Importing tyres

[Tony Nitrous]

One of the locals I ride with who imports and sells a few
(not on Nigels scale) is claiming all his are between 3 and 6 months old,
but he's real fussy about stuff like that. (EU imports)

He agree's as Nigel said, that storage is just as important.
Sat in shipping containers freezing in winter, cooking them
in a heatwave over time isnt good.

Personaly i'd question how many of us could tell the difference.

[Shifu]

Excellent summary Mono with good information for all who use Dunlops
I work with an engineer that used to work at Bridgestone here in Adelaide when they were making tyres for cars so I asked him about the tyre age issue. He said that the very fresh tyres are actually much less stable as the chemical reactions within the tire still going on after the vulkanisation process at the factory is finished. It can take up to 6 months for rubber to chemically stabilise. The reason for it is that the rubber does not like to be "rushed" so they use accelerators to speed up the process to get the production numbers as quick as possible. I know that he was talking about the car tyres but rubber is a rubber and the business is business.

[CeeJay07]

Your workmate is spot-on Shifu......the accelerator is a chemical additive to speed up rubber stabilisation....same as concretors use chemical additives to speed up the curing process in some jobs (although, if not handled correctly, can be prone to cracking)

[jeffro45]

Jeffro,

The Dunlop GP-A that you have purchased I believe are called a D211 GP-A - the D.O.T. approved ones.

We hold stock of these tyres (medium front & rear) at our warehouse and a pair sells for $585.00 + $20 delivered anywhere in Australia. You also get a bonus Dunlop N-Tec t-shirt with our deal.

The Dunlop D211 GP-A is the current control tyre for the ASBK Supersport/Superstock 600 series. We have been advised by Dunlop that this week have held all stock pending next weekend's round of ASBK at Willowbank.

The date on the pair of tyres we have on the shelf (which we received only last week) is Front 3110 (August 2010) and Rear 0412 (January 2012).

The stock we receive from Dunlop Australia is picked straight from the stock they use for the ASBK series.

So when the question is raised about the dates on the tyres, Dunlop only supply fresh stock to the racers which is what is then also supplied to us to make available to you guys.

If Dunlop say that a tyre is too old, then they send the tyre to scrap, it does not get sold. Bearing in mind, all tyres are made in batch quantities for economical manufacture and are to be stored until sold. So a new batch it not made until quantities are near exhausted. Some tyres e.g. OEM fitment tyres, they only make one batch and they can be sold up to 5 years later.

Overall, date of manufacture is only one component. It a tyre gets a bad name it will sit round for a lot longer. If a tyre gets a good name it will be constantly be reproduced because of high product sales.

Storage is probably more of a factor. Remembering, why do you get Apples all year round? Answer - they are stored for up to 2 years to get constant supply. If they can do that, then tyres should be a walk in the park!

Also, as we are one of the highest Dunlop resellers & stockest in Australia, we can supply the D211 GPA DOT treaded tyre. However, we have been clearly advised by Dunlop, it is not advised to use on the road because it is harder to keep a higher temperature, being in the medium compound (which is the only compound available in Australia) on our aggressive road surfaces. A totally different story on a race track because of its smooth bitumen which results in great heat transfer to the tyre.

Depending on what race meet / track day you go to, there are a few guys out there in the industry that sell at the track. Just double check exactly what tyres are being sold today at the track as what you have purchased I believe is the Dunlop D211 GPA.

There is a Dunlop tyre call an GPRa-11 which is a Dunlop Alpha 11 and it is "ZR" rated. This is a super sticky tyre. But the GPRa-11 tyre has been superseded by the GPRa-12 which is the current stock. Please note that the GPRa-12 is only a "H" rated tyre and not available in anything bigger than a 160 rear.

We have good supply of 190/50-17 GPRa-11 mid-late 2009 manufacture.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dunlop-Sportm...23199a3507

Would also like to point out that the D211 GPA is an an American made tyre which is a control tyre. This is to set the field all on equal rubber. This is by no means stating this is the ultimate tyre to ride on and it will always remain the bridesmaid to the D211 GP Racer Slick.

The current slick is made in France, and has come off being a control tyre last year, which has now been reduced in price down to $450 a pair. This French NTec is superior to the US control tyre and is also available in all compounds bare hard fronts.

Tyre sizes available are 120/70-17 fronts, 190/55-17 Rears and 200/55-17 Rears. Most 6" rim fitments go the 200. Price does not change.

There is also more race tyres available in the Dunlop range in the UK NTec K106 front & K108 rear. These are good for an extra 2 seconds around Phillip Island. That's if you can really hold a set of handlebars and don't mind paying near double the money.

Also, if you want the freshest Dunlop slick tyres, we have current stock from the latest container received by Dunlop Australia. These were manufactured in the middle of 2010. You will not get any fresher than that and these are from the same shipment that get sold at the track.

Also would like to point out if Dunlop believed these tyres to be too old an not give the required results on the track, they would be more than risking their name in the racing industry.

There is no control tyre in ASBK series next year, it is open slather ! So that will make it interesting !

If there are any questions that you want to know about Dunlop tyres, or any other tyres, please do not hesitate to ask. We work with Dunlop very closely, especially with all Dunlop race tyres.

BTW, here's a couple of links

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FREE-SHIRT-DU...231cacc117

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FREE-HOODIE-D...232124d365

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DUNLOP-SPORTM...231c9fa3a8

Or call 1800 MC TYRES.

We are the biggest motorcycle tyre warehouse in Australia.

Cheers,
MONO (Nigel)

Nigel,
Thanks so much for the information. You obviously know your stuff and its refreshing to hear that.
I will strongly consider using you in the future.
Cheers!
Jeffro

[bazman]

Hmmmmm.......ordered a set of B'stone BT-016's from JakeWilson.com at lunchtime on Thursday, just gone (6th Sept.)

They turned up at the front door today (Tue, 11th Sept.) at 10am!!

That's less than 3 business days to get here!!! (how the f*ck do they get them here so fast?!?)

   

And the date of manufacture.....

       

also, being the scrooge that I am...I had to get my monies worth....so in order to get maximum product shipped for the same shipping fee...i got a couple of extra goodies too!! lol

       

From every aspect...I am VERY happy with this deal!!! If any local businesses could match the price I paid, I would GLADLY shop locally....but alas, they can't....but the BIG question is >>> WHY!?!

[Greeny_SA]

Hmmmmm.......ordered a set of B'stone BT-016's from JakeWilson.com at lunchtime on Thursday, just gone (6th Sept.)

They turned up at the front door today (Tue, 11th Sept.) at 10am!!

That's less than 3 business days to get here!!! (how the f*ck do they get them here so fast?!?)



And the date of manufacture.....



also, being the scrooge that I am...I had to get my monies worth....so in order to get maximum product shipped for the same shipping fee...i got a couple of extra goodies too!! lol



From every aspect...I am VERY happy with this deal!!! If any local businesses could match the price I paid, I would GLADLY shop locally....but alas, they can't....but the BIG question is >>> WHY!?!

I suspect it's because of Greedy Middle men . The local bloke I USED to get tires from can't even buy tires from the importer at the price We can buy from the USA . Our Resellers need to band together & put some pressure on these Prick's or Don't sell their Brands .If we boycotted a particular Brand the Manufacturer May Look into these sweetheart Deals .

[grumpy]

Well i went ahead and ordered a Bridgestone S20 from Rocky Mountain on Thursday morning and it arrived Monday morning so the service is great. America to New Zealand 4 days i have had stuff take longer within N.Z. Its a 200/50/17 just wanted something abit bigger on the back, it was $269nzd to my door and the price for same tyre here in N.Z. is $400 retail so i will be bringing my tyres in from R.M. from now on and you can track it all the way to delivery.

[Landmine]

Changing your own tyres is not hard with rim protector and tapping up the caliper to protect rim during removal of wheels. Been thinking of building simple tyre changer and balancer. Have ordered some high tech plastic to ad to a lever for removal and replacement of tyres. Wish I have more time to build but is easy.

[Belzybob]

I suspect it's because of Greedy Middle men . The local bloke I USED to get tires from can't even buy tires from the importer at the price We can buy from the USA . Our Resellers need to band together & put some pressure on these Prick's or Don't sell their Brands .If we boycotted a particular Brand the Manufacturer May Look into these sweetheart Deals .

Absolutely spot on. It doesn't just apply to tyres, just compare almost every imported item. This morning I was looking at home theatre AV receivers and just about every decent brand was priced at almost twice the price it could be sourced from the US (regular prices, not one-off specials).

[Bill Gaheer]

Any experience in importing buying car or SUV tires.
I am due for tires for my beast :(. At only 12000K I only have 40% life left

Cheers
Bill