BHPian sushanthys recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Finding A Spare TyreWhen we bought the Atto 3, the dealership had mentioned the possibility of a space saver tyre. But later they confirmed that it is a 17″ rim, meant for E6 & cannot be used for our Atto 3, which has a tyre size of 215/55/R18.Recently, I was travelling from Trivandrum to Kottayam on MC Road and the tyre started losing air rapidly near Nilamel. I got to a fuel station and filled the tyre up but could still hear the air gushing out. Fortunately, there was a tyre repair shop nearby and they found not one but two punctures, one due to a nail & the other due to a piece of bone( which was causing the rapid air loss).Although it was not a well equipped shop, they managed to fix the tyre. I thought I would have to change the tyre but it has held up well and I am still using it.This made me realise the importance of having a spare tyre for long drives. I reached out to the BYD service centre.They gave me two options. – Buy a brand new alloy. An 18″ alloy costs around Rs.24,000. – They informed me that they ocassionally get old alloys which have been replaced due to scratches & other minor cosmetic issues. These can be had for a much more reasonable cost. It would be subject to availability. Since the spare tyre would be used very sparingly( strictly to get from Point A to Point B in case of a flat tyre), decided to go with the latter. Atto 3 does not come with a jack or a spanner either.There is no point in having a spare tyre without the tools to mount one. They agreed to provide these as well at a cost of Rs.3500. This week, they delivered both items. Took around 2 months for the items to come. Enclosing pictures below. The 18″ alloy had some scuff marks & scratches. It otherwise looked all right.The cost was very reasonable compared to a new one. Now, had to make a decision regarding the tyre. Again there were two options. – I could go for a not so premium tyre and keep it as a spare for the duration of my ownership. The service guys advised this & gave the option of JK Tyre which costs around Rs.8,000. – The other option was to go for a premium tyre and use it as a spare tyre for the moment. Once the time comes to change the tyres, I need to buy only 3 tyres and use this as the 4th tyre. I can keep one of the older tyres as a permanant spare. EV tyres generally last around 30-35k kms( 40 k if you look after them very well). Our BYD Atto 3 had run almost 12k kms in its 10 months of ownership.Which meant the tyre would last another one and a half years at least. Since I did not want a brand new tyre to sit idle for 18 months, decided to go with the former option. Went to my trusted tyre shop in Kottayam at Nagampadom. They had options of JK Tyre, Apollo, Yokohoma & Michelin for 215/55/18″ tyres. JK tyre cost Rs.7600 while all other options were north of Rs.10,500. It was a no brainer.Went with JK Tyre. They fixed the tyre & did the balancing. The tyre shop guys were very interested in the alloy and wanted to know where I had got it from. They said they were getting enquiries regarding spare alloys for the new car models, many of which did not come with a spare tyre. The total cost came to Rs.7700.They checked out the alloy at my request & assured me it was safe. Now an 18″ tyre is quite big and takes up lots of space. I am only planning to keep it in the car for long drives. Will have to keep it in the boot or just behind the driver’s seat in the rear passenger footwell. We dont have a dedicated garage neither was there any place in our home to keep the spare tyre. There was plenty of space in our first floor but it was not practical to lug such a heavy thing up & down the stairs. The tyre is currently kept in the back seat of our Ignis, which is leading a retired life and is used sparingly. Also easier to shift it in between cars before a trip. That’s all, folks. Cheers.Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
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