Goodyear F1 GSD3's made in Thailand
Discussion
Got new tyres fitted this morning. Purchased Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's as I have done before.
To my horror these ones are stamped 'made in Thailand'. Previous ones were always made in Germany. They are 'E' marked though, so does this make them OK or should I be concerned?
A search on here brought up a 2 1/2 year old thread but that highlighted non E marked tyres. Like I said these ones are E marked.
To my horror these ones are stamped 'made in Thailand'. Previous ones were always made in Germany. They are 'E' marked though, so does this make them OK or should I be concerned?
A search on here brought up a 2 1/2 year old thread but that highlighted non E marked tyres. Like I said these ones are E marked.
soad said:
Probably just another form of cost-saving.
Should be fine, wouldn't worry too much. Reputable dealer/supplier of the said rubber?
Absolutely.Should be fine, wouldn't worry too much. Reputable dealer/supplier of the said rubber?
Labour and energy are expensive in Europe, cheap in Asia.
Pretty much all the rubber is grown in Thailand, so it makes sense to manufacture there. Containerised shipping is dirt cheap these days.
There were stories a few years back of the made in Thailand GSD3s being terrible; less grip, wore faster etc etc. Hopefully it was just teething problems from moving the production to Thailand, but I cant speak from experience as I've only ever had the made in Germany ones. (Which were fantastic!)
Drive Blind said:
JR said:
You're OK as long as they don't have the word polyester cast into the sidewall.
is this straight up or are you pulling my wire?Just checked them and they are indeed made of polyester,
Says something like '5 plies, 2 polyester, 2 steel, 1 nylon'
http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-4x4-va...
If they're emarked, they're legal.
Unfortunately I believe the GSD3 was made to different OEM standards, so depending on what stock blackcircles have bought you might not have got a true aftermarket wheel, but one designed for OE replacement.
Go have a drive on it. If you're happy then you're happy
Unfortunately I believe the GSD3 was made to different OEM standards, so depending on what stock blackcircles have bought you might not have got a true aftermarket wheel, but one designed for OE replacement.
Go have a drive on it. If you're happy then you're happy
jon- said:
If they're emarked, they're legal.
Unfortunately I believe the GSD3 was made to different OEM standards, so depending on what stock blackcircles have bought you might not have got a true aftermarket wheel, but one designed for OE replacement.
Go have a drive on it. If you're happy then you're happy
Yeah, I wasn't implying that they were illegal its just I've bought the same tyre from the same supplier 3 times now so I expect to get the same tyre each time.Unfortunately I believe the GSD3 was made to different OEM standards, so depending on what stock blackcircles have bought you might not have got a true aftermarket wheel, but one designed for OE replacement.
Go have a drive on it. If you're happy then you're happy
This time it seems I've got a different tyre. I suppose time will tell how well they perform compared to their german counterparts.
It will be interesting to hear what you think.
If I recall Goodyears official stance is tyres go through a number of evolutions throughout the life of a model and the change to polyester is part of that. The evolutions are either incremental improvements to the performance, or changes to the construction to make a safer tyre.
I think you'll find "orangecurrys" official stance is *b
ks* (where is he, this thread has been open at least 30 minutes...)
Personally I've no experience between the types so it will be great if you update this thread once you've put some miles on the new version.
If I recall Goodyears official stance is tyres go through a number of evolutions throughout the life of a model and the change to polyester is part of that. The evolutions are either incremental improvements to the performance, or changes to the construction to make a safer tyre.
I think you'll find "orangecurrys" official stance is *b
ks* (where is he, this thread has been open at least 30 minutes...)Personally I've no experience between the types so it will be great if you update this thread once you've put some miles on the new version.
Drive Blind said:
JR said:
You're OK as long as they don't have the word polyester cast into the sidewall.
is this straight up or are you pulling my wire?Just checked them and they are indeed made of polyester,
Says something like '5 plies, 2 polyester, 2 steel, 1 nylon'
Try this search: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=rayon+t...
Could be worse. The Tyres coulkd be made in the UK.
You have to be well educated to even work in a factory in Thailand its considered a good job, and many are proud to have such a job and commit themselves 100%. competition for such jobs is quite tough, and they dont think twice about sacking an employee who doesnt meet the mark.
As for materials, well i am pretty sure there is plenty of rubber, and the main manafacturers would have their tyres made to the same exacting standards wherever they were made.
It wouldnt make sense from a business point of view to cut back on standards.
You have to be well educated to even work in a factory in Thailand its considered a good job, and many are proud to have such a job and commit themselves 100%. competition for such jobs is quite tough, and they dont think twice about sacking an employee who doesnt meet the mark.
As for materials, well i am pretty sure there is plenty of rubber, and the main manafacturers would have their tyres made to the same exacting standards wherever they were made.
It wouldnt make sense from a business point of view to cut back on standards.
TheRoadWarrior said:
There were stories a few years back of the made in Thailand GSD3s being terrible; less grip, wore faster etc etc. Hopefully it was just teething problems from moving the production to Thailand, but I cant speak from experience as I've only ever had the made in Germany ones. (Which were fantastic!)
IIRC it was Chinese-made examples in question at the time, and the key difference a few folk had found was in sidewall stiffness rather than grip.
nottyash said:
As for materials, well i am pretty sure there is plenty of rubber, and the main manafacturers would have their tyres made to the same exacting standards wherever they were made.
It wouldnt make sense from a business point of view to cut back on standards.
Yes, that does make sense; if only it were true.It wouldnt make sense from a business point of view to cut back on standards.
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