Author: Nikhilb2008

I know there are many threads, but I was unable to get the required info.

I’m looking for WHITE alloys.

Just as an example, something like this….

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a…nso-blitz.html

This is one of the best looking Civics I’ve seen. EVER.

I want something like this.

Enkei used to make white racing alloys which look fantastic. Would love to have something like that.

I’m even open to OZ but getting them in India is a pain. Actually getting even Enkei here is a pain.

I’m trying with a few contacts, but I would love to have more. Tomorrow will see me contacting a few more people across India.

Lenso is an option, but frankly, I want Enkeis or OZ this time.

Konigs could work as well if they have white wheels!

I’m looking for mainly 15". Dont want to ruin the ride quality. 17" can wait for when I own a car and throw ride quality to the wind!

Dont believe me? Think I’m going insane?

Well, it’s not me, but some so-called journalist high on some toxic chemical at rediff.com

Aston Martin in talks with Indian dealers: Rediff.com Business

I have a Pulsar 180 DTSi which I bought in September of 2004. I’ve been using it since then. I’ve covered about 30,000 kms.

About an hour ago, as I was returning from dinner, there was this sudden grrrrrr noise and the bike stopped moving. The engine was running, but no power was being transferred to the rear wheels.

I stopped and this was the sight that greeted me.

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YouTube – Cracked gearbox of 2004 Pulsar 180 DTSi

If the video doesnt play, please open in a new window.

What is the next step? How can something like this even happen? I had got the bike serviced less than a week ago. Last Saturday(30th Jan 2010) to be exact.

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Day1). 4th Jan 2010:
My flight is scheduled to depart Bangalore at 0955. I wake up by 6:30 am, shower and leave for the airport at 7:00. My dad and his colleagues had booked an earlier flight. They were scheduled to leave Bangalore by Jet Airways at 0725. When I reach the airport, they are still there waiting for the aircraft to arrive from Madras. Poor guys have woken up at 4:00 in the morning to make the flight and they are still waiting!

My flight is courtesy Mr.Mallya and leaves on time. I end up reaching Delhi one hour before my dad! I wait for them in the airport and we all head out of the Delhi airport together. Dad and another colleague take a taxi and go straight to Pragati Maidan to oversee the preparations for the Auto Expo opening the next day. Me and another colleague head to the hotel in the taxi which has been sent by the hotel guys. We check in and dump the luggage in our rooms.

I just wash up and immediately leave the hotel. I have nothing to do today. I can either head to Pragati Maidan or start exploring. I choose the latter and walk down to the Metro station and buy a 15/- token for Chandni Chowk.

I have travelled on the Delhi Metro loads of times before but I’m always surprised by how clean and efficient the authorities have made it! It’s unbelievable that a metro station in this country can be this clean. The trains are also very clean. There is no graffiti on the walls, no scratches to the paint, no damaged window panes, nothing! The one difference I have noticed is that the Metro is unbelievable crowded this time! It’s the middle of the afternoon. Not what you would call peak hour, but it’s packed! I hesitate to get into the train because there was no place and then I realise, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’. When the next train arrives, I throw courtesy, manners and everything my parents have taught me to the winds and just barge in with no respect or thought to my fellow travellers and I’m in! I need to change at the Rajiv Chowk station though.
I finally reach Chandni Chowk Metro station. This Metro station is supposed to be the deepest Metro station in the world. I have been told about this feat of engineering many times, but haven’t read it in any ‘reputed’ publications, so forgive me if I’m wrong.

Now, before I continue, I need to outline the reasons for this trip. The Auto Expo in which we participate every year means I have a ready made excuse for this trip. And I am quite excited about the Expo which promises to be bigger than ever before! However, the main reason for my Delhi trip is so that I can explore Old Delhi. I have just finished the book ‘The Last Mughal’ by William Dalrymple and I’m fascinated by the Delhi that existed in those times. A huge part of it has since been destroyed by the British. So, I have made a broad outline of my schedule over the next few days (which will obviously be blown to smithereens).
Chandni Chowk was the centre of Old Delhi and this is where my journey begins. I’ve of course heard about the Gali Paranthe Wali and Ghantewala halwas and Karims and everything. I’m eager to stuff my face with food, but I also want to explore the narrow lanes and by lanes of Chandni Chowk.

It’s past 3:00pm and I haven’t had anything to eat apart from the small snack I was served on the aircraft. I’m starving. I get out of the Metro station and soon find myself opposite Ghantewala! I walk in and buy a piece of their famous Sohan Halwa. It’s absolutely delicious. Some people might find it a little too much though. It is absolutely loaded with pure desi ghee and you can actually see the small specks of white solidified ghee! I love it! This gives me a little energy to start walking. I walk quite a distance down the main road but find nothing interesting. There are just a couple of old buildings. Everything else is new. By new, I mean British era. I am not interested in that. I want to have a look at the buildings where people from the Mughal Era lived. There are very few such buildings facing the main road. I then enter one of the narrow lanes and stop dead! I feel like I’ve entered a time machine! Suddenly, everything is silent. I can’t hear the horrible honking and traffic of Delhi. It’s cool and silent. The sunlight doesn’t even reach the floor I walk on. There is just enough space for 2 people to walk abreast.

There are shops all along the path. I’m surrounded by shops. 99% of them selling silks and other textiles. What is fascinating is that I’ve never seen shops like this. It’s not a normal shop which you enter and the salesman lays out his wares on the table. There is no door or anything as such. It’s a slightly elevated floor. You remove your footwear and then enter the shop. The moment you enter, you take a seat on the cushions which cover the entire floor of the shop. The owner will then show you his wares. It’s such an old fashioned way of shopping that I never imagined it still existed! In the heart of the capital of our country! I thought stuff like this was relegated to black and white movies and pictures. However, it exists and it thrives. In these small gullies where even a cycle cannot reach with ease, these tiny shops have turnovers in the region of many crores of rupees! It simply cannot be explained. I don’t have pictures of these shops because I thought it will be rude of me to take pics when they are just going about their daily business.

I continue to wander around in these lanes and gullies. It’s really interesting to see how life goes on here. In this area, I can also seem some really old buildings which seem to be at least 150-200 years old! I think these are buildings from the Mughal era. The best part is that people still live here! Many of these buildings are on the verge of collapse and some have actually collapsed, but people still live here. I’m trying to imagine how business, life and everything else thrived in these areas a century or more ago.

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Well, this is my review of the Falken tyre.

We bought the Getz in 2008 for my mom. It still is my mom’s car. There are a few occassions when I get to drive it and enjoy it if it involves long distance highway driving. It’s a pain in the traffic. Will explain later. We immediately changed to 14" Aura alloys and 195/60 R14 Falken ZIEX ZE 912 tyres.

It’s covered 14890 kms as of today and I’ve driven this car extensively. City, highway, hard cornering and I thought it’s time to heap praise on a poor, unappreciated piece of rubber!

The tyre looks like this. It’s got an asymmetrical design and I love the pattern. The feel of the tyre when it’s new is also very nice. Exactly like a Michelin. It’s got a very high end feel to it. I cant describe it in words. People who have experienced the feel of a Michelin and then compared it with a Bridgestone, Goodyear, even a Yoko will understand.

It has that smooth feel even after almost 15,000 kms.

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These are pics of our car with alloys. I think it looks really fantastic! These black magic alloys were stunning looking alloys. Almost two years and the finish on them is EXACTLY like how it was on day one. This is why I say Aura’s quality is unmatched by most alloy wheel manufacturers!

In our car, the red goes superbly with the alloys.

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This car was bought and fitted with the tyres before I got into the business! So, I was like a total noobie. I wanted a red Getz as the red was a brilliant vibrant red. Thankfully, my parents agreed. Then, my dad brought home two different alloy wheels to take our opinion. We agreed on this particular model and the next day, everything was fitted.

I didnt know, nor did I care which tyre was installed and what size! It was only many months later that I actually got interested!

Anyway, coming to the tyre.

The ZE912 is marketed and sold as a mid-high end tyre. It’s priced very well when compared to bigger brands like Michelin. The ZE912 is the highest selling tyre for Falken in India. Not only in India, but even outside India. This tyre is made in the Stamford Tyre factory outside Bangkok in Thailand.

Basically Sumitomo Rubber Corporation own the Falken company. SRC has an agreement with Stamford Tyres of Thailand. Stamford Tyres have the rights to the Falken brand name in a few countries like Thailand, India, etc. Also, SRC has tied up with Stamford to manufacture the tyres in Thailand.

In India, the Falken tyres are marketed and sold by the Stamford Tyres India Pvt Ltd. So, we get the ZE912s made in their Thailand factory. I’ve visited their factory and it is completely modern. As an outsider, I obviously couldnt take pics and being my first visit to a tyre factory had nothing in my mind to compare it to. But with my limited knowledge, I could gather that this was a very high tech operation.

Hardly 10 people inside the factory. Usually tyres are made in two halves and then the two halves are joined together. This ZE912 is made by a different process where the entire tyre is made in one shot. This feature is touted a lot by the company.

However, now, with my slightly increased knowledge, I can say that this is not the only reason for the tyre being this good. It is also due to the tyre compound.

The sidewall of the tyre is pretty soft. You can feel the softness when you apply pressure on the sidewall. However, the 195/60 is reasonably high profile and we have never had any sidewall bulge or anything. It also helps that this car isnt used much on the highways.

The tyre is extremely comfortable. Inspite of upsizing from 13" to 14", the ride quality is really good. It is also extremely silent. Even at 120kmph, the engine makes more noise even in 5th gear. It’s really silent.

The Getz that we have is the top end version. Comes with ABS(no EBD or Airbags though). I have never felt the ABS kick in with these tyres. And trust me, I’ve tried! In wet and dry conditions. The braking is absolutely superb. ZERO complaints there.

The cornering is something I hadnt tried very aggressively until a few weeks ago and again today. It is very very good. Much better than any XM1+ or BS. The steering feedback is also fantastic! The steering feels perfectly weighted(as much as possible given that it is still a Getz). When you are pushing hard, you can push confidently. You feel connected to the tyres.

The tyres squeal when pushed really hard, but they dont lose grip. I’ve pushed hard enough to make the NHC with AD07s slide, but I havent managed to make the Getz with the ZE912s slide yet. Of course, I’ve driven a lot more in the Vtec and I’ve pushed it much harder than I’ve pushed the Getz, but every time I corner harder and harder on the Getz, I’m pleasantly surprised.

This tyre has incredible amounts of grip and most normal people on our roads will not be able to break it unless you try to take a 180 degree tightening curve at 80kmph and above!!!

The only thing which I dont like about the car is that the upsize from 155 to 195 section tyres has resulted in a massive drop in low end torque. This makes it a pain in city traffic. Also, the engine in this is rubbish. It doesnt have any power in 1st gear and once you shift to 2nd, there is no torque in the lower rpms. You need to keep shifting and it’s a pain. The NHC or even the Santro on the other hand are so much better in the city. The gearbox is also not the best. It’s very rubbery. Initially I loved it as it was so smooth and light. But now, with the driving experiences of more cars under my belt, I dont like it. It’s too smooth and doesnt click into place like the NHC or the Mitsubishis.

Now, I dont have any bad thing to say about this tyre from my personal experience, but since a lot of people ask me for my opinions on various tyres and being in the business, it’s my moral right to reveal that these ZE 912s have had a few sidewall bulges. All on customer cars. In ALL these cases it is due to an external hit, but these are not as rugged as the Michelin XM1+s and the Bridgestones.

However, our car also has been driven in the same Bangalore that we share with all our customers and we havent had a single problem. I have always said that imported high end tyres need to be treated with some TLC. I stand by my words.

All in all, this is a fantastic tyre in my experience. It is extremely comfortable, silent and grippy. Highly recommended. Just dont expect it to stand upto driving over potholes at high speed like MRFs and Bridgestones! 😉

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