Thread: Tyre compounds

I dont think i have the proof you are looking for. Certainly i have never heard of different compounds of the same tyre being offered in different climates.

My impression is that specialised tyres for say snow conditions, that might have a softer compound and are studdable, are typically not offered in Australia.

The original equipment michelin tyres on my dad's 2 door rangie were considered soft and more suited to europe than australia. What happenned in the past doesnt necessarily tell us about now though.

I have been told that tyres are sometimes optimised for certain road surface types, for instance, i was told that the Cooper mileage guarantee doesnt apply in Australia because they are primarily designed for america's smoother bitumen, and australia's coarse bitumen means they dont last as long, whereas the dick cepek is more designed for saudi arabia which also has coarse chip.

I think you are aware there are importation exclusivity deals and major importers dont want to be solving warranty issues on tyres they didnt sell. They would naturally discourage grey(?) imports, and who knows what stories might emerge from various parties to support that?

Tyre compounds vary quite widely - basically because whatever is used is a compromise, mainly between grip and durability, but probably also to some extent cost, although I doubt the cost of the tread compound is a major part of the cost of a tyre.

A compound that is designed to remain very flexible in a northern hemisphere winter is likely to be excessively flexible and hence rapid wearing in our summers - but that does not mean it is unsuitable for Australia - just a bit less suitable.

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any very reliable source of information about tyres, at least things such as performance and durability. You have the choice of listening to 'experts', who invariably work in the industry and hence have an inbuilt bias, or anecdotal evidence (e.g. AULRO) which may also have bias, even if unconscious, and would rarely, if ever, have wide enough experience to rank tyres. The best that can be got from this source is reported experience, and take your own conclusions from that.

(These comments apply to everything about tyres, not just the compound!)

Having spotted that the Pirelli product code on the label is the same as listed on a US tyre outlet's website, I now suspect that the Australia notation is probably just that this batch is to supply an order destined for their Australian branch.

One interesting thing about compounds is that the harder you go the more likely they are to chip and cut on coarse surfaces.
The tyre slides across the top of sharp edges instead of conforming.

BFG and Cooper have been caught out with this, and I'm guessing most all tyre companies have.
I've seen BFG MT KO's destroyed from the shale roads in the Upper Hunter east and north of Scone, BFG did a quick, running compound reformulation at the time, and Cooper ST's suffered a similar fate.
This was the early 2000's.

Some companies with heavy motorsport involvement are able to juggle the grip vs life conundrum better than other companies.

I have been running a set of chinese mfgd a/ts for approx 30,000km.

I have no real problem with them, but had my first blowout in hundreds of thousands of bush km when they were new.

admittedly I spiked a sidewall with an almost perfectly cube shaped rock.

I have since on my last trip had small punctures on two tyres and wonder if it's just my turn or if the tyres compounds may be a little softer than the Bridgestones and Khumos I have used for years.

These tyres will only last about 50k if I'm lucky and I'm used to getting 70-80k out of a set......my last set of Khumo KL71 muddies did around 80k on my D2 and I fitted them to my daughters Triton for a couple of years at no cost to her.

If I can get the KL71's in 265/75x17 then I think that's going to be my next set.

If not I think another brand like Hankook a/ts will do the trick, but not Bridestone 697's as they throw stones and the rear tyres shred as a result of the front's stone throwing.

So yeah, I think the compound in some brands is definitely softer.....or different.

I don't think that tyre compounds are any different for different markets.
What about the many people who self imported BFGKOs from Tire Rack when the $ was worth something.
I haven't heard of any problems.

I think this furphy was developed by the local car distributors as an argument towards banning private import of cars.

Can you really believe that South African BMWs coming to OZ would have different tyres to those sold in ZA?

I can recall from when I was BMW Australia National Planning and Distribution manager that I specified that only Michelins be fitted on 323s coming to OZ as I was scared ****less one night when my car on Continentals threw itself away on a wet road in Melbourne. I was able to catch it but I was alarmed by the low lateral grip levels in the wet.
No I believe that the tyres fitted to cars in Europe are exactly the same as those sent to OZ. in over 15years In the car import and production industry I never ever heard of unique tyres for different markets.

Regards Philip A

We aren't important enough to warrant tyres engineered just for our market.

Might have happened when we had our own tyre industry, but its all multinational now.