| |
The car in question is a 2006 Skoda Octavia RS. Now, the RS has quite a cult following in the country, since there aren’t too many cars sold in the Indian market that have such a focused performance orientation – very expensive sports cars yes, but none in the 14 lakh range, as was the case with the RS (before being discontinued in 2006 that is – much to the dismay of the Indian enthusiast).
In a nutshell, the RS has VWs famed 1.8 liter, 20 valve, turbocharged petrol engine – which did duty in the original Audi TT – that produces 150 horsepower in Indian trim. To match the engine, the car also gets firmer suspension, bigger brakes, and, importantly, a very sticky set of Dunlop SP Sport 2000 tires, which is Dunlop’s high performance range.
The Dunlop’s on the RS provide tremendous road holding, but do compromise slightly on ride comfort. With 44,000 kilometers on the clock, time had come for some new rubber. Changing tires is a more important decision than most people realize. You tend to forget that tires are the sole part of your car that actually make contact with the road surface, which means, as a single component, tires have the most impact on the ride, handling, and safety aspects of your car than even a combination of most other components. Good tires provide better braking, cornering, comfort, and fuel efficiency.
 |
Having been pleased with the Goodyear NCT5’s in the past, something from the Goodyear stable seemed a logical choice. The NCT5’s are great for a standard, or even luxury, car, but in this case we needed something with a little more performance to match the RS’s chassis. Enter the Goodyear Excellence, which claim to provide that extra performance as compared with the NCT5’s. A quick way to get a theoretical idea of the performance orientation of a tire is to look at its speed rating – in the case of the NCT5, this is a H, which indicates a maximum speed of 210km/h, whereas both the Dunlop SP Sport’s and the Goodyear Excellence have a speed rating of W, which indicates a maximum speed of 270km/h.
At the stock size of 205/55 R16, each Goodyear Excellence tire runs about Rs. 6,000 apiece. The option of increasing tread size by opting for a slightly larger tire on the existing rim, such as 215mm width, did exist, but we chose to stick with the existing size – keeping in mind factors such as fuel economy, which, in this case, is already painfully low at just 7 kmpl. The larger the tire, the greater the rolling resistance, and, therefore, reduced fuel economy.
The Goodyear Excellence features quite an interesting tread pattern, which Goodyear refers to as its ‘3-zone’ technology. The diagonal, asymmetric grooves in the middle section of the tire comprise of the security zone, which is meant to effectively extract water from between the road surface and the tire. The larger tread blocks on both shoulders of the tire comprise of the performance zone, as a result of solid blocks of rubber meeting the road. The third, comfort, zone of the tire is hidden beneath the surface, and consists of a cushioned layer between the tread and steel carcass of the tire – thus, improving ride quality. |
Tire production is a black art, and most manufacturers now use silica in the tread compound to provide better traction in the wet. Goodyear actually uses what it refers to as ‘eco-sil silica’ in the Excellence, which is meant to not only increase wet traction, but also reduce rolling resistance, and thereby improve fuel economy.
Immediately, when you first drive the car on the Excellence tires, you notice that the ride is distinctly better. Of course, the older rubber of the Dunlop’s would have grown harder with age, and therefore ride quality would have deteriorated, but the new tires improve the ride considerably. They’re also a lot quieter, which means that they’re easier to live with – both on the highway, as well as in the city. Naturally, grip levels are far better as well, since the Dunlops were quite worn. As a result, it’s a little difficult to make a like-for-like comparison, but I’d guess that the Dunlop’s probably have a slight edge purely from a road holding perspective. The Excellence, however, are a much better all-round tire in the Indian context.
| |
|
Grip levels of the Excellence, on a standalone basis, are quite impressive. Break away at the limit is linear, which makes it easier to toy with the RS’s chassis when given the opportunity. However, being a turbocharged engine, there are times when the turbo kicks in mid-corner – a phenomenon that would overwhelm the older rubber, and one that’s much more manageable now. The real plus, however, comes once again on the ride front, as it’s important to have a tire that rides well on our roads – even on a performance car. Alternatively, the car crashes through bumps, which can throw it off-line and upset the chassis balance when you’re approaching the limit. In this case, the RS is now far better able to adapt to mid-corner bumps, and maintain forward momentum at the same time.
All in all, the new tires have been very impressive – an ‘excellent’ verdict, however, will have to wait until we’ve had the chance to test it over a longer duration than the 1,000 kilometers currently. Plus, we haven’t had the chance to test them in the wet. The only real downside, thus far, is that the tires tend to be quite noisy at the limit, which means that inconspicuous hooliganism becomes a little difficult. It goes without saying, of course, that you should only test the performance envelope of your car, and its tires, on an empty road devoid completely of other road users.
Stay tuned for more reports on the Excellence in future, plus a feature on buying, and living with, an Octavia RS |
| |
|
|
| |
205/55 R16 91W – 205 indicates your tires width in mm. 55 reflects the aspect ratio, which indicates that sidewall height is 55% of 205mm. R stands for radial construction. 16 reflects the wheel diameter in inches. 91 reflects the load capacity, and W indicates the speed rating, which restricts the tire to a maximum speed of 270km/h |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
