[khoj]

End of unexplained bulges and side cuts on our tires? I hope so now that Yokohama India web site is showing a brand new product offering Earth-1 The new tire is being touted to have been designed specifically for India. Not Asia, not South Asia but India and about time too. The tire claims to offer superior drive ability over any type of road surface and boasts of a rugged construction without compromising on driving comfort.

http://www.yokohama-india.com/earth-1.html

Currently available in 14 & 15 inch with 65 aspect, trust it will soon be available in more sizes.
Hope the competition is watching and that it will lead to an increase in India specific offerings.

[Vid6639]

It is not India specific. Tyre is available for sale in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia for a few months now.

My guess is that this tyre was designed keeping into account Indian road conditions so has some reinforcements.

Eagerly waiting to try out this tyre since from the 3 sizes it is currently available, one size is a perfect fit for my Altis.

[BackInTheFold]

Thanks for the info. Good to know. I was advised to consider the C-drive's as an alternative for my Laura. As long as I don't upsize to a bigger rim, this also seems like a good option to keep in mind.

[kpzen]

Its not yet launched but coming very soon.

IMO, its a very good move by Yokohama.

In future, they are going to launch it in more sizes & compliment it with aggressive pricing.

[GTO]

Sharing additional information via the attached PDFs. Thanks to Nikhilb2008 for sending them across!

[dean5545]

Is this available in 205/65 R15 size?Need a set for my Innova.Any idea on how does it handle the water puddles on our highway,the stock Bridgestones donot perform well at all in this aspect.

[BackInTheFold]

Originally Posted by dean5545

Is this available in 205/65 R15 size?Need a set for my Innova.Any idea on how does it handle the water puddles on our highway,the stock Bridgestones donot perform well at all in this aspect.

Both the link by the OP and the PDF files which GTO has uploaded say that the size is available

[Nikhilb2008]

Ok. This is my report of the launch.

My opinion is clearly stated but this is all the marketing info we were given at the official launch.

Usual disclaimers apply: Yoko paid for a very tasty meal at the Lalit, New Delhi which was the venue of the launch. They had brought in their dealers from all over India and put them up in the hotel. I didnt avail this benefit as I was already in Delhi and was staying at my apartment.

I dont intend this post to be a marketing post as I have no personal affinity for Yokohama as a brand.

Yokohama launched the new tyre focusing on the following parameters.


Strength.
Mileage long life.
Designed for India
Better wet performance.
Silence

They showed pictures of bad roads and said this was their main target: to make the tyres more durable and strong. They again focused on durability, mileage and comfort.

The main features are as follows:

Sidewall has 2 ply construction which is supposed to be much stronger than the A Drive. They say that the main complaint they got from the A Drive was that the sideall was soft! And we TBHPians more or less agree that the Yoko a drives are quite durable. So, this means that the earth 1 will be even better.

The sidewall also has a thicker inner liner(which is supposed to reduce the rate of air leakage), optimised bead filler and thicker side rubber to defend against stones and kerbs.

More details and graphical illustrations can be found at http://www.yokohama-india.com/earth-1.html

They showed us some results of tests they conducted. The kerbstone test is where they check the strength of the sidewall against a kerbstone and they claim that the earth one could survive a speed of 30.2kmph while another tyre ( Competitor A) only managed 25kmph.

The results of this test is to be taken with a pinch of salt as the circumstances of Te test are unknown. Vehicle load is unknown, lot of other parameters are unknown.

The pinch cut test is done in what looks like a lab and is measured in Kn/mm.

The results are as follows.

Pinch cut test
Yokohama Earth 1 - 544 kn/mm
Yoko a drive 517
Competitor A - 503Kn/mm
Competitor B - 514

The tread rubber is a newly developed compound. They conducted a figure of 8 test. This test is one in which a car is driven around a figure of 8 track for a certain number of laps. They mentioned a number which was in the many hundreds. The test showed that the old compound had a wear of 880g. This means 880g of rubber had worn away by the end of the test. The new compound which is being used in the earth 1 wore away only 430g f rubber.

Again, there are questions about what they mean by old compound. Was it the A Drive? Or some other compound they used in testing?

These tests are not to be taken literally but taken as a bit of marketing.

6 sizes in phase 1 which will be made in Philippines. 25 sizes in 2nd half 2014 made in India at their new factory which should be ready by June- July 2014.

13 to 15' as of now. Largest is 225/60-15. 145/80-13 is the smallest size.

Prices and availability will be made clear over the next few weeks.

Immediately only 3 sizes are available.

175/65-14
185/65-14
205/65-15

As of now, Yokohama is betting big on this tyre. They have mentioned at least a dozen times about how this tyre is made for india. They explained a bit about how they focused on sidewall strength and long life.

They did mention about comfort silence and wet grip but they felt like afterthoughts.

Clearly for this tyre, Yokohama is moving away from the enthusiast community and trying to become a mass market brand.

Of course my feeling is that the Yoko Earth 1 will be a very good entry level tyre but don't look for substantially better grip or comfort. However I expect a noticeable improvement in noise levels.

[BackInTheFold]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Ok. This is my report of the launch.

I dont intend this post to be a marketing post as I have no personal affinity for Yokohama as a brand.

Thanks for the super-informative post. How do you think the Earth stacks up against the C-Drive?

[Nikhilb2008]

I have no idea. I would guess that the C drives will ride better and gripp better.

[Mpower]

Thanks! Is this replacing the A drive or slotting between A & C?

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

However I expect a noticeable improvement in noise levels.

Why so? Improvement over A or C?

Looks like all the focus has been on durability & wear! No mention of noise or FE in the press release

[GTO]

Thanks to Nikhilb2008 for sharing this picture:

[adalanthae]

The Yokahama Earth-1 range of tyres have very carefully preserved all the superior characteristics of its very successful predecessor, the A Drive and has focused its efforts to achieve Additional Durability (Strength), Mileage (long tyre life) and Comfort (reduced Sound) in both Dry and Wet driving conditions with this launch. The Earth-1 has been able to achieve this by firstly providing thicker Inner Liner and Side Rubber leading to better air pressure management and increased shock absorption and further supporting it with 2 Ply Construction for increased stability and steering performance, High Bead Filler (for Higher Rigidity), and Reinforced Tread Portions (on the full tyre and the edges) to increase durability on Rough Roads by reducing chipping, wear and tear and deterioration over a period of time.

[Read More]

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Thanks! Is this replacing the A drive or slotting between A & C?


Why so? Improvement over A or C?

Looks like all the focus has been on durability & wear! No mention of noise or FE in the press release

The improvement would be over the A Drive.

It should be replacing the A Drive in the long run. Not too sure about this though.

[nkrishnap]

The Earth-1 tyres already on the Karthik's friend Palio Sport on Saturday. Size: 185/65/R14. Not too sure about what the cost per tyre was.