Chris Franklin is taking Beissbarth technology down to the trackside to help car enthusiasts get the best from their cars. Using a Beissbarth ML Easy 8 – the Microline 8 toe sensor microprocessor alignment computer – linked to a laptop, Chris has been offering owners wheel alignment and corner weight assessments during race-track days.
(Akron/Tire Review) Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) has undertaken what it calls “a landmark study” to document the economic influence of automotive and heavy-duty suppliers.
The study, which is scheduled to be completed in November, will analyze the economic contribution of suppliers to the nation’s economy and will provide data on both a national level and state-by-state breakdown, MEMA said.
Beissbarth UK has launched a new wheel aligner in its highly successful Microline range, which has the highest number of top manufacturer approvals.
The Beissbarth ML1800 is an entry level wheel alignment unit aimed at smaller body shops and garages. It runs on a user-friendly Windows computer programme and includes car and van database details.
Beissbarth UK’s managing director Phillip Hodges said: “Beissbarth aligner technology is renowned throughout the industry. By introducing this latest model we have been able to offer even more features than previously available on our starter level systems.
In the US, Pirelli has received the top safety award from the Rubber Manufacturers Association for the fourth year in a row, for achieving significant improvements in worker health and safety over the past year. The Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP) award was presented to Pirelli at the RMA’s annual meeting.
(Akron/Tire Review) Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) honored 63 tyre and rubber manufacturing facilities improving their worker health and safety. RMA’s Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Awards were given at RMA’s annual meeting, held 25-27 February.
Continental tyres has named the B3081 as the bendiest road in Britain. Continental commissioned research to find out which of Britain’s 6,300 classified roads sets the toughest task for car tyres. At a steady 30 mph, a one-mile stretch of the B3081 between Cann Common in Dorset and Tollard Royal in Wiltshire exerted lateral forces of a magnitude a car would experience on a racetrack like Brands Hatch.
Researchers tested a shortlist of 10 roads, as nominated by Auto Express readers, from across the UK. A standard Vauxhall Astra 1.4 with Continental ContiSportContact2 tyres was fitted with state of the art measuring equipment and an on-board computer to record forward speed and lateral acceleration.
EnTire Solutions, LLC has named Bianchi Public Relations, Inc as its public relations agency of record. The announcement was made by Richard Wolfe CEO of EnTire Solutions, and James A Bianchi, president of the public relations firm.
Bianchi Public Relations will provide strategic public relations counsel, media relations and promotional assistance to EnTire Solutions, which develops, markets and sells direct, driver-oriented tyre pressure monitoring (TPM) systems and related tools and services to vehicle manufacturers. The firm has been assisting EnTire Solutions on a project basis.
The seemingly ever-increasing demand for plant and equipment from China in particular has had dramatic effects on the earthmover tyre market. In an attempt to meet demand, Bridgestone’s factories are operating at maximum capacity and the company has revised its production capacity forecasts. It had planned to increase earthmover tyre production by 80 per cent between 2004 and 2008, but this schedule is being accelerated.
The effects of the tyre shortage are neatly encapsulated in what is happening to the UK coal mining industry. The opencast mining industry in the UK is Western Europe’s largest and accounts for around 18,500 tyres a year. Bridgestone has been the market leader in this sector for over 10 years.
These are busy times at Beissbarth UK. First of all there have been two new additions to the Microtec wheel balancing range. The versatile Microtec stationary micro processor controlled wheel balancers feature nine different programmes for passenger car and light trucks up to 65 kilos, with two programmes for motor bike wheels.
Key features of the MT 825 Wheel Balancer include foot pedal brake to fix the balancing shaft, three alloy programmes, three special programmes and two PAX. There are two LED for imbalance direction indicators and two LCD for digital imbalance and status information. The 825 comes complete with an aluminium weight caliper tool for manual fitting of adhesive weights on the inside of the rim.
Israel’s Knesset has approved the first reading of new legislation designed to curb the amount of waste tyres and the spread of dengue fever. Israel produces two million waste tyres each year and, according to Environment Ministry data, doesn’t yet have any recycling plants.
North Eastern Tyre and Exhaust Ltd (NETE) has equipped its fleet of 50 delivery vehicles with Aerotrack vehicle management equipment. The system, manufactured by Aeromark of Bedford, uses wireless telematics technology to track the location of every vehicle on the fleet and to monitor other important management information.
Autodata has updated its Wheel Alignment Data manual to include information on over 60 new models and important revisions to many other models. The 2006 edition marks 30 years of accurate up-to-date information on Wheel Alignment from Autodata.
The Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company, the first to implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology on a production scale, says RFID is the future for tyre identification in manufacturing, supply chain management and tyre/vehicle integration.
In late November, Goodyear’s RFID technology passed its first major real-life test when NASCAR used it for a Craftsman Truck Series race at Homestead – Miami Speedway in Florida.
If you talk to engineers at Goodyear Test Centre: Luxembourg (GTC*L), they will probably tell you just how radically “tyre testing has changed over the last 20 years” and how pleased they are to have been at the forefront of these developments. During a recent visit to the company’s Luxembourg operation, officials showed Tyres & Accessories just how far Goodyear is willing to go to develop and improve the comfort and safety of its products.
Nestled amongst the Goodyear Luxembourg complex which includes, tyre production, mould making an truck tyre mounting facilities, the GTC*L is made up of three main buildings; GTC*L itself the Tyre and Vehicle Testing Laboratory and Laboratory B. A day touring the Tyre and Vehicle testing laboratory alone is quite an education. In addition the people at the Goodyear’s neighbouring test track have a fleet of trucks, buses and cars that are perpetually testing tyres, clocking up 10 million kilometres a year. The quantity of data that the centre’s 44 PhDs wade through is immense, but here is just one example of the GTC*L’s daily activities.
Diss-based BERU F1 Systems has been chosen to supply its digital tyre pressure monitoring system DigiTyre for the world’s fastest road car, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. This is the system’s first OE application and a rare example of direct technology transfer from F1 to road car. With temperatures reaching over 100°C and G forces exceeding 2900G, traditional OEM tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) would struggle to last, thus necessitating the DigiTyre derivative.
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