Stapleton’s exclusive car tyre range geared to retail partners’ needs

Stapleton’s has restated its commitment to the constant development of its passenger car tyre offering. “What we’re incessantly asking ourselves is ‘who exactly are we doing all this for?’” says Nigel O’Hara, Stapleton’s wholesale director. “And the answer is, that everything we do is for our retail partners first and foremost – and by extension for their own customers. And we do that in direct response to our customers’ requests – more choice at every price point without compromising performance is high on our retailers’ wish list every time we ask how we can help them compete.” The wholesaler says its range of exclusive car tyre brands are assembled to offer “affordable choice without compromise”.

Maxxis represents a good example of this, with recent investment in its Shanghai proving ground and its motorsport pedigree earned through involvement in a broad range of disciplines. The brand has used them as inspiration for its road tyres, producing tyres like the Victra MA510 and the Victra Sport VS-01. The former features an aggressive tread design, four circumferential grooves that offer superior water dispersion and wet traction, and chunky shoulder blocks for superb handling and stability; the VS-01 meanwhile is designed to provide high-speed performance and driving stability in dry and wet driving conditions, as well as a quiet and comfortable ride. The manufacturer recently launched the Premitra HP5 too, a car tyre described as a “huge step forward”.

Another Stapleton’s exclusive is Nexen, which boasts 20 per cent share in its domestic Korean market. The wholesaler characterises the manufacturer’s tyres as possessing “quiet, fuel-efficient performance”. The N’Blue Eco offers fuel efficiency with wet grip – its four wide, optimised grooves shift water, and its asymmetric pattern yields greater wet grip. The optimised asymmetric grooves also feature in the N8000 a summer UHP tyre whose four asymmetric grooves and special shoulder and rib blocks deliver handling in the wet and dry.

Stapleton’s also stocks Conti’s Matador brand with tyres like the MP44 and MP16. The former’s asymmetrical pattern and stiff circumferential ribs increase wet and dry braking, while wide circumferential grooves and open inside shoulders add aquaplaning protection. It is available in 34 15 and 16-inch sizes. The MP16 covers 33 sizes between 13 and 15 inches, featuring closed outer shoulder and wide tread blocks for precision steering response, cornering stability and traction. The range also features a tread-wear indicator between the tyres grooves to inform the driver of the amount of remaining tread.

Event Tyres are relatively new to the Stapleton’s range, but the wholesaler says the company has “earned its place… by virtue of its exemplary research and development and testing facilities and its commitment to using state-of-the-art production processes”. The company’s Futurum HP – a high performance summer tyre whose tread pattern is designed with today’s generation of cars in mind – has excellent water expulsion, wet and dry handling and noise ratings. The wholesaler calls Event “a name to watch”.

Having joined in 2015, Riken is another relatively new member of Stapleton’s range, though it has been on European markets since 1917, and is now a brand within the Michelin Group. 65 passenger car sizes are available now, with more range developments planned. Typifying Riken’s passenger car range is the Maystorm 2, whose directional tread pattern, with three wide longitudinal grooves, delivers great stability and highly effective water evacuation, while the Allstar2 is a classic summer touring tyre combining the same water expulsion capabilities with great wet and dry braking and cornering stability.