Black Rubber

Tyres are an unknown quantity to many, including myself, other than the general brands that have been embedded in your mind via advertisements, and the huge signboards that precede tyres shops. Who can forget the unmistakable Michelin mascot, Pirelli calendar girls or the Bridgestone tyres that the F1 race cars fly by with?

Not many stop to think the compounds that goes into a making of a tyre, the different treads that affects performance, noise and control, the extensive sizes available, the not so beautiful patterns that no one is able to see, and essentially, what makes a tyre tick.

Tyre shops in Asia also seem to be a different model altogether from their counterparts in Australia or other parts of the World. The very first impression of tyre shops are those of uncles with black sodden hands wheeling the tyres around, often situated at the foot of old shop houses. While this still holds true, the dynamics are slowly changing, as overseas conglomerates come in with their vision of how tyres should be changed.

As I’ve heard, the tyre industry is not a glamorous business, not shady, but mired in a very traditional means of business, staying relatively unhindered by the evolvement of technology, but not for long. The Internet has eliminated boundaries and borders, and opened a Pandora’s Box of endless opportunities. The tyre industry will also undoubtedly not be able to avoid this wave of evolution.

Personally, I know nuts about tyres, not even knowing the basics of how to read tyre sizes, so stay with me as I proceed along this journey to discover the marvels of the only point of interaction between your car and the roads, and you will understand that there are more to tyres than the mere black rubber that it is.

This is an introduction by Linus Koh on his maiden voyage into a whole new industry. Linus is in charge of online sales & operations at Tyrepac Pte Ltd.