Oudshoorn slams Chinese silica mixing

ERJ staff report (DS)

Mumbai, India -- Speaking at a press event in India, Rob Oudshoorn, CEO of Vredestein Tyres said that on a recent tour of China's tyre factories, he saw poor mixing practices, and concluded that some of China's tyre makers do not understand silica mixing.

He said, "I came back from China, I saw many tyres being made. Those guys have no clue about what the real compound should be. They put silica in there, but they have no clue how much." He added, "too much is not good either for wear and tear."

Oudshoorn said his observations have been confirmed by magazine tyre tests in Europe. A series of such tests have tested wet braking and concluded that even the top Chinese brands tend to perform badly in comparison with premium European tyres. Oudshoorn suggested that the Chinese tyres selected for those tests are the top Chinese brands and that lesser brands from that region may perform even less well.

Oudshoorn noted that the price differential between these tyres and other brands may be as little as euro 15 per tyre, and that is a small price to pay for improved safety. He said the tyre labels scheduled to come into force in Europe in 2012 should help consumers to realise these differences.

In response to a comment that Chinese tyre makers are catching up, Oudshoorn agreed that might be true in truck tyres, but noted that "still, wet grip in passenger car tyres is not so good."