leT’s dance Official Tyre supplier Of The fia f1 WOrld champiOnship pirelli.co.za
T a l k i n g T y r e s • 3 3 T Y R E T E S T I N G Cutting the cr p When you set out <strong>to</strong> buy a car you take it for a test drive, but when you need new tyres – the most critical safety component – it’s all about hype and guesswork. It’s time for some authoritative, independent tyre testing By Colin Mileman We all know that tyres are the most important, safety critical component on any vehicle. And that a tyre’s contact patch on the road is typically no bigger than the palm of y<strong>our</strong> hand. So, when Mr or Mrs Average begrudgingly needs <strong>to</strong> fork out on new rubber, how do they go about making an informed choice? Without much effort, off the <strong>to</strong>p of my head I can easily list in excess of 20 well-known passenger, light commercial and 4x4 tyre brands – and that’s not counting the raft of new imports that arrive on <strong>our</strong> shores virtually daily. Or heavy commercial, OTR and specialised manufacturers. Or retreads for that matter. So how on earth does the normal guy or gal know whether Tyre A is better than Tyre Z? For some, their default choice will be a trusted brand that has been used by the family for decades. Others may be influenced by a high-profile ad campaign, or some fanciful racing pedigree. But when you get down <strong>to</strong> the basics, it comes down <strong>to</strong> one simple thing: price. Most people will question whether it is worth spending a premium on a mainstream, established brand, when the burgeoning number of cheaper tyres seem do the job just as well. Without facts and figures <strong>to</strong> rely on you’re just playing the lottery and hoping for the best. You only find out if it’s good enough when you hit the road, and y<strong>our</strong> choice then has <strong>to</strong> serve you for thousands of kilometres, whether you like it or not. Typically you’ll only realise the shortcomings when it’s <strong>to</strong>o late … The reality is that there is no single, reliable, authoritative and independent s<strong>our</strong>ce that separates the good from the average, the bad and the downright dangerous. While tyre manufacturers often do their own testing, this is obviously fraught with problems in terms of credibility. It’s all <strong>to</strong>o easy <strong>to</strong> score a goal when you own the ball, the pitch, the referee and the scoreboard. I’ve been on enough local and international tyre launches <strong>to</strong> see how easily the results can be (and sometimes are) ‘tweaked’. Ultimately, this responsibility can only be entrusted <strong>to</strong> a <strong>to</strong>tally au<strong>to</strong>nomous body that is genuinely without fear or fav<strong>our</strong>. In the UK, the major mo<strong>to</strong>ring magazines do regular tyre tests, and these are exceptionally popular and successful. From a South African perspective, when I was at Topcar magazine – an independent title at the time – we put <strong>our</strong> balls on the block and conducted a series of ground-breaking tyre tests that cut through the cr*p and produced dependable, comparative results that Joe and Jess Average could trust. That consumers and the tyre industry praised <strong>our</strong> efforts was fantastic, but we set out knowing that typically fickle <strong>SA</strong> companies are all <strong>to</strong>o quick <strong>to</strong> cancel
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