For the 30th Olympic Games, to be held in London from 27 July to 12 August, Michelin is unveiling its latest innovation – the “communicating" tyre. By combining a tyre pressure monitoring system and radio frequency identification chips, the tyre maker is enabling public transport operators in London to enhance the safety of the tyres fitted on their buses, thereby immediately improving the mobility of both vehicles and transport users.
Using input drawn from users, Michelin has updated its ViaMichelin website. The French manufacturer reports that the new site – which is also available for mobile devices with the free ViaMichelin Mobile application – features completely reworked ergonomics that make it easier to use. Michelin describes the most important additions to the new version as being a map on the home page that is geo-positioned to the user’s last search, highly visible itinerary options, unique data-entry fields and, for users in France, the integration of traffic conditions when calculating travel time.
Bridgestone will bring its soft and medium front slicks and medium-soft, medium (asymmetric) rear slicks to Britain as it looks to provide the high-speed stability and warm-up performance necessary for good tyre performance at Silverstone. The manufacturer and sole tyre supplier to the series says Silverstone’s speed and susceptibility to cold weather make it one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar in terms of tyre development. With rain a distinct possibility, the brand’s wet tyre soft (main) and hard (alternative) compounds may also come into play.
Southampton based Supertracker, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2012, has recently introduced a new alignment-based addition to its extensive product portfolio – a new fully computerised truck aligner, the STR410T. The new aligner has been specifically produced for the commercial vehicle sector and provides many of the Supertracker STR410R car aligner's features as well as incorporating a number of additional data adjustments for the professional alignment of trucks.
Tyre service products from Bosch, collectively labelled the “Around the Wheel” range, have been updated with the addition of its new FWA 4630. Bosch’s latest generation of wheel alignment equipment acknowledges the importance of time and accuracy to tyre service providers. It says the development of the latest machine was also influenced by the continuing evolution of chassis and suspension technology.
Wheel alignment equipment distributor Pro-Align has continued to transmit a message of alignment services’ increased revenue potential, while seeking to raise professional alignment standards by launching a two-day assessed course teaching workshop technicians advanced wheel alignment practice. The company says that it championed the idea of a “speculative wheel alignment check” as a service most recently to highlight the speed of the new Hunter Elite TD. The company says that the check using this equipment lasts 90 seconds, showing the possibility of rapidly measuring all 14 primary alignment angles, identifying cars that were out of alignment quickly and accurately. Measurements using the machinery are carried out to the same high standards that motor manufacturers themselves would measure to and would uncover any important chargeable adjustment work.
Bridgestone’s wet tyres were employed at the rain-lashed Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans for last Sunday’s French MotoGP and an exciting wet race ensued. With two wet tyre compounds available, the softer was preferred by riders due to their greater warm-up performance and initial grip on a very cool track, where temperatures struggled to surpass 25°C. Masao Azuma, chief engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department explained how the weekend panned out according to the tyre supplier:
Automotive buying group United Aftermarket Network has launched its new website, one of its new initiatives aimed at supporting its distributors’ part-selling businesses. In order to deliver this support, UAN now allows distributors to access instantly its approved supplier agreements online, allowing real time access to supplier data. The new site, described as a complete overhaul of its predecessor, also includes a comprehensive section on its central rebate programme.
Pirelli’s 2011 annual report will reflect the tyre manufacturer’s “broader narrative”, presenting detail that goes beyond the numbers in an attempt to capture the spirit of Pirelli. The company said the project will include Art Deco inspired illustrations reflecting the tyre-maker’s values, in addition to texts by internationally renowned authors HM Enzensberger, Guillermo Martinez, William Least Heat-Moon and Javier Cerca. A summary of the report will also be available through a free iPad App.
Southampton-based wheel alignment specialist Supertracker launched its new computerised truck aligner – the STR 410T – at the recent CV Show in Birmingham.
Although primarily known in the market as car alignment specialists, Supertracker has been involved in truck alignment for a long time and the introduction of the STR 410T signals the next development in what continues to be an expanding market for the company.
Tyre dealers have often emphasised the improvement in performance at sub-seven degrees Celsius that cold weather tyres offer, but the relatively mild weather of the 2011/12 winter may have diminished the upward momentum of consumer interest in the product. However, ATS Euromaster argues that an analysis of UK temperatures during peak driving hours in even the last winter shows that fitting cold weather products would have been worthwhile. Temperatures dropped below seven degrees Celsius during prime commuting hours on 147 separate days between 1 October 2011 and 31 March 2012. The statistics, provided by the Met Office, cover temperatures in 10 major UK cities from 7:00 till 9:00 and 16:00 till 18:00.
Autodiagnos, the manufacturer of PC Pro, the PC based diagnostic tool, has announced the addition of a range of manufacturers, applications and functions. The PC Pro is designed and manufactured in the UK by a team of dedicated engineers. The heart of the product is the communications module which feeds information through to a PC.
Vehicle data expert, HPI, is offering motor dealers online access to information that will enable their customers to buy a car that will safely and legally tow their caravan. Many motorists are unaware that if their car is incorrectly matched to the caravan they are towing they may be stopped, fined £1,000 or gain three points on their licence. Towsafe, powered by HPI, has been providing a car and caravan matching service for over 10 years and now dealers can use this as a robust tool to secure a sales opportunity and increase customer satisfaction levels, whilst meeting their Duty of Care obligations.
Cam Systems, who specialises in providing software solutions to the independent tyre industry, is joining forces with EDP at Reifen Essen this June to highlight its Fleet Inspection and Fleet Management link into the Call Logging and Document Manager modules on Cam’s UniSerV platform. The integration of EDP’s fleet systems into the UniSerV commercial platform will provide tyre operators with greater visibility of fleet operations.
Ahead of the European tyre labelling laws that will be implemented from the middle of this year, Bandvulc has developed a new tyre labelling system of its own which it will be demonstrating at this year’s CV show.
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