[Auto Talk] What tyres or tires are you using?

Nitrogen for Tyres - Fact Sheets - Motoring - RACQ

 

Yeah it's a waste of money. You should always check the tyre pressure regularly, twice a month is good. I rather spend the money on a good tyre pressure guage to make sure it's at the right pressure.

 

Lower profile tyres will not affect fuel efficiency. Wider tyres yes, due to larger contact patch area, but honestly it will be negligible. I personally think that the weight of the tyre will affect fuel efficiency more. Yes, different tyres at the same size weight differently. You most likely need to change the rim to support wider tyres as well.

 

It's not about believing or not. Hehe.. I just think that if proper QC is adhered to, there should not be any difference in the quality of the product, whether it was made in Japan or elsewhere.

One thing though, tyres are not delicate instruments that require tight tolerances and fine finishes (like high-end cameras require). Unless Japanese factories have special manufacturing technologies that cannot be exported overseas, I really wonder if there's a significant difference in quality.

Of course, their overseas operations can always goof off. Haha.. But that speaks of poor corporate governance and culture.

 

AFAIK, the advantage of using nitrogen is that it doesn't contain any moisture, so tyre expansion will be more even.

Some shops claim that it will help mileage because it's lighter, but I don't think the few grams will help much. Besides, normal air is about 78% nitrogen.

As for heating up the tyres, I'm not sure... but I don't see how nitrogen can reduce the heat of the tyres. After all, the tyres are heating up from contact with the road. The nitrogen is on the OTHER side of the tyre...

 

If I'm not mistaken, the pressure of the tyres can help improve mileage as well.

Higher pressure = firmer tyres = better mileage.

But of course, we should keep it within normal limits!

 

LOL, that is what you think. Tyres require very tight tolerence as well. Do you know that there will never be a perfect tyre, meaning not perfectly round, or some part of the tyre is heavier than another spot. Those color markings on the tyre represent something, lightest and the heaviest point. From your point of view, there shouldn't be these sort of things, right? But there is such a thing, and tyres technology has improved so much, thanks to motor racing.

Go ahead and get your ASEAN made tyres then. You really have to understand how Japanese work, that's why their products are usually very high quality. If they always have Japanese around in the ASEAN operation, it wouldn't reduce cost enough.

Yup, that is if you increase the rim size also. You can actually use lower profile tyres without changing the rim.

 

i keep my tire pressure around 32 in summer. changed tires hopefully they are good in winter... my old tires are pretty bad and they had 1/16" thread left. car had bad weight distribution and more worn out tires behind = bad in snow. spun a few times

 

Yup, lower pressure increase more grip, which is needed a lot on slippery surfaces, then again, who am I to comment, never driven in any other surface other than hot dry and wet surfaces.

And to add about locally made tyres, just take the locally assembled cars as the best example. See the differences? Cheaper plastics, rattling part come a lot sooner, lower spec, etc just to mention a few.

You might think it's just rubber, what's there to cut cost on. Yes, not just labour costs, material costs as well, construction of the tyres (eg: carcass). That's why difference tyres have such different performance.

 

I'm not saying that tyres are simple enough for everyone to make. Sure, there should be some difference, but if Yokohama makes the same tyres in both Thailand and Japan, I would expect them to maintain the QC. If they do not, then they are really a lousy company. That's my point.

 

LOL, tell me which company maintains the SAME QC level. Like it or not, this is a fact of life. This is my point. Who doesn't know or want everything to be the same quality, without paying as much as stuff made in developed countries?

Go ahead and change the mentality of ASEAN labours.

 

Exactly, I mentioned in my post above. But if you still want to continue to believe that they "SHOULD" maintain the QC standard (which I think they definitely should, but in reality it's not), it's up to you.

 

No, it's not that I do not believe that it is so. I'm merely pointing out that in such cases, these companies are selling short on their customers.

On whether it's possible to do it, of course, it's possible to uphold good QC levels. Look at the Chinese. They have so many grades of the same product. You want better quality, sure, you can get better quality with better QC. You just have to pay more. So, it's really not just a matter of where it is manufactured but the actual QC level.

In any case, the question I was asking was... is the difference significant? And is it worth paying extra for Japanese-made tyres? Or will it be like pumping our tyres nitrogen instead of standard air?

Not only when it comes to lifespan, of course, but also in regards to safety, etc.

 

Regarding CKD vs. CBU, I'm not sure.. but I heard that the difference is due to the fact that CBU cars are assembled and welded by robots but CKD are assembled by manual labour?