February 2009 - Tyrepress

Uniroyal’s Rallye4x4 Street Makes a Splash

Uniroyal has built up something of a reputation for delivering good wet weather performance, and its Rallye4x4Street is said to be no exception. The 4×4 segment tyre features Uniroyal’s trademark double V-tread, which the manufacturer says offers excellent performance in wet conditions by dispersing water away from the tyre’s contact patch. This is, says Uniroyal, the most effective protection against aquaplaning. By choosing Uniroyal, it adds, the driver has opted for wet weather safety and the retailer possesses a unique selling position and clear message for the customer.

27th February 2009/by admin

New Sizes for Toyo Regional Radial

Toyo Tire USA Corp. has added two new sizes to its Toyo M154 regional highway radial. The new sizes are 265/75R22.5 and 245/75R22.5, both in load range G.

Released last year, the M154 incorporates Toyo’s proprietary “e-balance” technology for endurance and irregular wear resistance. Toyo said the tyre is “ideal for steer applications, but well suited for use in any position” and “helps to reduce fuel consumption while delivering reliable operation.” (Tire Review/Akron)

27th February 2009/by admin

Marangoni to Restructure “Tyre Retreading” Business Area

“Our company, like other companies that operate in the tyre sector, is not, and has not been, an island in itself.“ With these words, Brenno Benaglia explains the reach of the current economic recession and its consequences, which are shaping up to be structural rather than cyclical. Despite a clear cut in truck and passenger car retread production and sales figures, the sales & marketing director for Marangoni’s Tyre Retreading business area points out that the Italian company is sticking to the growth and expansion strategy it presented two years ago.

27th February 2009/by admin

Bridgestone Motorsport Announces F1 Tyre Specifications

Formula One tyre supplier Bridgestone has announced the compound allocations of its Potenza tyres for the first five rounds of the 2009 season. This year sees the return of slick tyres to Formula One after an eleven-season absence, and their comeback enables the implementation of softer rubber compounds – and this means more mechanical grip is available for competitors. This change, says Bridgestone, is significant for teams and drivers and is accompanied by considerable changes to the car aerodynamic packages, designed to reduce downforce and stimulate overtaking.

27th February 2009/by admin

Matrac X3 Tops Marshal 4×4 Range

The ever-increasing range of Marshal 4×4 tyres is available through nationwide, distributor Bond International.

Street Tyres – KL17, KL12 and KL51

The Matrac X3 KL17 range recently introduced for top line SUVs includes most popular sizes for 17 to 22-inch rims, including Y speed rated and XL fitments. The tyre’s key features include stability at high speed, excellent traction, durability and powerful braking performance. The high performance Matrac STX KL12 SUV tyre is engineered to combine extreme wet weather performance with stylish appearance. It is available in sizes from 15-inch through to 28-inch and H, V and W speed ratings. Another relatively recent introduction is the Road Venture PT KL51. Available in sizes from 15 to 18-inches, this all-purpose street touring tyre provides excellent all-season traction, extended mileage performance and a quiet ride.

27th February 2009/by admin

EC Approves Automotive Assistance Programme

The European Commission (EC) has given the UK has been given the green light to offer £1 billion of loans and loan guarantees as well as loan guarantees through the European Investment Bank (EIB) enabling funding of up to £1.3 billion. Business minister Ian Pearson said: “We are grateful to the Commission for its swift response and approval of our state aid application. We welcome applications for the Automotive Assistance Programme that’s now up and running…Our package will support both manufacturers and larger automotive suppliers in delivering the new investment that will be vital in ensuring the industry comes out of the current downturn with the skills and technology needed to be competitive in the global automotive market.”

27th February 2009/by admin

Watts Launches Sherpa Industrial Pneumatic Tyre Range

Watts Tyre Group has launched its latest industrial pneumatic tyre, the Sherpa range. According to the company, Sherpa has been designed to outperform other tyres in its class through design, construction and materials. Internal laboratory tests have shown that that range is “highly durable” and “performs exceptionally across a range of applications and environments.”

Watts CEO Jean-Paul Mindermann commented: “We are very pleased to bring this product to market, it is an exceptional tyre and one that we believe will establish us as a true contender in the premium sector with a price/quality ratio which will be hard to beat…Our dealer and OEM partners highlighted to us that they wanted a high performance pneumatic product and so we have produced one.”

27th February 2009/by admin

Michelin Tyres Highly Recommended in European Test

Michelin reports its Energy Saver and Primacy HP tyres recently walked away with a “highly recommendable” rating in testing by the German motorist’s association ADAC and its Austrian and Swiss counterparts. Both tyres, representing 85 per cent of the summer passenger car tyres produced by the Michelin Group, received this highest rating in a comparative evaluation of eighteen different 185/60 R 14 H tyres and nineteen 205/55 R 16 W tyres.

27th February 2009/by admin

Bandvulc Wins Supplier Award from Key Partner

Bandvulc Tyres is celebrating after being awarded “Supplier of the Year” by one of its key partners, Tructyre Fleet Management, for the second consecutive year. The criteria for the award is how well a company, whether they be a tyre, vehicle or ancillary supplier, measures up in terms of supplier performance, and commenting on the win, Bandvulc sales channel manager Tony Doyle said “It’s very nice for a supplier to recognise the hard work that all of the team at Bandvulc put into customer services and especially satisfying that we were able to maintain the hard work and commitment and for it to be recognised.”

27th February 2009/by admin

New Advantage T/A, New G-Force Sizes Coming

Michelin North America has launched the new BFGoodrich Advantage T/A and added H- and V-rated sizes to the g-Force Super Sport A/S. Available on 1 March in 17 different H- and V-rated sizes for touring vehicle fitments, the Advantage T/A features a non-directional tread design with new “g-Grip” interlocking siping for all-weather traction and handling, the familiar BFGoodrich performance tyre aesthetics, “Equal Tension Containment System” for a consistent footprint, and “g-Wedge” sidewall stabilizer for added strength and handling capabilities. The tyre comes with a 60,000-mile limited treadwear warranty.

Coming in May will be 16 new H- and V-rated sizes for the g-Force Super Sport A/S line, covering 14- to 18-inch wheel diameters. Included are four extra load sizes. “We understand that consumers want to drive their performance vehicle in different weather conditions – without sacrificing grip in wet, dry and snow,” said Tricia Linder, MNA brand category manager for BFGoodrich tyres. “The 16 additional sizes to the g-Force Super Sport A/S tyre line will give more drivers the opportunity to experience year-round control through BFGoodrich’s track heritage providing the performance expected from a tyre, regardless of the weather.” (Tire Review/Akron)

27th February 2009/by admin

Bridgestone E-reporter Contest Now Open to Part-Time Students

With just four weeks before the closing date for entries, Bridgestone has announced that eligibility for its e-reporter contest has been extended to part-time students. Any student from within Europe studying any part-time course can now submit an entry, the company says.

Students can submit their e-reporter entry online at www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter anytime before Tuesday 31 March 2009. As part of their entry, candidates will need to demonstrate that they have the journalistic flair required to write a newsworthy story and develop creative interview questions. This year, entries can be submitted in English, Dutch, French, German, Polish, Spanish or Portuguese.

27th February 2009/by admin

From Shearography to Pressure Testing

During the last decade Germany’s SDS has contribute to tyre quality via its Interferometric Tire Tester (ITT) range. The product line extends from applications for motorcycle, race, car, truck, bus and aircraft tyres through to special applications for OTR tyres with an outer diameter of up to 4.2 metres. But what exactly takes place during the SDS sheography process?

The ITT series’ state of the art technology employs “Speckle Shearing” through the use of a single or multiple closed measuring set-up that contains an interferometer with CCD camera and multiple laser diodes with integrated optics.

26th February 2009/by admin

Bridgestone F1 Tyres Go Green

Kermit the Frog sang that ‘it’s not easy being green’, however this year’s Formula One teams may beg to differ. And while we don’t wish to declaim the truth behind Kermit’s musical lament, all race teams must do to be green in 2009 is sit back and await the arrival of Bridgestone’s soft dry weather and extreme wet weather tyres.

On February 26 the Japanese tyre major announced it will supply ‘Make Cars Green’ tyres to every team at every Formula One race this season. Through this initiative, Bridgestone says it aims to further spread the message of the ‘Make Cars Green’ environmental campaign it has been promoting globally with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile since last year.

26th February 2009/by admin

Kwik-Fit Warns ‘Eco-Coasters’ Not to Lose Control

What risks would you take to save money? Kwik-Fit has expressed its concern about a growing group of motorists who chance damage to their vehicles (and themselves) do to just that. The fast fit chains calls such drivers ‘eco-coasters’, and its caution comes in response to research that shows some 5.4 million “financially prudent motorists’, 15 per cent of all UK drivers, have taken to selecting a neutral gear when going downhill – just to cut their fuel bills.

26th February 2009/by admin

Pirelli to End Tyre Production at Manresa, Spain Plant

Pirelli Tyre is reportedly ending tyre manufacturing at the company’s Manresa, Spain factory on 31 December 2009. According to a Reuter’s report, the company told union officials it hoped to branch into “other activities,” however further details are not expected until April. According to the report 550 workers employees in Manresa may lose their jobs. Headcount at the plant is said to have fallen from 750 after car demand fell in Spain. The concept of establishing a logistics centre for tyre distribution is reportedly being floated as a factory alternative.

According to the Pirelli website, the Manresa factory (located in the Catalonia region of Spain) opened in 1924 and covers 211,000 square metres. Production at the plant totals 41,900 tonnes of UHP passenger and SUV tyres a year. Total employees were numbered at 1009.

26th February 2009/by admin

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