Honda City 5th Gen Tyre Upgrade Query

Shubham ji,

Hi. Happy Diwali !!
If you have decied to replace in stock tyres in 5th Gen city then before shortlisting brand yes strongly recommended to consider in upsize to
a) R16 195/55 - relative much better choice than stock tyres
b) R16 205/50 - low profile one but this will be like benchmark in improving handling of car to next level. Downside is limited life of low profile one in Indian road conditions - so if concerned on life and reliability then may skip but if need no compromise on car dynamics - its the best for city

Reason
a) Certainly will find much better grip of car on higher speed
b) You will definite find the handling dynamics too increasing considerably
c) Last - marginal increase in ground clearance too as both width and height is increasing

To unleash the experience of City from drive perspective - R16 195/55 is actually the ideal size
Now why OEM not given same is to not to compromise on mileage as upsizing will reduce fuel efficiency by 1 to 1.2 Kmpl in real world conditions, so if thats something not a major concern then should go for this size

Second - if considering alternate tyres
> Michelin Primacy - R16 195/55 - its a soft compound tyres, will definite add plush drive - but would be hard time to get as Michelin tyres not much available in some areas. Do check for availability status and if getting this is the best tyre brand for city

> Unsure why Honda not using Bridgestone B290 as against Ecopia as B290 is proven and again an excellent choice with near plush ride. Ecopia is mainly for mileage and very average tyre

> Yokohomal Blu Earth AE 51 is next best choice.

Hope should help !!

Hi gagan ji, wishing you a very happy diwali

Michelin primacy is a softer compound tyre and 5th gen city got suspension on softer side , so wouldn’t it make the ride bouncy and increase roll over.

How come previous generation city with stiffer suspension and current gen. city with softer suspension can both be fitted with same type of tyre for best outcome?

And 205/50 R16 tyre has almost the same side wall length as 185/55 R16 , so colud be that people having issues with stock oem provided tyres in the long run on indian road conditions?

Thanks
Shubham

Nop Shubham ji,
Looks like you are slight confused on tyres with softer compound to lead a rollover

Tyre made of
Tyres are made of compounds using
> Natural rubber
> Polymer
> Silica
> Carbon Black
> Sulfur
along with several industrial grade oils

Rubber has different properties in terms of natural rubber and synthetic one where tyres are designed
If harder rubber compound is what used and binded with much higher silica and carbon black - then these tyres do not offer plush ride but yes are more puncture resistant on nad roads

Tyres as per OEM
However - Tyre designing, R&D is much more than and you get stability in every tyre yet with
a) Different comfort setup
b) Different characterstic on road type

Michelin sold worldwide to offer plush ride and more comfy setup yet keeping noise levels to minimum. These tyres are as good as stable as any other tyres from MRF, Bridgestone, Continental but are best suited on urban indian roads having good roads on city, highway and often small bad patch roads at ease

While Apollo, JK are known for relative stiffer compound set up and most of the tyres (as per design setup) are relative less prone to puncture in bad roads but lacks comfort and are noisier

MRF Wanderer, Pirelli Scorpion as what polular choice among SUV to offer a balance of both relative tougher compound yet comfort

Michelin PS4 are world class one for performance, wet roads, highways for near best in class experience and known to be best choice in performance sports cars

Honda City Tyre
Been Sedan - whether city has soft suspension or stiff one - you really do not need to worry that owning a soft compound tyre will lead to body roll. Rather - it offers the same stability but compound and engineering difference delivers more plush ride with one among lowest noise.

205/50 has extra width to tune of 10% - which makes a difference on high speed handling and grip and without any change in circumference is like ideal. Its an ideal choice if care for best experience from Honda city ride experience.

But its definite low profile one and thus if you choose R16 195/55 - its like a trade off of both
> add on grip
> without compromising on disadvantage of lower profile tyres

and a better choice over stock R16 185/55 one.
Ofcourse the common disadvantage of upsize would be impact in fuel efficiency.

Hope should help !!

What is your thought on upgrading to 205 55 R16 as 205 50 R16 seems to be an odd tyre size?

With the increased wheel diameter of around 11mm, would it scrape the wheel well under full load?

Also the 205 55 R16 looks very good on the city.

Sanjeev ji,

R16 205.55 is too agressive an upsize
Porbability is relative higher to scrape in and although will enhance looks with such wider tyre in full swing but impact to
> Mileage
> Suspension
> Scrape in
cant be ruled

Hello Gaganji !!

My HC 4th Gen tyres are looking dried up. The tyres are of 2017 make, one tyre is burst recently. Now I have one brand new tyre that was in stepney. So here are problem statements

1. Can I use the stock 185/55/r16 in Stepney and replace 4 tyres, with 195/55/r16
2. Can I use 2 tyres of 185/55/r16 in the rear / front and upgrade to 195/55/r16 for 2 tyres.
3. The Car has a very low running for now atleast, currently clocked only 20K. but i have taken it for long drives from Mumbai to Goa and otherwise some other long drives.
4. Should I just stick to 185/55/r16 by upgrading only 2 tyres. I guess bridgestone does not give warranty on this size. So then the threading will change if I stick to the same size different brand. Will that be fine ?
5. Please recommend good brand and variant in both sizes, considering Mumbai Roads.

Regards,
Suresh

@ Mr Suresh

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