Good Tyre For Toyota

When Goodyear launched its 100,000-km tyre – the DuraPlus – there were skeptics among consumers and understandably so. 100,000 kms represents about 4 - 5 years of motoring for many people and the idea of a tyre being able to last that long was a bit hard to accept. Furthermore, the DuraPlus is not one of the expensive specialized tyres with an exotic compound that was specially developed for long life; it is actually an affordably-priced tyre intended for what Goodyear refers to as the 'value segment’.
Prior to launch, enough testing by their own engineers had given confidence to Richard Fleming, Goodyear’s ASEAN Managing Director, to boldly make the claim. Not only had the tyres been tested in Goodyear’s own facilities but also on Asian roads so there was no uncertainty about the capability to go 100,000 kms. Of course, that figure depends very much on various factors such as proper care of the tyres (alignment, balancing, pressure) and also driving conditions. Goodyear is confident that most motorists will get the claimed mileage but as Mr Fleming said, it is a 'claim’ and not a 'guarantee’.

The Toyota Vios testcars were driven for 7 weeks, 24 hours a day, on a specific route in Thailand
Anyway, to demonstrate their confidence further, Goodyear ASEAN ran an 'DuraPlus Endurance Challenge’ which began with the launch of the tyre in Thailand and which ASEAN media was invited to start off. This writer was among the media to contribute the first few hundred kms of wear for the challenge which lasted 7 weeks.
The tyres were fitted on a Toyota Vios model (1.5J version with a size of 185/65R14) obtained from a car rental company and the fleet consisted of four similar cars. The other three cars were fitted with tyres of competitors to make comparisons. The procedures were strict and aimed at eliminating variations due to different cars so the tyres were rotated among the cars. Test drivers drove for 24 hours, 6 days a week, three shifts per day, and travelled in a convoy to ensure maximum consistency – in terms of the route, road and weather conditions on a specific course in Thailand.