for their cars.

However there was one issue which still needed to be sorted out i.e. the patterns. In India the tyre upsizing market has been dominated by unidirectional V shapes patterns. These patterns look interesting when consumer steps into the store to buy. With no other information in place this is the only thing which consumer sees and basis his decision on. The thought process being if it looks good, it must be good.

Fly by night operators in the industry source such tyres from China and Taiwan and place it on the shelves. Some of the tyre dealers in Karol Bagh and Lajpat Nagar in Delhi are too happy to sell these tyres. It gives them fantastic margins, does not have prices listed and being nice looking it’s easy to convince a customer. However these tyres have problems which escapes attention of a consumer. These tyres make too much of a noise after couple of months and that is very irksome .World leaders in tyre manufacturing are moving away from these unidirectional tyre patterns . Pirelli no longer sells these tyres and Michelin has no such kind of tyre pattern in their product portfolio. Worldwide companies are shifting to asymmetrical patterns. These tyres are designed to give much better performance and also designed to dissipate noise.

As you would have realised by now that all aspects - technical , commercial , availability , warranty etc have been thoroughly analysed while preparing these recommendations . We sincerely hope that this will help you decide on the best tyre upsize for your cars.

TYRE UPSIZING : THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS

There is a method behind the madness when it comes to upsizing of tyres and wheels. Manufacturers offer a standard size of tyre and wheel rim on a car for a reason. They try to strike balance between  increasing performance dynamics of a car, increase fuel efficiency of the car, offer a more comfortable ride, decreased tread wear, provide good dry and wet braking response and decrease road noise. In short they choose the best compromise. However with upsize you can choose performance in certain aspects over the compromise.

Manufacturers do leave room in the wheel well for a calculated upsizing of tyres and wheels on their cars. This is done so that owners can upsize the tyre and wheel size to increase performance and or increase traction on different road conditions. It is generally accepted that  maximum calculated upgrade that can be done without upsetting the cars driving dynamics is around 3% of the original size of the wheel rim. Any upgrade above this will result in a noticeable drop in fuel efficiency and compromise on ride and handling of the car. Too big an upgrade in wheel and tyre size will also increase the weight of the car giving the driver no real benefit from the upgrade.

It is advisable to go for an upgrade anywhere between the 3% margin for better performance and handling, increased grip and creating a visual appeal. Do take note that upsizing the wheels and tyres will decrease the fuel efficiency of the car and will result in speedometer error on the car.

You will get following benefits if you decide to go for upsizing of your tyres :

• Improved response to direction changes
• Greater contact area with the ground
• Increased traction
• Greater overall control and handling
• A sleeker and more modern appearance

UPSIZING TYRE : THE SIMPLE MATHS BEHIND THE METHOD 

To a car owner, knowing the biggest wheel size that can fit into a vehicle is very important. There is a simple rule, which we also applied- upgraded wheel's diameter should not be larger than 3% of the original. For example, if we take the 185/65R15 specification as an example, with the original diameter size as follows:

Wheel diameter: 15 inches, 15 inch × 2.54 cm = 38.1 cm
Sidewall: 65% of the tyre's surface, ?18.5 cm × 0.65 = 12.025 cm

But as each wheel has two sidewalls, the sidewalls have to be multiplied by 2,
Sidewall: 12.025 cm × 2 = 24.05 cm
Diameter: 38.1 cm + 24.05 cm = 62.15 cm

Is it possible to upgrade to a 205/60R15 tyre?

Wheel diameter: 15 inches, 15 inch × 2.54 cm = 38.1 cm
Sidewall: 60% of the tyre’s surface, 20.5 cm × 0.6 = 12.3 cm

As before, as each wheel has two sidewalls, the sidewalls have to be multiplied by 2
Sidewall: 12.3 cm × 2 = 24.6 cm
Diameter: 38.1 cm + 24.6 cm = 62.7 cm

Compared with the 185/65R15 specification tyre’s diameter of 62.7 cm, the difference is only  0.88%, which is well within the allocated range.

WHAT THE "PLUS 0"  "PLUS 1" AND "PLUS 2" MEAN FOR TYRE UPSIZE ?

In Plus 0 upsizing the Rim diameter remains same , width of the tyre is increased and profile is decreased.Note: Advantage is that you can upsize without changing factory fitted Rims.

In Plus 1 upsizing  the Rim diameter is increased by  1 inches with increase in width and reduced profile.
Note:  It will Require you to change the Rim of your vehicle

In Plus 2 Upsizing  the Rim Diameter is increased by 2 inches
Note: It will Require you to change the Rim of your vehicle

What "Cooper-Apollo" deal means for Indian tyre market?

In the last few years, I have never seen a tyre company growing as fast as Apollo Tyres. They took over Vredestien in Netherlands. Dunlop in South-Africa (which they have now sold to Sumitomo Rubber Co.).
Now they have struck a deal worth $2.5 billion with Cooper Tyres. Apollo Tyres has decided to take over a company which is 3 times larger than its own size. It needs lots of guts to do that. But, without an objection from existing shareholders and employees, I think they can pull off this deal pretty well, as Cooper Tyres is a financially sound company.As a result of which the loans and advances in the books of Apollo Tyres can be written off on time with this symbiotic deal. 



But how does this deal affect the Indian tyre market? After the deal fructifies, Apollo Tyres will prefer to launch the newly acquired Cooper brand in india as soon as possible. Copper is already a reckoned name in Indian market, as it was bieng imported from last few years. They are known for their fabulous range of SUV tyres.
Now, established Indian brands like MRF, Ceat and JK are still struggling to cope up with international brands like Michelin, Bridgestone and Pirelli, therefore, they will definitely have a hard time competing with newer brands.

What should be Apollo Tyre's strategy to launch Cooper in India? From the above Indian brands, MRF has the highest acceptance. It is still the highest selling tyre brand in India. But MRF does not have many tyre sizes in thier kitty. For e.g They do not have 17" tyres for sedans. They just have one sku (stock keeping unit) of 18". You can have an MRF tyre for cars like hatchbacks and midlevel sedans but above that they don't have much. They need to come up with atleast 50 more sku's to compete with MNC's . In additiion to this, they will have to bring their tyres performance quality at par with international standards.

To compete effectively with international brands like Michelin and Bridgestone, one should have a global name which Apollo is trying to garner right now with a recent feather in their cap in the form of promotional deal with Manchester United. Even after this, they may have to struggle with brands like Michelin. But the Cooper deal is the answer to their prayers, as Cooper is itself an international brand, so it can give Michelin and Bridgestone a run for there money.

All in all it's a win-win situation for Apollo Tyre if they launch Cooper in India. After the deal with Cooper, Apollo Tyres will be no.7 tyre company in the world with a turnover of around $6.6 billion. They can easily become the no.1 tyre company in India and that too without two-wheeler tyres in their portfolio. 

Why Wheel alignment is necessary?

In wheel alignment, we check three most important suspension measurements of the car - Caster, Camber & Toe

In India, most people don't pay much attention to wheel alignment as they think its a very petty thing.But, let me tell you, its a small but an important thing for your car.It may take only 10-15 min to get your car aligned but it will save your tyre from wrong wear and tear.

This is what happens when your wheels are not aligned properly despite the tyre  having travelled only about 70 miles .You can see that one side of the tyre is brand new while on the other side, the wires are protruding.

Following symptoms can help you determine if your car needs alignment:

• a) Uneven or rapid tyre wear.
• b) Pulling or drifting away from a straight line.
• c) Wandering on a straight level road.
• d) Spokes of the steering wheel off to one side while driving on a straight and level road.
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• For any further queries on wheel alignment & balancing, contact me at sumra.automobiles@gmail.com

What is really wrong with your car if it (or steering) is vibrating?

At times you may experience your car is shaking. On certain highway speeds you may feel only your steering is wobbling while at slow speeds you may feel that the entire car is wobbling. It may make your drive really uncomfortable. In such a scenario, first of all you must check if your car is vibrating above speeds of 50-60 kmph or below it.

If your car is weirdly moving on slow speed that means that either one of your tyre or more than one tyres are swollen. Get it checked by a trained professional, because it means you need a tire change.You should be very particular about this because it can prove very risky to drive with a swollen tyre as there chances of their bursting.

If it is vibrating at speeds between 60 or 90 kmph, it means you need wheel balancing. Get your wheels balanced.

If the vibration persists above100-150 kmph, it means your tyres speed rating is not up to mark.

W indicates speed rating on your tyre.

Now, compare your tyres speed rating with the following chart, and in case your speed rating is lower than required, then either upgrade to better tyres like Pirelli Cintrato Series or Michelin, or avoid driving beyond speeds mentioned in the chart.

Speed Rating Chart

If still the problem continues you must get the suspension checked thoroughly,because at times due to play in some suspension parts, the vibration may persist.
In case you still face similar problem, feel free to contact me @ sumra.automobiles@gmail.com.

What really is wrong with your car if it is "pulling" to one side?

Their are number of reasons if your car is pulling:
First and foremost you must check the wheel alignment.
But what if even after alignment, your car is still moving? Nobody knows and nobody's going to tell you.
But I will.
First of all check the air pressures of the tyres & then take a test drive.
At times the pulling is due to imbalance of air pressure in right and left tyres. E.g,  If in the left side, tyre pressure is 30 psi and on the other side the pressure is 15 psi, your car will obviously pull towards the side which has less pressure.
But still if the problem persists,
Check the front tyres of your car. Are they equally worn?.
At times the car moves to the side which has tyre that is more worn. If both your front tyres are not equal, make them even by changing the side or by checking the rear tyres. Rear tyres are mostly equal, so you can rotate both the tires to front.
Your problems will definitely be solved.

In case you still face similar problem, feel free to contact me @ sumra.automobiles@gmail.com.