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Originally Posted by dean5545
(Post 3266522)
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. |
| 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. |
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Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008
(Post 3270851)
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. |
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Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008
(Post 3270851)
However I expect a noticeable improvement in noise levels. |
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Originally Posted by Mpower
(Post 3271048)
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 |
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