All-new BFGoodrich summer tyre range for Europe
The launch of the BFGoodrich Advantage and BFGoodrich Advantage SUV ranges in 2020 sees the American brand – which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year – renew its entire summer tyre line-up for the UK and Europe. These two ranges offer a wide range of fitments for saloons, hatchbacks and SUVs.
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Giti to support new evening track programme at MotoFest Coventry 2020
Giti Tire has extended its support of MotoFest Coventry with an evening circuit programme for the first time. The main GT Radial sprint circuit will host a full track programme on the Saturday night, including a dynamic display of wheel to wheel motorsport from teams involved in the VW Fun Cup UK series.
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Pirelli inaugurates new tyre development simulator
Pirelli has inaugurated a new driving simulator at its research and development division in Milan. The manufacturer says it is using its experience with simulation in Formula 1 to accelerate road tyre development cycles and tyre testing, reducing lead times and reinforcing partnerships with leading car makers with increased agility. Pirelli is the latest premium brand tyre maker to implement new simulation technology into its R&D department, following announcements by Michelin and Goodyear. The Italian brand adds that the new simulator is the latest instalment of its digitalisation strategy.
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New Petlas industrial tyre focuses on traction and life
Petlas has released a new industrial tyre that focuses on traction and life time. According to the company, the PtxND33 is designed and developed at Petlas’s R&D base to offer “perfect traction and long life for compact industrial vehicles such as compact loaders, backhoe loaders and telehandlers”.
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Reinventing the simulated wheel
For the generations raised in the late 20th century, the idea of travel simulators raises images of a capsule for eight people moved around with hydraulics to match a film, or perhaps contestants tasked with landing a plane on The Krypton Factor. Since those heady days, exponential increases in computer processing power and the ability to model a rapidly increasing range of sensory outputs from a highly complex web of inputs. Compared to the relatively broad strokes of retro aeronautical simulation, the convincingly realistic representation of the driving environment has become a legitimate source of automotive research and development. The latest simulation technology is increasingly making its way into tyre development as a means of increasing the efficiency of product development. With Michelin’s announcement that it would install a new Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulator at its North America Research & Development centre in Greenville, South Carolina, USA, Tyres & Accessories got in touch with its manufacturer Ansible Motion and its international manager for the company’s commercial group, Phil Morse to talk about the increasing prevalence of human-in-the-loop simulation within tyre and vehicle development, and the opportunities it offers.
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All 15 Quick Lane centres offer MOTs
All of Quick Lane’s 15 centres now offer MOT testing. The news follows the Bracknell site’s attainment of MOT testing certification from the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Quick Lane, which has been operating as a franchise in the UK for a year, sees the burgeoning MOT market as a key source of business, with dedicated bays, equipment and testers in each Quick Lane location. Its strategy to provide motorists with convenience with confidence, together with a service that fits around driver’s needs is paying off, with plans to extend the network further throughout 2020.
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Goodyear buys Easy Tyre and Autocentres
Goodyear Tyres UK Limited has acquired Easy Tyre and Autocentres, which runs 17 HiQ branches as a franchisee. Easy Tyre and Autocentres’ branches span from Telford to Kettering, in a geographical area with a high value car parc and, according to Goodyear, represent the “second step” in the company’s ongoing retail strategy. All sites will become Goodyear’s equity operating under the HiQ brand going forward.
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Fintyre Group employee pay ‘coming’, restarting business operations a priority
All 16 companies in the German Fintyre Group have now applied to open insolvency proceedings. But what lies ahead for the 1300-plus employees awaiting wages and salaries, the affected companies’ creditors, and the companies themselves? Sebastian Brunner, spokesman for Miguel Grosser, the provisional insolvency administrator at law firm Jaffé, told our sister website in Germany, Reifenpresse.de, that approximately 200 Reifen Krieg employees will receive their outstanding January wages and salaries in the coming days. Business at the group’s wholesalers and retailers is largely at a standstill, though the office of the provisional insolvency administrator has some more positive news on this too.
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The latest P Zero’s a test winner – Pirelli responds to Auto Bild tyre test elimination
It was a glaring omission from an illustrious who’s who of the tyre world – the Pirelli P Zero was nowhere to be seen amongst the list of finalists for the Auto Bild summer 2020 tyre test. Its combined result in the preliminary round’s wet and dry braking tests only sufficed for 25th place from 50 tyres, a result that Auto Bild called “disappointing”. Pirelli isn’t leaving this stain on the P Zero’s reputation unanswered.
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Anger amongst Fintyre Group’s workforce in Germany: “They’re dealing with people, not numbers”
They are resigned, angry and desperate. But above all, they’re disappointed. Disappointed that they weren’t informed about the bankruptcy by their employer Fintyre, but by the media. Our sister publication in Germany, Neue Reifenzeitung, has spoken with staff at TyreXpert outlets in the north of the country to gain an insight into the mood of the workforce.
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