NEMOTO: Dunlop tires in Southeast Asia need to be very tough to handle abuse from poorly paved roads.
Dunlop Tires is a famous household name in the automotive industry. Interestingly, numerous parties own the Dunlop brand. In North America, Australia and Europe, Dunlop is owned by Goodyear, while in Asia and Africa, it is owned by the Sumitomo Tire and Rubber Co.
In terms of market share, Dunlop is the fifth-largest tire manufacturer in the world. It is heavily involved in motorsports, having participated in Le Mans over the years, is a regular tire supplier at the Japanese Super GT and Super Taikyu (endurance) racing series, plus numerous motorcycle races as well.
Dunlop is also OEM supplier to the likes of Nissan’s R35 GTR, the Nissan X-Trail, Toyota’s FJ Cruiser and Subaru Impreza STI, to name a few.
At a recent visit, we got to spend a few minutes interviewing Yasuhiro Nemoto, manager for Southeast Asia. With the Philippines under his area of responsibility, Nemoto-san made a quick visit during the recent TireShakk opening at Magallanes Village, Makati.
We asked Nemoto-san what the biggest difference is in terms of demand or requirements for various markets from Dunlop tires. His answer was enlightening: “Different parts of the world have different requirements from a Dunlop tire. In Japan and other industrialized countries, the demand for a low-rolling resistance tire which helps improve fuel consumption is high on the list. But you cannot simply engineer a low-rolling resistance tire; you need the tires to have excellent wet-weather grip in inclement weather, too, while delivering excellent lateral grip for cornering.”
“In the United States, the market demands a long-lasting tire capable of covering tens of thousands of miles in a year, thanks to the super highways. You can theoretically design a tire that lasts forever, but it won’t give much grip as well and will have poor wet-weather characteristics.
“In Southeast Asia, Dunlop tires need to be very tough to handle the abuse from poorly paved roads typical in Third World countries. This calls for tough sidewalls and a multi-ply construction, but simply doing so will give a very poor and harsh ride, and also give very high NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) for the driver and its passengers,” said Nemoto-san.
This is where the black art of mixing tire compounds, utilizing steel or rayon belts for the carcass, and designing an effective tire tread comes into play. “You always seek to find balance between a good performing tire that has excellent wet and dry grip, is long-lasting, rides well and is capable of withstanding poorly-paved surfaces. And it has to be priced well so the market will accept it, otherwise, we will price ourselves out of the competition,” said Nemoto-san.
“The compromise, so to speak, comes from mixing and matching the best compound, with the best carcass design, and of course the best tread design for the application. Then there are issues such as tire noise we also need to deal with: A noisy tire, such as a road-legal semislick race tire, or a mud-terrain offroad tire, which, while delivering impressive performance, can be very tiring to use on a normal, paved road because of the noise it will generate, and can also be darty on seemingly smooth roads,” he added.
Dunlop is also pursuing new tire compounds that deliver longer-lasting performance, are much more environment-friendly to manufacture, and wear out only after years of use on the road.
Nemoto-san also gave us tips on how to help tires last longer. He said many people fail to check their tire pressure regularly. A poorly inflated tire will deliver unpredictable performance and excessive fuel consumption, as much as 30 percent more than normal versus a properly aired-up tire.
Many people also fail to have their vehicles’ wheel alignment checked, which causes excessive rolling resistance and tire wear, also leading to increased fuel consumption and unpredictable performance.
Regular checkups at the dealership or independent car service shop should also include tire wear and wheel alignment checks, and, if needed, tire rotation or replacement.
Dunlop offers a wide range of tires, from the ultrahigh performance SP Sport Maxx and Direzza lineup to the all-terrain/offroad Grand Trek, to the Le Mans LM series and many more to suit a wide variety of budgets, vehicle makes and models.
They are available in Metro Manila at various tire shops, and at TireShakk outlets located in Taytay-Cainta, Greenhills and Magallanes Village in Makati.
Aside from professional mounting/dismounting services, TireShakk also offers the latest in professional four-wheel laser alignment services and other quick-services for your vehicle.
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