(air hisses) (crew chatters)
(fire whooshes)
(crew exclaims)
(tire thuds)
(crew laughs)
- Okay, let's get talking about some times where things
are just going really well, okay?
When you got good old coffee in your system
and it's the perfect temperature.
Or maybe it's a Cayman Jack at 4:00 PM after soccer,
it just feels right, okay?
Sorry, bushies and natties and Busch lattes.
I just can't keep this slim feminine figure
with those drinks in my body 24/7.
The Cayman Jacks, well they just sit right, okay?
So when you go to grab a drink and it turns out
your deadbeat roommate took the last one and then
the left empty can is in the sink, it just leaves you
feeling a bit warm, a bit agitated.
Some might even say, dare I say it, frustrated.
So why does it have to be like that?
Why are humans...
Like if you do this, you're just an ass, okay?
But that deadbeat roommate equivalent is also happening
in the automotive industry that is most definitely
disappointing to people like you and people like me.
And that is actually kinda sort sorta happening
with stretch tire availability or just tire availability
at the whole thing.
I'm Alex, Alex dot FI on Instagram and today we're gonna
be talking about exactly what happened
to your favorite aftermarket tire inventory.
(coughs) Federal.
And why they seem to have just inherently disappeared
from the world!
(upbeat electronic music)
I don't have Starbucks creamer anymore
but I did get some funfetti.
This is really exciting.
And if you're new, welcome to Fitment Industries.
I'm Alex, where we talk about car things, as well as
tell you that you know, you can get your wheels, tires,
and suspension over at fitmentindustries.com.
Plus, we have a ton of in-stock and quick delivery,
stretchy tires if you're interested.
Now 595 is a little bit of a red pea hat
sort of inventory availability but they're sometimes there.
And let us know in the comments section below
on what you'd like us to talk about next.
So we can come on up with ideas for you to learn about.
Today we're definitely not gonna lean into the 595.
Oh no.
We're not gonna talk about the tire that 75% of the world
wants to get right now but can't.
No siree!
So put on those earbuds and listen up
because this is inherently really important.
The history of aftermarket tires is nothing new.
You have people in France making bicycle tires
and ignited the need for consumable passenger tires
by making a traveling cookbook with fancy stars.
That is a really oversimplification but this is real
and it's called the Michelin, okay?
You have companies here in the states making tires
because their high horsepower rat rods couldn't really stay
in a straight line in the salt flats in Southwest America.
So they made a tire that helped them out with that.
You had companies like Uniroyal who were started
in my hometown.
No big deal.
Suck it, cool cities.
But they were making tires that helped lay the framework
for some of the fastest growing industries
in the 20th century.
And as the automotive industry boomed,
so did the making of tires.
There were companies overseas for sure,
and a lot of companies that you know now
that make them overseas but the exposure of passenger tires
in its conception in the United States caused most,
if not all of the brands you know, to be here!
In the United States.
In North America!
Which is actually pretty cool.
By the way, I apologize for every single person
that actually took a shot.
When I said Vtech in the previous video, I'm not sorry.
So as production increased over time, the variety of tires
began to grow with it.
You had thick boys.
You had skinny boys.
You had channeling boys for water evacuation.
You had sidetracks for yee yee activities.
Everyone was happy and the world moved on.
Also, also, besides the shot conversation,
congratulations to Daniel Ricardo.
It only takes a crash to win but hey, I'll take it.
It's nice to see McLaren at the top every once in a while!
I hope Max Verstappen figures out his stuff.
One important thing to note about tires though,
is that it's quite the process to make, okay.
It ain't no simple ramen diet or like three iron bar
sort of thing.
It was a new quest without any sort of wikiHow, okay?
So tires in their basic of sense are a massive
factory process that require a ton of upkeep,
a ton of volume and I mean a ton,
a ton of research and development.
So while the tread design is commonly what like
the most things that's seen on a tire for people like you
and people like me, and the reason most people buy tires,
the production process actually has a lot
to do what takes the most time.
So while the tread design is really cool and yes,
it helps with everything.
Really, the tread design is probably only half the battle
into making a total properly good tire.
Think of a tire as like Sarah and you're John B.
And there's just a lot to unpack after season two.
And Steve, you're gonna wanna you know, bleep this part out.
But (record scratches) you know when like...
(upbeat guitar music)
I don't know who to root for anymore
and everybody's just kinda ugly.
You have different rubbers, oils, pigments, silicon,
all of that, which is based pretty much mixed into a batch.
Then an inner liner is built for the foundation of the tire.
And then you have the body plies and the belts,
which do nothing but give the tire strength and rigidity.
It has to be built in a very particular way
otherwise the tires fail.
Different material coded in different material
can have a substantially different result.
This is super important.
As that stuff is poured out, you have your beads,
you have your typical steel wire loops, and then you
have your sidewall, you'll get your bead belts.
You got all this stuff that's placed over and over
and over each other until everything is perfectly
put together like a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
But very delicately.
Then it's cured, which means it's placed inside a mold,
inflated, which forms the actual tread and tire info.
And then it's reheated to 300 degrees
for right around 12 to 15 minutes.
And congratulations, you now understand the basics
of a tire production.
But you have a lot.
You have the actual belt design.
What will hold the tire together?
You have the compound development.
How the rubber actually behaves under certain circumstances
like heat and friction and tension.
Then you have casing molds, you have heat cycles,
you have shoulder testing, you have so much more!
You're not just dumping rubber into a mold
like a low pressure cast wheel.
There's much more of a science to it.
It's why companies like Michelin
make really expensive tires.
So with that being said, the entire framework
takes a ton of time, a ton of money, and unfortunately,
a ton of testing.
Well, fortunately.
Which is why you ultimately see a ton of companies.
There's really only a few names that truly stick out
because they spend a lot of time on that RND.
Michelin, Nitto, Toyo, BF Goodrich, Firestone, and more.
They haven't been around for a long time solely
because they were needed to.
It also kinda sorta has to do with the fact
that they move at the speed of molasses
for product releases because it takes so much time
to typically make a tire.
Not only that but because of the amount of space it takes,
lots of these tire companies began massive
wholesale operations with major vendors to make product
continuously without having to hold it
in the actual factory that much.
So give or take a few decades and you get
massive conglomerates like TWI, Transamerica,
ATD, and more, who do nothing but act as a middleman
between the factory and well, us.
That is a very real thing.
Tire factory is actually a very limited space
in terms of inventory holding.
They just need to keep pumping out tires as often
as possible and they pray the warehouses
take care of the rest.
So now that you have a third grade knowledge
of tire production, it's difficulty, and the fact
that these massive fallout looking factories
really can't hold on to much more than the staff's lunch
for the day.
You might be thinking, "So what does that actually have
to do with stretched tire availability, Alex?"
That's a great question because you've been halfway
into the video and now you're wondering, okay.
And I'll tell you why.
Because tire companies just can't make them anymore.
And it all happened in the last two years.
But not for the inherent reason that you may think.
What exactly happened?
Why are tire companies now have the inability
to create a stretched tire?
Because after all, everything was already made,
everything was already done.
Stretched tires already had the development,
the processes, the mold, the casings, and all that stuff!
Plus plenty of people that already wanted them.
Big brain talks, let's jump in.
When 2020 came across and decided
to make an absolute train wreck of us, it also took out
a bunch of tire factories, which we already know.
And while they turned everything back on, some as early as
just six weeks after being shut down, it created a gap.
Now, while the gap existed, factories were quick
to realize that they needed to produce more
than ever before but they couldn't.
That six week gap, especially
with a JIT inventory style methodology
was really straining on these factories.
Because factories were already producing at a 100 to 110,
maybe even 125% capacity.
Pretty much overworking people, machines and processes
to try and keep up.
And on top of that, just like people had
maybe an extra 1,200 bucks in 2020, big companies,
some even conglomerates were receiving a little extra
somethin' somethin' on the side.
But instead of it being like 1200 bucks a person,
some people were getting millions of dollars in relief
from the government.
So those companies were also trying to get these factories
to make more tires, introduce new brands,
new designs, and more.
I mean, that was a really big thing that was happening.
You had an excess amount of money in the supply chain.
So while supply decreased and demand increased,
factories reprioritize what they were going to make.
Essentially, they're gonna focus on the most profitable,
easy to turn products that brands wanted
and could actively buy consistently.
And the good old US of A, you think you can guess
what the popular type of tire to buy in our market?
It ain't cars, baby!
It's the good old truck!
Okay?
It's the good old US of A pick 'em up freedom, all right?
Kick up the tail gates and step on your alligator boots,
Kenny Chesney and NASCAR!
You ain't gettin' no Goddammed 225-40 stretched, boy!
You're gonna get yourself some 33-12.5-20s
because that is what you get, okay?
So while you've got a company like Nitto
that makes both car and truck tires, the option
was inherently presented to them to like make
a couple of the tire molds that they had
for six months or nine months.
And Nitto opted to double down on the tires
that they make the most money and have a hirer demand for.
Which is inherently their truck line.
The reason you aren't seeing the Nitto Neo Gen
that much anymore is that exact reason, they elected
to focus on another tire.
And they're too busy focused on the tires like
the ridge grappler for the Tacomas and every lifted vehicle
in existence because the ridge grappler is the most popular
tire out there.
Rinse and repeat across all manufacturers and you start
to see where their focus starts to shift.
The Nitto Neo Gen is a stretchy tire that was loved by many
and got kicked off the boat.
Other well-known stretchy tires made by reputable brands,
all featured the same fate for the sake of their larger
truck boy brothers, this is happening.
And the odds of those tires coming back over
the next two years are pretty low because the
supply chain isn't gonna get really healthy
for at least another year.
And when I say low, I mean like half-life three
sort of low expectations.
And popular known stretchy tires are all feeling
somewhat of the same fate.
Federal 595, it shares space with the same truck lines
on the assembly plants on top of the impending tariff
that smacked them in the face earlier this year.
As a company, it just doesn't make sense
to bring them into the states right now.
Your favorite Kuhmos are going through the exact same thing.
This is a tough space to be in specifically for aftermarket
passenger tires that have a specialty purpose.
And while a lot of tire companies are trying
to downplay the situation, which is why I'll probably
get yelled at too, for saying this from the vendors.
It's just where we're at right now
and it's just how it feels.
Stretched tires aren't a focus and aren't going
to really be for a very hot minute.
At least within the well-known brands that have been
in the light for the last three to five years
that you and I have come to know.
(metal tings)
We do have some spotty inventory as it comes in but you may
also have to find alternatives in the market
that will get the job done until your favorites come back.
Don't downplay some of the alternatives that are out there
right now because there are some bang on stretchy boys
and girls that can and should get you what you need.
If you're looking for some alternatives from your favorites,
check out the Falken FK510, the Vercelli Strada II,
the Hankook Ventus V12 and there you get yourself
a low middle and high tier option for you that's gonna have
some healthier inventory for the rest of 2021
and going into 2022.
So what happened with stretch tires?
Well, it's kinda like the same thing that happened
to my war zone commitment.
It just fleeted off into the distance so I could have more
time to mow my lawn, reel on my BlackStone,
and entertain those terrible wheel, tire,
and suspension memes on Instagram.
'Cause I spend way too much time on it.
Stretch tires lost importance and priority by factories
and manufacturers alike.
Essentially, we're not at the top of that totem pole.
We're like at the bottom and we got smacked in the face
by a tetherball.
Paired with tariffs, terrible shipping times,
and maximum production limits, and you'll have
what our current situation feels like.
Which is inherently why you aren't seeing
some of these tires come back.
Even though most of other tires have already come back.
But when they do, we're usually the first ones to get 'em.
So if you're looking for aftermarket wheels, tires,
or suspension, either some legacy stretchy ones
or some new ones that you're willing to try, be sure
to check us out over at fitmentindustries.com.
And don't forget we have wheel and tire packages
that can get to you in as little as seven days.
And we encourage you to check out our new wheelhouse brand,
Artisa ArtFormed Wheels.
That's what we made.
We're very, very excited.
I'm Alex from Fitment Industries, we will see you later.
Peace!
(upbeat electronic music)