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Kumho revamps V710, Adds LX Platinum

Kumho is making some improvements to its championship-winning Ecsta V710 and is adding eight more sizes to the tyre’s lineup. First introduced in 2004, the V710 is Kumho’s top-of-the-line DOT competition tyre. The tyre has won more than 75 SCCA Solo National Championships in the last four years, as well as dozens of divisional Club Racing championships, the company said.

“Even though the V710 has continued to fare well in competition and in independent comparison tests by magazines such as Grassroots Motorsports, we knew it was time for some changes,” said Rudy Consolacion, Kumho motorsports manager. “We raised the bar when we introduced the V710 three years ago, and with the changes we’re making we’ll raise the bar again.”

15th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

ViaMichelin to End GPS Production

ViaMichelin, the subsidiary of the French tyre manufacturer specialising in digital travel assistance products, has stated it will no longer participate in the GPS navigation device market. According to a report published in France’s La Tribune, the company, which holds 14 per cent of the French GPS market, has found it difficult to expand in Europe in the face of strong competition from rivals such as TomTom. Sixty of ViaMichelin’s 170 employees are affected by the decision, La Tribune reported.

14th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

B&J Launches Pro Team Competition

The launch of B&J Rocket’s new B&J Pro Team competition marks the latest step in an extensive realignment of the company. The B&J Pro Team competition, touches base with the users of B&J’s products in retreading shops worldwide. The Pro Team competition focuses on these teams and provides them with an online platform, where they can present themselves by uploading a team photo and participate in a unique contest that will end in May 2008 with the ‘Reifen 2008’ Fair in Essen, Germany.

10th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Tyres Implements SAP platform

According to a report in India’s Business Standard, Ceat Tyres has recently automated its business processes on the Software Application Protocol (SAP) platform. The SAP implementation covers the company’s entire office network, consisting of corporate office, two manufacturing plants, 34 regional offices, 28 RDCs, 125 clearing and forwarding agents, 3,500 dealers, a warehouse, 15 outsourcing locations, 8 RPD & Mixing locations.

Unlike most companies, who phase in new IT systems in stages, Ceat has opted to have all modules in its 180 plus locations go live at the same time. Ceat Tyres vice-president Arnab Banerjee explains the reason behind this decision: “If we look at the industry, most of our peers have used a phased approach. We were advised to follow it too. However, in this kind of implementation there is resistance to change and opposition to new systems and processes. So, we thought that instead of going through these issues in phases, let’s take the problem head-on and implement it in one go.” The project was implemented within a timeframe of eight months.

8th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

World Champion Ploughman takes a Break

Following Simon Witty’s fourth World Reversible Ploughing title in a row, the Yorkshireman has announced that he is stepping down from future Reversible World Championships. But admirers of his work need not worry that they won’t see him representing his country again, for he plans to ‘enter the ring’ on the conventional side of ploughing. “Ploughing has given me a great deal of pleasure and I feel I’ve come as far as I can with reversible ploughing for now, so I want to try my hand at conventional ploughing for a new challenge” comments Witty.

3rd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Chosen as British Superbikes Tyre Supplier

Pirelli has been selected by the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board of Great Britain (MCRCB) as control tyre supplier for the British Superbike and Supersport Championships between 2008 and 2010, beating off a rival bid from Dunlop, who supplied the majority of Suberbike teams in 2007.

“This is a landmark moment for the British Championships,” commented BSB series director Stuart Higgs. “For the selected bidder it represents a great opportunity and responsibility, which I am confident that Pirelli can fulfil. This will be a great leveller for the championships and I relish the start of the on-track competition.”

14th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Claims Top Spot in Tire Rack Tests

(Tire Review/Akron) Pirelli Tire North America said its P Zero topped a recent Tire Rack test of “max performance” tyres, besting two other unnamed UHP tyres. The testing was conducted at Tire Rack’s test track in South Bend, Indiana, using 2006 BMW325i E90 saloons with new 225/40ZR18 tyres mounted on 18×8-inch wheels.

The evaluations, said Pirelli, included cornering, lane change, acceleration, traction, responsiveness, handling and drivability “normally only encountered in abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.”

13th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

ECI Sets Record Straight Over Copycat ‘Tyrexpo Asia’

ECI International Ltd, the organiser of Tyrexpo Asia in Singapore, has criticised a new show in Shanghai for copying its name. Even the new show’s logo appears to have distinct similarities to the official Tyrexpo corporate identity. ECI representatives told Tyres & Accessories that they want to make sure exhibitors are not misled into supporting the new show, which is being billed as Tyrexpo ASIA 2008 China (Shanghai) International Tyre Exhibition. The show is not in any way associated with ECI International Ltd.

12th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Infrared Sensors Measure Tyre Temperature in Realtime

A team of researchers at the School of Science and Engineering at University Campus Hamilton (formerly Bell College Glasgow) is using infrared sensors to monitor the temperature of tyres on racing cars in real time around the racing track, enabling set up changes to be made on the car that lead to improved performance on the track. The research project involves the use of 12 ‘CS Series’ infrared temperature sensors from Micro-Epsilon, three on each wheel of the racing car – on the inside edge, outside edge and centre line.

Each sensor is positioned directly above the surface of the tyre, relaying temperature data back to a data logging system for further analyses. One of the attractions of the sensor is its ability to be positioned a significant distance from the tyre, due to its high resolution 10:1 optics.
In this case, the sensors are positioned 150mm from the tyre but still measure over a small (15mm) diameter surface area.

11th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

BFGoodrich Bows Out of WRC with a Splash of Colour

As the curtains are drawn on a multi-tyre WRC series, BFGoodrich has thanked teams loyal to the brand with a unique gift not available in the shops – specially made coloured tyres. These tokens of appreciation were not merely standard black items painted up to look the part, either. Colorants were added to the compound during the production process, and strips of the coloured rubber were laid onto the casing of a rally tyre, with a number of varying combinations of pattern employed – including an asphalt pattern for WRC champion Sébastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena. The sidewalls, although black, were also made using the coloured rubber compound; genuine rally compound would have blended with the other colours within days. The tyres were then vulcanised using the same process as a standard tyre; in total production of the coloured tyres took about 300 hours.

11th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Evans Achieves Wales Rally GB Class Win in Hankook Fiesta

Welsh rally star Elfyn Evans exceeded all expectations at the Wales Rally GB, taking his Hankook Fiesta to class victory. The 18-year-old son of former British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans produced one of the most impressive drives of the three-day rally – the Cardiff-based finale to the World Rally Championship.

Evans’ Fiesta ended the event in 42nd place overall, a massive climb from his start number of 118 and an indication of the young driver’s future potential. Together with co-driver Richard Edwards the pair faced 17 high-speed tests in the Welsh forests – tackling some of the worst conditions ever seen on Wales Rally GB. They had to contend with torrential rain, blanket fog and extremely muddy conditions, but nothing nature threw at them fazed the pair. And while many cars suffered punctures from the rocky tracks and body damage in the tough conditions, Elfyn and Richard successfully navigated everything in their path.

4th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Firestone Mexico to Close Mexico City Plant

Bridgestone Americas Holding subsidiary Bridgestone Firestone de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (BFMX), announced on December 3 that it will close its tyre factory in Mexico City during the second half of 2008. This is a decision the company has described as “difficult”, but one believed to be necessary as “essential expansion of the plant is not feasible.”

In a statement Bridgestone Americas reported: “Due to its location in a metropolitan area, the complexities surrounding the ownership of the underlying land, the plant’s age (the building was constructed in 1937), intense competition from low-cost producers and a shrinking overall market for the products it builds, the company stated that it has no choice but to close the Mexico City Plant.”

4th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Fisherman Hooks TyreSafe Ipod

Scottish prawn fisherman has been named as the first prize draw winner of the TyreSafe Tyre Safety Month competition for a £200 Apple iPod mp3 player. Over 6,000 members of the public logged on to the TyreSafe website during the campaign to check their tyre pressures and enter the competition. Campbell Murray, from Moray Firth, was the lucky winner independently drawn at the BTMA (British Tyre Manufacturers Association) offices in London last week. “What a lovely surprise”, said Campbell, ”I do not normally enter competitions, but now I am hooked!”

The TyreSafe Tyre Safety Month in October was, according to the organisation, one of the most successful campaigns organised by the tyre industry, being read by over 12 million consumers and motorists in the UK.

30th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Rossi’s Bridgestone Decision “Difficult to Understand” – Weber

According to an article published in the Italian magazine Motosprint, Michelin’s Jean-Philippe Weber could not readily comprehend the logic behind the decision made by MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi to switch to Bridgestone for 2008. The director of motorcycle racing commented that “this decision of his is difficult to understand, but that’s what he’s decided. It could be a good or a bad choice, we’ll see in a while.”

27th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin an OE Supplier for Student Ingenuity in Dundee

As part of its practice of contributing to the communities in which it is represented, Michelin has entered into a three-year tyre sponsorship deal with a group from Dundee University who have unveiled plans to build a car inspired by Formula One technology. The Dundee University Race Innovation and Vehicle Engineering (DRIVE) team, comprised of students from the university’s engineering and mechatronics faculties, has entered into the national Formula Student competition to build a performance car. Next July the team, along with other entrants, must present their vehicle at the Silverstone race circuit and put it through a series of performance and reliability tests.

27th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors