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Passenger Car Centre Opens In Malaysia

Towards the end of last year, Heap Heng Tayar Sdn. Bhd., in partnership with Continental Sime Tyre (CST), opened the first BestDrive Continental Passenger Car and Light Truck (PLT) Centre in Kedah, Malaysia.

To date, seven BestDrive Continental PLT Centres have been opened throughout Peninsula Malaysia, with more to come, says Choong Kee Seng, Sales Director at CST. The concept of the centres is to provide a broad range of car and light truck-related services, aimed squarely at the premium customer segment.

22nd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Unreliable Tyre Inflation Equipment Adding Danger to UK Roads

Every time you pull into a garage to check your tyre pressure there’s at least a one in three chance that the tyre inflation facilities provided will be damaged, out of order or giving incorrect readings. This is the finding of a study conducted by Kwik-Fit; 39 per cent of tyre gauges at service stations fail to deliver in terms of reliability and accuracy.

“You might well be forgiven for expecting the gauge on your local garage forecourt to be accurate and in working condition, but seemingly this is not the case,” commented Kwik-Fit customer services director David White. Spot checks conducted by the nationwide chain also reveal that as many as 20 per cent of UK motorists are driving vehicles with under-inflated tyres, and are most likely unaware anything is amiss or the dangers that under-inflation poses. “Under-inflated tyres can lead to a blow-out,” White adds. “Motorists that have had this happen to them will know it is an extremely alarming situation to be in and has the potential to cause a serious accident.”

14th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Pressure & Tread Depth Neglected in Winter – TyreSafe

TyreSafe has marked the post New Year return to work, and the daily commute, by issuing another warning about the importance of regularly checking tyre pressure and tread depth. The organisation’s latest report quotes disturbing figures from surveys conducted by vehicle supermarket Motorpoint, which indicates more than 50 per cent of drivers fail to regularly check their tyre pressure before embarking on a journey, and by carmaker Kia, which found that one in three drivers failed to check their tread depth even monthly during the 2007 winter season.

8th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Alarming Results From NTDA Company Car Driver Survey

The NTDA has called on small business car users to take a more responsible attitude to tyre maintenance after results of a survey issued this week showed that over 70 per cent of vehicles in this sector were running on cars with tyre problems.

The survey, carried out over a six month period last year, was produced by Total Motion as part of their regular vehicle monitoring programme and covered nearly 6,000 company and privately owned vehicles used for business.

7th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Seeing Is Believing For Canadian Winter Drivers

Those motorists who have winter tyres fitted to their vehicles need no convincing about how much they improve performance and safety in winter conditions. In a country such as Canada, you might be forgiven for thinking that this would include practically everybody, but it seems not, as the Rubber Association of Canada (RAC), Transport Canada and the Automobile Protection Agency (APA) have got together to produce a set of videos to show just how much better winter tyres are.

7th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Not-so-Magic Roundabouts Annoy Drivers

Motorists in the Lancashire town of Skelmersdale claim that the large number of roundabouts in the town is the cause of premature tyre wear, which is both expensive and potentially dangerous. Apparently, Skelmersdale boasts more than 40 roundabouts, including Half Mile Island, which is said to be the biggest in the world and taxi drivers and tyre fitters have reported extremely high rates of tyre wear. Said John Kieran, of Skelmersdale Express Tyres: “All the cabbies constantly have to have their tyres turned around because they wear out so quickly, especially on the outside of the passenger side”.

Cabbie Steven Crawley reckons the roundabouts in Skelmersdale wear his tyres down so much he gets through about six sets a year. He said: “My tyres only last about two months at the most and I have to turn them around every six weeks”. So widespread is the problem that it has been given the name of the “Skem Rash”.

4th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti UK: EU Labelling Scheme May Compromise Safety

Continental Tyre in the UK has added its voice to comments made by executive board chairman Manfred Wennemer in mid-November regarding EU plans to introduce an environmental labelling scheme for tyres. The scheme, which forms part of the EU’s drive to reduce CO2 emissions and noise pollution from road traffic, aims to identify those tyres considered to be most energy-efficient and label them appropriately. The most efficient tyres would be classed as those with a particularly low ‘rolling resistance’.

However, Peter Robb from Continental Tyre Group UK comments that “Quite simply a low rolling resistance tyre isn’t necessarily a safe tyre and we want to make sure manufacturers do not think they can get away with supplying tyres deemed to be energy efficient, yet which pose a potential safety threat to motorists.” Conti believes that tyres that focus only upon low rolling resistance would be significantly worse at braking on wet roads.

12th 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

NETE Takes the Exhaustion out of Custom Exhausts

North Eastern Tyre and Exhausts recently announced its intention to make further inroads into the retail market, and steps towards this goal have been made through a number of investments, including upgrading of its outlets and the construction of a ninth premises in Harrogate/Knaresborough, which is nearing completion. Now the Middlesbrough based business has invested into the exhaust side of its operations in North Yorkshire with the addition of a piece of equipment that is proving a drawcard for the region’s car enthusiasts.

The company’s Brotton outlet has become the recipient of a specialist exhaust-bending machine that allows NETE to produce any style of exhaust for any type of car. The machine, which cost in excess of £20,000, utilises the latest in exhaust customising technology to come from the US and, reports the manager of NETE’s Brotton outlet, Tony Darcy, it is attracting a wide variety of drivers from right across the region.

13th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

ProTyre Stocks Michelin Energy

ProTyre has announced that it will stock the new Michelin Energy tyre. “This tyre is special” comments ProTyre, “we are delighted to be offering motorists the next wave in revolutionary tyres at competitive prices.” According to Michelin, the new Energy has 25 per cent higher durability than any other tyre, a higher fuel efficiency that could save motorists up to £50 in fuel costs, and is environmentally friendly – reducing CO2 emissions by up to 150kg.

5th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Names the UK’s Ten Most Hated Speed Humps

Continental Tyres has lifted the lid on what many think to be the worst speed hump in the UK. The offending traffic control device is located in Staffordshire; Tower View road, Great Wyrley to be precise – and it is often obscured from view by floodwaters. Deep gouges in the hump created by hapless motorists are telltale signs of many an unexpected encounter with the hump. A local campaign calling for its removal is currently underway.

The nationwide survey to find the top ten speed most hated humps was conducted by Continental to gauge public opinion about one of the most common causes of tyre damage. A 2003 report by the British Tyre Manufacturers Association showed impact damage such as that occurring when striking a speed hump to be the second most common reason for the replacement of tyres before the end of their tread life. Conti has seen the volume of tyres returned as a result of impact damage increase by 60 per cent since 2001, ten years after the introduction of the first speed humps to the UK. One in eight cars is estimate to have experienced damage as a result of speed hump impact.

2nd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to Sponsor Inaugural Road Safety Expo

Michelin has extended its comprehensive road safety programmes to include sponsorship of the first ever UK Road Safety Expo, which takes place in London on 22 November. Road Safety Expo ’07 is a new event combining a conference and exhibition designed to highlight the latest developments in technology and the future strategy for road safety educational campaigns.

Jim Fitzpatrick, MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary with responsibility for road safety will deliver the keynote speech and other speakers will represent all major road safety campaigns, including Think! and Roadsafe.

23rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Winter Tyres Get the Cold Shoulder in New Zealand

Public perception of cold weather tyres in New Zealand has been dealt another blow, with the country’s leading motor industry organisation, the Motor Trade Association, again calling for a ban to be placed upon the importation of cars fitted with cold weather tyres, more commonly known in New Zealand as snow tyres. The association has also proposed denying a warrant of fitness – the 6-monthly New Zealand equivalent to the MOT – to any vehicle fitted with cold weather tyres outside the cold season and away from “colder regions of the country.” Demands for such measures have been repeated throughout this year following the occurrence of two well-publicised fatal accidents involving vehicles fitted with a combination of summer and winter tyres, and this negative attention appears to have overshadowed the benefits that correctly fitted winter tyres may bring to motorists.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Winter Tyres Get the Cold Shoulder in New Zealand

Public perception of cold weather tyres in New Zealand has been dealt another blow, with the country’s leading motor industry organisation, the Motor Trade Association, again calling for a ban to be placed upon the importation of cars fitted with cold weather tyres, more commonly known in New Zealand as snow tyres. The association has also proposed denying a warrant of fitness to any vehicle fitted with cold weather tyres outside the cold season and away from “colder regions of the country.” Demands for such measures have been repeated throughout this year following the occurrence of two well-publicised fatal accidents involving vehicles fitted with a combination of summer and winter tyres, and this negative attention appears to have overshadowed the benefits that correctly fitted winter tyres may bring to motorists.

16th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Beaurepaires Indroduces ‘Climate Neutral’ Tyres to Australia

One of Australia’s largest tyre retailers, Beaurepaires, is calling on motorists to help reduce the environmental impact of their cars and tyres through the use of climate neutral tyres. For the first time, Australian motorists can purchase climate neutral tyres at no extra cost thanks to the Beaurepaires Climate Neutral campaign the retailer is running across its 300-store national network during October.

If the 11 million passenger vehicles on Australian roads were fitted with climate neutral tyres, more than 10.5 million tonnes of CO² emissions could be prevented from entering our atmosphere. This is equivalent to the volume of 2.3 million Olympic sized swimming pools or more than 1.6 million households switching to clean energy for one year.

Beaurepaires has also produced a set of tips to help motorists reduce the environmental impact of their cars and tyres on a day-to-day basis. Managing director and CEO of Beaurepaires, Judith Swales, urged motorists to do their bit to lessen the environmental damage caused by their vehicles.

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors