Buddhism and tyres

And being a monk in a faraway temple meant I had no access to electricity, plumbing, telephone or television. This allowed me to learn the principles of Buddhism from a rather strict head monk at the temple. 

Although I am not a strict Buddhist, I still remember the teachings I learned. The head monk taught me that in this world there is birth, age, sickness and death, which means nothing lasts forever, and there is nothing or no one who is right or wrong. It depends on whether and what we see in a person or thing. 

The reason I started this column in this way is that I got a question from a reader, who asked: “I have been using run-flat tyres that came as standard with the car and now it has covered 80,000kms, so I would like to replace them. But when I went to a tyre shop in the provinces, the owner of the shop said he didn’t have any run-flat tyres for sale. However, he said that I could replace them with normal tyres without any problems. So I’d like to know whether this is true or not. Or do I have to order run-flat tyres from Bangkok instead?” 

This question prompted me to think about the teaching in the temple, which is there is nothing that is perfect. In fact, run-flat tyres have been designed to allow the vehicle to travel farther if there is a puncture and there is no pressure left in them. 

The reason that run-flat tyres can keep going is that they have an extra-strong wall structure compared to normal ones. And most run-flat types are low-profile, meaning that the tyres walls are rather narrow. These qualities allow them to hold on to the wheel rims even without any air pressure. They won’t come free from the wheel because of the strong wall and because they wrap around the wheel strongly. 

While these are the good qualities of run-flats, there are some bad points, just as Buddhist philosophy points out. Due to the low profile and the hard walls, run-flat tyres don’t absorb vibrations very well. So cars with these tyres usually suffer from lots of vibration and shock when travelling over poor roads. And because they are really hard, run-flats have a high level of humming noise than normal tyres when driven over concrete roads. They are stiff and are difficult to remove and install. Inexperienced mechanics could easily damage these tyres or scrape the wheels when using metal tools. The price of run-flats are also considerably higher than normal tyres. 

So when the shop owner suggests that you can use normal tyres, I agree with him. What you will get is more comfort and lower noise, along with having to pay less money. 

But also bear in mind that if there is a puncture, you will not be able to continue driving. However, you can use special chemical products that prevent the air from leaking out. They can be purchased at department stores, but everything depends on you the driver and you who have to pay for everything. 

Speaking about low-profile run-flat tyres, let me elaborate that low-profile tyres, due to their hard walls, usually provide lower comfort levels than higher profile tyres. And low-profile tyres should be inflated with higher pressure so that the shock from the road surface does not reach the wheel rims and hence cause damage. 

And no matter which type of tyre you use, make it a habit to check the pressure at least once a week. This is an important thing that every motorist should follow. Also, when travelling upcountry at higher speeds than in the city, pump in a couple more of psi into each tyre. Apart from improved steering accuracy, you can also lower the chances of tyres blowing up, since under-inflated tyres are likely to suffer from overheating than over-inflated tyres.