Tag: tread depth
Cooper Tire’s Tread Wisely app reminds young drivers to check their tyres
With schools soon to be back in session in the US, Cooper Tire’s Tread Wisely programme, a tyre and vehicle safety program for teens and young adults, is encouraging students to check their tyres as part of their back-to-school routine.
Michelin: Wet grip testing at 1.6mm will provide greater transparency
The debate over how much tread depth is sufficient and recommendable has been going on for years. While some tyre makers and motoring groups support changing the legal minimum tread depth to 3mm as a move towards greater peace of mind, Michelin has been a vocal advocate of not only keeping 1.6mm the legal minimum but of actually using tyres right down to this tread depth. It is also one of a growing number of parties calling for legislation that informs consumers how tyres perform when worn. Earlier this month, Michelin shared the latest developments in the quest for ‘Long Lasting Performance’.
Worn out – or just worn?
Michelin has been a vocal advocate of whole life tyre performance for several years now. Its belief that tyres should perform safely until reaching the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm is gaining traction, and Michelin is confident that, within the next few years, tyre labelling will provide greater insight into how wear affects performance, particularly in wet conditions. The tyre maker is currently reiterating its commitment to ‘Long Lasting Performance’ and sharing the latest efforts to better inform tyre buyers. Further details will be reported here on Tyrepress.com and in next month’s Tyres & Accessories magazine.
A million tyre selfies with SnapSkan
In the two and a half years since Nokian Tyres first invited motorists to drive into its SnapSkan machine and take photos of their tyres, a million cars have been through SnapSkan units in Finland and Norway. What Nokian has found upon reaching the seven-digit milestone in May is that a tenth of all drivers are taking a risk by driving on tyres with insufficient tread depth. The issue of insufficient tread depth is more pronounced for summer tyres, the tyre maker adds.
Sigmavision wins venture capital from Mercia Fund Managers consortium
Sigmavision Ltd has announced that it has gained a major financial investment, which the company says will be used to “further accelerate the company’s rapid growth”. The funding comes from a consortium led by Mercia Fund Managers, which has invested “a significant undisclosed sum”, with the option of “substantial follow-on funding”.
Nokian Tyres: SnapSkan shows dangerously low tread on more than 1 in 10 cars
During the summer months of June to August, the SnapSkan tyre scanning technology from Nokian Tyres measured the condition of tyres fitted to almost 200,000 cars in Finland’s largest cities. What these free tests showed is that up 13 per cent of all cars scanned were fitted with summer tyres that have what the tyre maker calls a “dangerously low tyre tread depth.”
Pirelli deploys Groove Glove technology in Middle East
Pirelli’s Middle East tyre retail operation has adopted Groove Grove technology as a way of improving its service offer. According to local news reports, Groove Grove was created by Tire Profiles, a partner of MAHA Maschinenbau Haldenwang GmbH & Co., the German supplier of high-end garage and vehicle inspection equipment. Using the technology, motorists can get tyre-related information, including suspension, pressure, alignment, wear and tear and replacement recommendations. The technology also has the capability to calculate the tread depth of the major grooves on a tyre to a tenth of a millimetre.
TyreSafe: Check your tyres before Bank Holiday, half term
The Spring Bank Holiday weekend is fast approaching and for most schools in England and Wales, it also means half term, signalling millions of drivers loading up their cars to get away for a week’s well-earned rest or a visit to family and friends. Around 30 per cent of Britons stayed in the UK for their holidays in 2017, and this figure is expected to be similar this year. The message from TyreSafe is – whether your car is packed for the day or the week, it’s vital to check your tyres before you leave to minimise the risk of a tyre-related incident.
GEM voices support for 3mm tyre changes
Change is inevitable, but it’s important to time it right. Michelin claims its tyres deliver safe performance down to the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm and considers changing tyres beforehand unnecessary, costly to motorists and fleets, and harmful to the environment. The tyre maker has heavily promoted this point of view in recent times, but its message isn’t finding an audience with everyone. In a statement issued today, GEM Motoring Assist recommends that motorists change their tyres earlier.
Michelin raises worn tyre issue at Detroit show
The argument against prematurely dismounting tyres voiced by Michelin here in the UK and in Europe has become a topic of conversation at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. The tyre maker’s global initiative to promote consumer awareness was presented at the show yesterday by Michelin North America’s recently-appointed chairman and president, Scott Clark.
TyreSafe supports national roads policing tyre safety initiative
TyreSafe has announced substantial support for the national roads policing initiative to increase awareness of tyre safety to motorists on Britain’s roads. This will begin with the charity’s handover of 2,000 digital tread depth gauges for use by traffic officers across the country when they conduct stop checks at the roadside. It’s the first time tyres will be included on the list of recommended visual vehicle checks carried out by police officers, and is considered as a significant step forward in carrying the tyre safety message directly to motorists. With accurate digital gauges to precisely measure the tread depth, drivers can immediately be made aware of the amount of tread remaining on their vehicles’ tyres. All those drivers will be reminded of the 1.6mm minimum legal limit for tread depth.
69% of motorists don’t know minimum tyre tread depth
Taking the results of a survey conducted by Venson Automotive Solutions, we can safely conclude that driver knowledge about tyre tread depths isn’t what it should be. The independent fleet management specialist shares that 69 per cent of survey participants weren’t aware of the 1.6mm minimum legal tread depth limit.
Hand-held laser tread-depth scanners come to the fore
As our environment becomes increasingly technologically driven, it is no surprise to learn that as many as 15 per cent of tyres are being bought online. At the same time tyres are becoming more and more “intelligent” with built-in sensors such as TPMS. However, for a long time the business of checking tyre tread depth has been a relatively imprecise affair. A few years back standards improved with the development of digital tread depth probes, some of which even bluetoothed data to cloud-based systems. However, the latest technology takes routine tread depth checks and fleet audits to the next level.
NTDA reiterates 3mm tread-depth call after 2nd Northern Ireland tyre survey
The NTDA’s regional meeting held in Templepatrick on 17 May reported the results of the associations 2017 tyre tread depth on replacement survey showed. It showed that in one week in March, members had removed 1,200 tyres from cars and light commercial vans that were already below the legal tread depth limit of 1.6mm. This follows on from a similar survey carried out over a longer period in 2016, where more than 3000 tyres removed were already under 1.6mm.
The ethics of tread depth
At the end of last year, during the Paris Motor Show, Michelin reaffirmed its position on tread depth. The leading French tyre manufacturer believes a tyre should perform well throughout its whole life. And seeing as the European legal tread depth limit is 1.6mm, this means all the way down to this particular tread depth. Taken in isolation, this is a strong argument that basically no-one would contradict. So why did we immediately receive strong feedback from companies and associations? What are the counter arguments? And what are the implications of adopting such a stance?
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