Research by Kwik-Fit(1) found that more than half (56 per cent) of UK motorists admit to driving too close to the vehicle in front – a contributory factor in 7 per cent(2) of road accidents in Britain last year. The Highway Code(3) provides clear rules on the distance that drivers should leave between themselves and the vehicle in front yet when tested, 9o per cent of motorists underestimated the distance required to stop a car at 30, 50 and 70mph.
The pneumatic tyre has been named as the best British motoring invention of all time. While the exact lineage of tyres is disputed (Robert William Thomson, from Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, may have come up with the idea in 1845, but John Boyd Dunlop was the first to patent it in 1888), an Auto Express list puts the tyre above disc brakes and cat’s eyes in terms of motoring innovation. Other British inventions in the top 20 include the laminated windscreen, the pedestrian crossing, bumpers and self-cancelling indicators. Caravans came 19th.
ATS Euromaster has won a three-year deal with Hitachi Capital’s Vehicle Solutions division. The signing of the formal contract follows a successful four-year relationship between the two companies, and sees ATS Euromaster manage all tyre expenditure across the company’s effective maintained fleet of over 26,000 cars and commercial vehicles. It also provides a full range of other fast-fit services including batteries, bulbs, brakes, exhausts, shock absorbers and wipers.
Leading fast-fit chain, National Tyres and Autocare have introduced a new Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) accredited brake training programme for its’ nationwide network of over 200 branches. National have added to their existing very successful City & Guilds brake training with a new Technical Awareness & Diagnostic Course produced in conjunction with Entyrety and Acorn Training.
In response to customer and market demand, Alcoa Wheel Products will exhibit its new WorkHorse wheel for European construction vehicles with disc brakes. More specifically, this new wheel was designed with no ventilation holes to help protect the drive/front axle disc brakes from sand and gravel. Alcoa believes this new design will provide its customers with added value through the reduction of maintenance costs, increased brake life, and improved performance. This wheel is already approved and available on DaimlerChrysler construction vehicles.
With modern cars and their braking systems evolving faster than the technology used to test them, equipment manufacturers are always playing ‘catch up’. This is never more apparent than the modern vehicle drive train and braking systems. Says Chris Pleass Snap-on Equipments national sales manager: “I have been involved with braking systems for over 30 years and have seen a lot of changes. Vehicle manufacturers have always striven to improve traction and braking performance, this is great news for the motorist but a challenge to our industry to be able to test them.”
Maxxis International UK plc is expanding its range of motorcycle and ATV batteries in response to changes in the market’s dynamics and rising demand. A 90-strong range of GS Batteries is sold through Bickers plc, a division of Maxxis International UK plc, along with the most popular Powerite batteries – the company’s own brand product which has now been reintroduced.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is to wage a year-long campaign, targeting foreign lorries on the roads of Britain. This follows news that Government inspectors have found that foreign trucks are more than three times more likely than British trucks to be flouting safety rules. One quarter of foreign truck drivers checked in the year up to the end of March had exceeded the maximum number of driving hours allowed between breaks; this compares to only eight per cent of British drivers. Romanian, Turkish and Irish drivers proved to be the worst offenders, while it was found that Romanian trucks were twice as likely as British lorries to have major safety defects, such as faulty brakes and bald tyres. VOSA plans to check 22,500 foreign trucks over the next 12 months.
Traditional dealer fast-fit centres are starting to evolve into “fast-service centres”, according to motor industry consultancy Forester Grant Associates. The company says that the role of the fast-fit is changing. A few years ago the majority of dealers saw the fast-fit concept as way to retain customers of older vehicles – but now their thinking has altered.
Cooper Tires has set a new World Donuting record at the Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire. Twenty-two enthusiasts mainly from the online ‘Drift’ community, Driftworks.co.uk, helped Cooper break the previous record for the number of cars simultaneously donuting, which stood at three cars.
Alcoa Wheel Products Europe, together with DaimlerChrysler, has developed a new wheel for the Axor construction vehicle. This new wheel does not have any hand holes and it has been developed to protect the Axor construction vehicle’s disc brakes from sand and gravel on the drive/front axle. The application is as an inner dual wheel on the construction vehicle drive or tag axle, single on the front axle. Available sizes: 22.5 x 8.25, 22.5 x 9.00 and 22.5 x 11.75 (inset 120mm), 32 mm bolt holes and a brushed finish.
Pro-cut International (with a UK base in Cheltenham), will launch the truck market’s first On-Truck Brake Disc lathe at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show. The TD502 is a new addition to the existing Pro-Cut on-car brake disc lathe range and is a unique product being introduced into the UK market.
Pro-Cut sales director Guy Carter said: “The need for this type of brake lathe has been identified after extensive research. The London Bus Company has already implemented this new lathe and are seeing excellent returns in time and money, whilst having the added advantage of reduced vehicle downtime, critical to any bus, truck or coach business.”
Unipart Automotive has won a multi million pound deal to supply exhausts to Kwik-Fit. Unipart Automotive has consolidated its position as Kwik-Fit’s preferred supplier of automotive parts following its success in winning the exhaust distribution business from competitor UKPA.
Under the new expanded agreement the Unipart Automotive network of branches will supply and distribute Arvin exhausts on a same day basis, Aftermarket News has reported. The announcement sees the extension of Unipart Automotive’s current distribution contract, which already includes a full range of parts from brakes to workshop consumables.
(Akron/Tire Review) Dana Corp and 40 of its subsidiary companies in the US filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 3 March. The move, long expected by auto industry analysts, does not include Dana’s operations in Europe, South America, Canada, Mexico or Asia.
While under reorganisation, Dana secured $1.45 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to fund its continuing operations. The Toledo, Ohio-based firm employs 19,000 in the US and supplies axles, drive shafts, chassis and steering components, brakes and other components to a wide range of automakers, including troubled GM and Ford.
During the course of Continental’s annual pre-Christmas event, which has now taken place for more than 10 years, the German manufacturer asked international tyre specialists from several reputed magazines to ponder the following question: “Do driver assist systems require new winter tyre testing procedures?” To summarise the stimulated discussions that took place in Ivalo, Finland, it seems development engineers at Hanover are obliged to try and serve the two masters at the same time.
On the one hand, all tyre manufacturers are interested in achieving good test results for their products. On the other hand, tyre features have to be optimised according to road realities. And this is exactly where Continental has detected a discrepancy: because of the introduction of new driver assist systems some test set-ups seem to be out-of-date and could therefore generate misleading results.
Driver assist systems like ABS, ESC and TCS are now common standard fitments, even on compact cars. They provide increased safety and intervene to correct driving errors. During tyre testing, however, ESC and TCS are switched off in order to test the tyres without the effects of those systems. But such test methods have now reached their limits – particularly when you consider that ESC cannot be switched off in some vehicles without interfering with the electronics. Transferability of the test results therefore also debatable because – depending on the vehicle manufacturer’s philosophy – driver assist systems have different performance parameters and so respond in different ways to different tyres grip characteristics. According to Dr Burkhard Wies from Continental, driver assist systems should also be switched on during tyre testing in the future. This would keep tyre tests in line with latest technological advances for both tyres and vehicles.
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