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Tyres Receive ‘Full Medical’ with New Conti Scanner

Continental is employing a new CT scanner to further improve the testing of prototype tyres. This new piece of equipment is being set up at the company’s research and development centre in Hanover, Germany. According to Conti, the CT scanner greatly reduces the time needed to screen a tyre and enhances the quality of images taken during the process. Individual components of a tyre’s construction can be displayed separately enabling, for example, tests for wear in individual parts of the casing to be undertaken. Around 3,000 tyres are to undergo the testing process annually.

28th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lanxess Voices Support for Tyre Labelling Decision

The European Parliament’s decision on tyre labelling has been welcomed by specialty chemicals manufacturer Lanxess AG as a means of significantly reducing road generated CO2 reductions. The resolution requiring information about fuel efficiency, wet grip and rolling noise from 2012 onwards will, Lanxess believes, play a significant role for the tyre industry and its suppliers, as around 75 per cent of all tyres sold in Europe are replacement market products.

23rd April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Delivers a Le Mans 24 Hours One-Two Win

Following an eight-year absence, Michelin has marked its return to motorcyling’s Endurance World Championship with a one-two finish in the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours on April 19. The French manufacturer came back to the series this year alongside Yamaha Austria Racing Team, winner of this weekend’s race in France, and with the factory Honda that finished on the second step of the podium.

The 32nd edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, notes Michelin, was marked by particularly taxing weather, including non-stop rain throughout the night from Saturday to Sunday. Paradoxically, it adds, it was these extremely slippery conditions that enabled the top two teams to pull clear of their rivals – and Michelin attributes this ability to its tyres, developed especially to provide all-important grip on cold, wet tracks.

21st April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Jaguar Keeps it British with Latest OE Deal

Dunlop UK has confirmed that Jaguar has indeed decided to keep things British in the choice of tyres for its new XFR and XKR models. Continuing a decades-old tradition of fitment to both on-road and race vehicles, including the winners of seven Le Mans titles, the two new Jaguars will be fitted with Dunlop’s SP Sport Maxx tyres, a product the Birmingham based manufacturer says will provide outstanding performance and give the driver the ultimate driving experience.

The XFR and XKR are the latest addition to the Jaguar line-up and feature a 375kW/510 hp supercharged engine and acceleration of 4.8 seconds from 0-60 mph. This latest OE agreement will see every new XFR and XKR fitted with Dunlop tyres.

17th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

HiQ Banbury Gets £60,000 Face Lift

HiQ’s Banbury centre has invested £60,000 in a refurbishment programme. The Oxfordshire centre is the first of the franchise network’s 150 stores to boast British Touring Car Championship branding, to coincide with the company’s official sponsorship of Britain’s premier motor racing series.

HiQ is the official sponsor of the British Touring Car Championship and the Banbury centre will aim to bring the excitement and passion of the motor racing series onto its forecourt. The new Banbury concept has been developed on the back of an 18 month study looking at consumer attitudes to fast fit services.

17th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

R&D Centre to Help US in Race to Build Better Battery

The race is on to develop more efficient batteries for electric vehicles, and on April 8 the US based National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture announced the establishment of a research and development centre for this very purpose. The Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center in Lexington, Kentucky will house collaborative research by scientists from the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville and Argonne National Laboratory.

15th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Lands OE Deal with Military Aircraft Manufacturer

MRF, the first Indian tyre manufacturer to produce aviation tyres for military aircraft, has secured an order from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), one of Asia’s largest aerospace companies. The initial supply contract, reports the Financial Chronicle, is for some 400 to 500 tyres for HAL’s Chetak multi-purpose helicopter. India’s defence authorities have also reportedly asked the company to develop tyres for other types of military aircraft.

14th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Global Natural Rubber Production to Fall 2.2% in 2009

Natural rubber production is expected to fall by around 2.2 per cent during the course of 2009, following a 0.4 per cent dip in 2008, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), which represents 94 per cent of global production. According to the latest monthly report published by ANRPC all natural rubber (NR) producing countries have entered into a “declining phase.”

Thailand, which is the largest NR producing country in the world and is said to account for around a third of global supply, saw production drop 13.9 per cent year-on-year in the first two months of 2009. Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand predicts that 2009 production levels will by 0.5 per cent compared with from 2008, making it the market least affected by the apparent global decline.

14th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Wins OE Fitment Contract on Jaguar XFR and XKR

Dunlop has announced that it has been chosen by car maker Jaguar to provide as original equipment the ultra high performance summer tyre Dunlop SP Sport Maxx for both the XFR and the XKR. The new models are the latest additions to the Jaguar line-up, featuring a 375 kW/510 hp supercharged engine and acceleration of 4.8 seconds from 0-100 km/h.

Dunlop states that its tyre’s handling and grip qualities make the SP Sport Maxx an important addition, considering the overall car’s performance. It is noted for its dry handling and its luxury sport vehicle applicability, and is also available in sizes for tuned cars.

8th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Researching the Use of Rice Husk Ash in Tyre Compounds

International News, Product News

From an ecological point of view, the new Pirelli Cinturato P7 offers three headline benefits – a CO2 emission reduction of up to 4 grams per kilometre driven, 30 per cent lower noise emissions and a 4 per cent fuel saving. Pirelli’s clincher (particularly aimed at current and potential OE customers) is that it is already in position to meet the targets set by the new EU regulations that are due to take effect from 2011 and that it does this without compromising on wet or dry performance. However, none of this explains how the company is able to achieve these goals.

In mid-February, Pirelli gave details of how its 2009 – 2011 industrial plan means the company will have an increasingly “green” focus. In particular Pirelli committed to developing a series of new materials that for use in tyre compounds. One particular silica rich material is rice husk ash (RHA). Pirelli is already (as far as the technological requirements are concerned) in a position to use this material in tyre production this year. However, the material is currently the subject of a large scale viability study focusing on the availability of the kind of tonnages needed for tyre industral scale tyre manufacturing. Tyres & Accessories understands that Pirelli already has research and development teams in place in Brazil and the areas surround Milan, which just happen to be some of the best rice production areas in the world.

7th April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

3.5 Million on Illegal Tyres

Up to 3.5 million motorists in the UK are driving on illegal tyres, according to new research released this week. The study of 4,000 road users for Continental Tyres revealed a worrying ignorance of British drivers when it comes to tyre safety with one in 10 drivers running on tyres below the legal minimum tread depth. More than four in 10 (41 per cent) claim to have never checked their car tyres and a third admitted to not knowing how to check tread depth and tyre pressure. The survey was commissioned to coincide with the launch of a new website offering simple guidance to drivers on how to check tyres and other basic safety information.

2nd April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Corghi Sees the Blue Light

In the motor vehicle workshop equipment segment, Corghi reports that it is responding to today’s global economical crisis by investing in product innovation, infrastructure and new commercial facilities. The company says that it is committed to constant research in innovative solutions to meet the demands of an increasingly discerning market, an aim that the brand hopes to address through its participation in the Autopromotec show, where it will display a wide range of its newest products.

For the wheel balancer segment, Corghi presents Blue Light, a sophisticated wheel balancing machine developed in response to the needs of the upper end of the market. This high-tech system includes touch screen, real time, blue light and touchless technologies, which aim to simplify significantly the operator’s job.

2nd April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Announces New Brand Manager Michelle Fisher

On 1 April Goodyear Dunlop UK introduced its new Goodyear brand manager, Michelle Fisher. She will take over from Ben Crawley, who will now move into the position of business account manager, working on key strategic accounts, including KwikFit, for the company. Crawley has been with the company for seven years, three of which he spent in the brand manager slot. Fisher, formerly Goodyear Dunlop’s market research intelligence manager, moves into the role following her first year with the company.

Before joining the Goodyear Dunlop organisation Fisher, who has a BA Joint Honours degree in French and Business Studies, worked for Schneider Electric followed by the roles of market research executive and prospect relationship marketing executive at Aga Consumer Products.

1st April 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Preparing for 24 Hours of Le Mans

The pre-race trials held on March 31 and April 1 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans will enable the Michelin Power Research Team to continue preparing for the celebrated motorcycle race and choose the correct tyres for its race entry. The Michelin Power Research Team’s blue No. 63 Honda CBR 1000, ridden by William Costes, Hugo Marchand and Josep Monge, is intended to serve as a research laboratory that allows Michelin to pursue its tyre development in real racing conditions.

31st March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Enters FIM World Endurance Championship

The FIM World Endurance Championship will this year, for the first time, be contested by a bike wearing Michelin colours. The French manufacturer states that the entry of the motorcycle, under the ‘Michelin Power Research Team’ name, breaks new ground in the company’s competition history.

The team’s blue Honda CBR 1000 RR will carry the number 63 – the number given to France’s Puy de Dôme region or ‘department’ (the home to Michelin’s headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand) – and will be shared by test drivers William Costes, Hugo Marchand and Josep Monge. The Michelin Power Research Team bike will be prepared and run by Honda dealer Jean-François Daffix and his team, which is based in Aubière near Clermont-Ferrand.

25th March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors