Glossary

Symmetric tyre

Tyre tread design is symmetric. There is no restriction to install left, right, front or rear of the vehicle. When tyre is dismounted from the rim and flipped to install, the tyre tread direction is still the same.

Asymmetric tyre

Tyre tread deisgn is asymmetric. There is no restriction to install left, right, front or rear of the vehicle. OUTSIDE, INSIDE is indicated at the tyre sidewall, implying the sidewall facing outside of the rim and inside of the rim. Tyre tread direction is different when flipped and mount at the rim.

Directional tyre

Tyre tread deisgn is directional. There is restriction to install on the left or right (but not front or rear) of the vehicle. The tread design looks like an arrow pointing to a direction.

Comfort tyre

Tyre provides less noise, less bumpy ride. Comfort tyre normally have a lesser wear off and lesser petrol consumption. Economical, environmental friendly tyre is also considered as comfort tyre.

High performance tyre

Exactly opposite of comfort tyre. Tyre provides higher traction but may give a pumpy ride, have a higher wear off and higher petrol consumption. Extreme performance, Max performance tyre etc are also part of high performance tyre with higher traction.

Racing tyre (semi slick)

To imitate racing slick competition tyre and design to have tire tread to drive on the road. It provides higher traction than high performance tyre but its wet traction drastically decrease compared to high performance tyre.

Racing tyre (slick)

Used for racing competition, normally does not have any tread design.

Commerical tyre (van)

With additional layers and provides higher loading support for commercial vehicle. Tyre depth is normally deeper.

Tyre patch (plug)

The simplest way to patch the tyre by plugging in a string rubber

Tyre (internal) patch (hot and cold)

Cold internal patch by dismounting the tyre and patch inside to cover up the hole. Hot internal patch requires an equipment to melt the patch inside to cover up the hole.

Tyre balance

To evenly distribute the weight of the tyre by adding zinc on the rim before installing the wheel on the vehicle. (not to be misunderstood with wheel alignment)

Seasonal tyre

Categorize as summer tyres, winter tyres, and all season tyres. The all season tyres which is also meant for winter have tyre tread similar to winter tyres for snowing environment.

Tyre marking (OE tyres)

Particularly label behind the tyre size such as A0, T0, M0, N0, N1, etc. These specify the tyres are originally equipped on those particular brands which require the marking for continuous automobile warranty.

Vehicle alignment

By adjusting the angle of the wheel in order to drive smoothly. Angle can be adjusted according to drivers' needs for different driving habit. (not to be misunderstood with tyre balancing)

iStop

idle stop system. Automatically stop the engine from running when the vehicle stops.

Battery Type - EFB, AGM

Used on vehicles require iStop function

Maintenance Free Battery

Maintain by itself via chemical reaction, without requiring users to keep monitoring or adding water to it.

Run flat tyre (aka ZP, zero pressure)

Tyre can still support the vehicle (when it is at zero pressure) for some miles. Run flat tyre still require tyre patch.