Old Man Winter’s seasonal visit is upon us, and arriving with him are the year’s most loathsome driving conditions. With snow predicted in the coming days, Protyre has delivered a couple of timely tips to help keep control in difficult driving conditions:
Michelin made a worthy contribution to agricultural vehicle safety during the summer through a group of experts in the field. The Michelin Agricultural Contractor Panel, made up of five agricultural contractors – all of whom are past winners of the Farmer’s Weekly Contactor of the Year Competition and benchmark industry specialists – met on a regular basis and used the Michelin brand to help communicate technical issues facing the industry. The five members, Jonathan Cole, Troy Stuart, Roger Dickinson, Mike Simpson and Daniel James, made their first panel appearance at Stoneleigh’s Agricultural Showground.
According to recent research by Kwik-Fit, millions of cars are heading out onto Britain’s winter roads without a “COAT.” This collection of letters stands for Check Oil and Tyres, and despite the onset of winter conditions, the fast-fit specialist reports that more than eight million motorists haven’t checked their vehicle’s oil and tyres in the last six months. Furthermore, some 13.6 million motorists haven’t checked their batteries, surprising really considering the high prevalence of battery failure in the colder months – Kwik-Fit predicts that as many as one in six drivers will break down this winter with a flat battery. A further 25 per cent of motorists, Kwik-Fit continues, have left their brakes unchecked.
DriveRight has partnered with online sales giant eBay, introducing eParts as a feature of any eBay Store involved in wheel and tyre sales. Searching for products is now easier for online shoppers, reportedly resulting in superior conversion of eBay traffic for store owners.
With more wheel and tyre retailers launching websites to attract online shoppers, eBay stores are a popular way to manage web-based sales. DriveRight’s Tyrefit product behind eParts allows smaller sellers to leverage their eBay stores to even greater effect, providing their customers with an enhanced search function to locate a wider range of suitable aftermarket product for their vehicles.
2009 saw the launch of a radically new technology for acquiring true tyre carcass temperature. BERU f1systems announced their DigiTyre Infrared Tyre Temperature and Pressure Monitoring System (IRTPTMS) as the first opportunity to monitor internal tyre carcass temperature. The system offers excellent resolution (0.25ºC) and accuracy (0.5ºC) across an extended temperature range (-40 ºC to 215ºC). The wheel sensor transmits pressure, air and tyre temperature at 1Hz, via antennae to the ECU. The introduction of slick tyres in 2009 meant engineers were keen to gain a greater understanding of accurate tyre temperature unaffected by heat soak.
As part of October’s tyre safety month, Quentin Willson is the face of a new online video demonstrating TyreSafe’s ‘lifesaver in your pocket’ initiative which encourages drivers to check their tyre tread depth to see if they are safe and legal with the use of a 20p coin. The video compares the breaking distance of tyres at 1mm and 2mm and shows a difference of 17 metres between the two.
“As we approach some of the wettest months of the year, it’s essential that drivers have sufficient tread depth to keep them safe and legal,” explains Willson. “Without it, they could find themselves in a life threatening accident, lose their licence and face a heavy fine. The simplicity of the 20p test means that there is absolutely no excuse why anyone should be found driving on tyres which have illegal tread depth.”
Pro-Cut On-Car Brake Lathes have supplied EBC Brakes with their first brake lathe for their Northampton base. EBC Brakes manufactures the world's largest range of brake discs for cars, trucks and motorcycles in the UK. The company contacted Pro-Cut concerned with vibration and imbalance issues garages were experiencing when fitting new pads to existing discs.
By resurfacing brake discs when fitting new pads it improves brake performance for customers, eliminates brake vibrations, fixes noisy brakes, cures imbalances and extends brake and pad life. James Hallett from EBC Brakes said "You can replace brake discs as many times as you like trying to solve vibration but the problem will not go away until the disc is resurfaced."
Michelin North America will host the US National School Bus Maintenance Competition. Co-sponsored by the National Association of Pupil Transport (NAPT) and the South Carolina Department of Education, the 23-25 September event will be held at MNA’s training center in Donaldson, South Carolina.
Brake Engineering is a UK pioneer in the field of brake caliper remanufacture, and in its 28 years of business the company has grown to become a major UK and international distributor of brake discs, wheel cylinders, brake pads and shoes, fitting kits, brake caliper repair kits, and remanufactured drive shafts. To assist its distributors in these difficult times, Brake Engineering has come up with a range of ready made promotions that it calls ‘Promo Basics’. The company reports that the Promo Basics promotions – which include rewards such as free newspapers, snacks and drinks – won’t break the bank
Alcoa has launched a new 17.5 x 6.75 trailer wheel with 10 bolt holes on a 225 mm PCD. The wheel is comes in sizes 245/70 R 17.5 and 235/75 R 17.5 and will be available in Europe from mid-August. It is suitable for: low deck trailers for transport of heavy and oversized vehicles and loads; trailers and semi-trailers for volume transport; special trailers for transport of passenger cars.
On July 24 the US based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced new braking standards that will require the “vast majority” of heavy truck tractor units to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in stopping distances compared with current levels. The new regulation, which will be phased in over a four year period beginning with 2012 models, sets out that these vehicles should be capable of stopping from sixty miles per hour in not more than 250 feet when loaded to their gross vehicle weight rating. Previous standards required a complete stop within 355 feet. When lightly loaded, the stopping distance from sixty miles per hour should be within 235 feet.
ATS Euromaster opened a new “flagship fast-fit centre” in Huddersfield Street, Galashiels, following investment of more than £800,000. The new centre, which opened in May, is located 200 yards from the previous site, which is being demolished to make way for the A7 trunk road extension.
Situated directly opposite the Gala Water Retail Park, the new facility boasts five vehicle work bays, including one dedicated to commercial vehicles, and is equipped to provide a complete range of fast-fit services for motorists including tyres, brakes, batteries, shock absorbers, exhausts and oil. Open six days a week, it is manned by a team of six highly skilled technicians.
Retired cop Ronnie Faison has joined Raybestos as technical consultant and official spokesperson for the new Raybestos Police Braking System. Faison served for 35 years as equipment superintendent for the North Carolina Highway Patrol, managing one of the largest police fleets in the country, Raybestos said.
“The North Carolina Highway Patrol was involved in countless research and development tests with Raybestos product engineers at our driver training facility,” said Faison. “They are constantly striving to improve their product and that’s why Raybestos police brakes have always outperformed the competition, and why the new complete Police Braking System from Raybestos will perform unlike anything else in the fleet industry.”
In his new role, Faison’s responsibilities will include everything from product development and testing to public speaking engagements and appearing in Raybestos product spotlights and ads. (Tire Review/Akron)
Safeguard Yourself From the Chill
We don’t want to ruin your summer, but we have it on good authority that these balmy months aren’t going to last. Despite a proposed Met Office climatic rescue package, analysts forecast that thermometers will soon begin dipping, and this climatic downturn will most likely show no sign of abating until early next year. But while there seems no way of halting or reversing this slide into single and minus figures, British motorists are again being offered the opportunity to protect themselves from the worst climatic recession experienced since late 2008. Turn to our August winter tyres feature to find out more.
TAFF Awards
Brityrex has been postponed until 2010 but our industry’s annual award ceremony is still going ahead as planned – as National Tyre Distributors Association director Richard Edy comments, “the dinner and awards evening are a major industry attraction in their own right and will continue to work well for our members.” Arrangements for the 2009 TAFF Awards are in hand and nominations for the September 23 event have been finalised. In August we will review the contenders for TAFF honours in readiness for the annual ceremony. Don’t miss next month’s coverage.
B-Quik Co, Thailand’s leading operator of car service centres, has increased its revenue target this year to 2 billion baht (42.1 million euros) from 1.8 billion (37.9 million euros) as sluggish demand for new cars has been a windfall to the maintenance market. Eight to 10 B-Quik service centres will be added this year to the existing network of 56 sites nationwide, said chief executive Henk Kiks.
“The market has been surprisingly good for us with revenue surging over 30 per cent in the first half,” said Kiks. “We earlier projected sales of 1.8 billion baht, growth of 21 per cent from last year, but now we are aiming for over a 33 per cent rise to 2 billion by the end of the year.”
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