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Has Your Battery Got A Touch of the Sun?

As the busy summer holiday motoring season draws to a close Kwik-Fit is offering motorists a free battery check-up, explaining that even though most batteries die in the winter, it’s actually the summer that inflicts most of the damage.

According to Kwik-Fit, on a hot summer’s day – with the engine running – temperatures under the bonnet can reach up to 90 degrees centigrade. This extra heat causes the chemical reaction within a car battery to speed up and in older batteries this can lead to a total failure.

16th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Establishes Proving Ground in China

Bridgestone has been granted approval to establish a new $25 million proving ground in China follwoing a period of negotiation with Chinese authorities. Bridgestone aims to use this testing and research facility to develop a system that enables the swift provision of tyres for original equipment and replacement in the Chinese market.

15th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Tops JD Power US OE Tyre Satisfaction Rankings

Newly released data produced by JD Power and Associated, ranks Michelin as the best OE tyre supplier in terms of US customer satisfaction. The study is based on responses from more than 32,000 new-vehicle owners who purchased a vehicle between 2003 and 2004. Overall satisfaction of OE tyres is based on performance in five factors: wearability, appearance, traction, ride and handling.

Michelin achieves the highest OE tyre satisfaction index score in each of the four segments included in the study: luxury/sport; mass-market/non-luxury; pickup/full-size van; and SUV. Michelin leads all four segments in the five factors contributing to customer satisfaction. However, Michelin-owned BFGoodrich did not fare so well, coming bottom in the luxury sport segment and receiving mediocre marks in the mass-market report.

13th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

India’s Car Sales Slow

(India/Rubber Asia) Passenger car sales in India during the first six months of 2005 slowed down compared to the same period last year, according to Anang D. Jena, research director, Synovate Motoresearch. Total production of passenger cars in the January-June 2005 period was about 505,951 units, up by 12.5 per cent over the corresponding period last year. However, total sales during the period stood at 530,811 units, up only by 7.6 per cent over the same period last year.

9th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian i3 Aims At Volume Sector

Nokian has introduced a new tyre, aimed at small and family-sized cars. Called the i3, the tyre is T-rated and comes in 14″ and 15″ sizes, with a few 13″ sizes also available. Altogether there are 11 sizes, for aspect ratios of 70, 65 and 60 series.

9th September 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

TIA Welcomes Decision Not To Ban Lead Weights

Months after the End of Life Vehicle Directive led to the banning of lead balancing weights for passenger cars in the EU, discussions on the subject continue in the US.

Most recently the US Tire Industry Association (TIA) issued a statement saying it applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) denial of the Ecology Center’s petition for a ban on lead wheel weights. EPA cited “insufficient data” as the reason they will not move ahead on a lead wheel weight ban at this time.

30th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Tread Safely Week

Roadsafe has organised a ‘Tread Safely Week’ as part of the UK’s 3mm replacement campaign to take place from 3 – 9 October 2005. An information pack has also been issued in conjunction with this, urging motorists to change their tyres before they reach the legal limit of 1.6mm.

Tread Safely week will see Roadsafe undertaking targeted press activity, broadcast interviews and consumer roadshows to bring home the message of the importance of checking tyre tread depth and considering taking action to replace tyres which could underperform in an emergency situation.

26th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

TIC Start Tyre Checks

The TIC’s tyre safety awareness campaign is once again taking up the challenge of raising through a series of tyre checks on the roads of the North West of England next month.

The four principle police forces in the North West – Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside – will combine with the council to mount a hard hitting campaign detailing the increased risk of having an accident, particularly in the wet, if a vehicle has worn tyres. Recent research by the AA Motoring Trust indicates that worn tyres contribute to one in ten accidents in wet conditions.

25th August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Clocks Up Fan Miles

Newcastle United’s Toon Army and Sunderland’s Mackems have been named as the nation’s most committed football fans for miles covered per season, in a survey conducted by Continental.

The Toon Army claim number one spot, travelling 22.8 million miles, according to the results of Conti’s study of 92 English and Welsh clubs.

22nd August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Safety Concerns Drive Kwik-Fit Brake Business Boom

Kwik-Fit Fleet says that safety concerns by fleets have led to record levels of company car and van brake inspection and replacement work.

Last year, Kwik-Fit Fleet launched a major brake initiative aimed at winning an increased share of the UK company car brake replacement market. The result was an increase in the volume of fleet-specific brake work at the company’s centres of 41 per cent on 2003 levels. And this trend has continued in the first half of this year, with a near 40 per cent rise in fleet brake-related work compared with the first six months of 2004.

1st August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Fulda Launches 4×4 Road Range

Fulda have announced the launch of their brand new range of tyres designed specifically for 4×4 Sports Utility Vehicles on the road. The range, Fulda 4×4 Road, is aimed in particular at models such as the BMW X5, Chrysler Cherokee, Nissan Murano, Range Rover, VW Touareg and similar vehicles. According to the company, the new tyres are designed and built to give increased road safety, road comfort and economy for the driver.

1st August 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Settles With Chinese Manufacturer Over Patent Dispute

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it has settled its patent infringement dispute with major Chinese manufacturer, Shandong Chengshan Tire Co, Ltd.

The dispute centres around the patents the Japanese manufacturer acquired on the design of its R288 and M858 radial truck and bus tyres. Bridgestone reports that in November 2004, the company “discussed continuously” with Shandong Chengshan asking it to cease production of its CST66 and CST88 Shandong Chengshan tyres. Bridgestone contended that these radial truck and bus tyres closely resembled the design of its R288 and M858 products.

29th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone’s New Exhibition Look

Firestone has invested in a new mobile exhibition unit, which it recently put to the test during Grasslands 2005. The unit is available for free hire to support Agri Point dealers at relevant agricultural/country exhibitions subject to availability.

The 3,500 kg trailer unit features a hospitality seating area for up to 10 people and a well-equipped kitchen. The unit already has livery for Firestone including graphics panels featuring a number of advertisements from the current ‘Testimonial’ campaign.

28th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal To Debut Complete Motorsport Series

Federal Tire plans to make the most of the opportunity provided by the Tyrexpo Asia exhibition and debut not one, but two complete motorsport series. The range, known collectively as “Federal Motorsport” is made up of the “595 Competition Series” and the “FZ Combat Series.”

In addition, Federal will also unveil the new Couragia M/T all terrain tyre, and the Milanza HZ-I, a brand new Hero brand UHP tyre. The company’s Himalaya WS-I winter product, Couragia S/U, Formoza FD-I and Hero branded 558 and 668 tyres will also be on display. The 595 Competition series has evolved from Federal’s popular SS595. Now the tyre has been renamed as simply the 595 and has spawned three variations, the 595 Drift Competition, 595EVO Street Competition and 595RS Sport Competition.

27th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Roads As Energy Collectors

The Transport Research Laboratory is trialling a project to turn roads into collectors of energy. In summer, the sun’s heat absorbed by the road’s surface is collected by water circulating through pipes installed below the surface and retained in insulated heat stores in the ground. The heat will remain stored ready for recovery in the winter. The trial is being carried out on a road near Toddington Services (M1 Junction 12) and will last two years.

26th July 2005/by Tyrepress Editors