As noted by various posters, tubeless tyres are becoming more and more popular with various Indian car manufacturers. Main advantage of tubeless tyres, as pointed out by Pankaj, is that the tyre does not get deflated suddenly in case of puncture. So this enables the driver to retain control of the car and drive to a puncture repair shop (if necessary after topping up air). But the slow leakage can also become a disadvantage. The air can slowly leak out and one day you may fnid yourself stranded. So it becomes very important to regularly monitor the tyre pressures when tubeless tyres are used.
I had one puncture in each of my right hand side tyres and both were detected because I check tyre pressures with my own accurate gauge. In one case the tyre pressure had dropped to about 25 psi (from 35) in a span of about 8 days.In the second case the pressure was 30 psi after one week. In both cases I topped up air with my own compressor, drove to puncture shop and had nails removed. It is important to check the tyre pressures when tyres are cold, say, in the morning before the car has done any running. That way, if you check with an accurate gauge, you can detect abnormal drop in tyre pressures, which almost certainly means either pucnture or leakage due to rusted rims/faulty valves. And I strongly recommend carrying your own compressor, which runs off the car battery.
Another requirment of tubeless tyres is that your steel rims need to be in good condition if they have to hold air. Rusted/bent rims (whcih we often see in Indian cars) will cause slow leakage. So alloys are recommended, but then one has to maintain alloys carefully (cannot hit kerbs/stones).
Overally I am very happy with my Bridgestone S322 tubeless tyres (155/70-13) which in my opinion are ideal for the Santro when used with 5J alloy wheels (5j means wheels are 5" width, as opposed to the 4j steel rims). The grip is more than adequate, braking is good and car handles superbly. But faster and heavier cars will need more grippy tyres., Advantage of S322 is that it is a tough all-season tyre and will not easily suffer from cuts or sidewall bulges when you hit potholes.
[ http://in.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=sradhakr1&p=r ] & [ http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0504115 ] & [ http://www.worldscinet.com/ijqi/08/0803/S021974991000640X.html ]
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