Laser Transport Claims it Gets More Miles With Michelin

A Volvo FH12 4×2 tractor unit operated by Kent-based Laser Transport International reports to have clocked-up 630,000 kilometres on the same Michelin Energy drive-axle tyres, before they needed replacing. The tyres were fitted as original equipment when the Volvo was delivered new in February 2003, and have been replaced with a set of Michelin Energy RemiX tyres.

Commenting on the impressive performance, Jon Palmer, Fleet Engineer at Laser Transport International, explains: “We have only just fitted the RemiX tyres, and these should see the vehicle through its fourth and final year’s service on our fleet.

“It’s quite exceptional to think that a combination of good tyre management, coupled with Michelin’s Four Lives tyre policy, should mean we never need to buy a new drive axle tyre for this vehicle despite four years busy operation,” he adds.

The vehicle is operated by Laser Transport International to service a contract collecting urgent automotive parts from Germany and delivering them to the UK. As one of 30 vehicles on the fleet, the Volvo is manned by two crew members, with each return trip taking two days to complete and covering over 2,500 km.

These performance figures are claimed to have been achieved using Michelin Energy 295/80 R22.5 XDA2 tyres on the drive axle, with the Michelin Four Lives policy helping to maximise tyre mileage and minimise running costs. The tyres were regrooved for their second life after approximately 500,000 km, when the tread depth had worn down to around 3 to 4 mm. According to Michelin, this provided roughly 25 per cent additional mileage performance, before the tyres were removed and sent back to Michelin’s facility in Stoke-on-Trent for RemiX, its unique retreading process.

The fourth life will see the RemiX tyres regrooved to the same depth as new Michelin tyres due to the extra layer of under-tread rubber included in the RemiX process. This is not expected to be required until after the vehicle has left Laser Transport International in February 2007.