Road safety organisation TyreSafe has made its PACT campaign the centrepiece of its updated 2013 materials aimed at publicising bike tyre maintenance. The organisation will work with tyre retailers, bike dealerships and other road safety professionals to help bikers stay safe on the road. PACT is an acronym, representing four key tyre safety checks: Performance, Air pressure, Condition and Tread.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) continues to hammer home the message to the Chancellor that he should reduce road fuel duty by 3 pence per litre to help ease the pressure on domestic freight operators in his 2013 Budget.
"The initiative by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that will see supermarkets stick to helping shoppers with lower grocery pricing instead of subsidising fuel offers is music to the ears of all our small, often family owned and run, petrol filling stations who are facing extinction by the aggressive price discounting from the 'big four' UK supermarkets" said Brian Madderson, Chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association.
Firestone has announced details of its first tyre for the agricultural sprayer market, the Performer Row Crop. Displayed for the first time at SIMA 2013 in size 270/95R48, Firestone will expand the Performer Row Crop tyre size line up to include 85, 90 and 95 series in the near future. “Firestone concentrates on solutions that give farmers a more efficient and sustainable way of working, through savings in fuel consumption and working time” says Harald Van Ooteghem, senior manager marketing planning, Bridgestone Europe.
Kings Road Tyres (KRT) has announced that it will exhibit at the new construction industry show, Plantworx as distributor of Michelin’s industrial tyre range. Taking place on 14-16 May, 2013 at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry and, with backing from the Construction Equipment Association and more than 100,000sqm of space devoted to live construction equipment, KRT says it is likely to be the largest event of its kind in the UK.
The teams of Formula One had their first opportunity to test out the latest iteration of Pirelli’s Cinturato wet weather Formula One tyres as they encountered wet weather on the final day of a four-day test at Barcelona. The first three days of testing were dry but cold – cold enough to make ambient temperatures lower than the nominal operating range of the P Zero slicks at 10-15⁰C, which led to higher degradation. Pirelli is confident that when F1 travels to Australia, with car setups more settled, the tyres will show better longevity. Barcelona hosted the first meeting of the full grid of 2013 cars this year.
Germany’s largest officially recognised inspection organisation the Gesellschaft für Technische Überwachung (GTÜ) and Autoclub Europa (ACE) have conducted extensive summer tyre testing, giving the Dunlop BluResponse its highest recommendation, with the Vredestein Sportrac 5 in second place. One tyre receiving a “recommended” rating at a lower price point was the Falken ZIEX ZE914 Ecorun. The summer tyre received the rating by achieving an above-average environmental score at a low price to performance ratio.
Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD) has announced an expansion to the xlite forged aluminium wheel range, manufactured by Wheels India, launching two of the lightest super single wheels on the market. The 11.75×22.5 wheel, with a 0mm inset and 10x26mm mounting holes, boasts a weight reduced by 1.6kg to 22.1kg. The new 120mm inset wheel weighs 3.7kg less than its predecessor at 24.3kg. Both wheels have an increased load index from 4,500kg to 5,000kg.
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. has published its consolidated business results for the 2012 financial year – a shortened, nine-month period owing to the Japanese firm’s changeover to a January to December fiscal year in 2012.
Gordon Brookes, 53, has returned to Michelin’s agricultural division in Stoke-on-Trent, taking over the role of technical manager for the UK and Republic of Ireland from Laurent Mozziconacci. Brookes started his career in the early 1980s running his own company building racing and rally cars. He joined Michelin in 1987 as a multi-product line sales manager and after six years he moved into the agricultural division, where he spent three years, before progressing into the OE and wholesale side of the agricultural department.
West Midlands tyre dealer Truck Tyre Solutions (TTS) reports securing a contract with one of the UK’s leading steel hauliers to supply Continental tyres as exclusive tyre fitment. Brierley Hill based A Hingley Transport runs a fleet of 80 top-weight tractor units and 180 trailers and specialises in the movement of steel as well as carrying out general haulage throughout the UK. The company is part of the AH Group, which also refurbishes trailers and builds new trailers, all of which will be fitted with Continental tyres as original equipment.
A number of new Firestone branded tyres will be displayed at the upcoming SIMA International Agri-Business Show in Paris. Bridgestone Europe says show visitors will have the opportunity to see no less than three new products up close:
According to consumer magazine Which?, local councils in England and Wales paid out £22.8 million in compensation to drivers for pothole related damage in 2012. Which is a lot, really, and indicates the extent of the pothole problem on our roads. The Which? findings have also prompted TyreSafe to warn that the current ‘pothole epidemic’ blighting the UK’s roads is not only causing added financial burden for drivers and councils, but also carries the risk that it could lead to a rise in the number of tyre related road casualties.
"The shock rise in wholesale costs is just one of the reasons why the Petrol Retailers' Assocation (PRA) has been knocking on the door of the Office for Fair Trading (OFT), since this time last year, to demand a full investigation into the workings of the UK market for road fuel" said Brian Maddersion, PRA Chairman.
Continental reports that a new feature related to its TPMS system has entered series production. The company says an Asian vehicle manufacturer now offers its customers a sub-function of Continental’s ‘Filling Assistant’ – feature that uses a motorist’s smart phone. An app on the phone omits a short ‘honking’ noise upon achieving optimal pressure during tyre inflation. The Filling Assistant function ensures that tyres always run on the correct pressure, even if they are filled using non-calibrated equipment.
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