- Good day, Jared from Tyre Review here,
and we're here at the Pheasant Wood Circuit
in New South Wales for a launch of two new Kumho tyres.
(upbeat music)
Luckily enough, I've got David Basha
from Kumho Tyre here to tell us about it.
But, David, can you give me
a quick background on exactly who Kumho is?
- Good day, Jared.
Yeah, Kumho Tyres has been in Australia for 40 odd years
and would be in the top five selling brands in Australia.
Over the years, we've always tried to provide tyres
that provide great value for money, so all our tyres come
with all the latest, you know, specifications
and high technical attributes without the price tag.
Very much like a Kia or a Hyundai type motor vehicle
if you're looking to buy a car.
That's what a Kumho tyre is in tyres.
- [Jared] Okay, so once I've worn through
my first set of tyres, then I opt for you guys.
- Yeah, that's where I think we're most popular.
Yeah, so I mean, the option
to get something very good at a good price.
Yeah.
- Yeah, so tell me about these two tyres.
We've obviously got a performance based one here
and a more comfort slash wet weather looking one here.
What's the difference between the two?
- Okay, well, the main thing is
that both tyres have the same radial construction,
so the inner casing of the tyres are exactly the same.
And, that ensures that the stability and driving stability
and durability of the tyres remains the same.
Difference, really, is in the tread patterns
and in the tread compound.
- Sorry, this tread pattern is more aggressive,
and this one is less aggressive, obviously.
What is this tyre designed for?
- Look, we feel it's important
to provide people tyres that suit them.
So, in a lot of cases, people buy tyres,
and they'll just take whatever's being sold to them.
We feel that it's important that, depending on who you are.
So, if you really like to feel the car,
and, you know, you like to drive and enjoy
what your car can do, then a PS71 is the tyre for you.
It'll really perform well in cornering and handling.
If you want more of a smoother, quieter drive,
The new PA51 would be the tyre for you.
It's designed for minimal road noise,
and it's also designed to perform well in all conditions.
- So, even though they've got the same construction
underneath the tread pattern, between these two is enough
that it will actually be discernible between the two tyres
when you've actually got them on the car.
- Yeah, you can very well notice.
I think if you were to drive, we're here at the track today.
If you drive around the track at fairly high speeds,
you will find that there is a difference in performance.
We are understanding that, you know,
a high performance tyre with a softer compound
will handle better, may not last as long.
Where, this tyre here is about normal driving,
what we do all day everyday,
and it's gonna last a long time as well.
- So, one of the things.
I've actually been out on the track today already
and in both the Stinger and in the Genesis,
and one of the things that I've noticed
with the performance tyre, the PS71 versus PA51,
is that the performance based tyre was actually
on the Genesis, which is the softer car.
Whereas, the PA51 was already on the Stinger,
which is the more hard core race car.
And, the performance tyres on the Genesis actually meant
that breaked better than the Stinger did.
(cars breaking)
So, the difference between the two,
and even in the lateral grip, so the silver car,
the Genesis, actually was cornering harder than the Stinger
because it actually had the performance tyre on it.
But, like David says,
the 51 is actually the more comfortable tyre.
David, what about the individual specifications
on the tread pattern?
What should we be looking for with these tyres
when we're actually looking to purchase them.
- I think, when you buy tyres, there's a few things
you do need to look at in tread pattern,
and it's important that you see
these major grooves here, which allow in both tyres.
We have them here, and they allow for water evacuation.
They're very important in both of them
and ensuring that water gets out of the tread,
so reduces your chances of aquaplaning.
The other side of it is just the shoulders,
and what's very important with that
is that the shoulders themselves can lead
to premature wear if they're not built strongly
and if you don't look after your tyres.
So, you need to make sure that, you know,
you're checking your tyre pressures and whatnot.
So, we've designed both of these tyres
for strong shoulders and strong water evacuation.
- Yes, they've both got hefty channels going
through the middle, but it's interesting
that the performance tyre actually has wider channels,
wider sipes, and then less of these smaller sipes
in the actual tread blocks while the more comfortable tyre
actually has narrower central sipes,
or narrower central channels,
and then lots more individual siping.
What's the reasoning for that?
- Well, these tyres are designed.
They're used globally, so we use them
here in Australia, of course.
We've got them here, but they're sold
in Europe and in North America.
So, the PA51 is designed for an all season environment,
so where it may have, you know,
not an alpine area, but where there may be
a little bit of snow from time to time.
So, the extra sipes, or those little lines
in the tread provide a little bit more grip
if you are in a frosty or a snow effected area.
So, they provide more surety in that
without having to go to a full winter tyre.
So, that's the main difference between the two,
where a PS71 is a full summer tyre,
which is what we predominantly use in Australia.
- It'd still be safe in the wet, obviously,
with the siping and that sort of thing,
but it's more, if you're going to be going up
to the hills or wherever, then, probably,
this would be the tyre choice for you.
- Yeah, the way we're promoting this tyre
is that it's a good all season tyre,
all around tyre, rain, hail, or shine.
So, it'll just work for you in all conditions,
as long as you're the type of driver
that is gonna drive at a nice steady pace
at the speed limit, take it nice and easy.
That's the perfect tyre for you.
- Excellent, whereas if you like going
above the speed limit, that one.
- Yes, which we won't talk about, that one.
- Okay, yeah, so if you're gonna be naughty, that one.
If you're gonna be nice, that one.
- Correct.
- And, I think we've covered everything.
Than you, David. - Excellent, thank you.
- And, thank you, everyone.
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(clicks)