GEORGE TOWN: A veteran tyreman can tell a tyre’s quality just by touch and even its smell.
He will feel the rubber’s smooth softness, the texture of the treads and even smell the compound to get a sense of the tyre’s age and authenticity.
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But such cues come only from many years’ experience, so workshop owners are urging car owners to be careful when buying tyres following reports of tyres found with falsified manufacturing dates, and tampered labels.
Seow Jin Teik, 70, who has been operating a tyre shop here for over five decades, said experienced mechanics could instantly feel when a tyre is old or of inferior quality.
“When it’s newly-made, the rubber feels softer.
“If the sidewall date has been changed or the tyre has been in storage for too long, I will know once I press on it,” he said.
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He added that his stock comes directly from authorised distributors and that buyers should avoid workshops offering tyres at unusually low prices.
“The tyres are the only contact your car has with the road. Saving a few ringgit isn’t worth the risk,” he said.
Mechanic Irwan Ahmad, 35, said the tread pattern, sidewall texture, and even smell could alert him of counterfeit or aged tyres.
“For those of us who handle them daily, it’s obvious. But ordinary buyers can’t tell.
“Always look for certification marks and the safest thing to do is always get your tyres from trusted dealers,” he said.
Another mechanic, June Lee, 43, said motorists should not assume that tyres looking “new” are safe.
“Check the sidewall date and feel the rubber. Genuine ones are firm yet supple when you press on it.
“Tyres stored too long can look shiny and feel stiff,” he said.
Lee advised drivers to report online sellers or workshops offering prices that seem too good to be true.
The warnings come after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) launched Ops Grip earlier this month with eight major tyre manufacturers and enforcement agencies.
The raids uncovered imported tyres sold through unauthorised distributors, labels tampered to hide origin countries, and manufacturing dates altered to pass off old stock as new.
Several company and personal bank accounts amounting to about RM70mil have since been frozen as part of the investigation.
