33 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

Just a few thoughts on tires for the Seal.

At around 25,000 km, my original tires had reached the end of their life. I’d also been wanting to go slightly wider. With the Seal’s 8-inch wide wheels, a 245/45 R19 fits without issue and may even help reduce the dreaded curb rash. While the circumference isn’t identical to stock, the difference is only a few percent—roughly comparable to the difference between new and worn tires anyway.

My main goal was to avoid spending THB 15,000 per tire on new Michelin's. After some research, I narrowed things down to the Otani K1000, a tire marketed specifically for EVs. I’d seen a fair number of comments on Facebook and also bounced ideas off various AI tools to compare brands and models commonly available in Thailand. Overall, the K1000 consistently came up as offering a very good price-to-performance ratio, with generally positive feedback.

Long story short: I had them fitted a couple of days ago, and I’m genuinely surprised—in a good way.

I haven’t driven them in the rain yet, and 'racing' isn’t really my thing anyway, but so far the tires are noticeably quieter than the original Continentals and also more comfortable over minor road imperfections. Naturally, big bumps and rumble strips still feel like big bumps and rumble strips—no miracle there, especially given how many speed bumps we have around here.

The big unknown, of course, is longevity. Will they last another 25,000 km, less, or maybe even more? Only time will tell. That said, I probably won’t keep the car long enough for it to matter much to me personally—but for now, I’m very happy with the choice.

 

What are you guys doing doing when the time is up for new shoes?

For a few weeks i have been thinking of writing a post about changing my tyres on my Seal.

At 38k but still a bit of tread left i figured i could wait till 42/45k next year 

I had been thinking about Michelin’s as they are the most reported on FB posts but always open to options, especially cheaper ones.

Here is a photo I took from a favourable FB post back in April:

 

 

Am not a racer, hence my 1.5/2 mm tread left before hitting the wear indicators but have noticed an increase in road noise which is my usual decision to change tyres.

 

Let me know how you get on with the Otani’s .

How much did you pay for your tyres?

 

You could probably have gone up to 255's.  I did but my wheels are slightly wider (I think).

 

@mistral53

Where you say, "....reached the end of their life....", do you mean they had worn down to the wear nubs/bars? 

 

Also, what was the price per tire for the Otani K1000?  

 

Thanks.

1 hour ago, Pib said:

 

@mistral53

Where you say, "....reached the end of their life....", do you mean they had worn down to the wear nubs/bars? 

 

Also, what was the price per tire for the Otani K1000?  

 

Thanks.

 

Almost down to the wear bars, a bit closer than the the tire in your pic, I could have pushed it a little more, but I felt like the tires were becoming hard as bricks and really noisy.

 

@JBChiangRai - I am almost embarrassed to report the price, it's so bloody low:  THB 4,500 per tire, installed. 

 

 

Thanks...similar pricing on Lazada.

 

If by wild chance you have a tire tread depth gauge, what depth is the new tire tread?

I tend to change tyres at the wear bars in dry season and quite a bit above that if heading into the rainy season.

18 hours ago, mistral53 said:

 

Almost down to the wear bars, a bit closer than the the tire in your pic, I could have pushed it a little more, but I felt like the tires were becoming hard as bricks and really noisy.

 

@JBChiangRai - I am almost embarrassed to report the price, it's so bloody low:  THB 4,500 per tire, installed. 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Pib said:

Thanks...similar pricing on Lazada.

 

If by wild chance you have a tire tread depth gauge, what depth is the new tire tread?

 

Got the tread depth info for the Otani tires....it's 6.7mm for your pictured tires above assuming Otani tires sold in Thailand are the same as those sold in Europe.  See below weblinks for detailed info.

 

I will note one thing regarding the tire tread depth, when I looked-up the Otani size KN2000 215/55/18 which is the tire size what came with my Atto it says the Otani new tire tread depth will be 6.7mm.  That is in comparison to the Atlas Batman A51 215/55/18 tires that came as OEM tires when the car was brand new which had a tread depth of 8.0mm.   Tread depth is a key indictor of how many kilometers the tire will provide along with some other factors like the rubber composition, vehicle weight, how the vehicle is driven, etc....but tread depth is the key starting point to get an idea of how many kilometers the tire will probably last for. 

 

I just measured the remaining tread depth on my Atto's Atlas Batman tires and they have 6.2mm left from the stating 8.0mm after 2 yrs, 2 months, 56,600km of driving....they'll probably make 80,000km if the rubber don't get too hard and start making too much noise/vibration.  Assuming the rubber don't get too hard,  I'll probably replace them once they go under 4.0mm tread depth (say around 3.6mm) remaining which is twice the legal 1.6/2.0mm legal/safe limit.  And typically once a tire drops below 3.6-4.0mm in tread depth (twice the legal limit) is when most tire manufacturers say the tires "wet" weather grip will start to be noticeably reduced although it's still considered to have OK-fine tread depth remaining since it still has twice more than the legal minimum depth. 

 

But come tire replacement time for my Atto I'm still going to give serious consideration to Otani tires because of their low pricing (vs just paying a high price for some super well known tire name whose actual quality may not be any or much better)...and also the Otani tire good low  noise rating (i.e., quiet on the road).   Thanks for putting Otani tires on my radar screen come tire replacement time...heck, I hadn't even heard of the Otani brand until your post and then doing a bunch of googling which shows they are sold worldwide for all kinds of vehicles.  

 

https://eu.otanityre.com/otani-product/pcr-tyres-pcr-157/kn1000-1666

 

 

https://eprel.ec.europa.eu/screen/product/tyres/2082880

Anybody consider EV specific tyres?

 

 

From looking at the new tire label "rating" method it seems a person should typically go for a tire that has at least a B-B-B label rating....that is a B for rolling resistance....a B for wet grip....and a B for noise.    Of course a A-A-A  rating would be even better but I'm not sure any tire has that good of across-the-board rating...and with such a rating I expect the price would be high!

 

Understanding the Tire Label

https://energy-efficient-products.ec.europa.eu/product-list/tyres_en#tyre-label-section

I found it interesting to ask AI to tell me what's on offer in Thailand for my car and then asked it to compare noise, wear, grip in wet & dry conditions etc.

 

It leads me to Falken for my PHEV when needed.

13 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I found it interesting to ask AI to tell me what's on offer in Thailand for my car and then asked it to compare noise, wear, grip in wet & dry conditions etc.

 

It leads me to Falken for my PHEV when needed.

I did a quick look at some Falken catalogs regarding tread depth for some of their passenger car tires.....they seem to be around 7.9mm which is going to give a person a good amount more kilometers than a tire with 6.7mm tread depth.

Two more reasons I went with the Otani: 

 

- Otani tires are made locally by a Thai company, so I expect a good value as probably most of the supply chain is also local - think Thai rubber, furthermore, supporting local manufacturers gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling  

 

- tires are probably fairly recent manufacture, in this case week 25, 2025

 

And yes - the K1000 is an EV specific tire

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

Anybody consider EV specific tyres?

 

 

 

I didn't watch above video at normal speed but did watch it kinda a fast forward speed when it first came out...found it interesting.

 

If a tire shop tries to tell a person they really need to buy EV-specific/labeled tires (probably priced significantly higher) for their EV as non EV-specific tires like put on ICE vehicles is the wrong way to go...or maybe even try to say it's could be a safety issue then it's time to leave that shop as they are just trying to sell an overpriced tire, scare you into spending more money.

10 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

Two more reasons I went with the Otani: 

 

- Otani tires are made locally by a Thai company, so I expect a good value as probably most of the supply chain is also local - think Thai rubber, furthermore, supporting local manufacturers gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling  

 

- tires are probably fairly recent manufacture, in this case week 25, 2025

 

And yes - the K1000 is an EV specific tire

Where did you buy them from ?

 

A Google search brings up the usual suspects on a map showing their location to me but individually i can’t find them at Cockpit, Tyres Plus or Be-Quik .

There is a place, Otani Ayutthaya, which appears to have them but the reviews ( of the shop ) are not good.

21 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

Two more reasons I went with the Otani: 

 

- Otani tires are made locally by a Thai company, so I expect a good value as probably most of the supply chain is also local - think Thai rubber, furthermore, supporting local manufacturers gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling  

 

- tires are probably fairly recent manufacture, in this case week 25, 2025

 

And yes - the K1000 is an EV specific tire

I see from the picture it has a tread wear rating of 420 which means it should last in the 40,000 to 50,000 miles ballpark.  My Atto's Atlas Batman  A51 OEM tires have a 440 rating falling in the same 40-50K miles ballpark.  See below weblink for tirewear rating explanation.

 

https://www.tires-easy.com/blog/treadwear-rating/?srsltid=AfmBOooEO0zxnNdBYApj1LR8ENIcbjyvm6AhhF-0UvteTxsAh0MEbjBi

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Where did you buy them from ?

 

A Google search brings up the usual suspects on a map showing their location to me but individually i can’t find them at Cockpit, Tyres Plus or Be-Quik .

There is a place, Otani Ayutthaya, which appears to have them but the reviews ( of the shop ) are not good.

 

From this chain:  https://www.tyreplus.co.th/en  - and you are right, they don't list them on their very poor web presence (which is quite normal for Thai companies)

I should mention that they had to order the tires, took about a week - but that has probably more to do with the fact that I did not go with the OEM size.

 

As I mentioned, I had a quite extensive chat with different AI's - ChatGPT even gave me locations, prices etc. I would be very surprised if Otani being a Thai company is not on the menu in most of the chain stores.

 

As a side note........... you really are still using Google? 

In a previous engineering life, I used to do lots of km and others in similar situations swore by Michalean tyres. So we all had those tyres on our work cars.

Saw one tyre with 100000km.

Suppose there's a reason for their reputation.

My 2009 Toyota Fortuner came new with OEM Michelan tires.  I had to change them at approx 85k km....not because there was not enough tread left to probably go another 30K km before hitting the wear nubs, but because the rubber got too hard (i.e., dried out) and started causing tire vibration at around 80kmh and above....and when braking hard.

 

Had an alignment done, tires rebalanced, and brake rotors/drums turned along with new pads....none of this helped.   Close inspection of tires didn't show any problems like flat spots, uneven wear, etc.

 

Changed the tires and the problem immediately disappeared...smooth riding again.  

I have heard that the price of BYD EV cars will increase after 01Jan26 due to Government removing EV subsidies. Does anyone have any info on this? I have found conflicting reports and  that Tax is reducing from 8% to 2%

Was thinking of getting one.

Thanks

@Oink I was in the BYD showroom two hours ago, I’m thinking of ordering a Dolphin at the weekend for my youngest daughter.

 

They said the standard range is available in grey metallic and black. I asked about white, and they said it is available in white, but none were available and she was cagey about when and if they would be making more white ones.  Clearly she doesn’t want me to order white, which is my daughter‘s favourite colour unfortunately.

 

I did say if I order one I would want delivery next year and she was OK with that, she never mentioned anything about a price increase.

31 minutes ago, Oink said:

I have heard that the price of BYD EV cars will increase after 01Jan26 due to Government removing EV subsidies. Does anyone have any info on this? I have found conflicting reports and  that Tax is reducing from 8% to 2%

Was thinking of getting one.

Thanks

Yes...maybe....or maybe not.  

 

The govt is "not" removing EV subsidies but the subsidies are less under EV3.5.  The excise tax is not changing except excise tax on PHEVs.  It's a complicated thing (definitely too complicated for my pea-sized brain to fully comprehend) which involves much more than just subsidies that catches customer's attention but also "penalties/fines" on the vehicle vehicle manufacturers if they fail to meet "in-Thailand" production requirements in the EV3.0 and EV3.5 agreements....oh yea, also depends on whether the car was imported or made in Thailand.

 

Below is some AI explanation of EV3.0 and EV3.5 although the AI explanation doesn't really go into the penalties/fines aspects.  And of course the ongoing price-war, new competition coming into the EV market,  tariffs, etc., are also factors as to "if" EVs prices will increase next year...if they do how much will the increase be, etc.

 

AI Overview

Thailand's EV 3.0 (2022-2025) offered higher subsidies (up to 150k THB) and tax breaks for imported EVs with a 1:1 production offset, while EV 3.5 (2024-2027) shifts focus to promoting

local EV ecosystems with slightly lower subsidies (50k-100k THB) and stricter, escalating domestic production/assembly requirements (1:2 or 1:3 ratio), making EV 3.0 a last chance for bigger upfront savings on imports, but EV 3.5 secures future local production benefits. 

EV 3.0 (2022-2025)

• Goal: Rapid market stimulation & investment attraction.
• Subsidies: Higher (70k-150k THB).
• Taxes: Lower import duties, restructured excise tax.
• Offset: 1:1 local production requirement (fulfilled by 2025/2026).
• Benefit: Maximize upfront price cuts on imported models (like Chinese BEVs). 

EV 3.5 (2024-2027)

• Goal: Continuous growth & building a complete local EV industry.
• Subsidies: Lower (50k-100k THB).
• Taxes: Similar structure, but focused on domestic investment.
• Offset: Stricter, escalating ratio (1:2 by 2026, 1:3 by 2027).
• Benefit: Support for new players & deeper ecosystem investment (components, batteries). 

Key Differences for Buyers

• Price: EV 3.0 offered bigger immediate price drops; EV 3.5 sees prices rise as incentives adjust, but also boosts local options.
• Timing: Buying now under EV 3.0 (before Dec 31, 2025) maximizes current subsidies, but EV 3.5 ensures long-term local availability.
• Focus: EV 3.0 was about importing and offsetting ; EV 3.5 is about making EVs in Thailand. 

In Short: EV 3.0 was the "get a cheap imported EV now" phase; EV 3.5 is the "build the whole supply chain here" phase, with less direct consumer subsidy but stronger long-term local industry goals. 

 

Thailand's EV 3.0 and EV 3.5 incentive schemes differ primarily in the amount of subsidies offered, the eligible price range of vehicles, and the deadlines for domestic production compensation. 

Here is a detailed comparison of the two programs:

 

Benefit	EV 3.0 (2022-2025)	EV 3.5 (2024-2027)
Subsidy (THB/unit)	70,000 – 150,000	20,000 – 100,000 (lower than EV3.0)
Max Vehicle Price	Up to 2 million THB	Up to 7 million THB (for certain incentives)
Import Duty Cut (CBU)	Up to 40% (for Chinese imports)	Maintained, but specific models may get 0%

 

 

 

40 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

@Oink I was in the BYD showroom two hours ago, I’m thinking of ordering a Dolphin at the weekend for my youngest daughter.

 

They said the standard range is available in grey metallic and black. I asked about white, and they said it is available in white, but none were available and she was cagey about when and if they would be making more white ones.  Clearly she doesn’t want me to order white, which is my daughter‘s favourite colour unfortunately.

 

I did say if I order one I would want delivery next year and she was OK with that, she never mentioned anything about a price increase.

 

I bet if you would ask any BYD dealership salesperson what will be the price after the end of the current promotion they would give a "deer-in-the-headlights, don't have a clue" type answer because of three main reasons:   (1) I bet they get orders not to talk any future pricing/promotion that is not already publicly posted like on the Rever website,  (2) they don't want to endanger any current reservations, and  (3) PO recent customers who have just received they new red-tagged BYD vehicle if there was a price-drop/extra benefit (or at least not PO the customer until the promotion goes public).

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

@Oink I was in the BYD showroom two hours ago, I’m thinking of ordering a Dolphin at the weekend for my youngest daughter.

 

They said the standard range is available in grey metallic and black. I asked about white, and they said it is available in white, but none were available and she was cagey about when and if they would be making more white ones.  Clearly she doesn’t want me to order white, which is my daughter‘s favourite colour unfortunately.

 

I did say if I order one I would want delivery next year and she was OK with that, she never mentioned anything about a price increase.

Aren't the BYD Dolphins made in Thailand?

49 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

Aren't the BYD Dolphins made in Thailand?

Yes they are, she confirmed that.

On 10/16/2025 at 4:16 PM, mistral53 said:

Looks as if the 2025/26 model Seal is heading to Thailand, probably for release at or before the show in 6 weeks

 

 

You were saying?

4 hours ago, FarangFB said:

 

You were saying?

Ha !

Yes, quite surprising what has happened to the Seal here in Thailand.

Stock being sold off with no updated model in sight yet at the EXPO it was up there on the infographic proudly boasting the reduced price as if all was normal.

It appears to be selling better than ever elsewhere, especially in the U.K. !!

 

Europe and the U.K. have had a couple of OTA’s which we, and AUS, are apparently exempt ( although the new UI isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and the update this week has stopped access to OBD data which has upset a few ).

 

In fact, the UI on the Thai Seal appears to be getting more simplified.

I can’t find the:

SiM Network settings ( True )

The optional AVAS sounds ( Standard/Brand )

The setting to adjust the volume of indicators .

 

Since we last had an update to UI the amount of content has been reduced …. or is it the amount of my brain cells that is reducing ( rhetorical question !! ).

12 hours ago, FarangFB said:

 

You were saying?

Yes - that is a head scratcher, indeed.

8 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Ha !

Yes, quite surprising what has happened to the Seal here in Thailand.

Stock being sold off with no updated model in sight yet at the EXPO it was up there on the infographic proudly boasting the reduced price as if all was normal.

It appears to be selling better than ever elsewhere, especially in the U.K. !!

 

Europe and the U.K. have had a couple of OTA’s which we, and AUS, are apparently exempt ( although the new UI isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and the update this week has stopped access to OBD data which has upset a few ).

 

In fact, the UI on the Thai Seal appears to be getting more simplified.

I can’t find the:

SiM Network settings ( True )

The optional AVAS sounds ( Standard/Brand )

The setting to adjust the volume of indicators .

 

Since we last had an update to UI the amount of content has been reduced …. or is it the amount of my brain cells that is reducing ( rhetorical question !! ).

 

If the Seal UI is like the Atto UI see below to find the settings you are looking for.  It's not very intuitive IMO....but the BYD software programmers must think it is.

 

SIM network setting

- Press Settings (gear icon) > Link > then start "rapid, repeated" tapping of "Cellular Data" words and Network Settings will open.

 

AVAS Sounds

On home screen swipe down till icons appear.  Look for an Icon named "Engine Sound Simulator"...when it's highlighted the sound will play when the cat is moving...not moving no sound.   To play the sound while parked/not moving go to Settings (gear) > Audio Display > Notifications > Press Play under AVAS Sound Source banner.  The Engine Sound Simulator Source must be on to hear the Standard/Brand sound you want to play...it will play for about 5 seconds and stop.  And on that same screen you see the Standard/Brand setting titled Vehicle Prompt Sound.

 

Adjustment for indicators volume

On that same screen when the AVAS Sound Source and Vehicle Prompt Sound Settings are there is a "Vehicle Prompt Volume"" where the volume can be set to Low, Mid, or High.

 

 

1 hour ago, Pib said:

 

If the Seal UI is like the Atto UI see below to find the settings you are looking for.  It's not very intuitive IMO....but the BYD software programmers must think it is.

 

SIM network setting

- Press Settings (gear icon) > Link > then start "rapid, repeated" tapping of "Cellular Data" words and Network Settings will open.

 

AVAS Sounds

On home screen swipe down till icons appear.  Look for an Icon named "Engine Sound Simulator"...when it's highlighted the sound will play when the cat is moving...not moving no sound.   To play the sound while parked/not moving go to Settings (gear) > Audio Display > Notifications > Press Play under AVAS Sound Source banner.  The Engine Sound Simulator Source must be on to hear the Standard/Brand sound you want to play...it will play for about 5 seconds and stop.  And on that same screen you see the Standard/Brand setting titled Vehicle Prompt Sound.

 

Adjustment for indicators volume

On that same screen when the AVAS Sound Source and Vehicle Prompt Sound Settings are there is a "Vehicle Prompt Volume"" where the volume can be set to Low, Mid, or High.

 

 

Spot on with all 3 @Pib.

 

Don’t know how I missed the 2 audio queries ( now where did I put my Alzheimer’s medication ? ).

 

That Network settings answer is new to me though, it does indeed work but I seem to recall it was accessed without doing the rapid clicking trick.

It has been a while since, but my fading memory tells me that it used to be accessed by just clicking a Network heading ? 
I took a look before when the SIM card was to be changed to see Sing-Tel and looked again after to see True.

 

All irrelevant now of course but handy to know.

 

 

Don't worry...you don't have Alzhemers.  But us BYD owners are afflicted by BYD OTA updates which move and rename UI settings which can be non-intuitive in numerous cases IMO. 

 

I sure now when the last Atto OTA update (Ver 1.8) for Thailand occurred back in June 2025 which renamed & moved around quite a few settings it took me a while to sniff-out the new names/locations....and I had to do a lot of sniffing.

 

I liked a lot of changes UI changes...but not all.  Some changes just seemed nowhere close to being intuitive.  Oh well, what can a person do....software settings/icons continue their March to get rid of hardware knobs and switches.