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Keeping the noise down

A new research project into tyre noise on roads could lead to recommendations for improving the security and noise performance of Europe’s roads. The project, which is being carried out by Dr. Roger Pinnington and his team at the University of Southampton’s Institute of Sound and Vibration (ISVR) and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, aims to develop a model tyre that the researchers can use to gauge whether it is the tyre or the road surface that is producing the noise. The tyre model being developed will allow the researchers to determine whether the problem of traffic noise is the responsibility of the tyre manufacturers or the road constructors.

9th January 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

German drivers happiest driving Japanese cars, says study

Car drivers in Germany, long held to be home to some of the best engineered vehicles in the world, are happier driving Japanese cars than German ones, a consumer satisfaction survey has shown. The survey, complied by German drivers association ADAC and the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) group, asked more than 38,000 German car owners how satisfied they were both with the product and the service they received from manufacturers. German industry stalwarts Mercedes, Volkswagen and Opel came in near the bottom of the pile, while Japanese names clinched the top seven places. Porsche, the world’s most profitable carmaker famed for its growling sports cars, was the only German company to make it into the top ten. Japan’s Toyota, maker of the world’s best selling car, the Corolla, and the envy of the auto industry due partly to the efficiency of its plants, topped the list. Subaru, Honda, Mazda and Nissan completed the top five.

27th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin to join BMW in auto research park

BMW is to build a research centre focused on information technology in an automotive research park in Greenville. Michelin North America Inc., the Greenville-based subsidiary of the French tyre maker, said it will also participate in the park, in a capacity not yet defined. Nan Banks, a spokeswoman for the company in Greenville, said Wednesday Michelin will play a role in the park. “We’re going to determine the form that support will take as the project unfolds,” she said. Michelin, which already has a research and development operation in Greenville County, sees Clemson’s park “as something that will expand and enhance the activities we already have here.”

13th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

AutoExCel to go ahead

After a lengthy period of research and consultation, the AutoExCel exhibition and event for the UK automotive aftermarket, is to go ahead in 2005, say organisers London Eventco. It will cover all sectors and products in the aftermarket and will be held at London’s latest exhibition facility, the ExCel complex in Docklands, from April 24-26 2005.

6th November 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Small is dangerous – according to US research

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analysed statistics from every major type of crash between 1991 and 1999 and found that occupants of lighter cars would suffer the most if the nation’s cars and trucks were to become lighter. NHTSA estimated that reducing weight per vehicle by an average 100 pounds would result in 597 more small-car deaths annually, 216 more large car deaths and 305 more light truck deaths. “It doesn’t mean we would rule out weight reductions,” said NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson. “We don’t design vehicles. But it does mean the people who design vehicles will have to be careful about how they make weight reductions so they don’t compromise safety.” This continues a long tradition of defending the typically large US vehicle. If we all drive smaller cars then small cars are safe, otherwise the laws of physics apply.

15th October 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli JD Power’s highest rated car/ compact van tyre

A study by J.D. Power and Associates in the USA places Pirelli highest in satisfaction for its original equipment car/compact van tyres among over 30,000 new vehicle users.

Managing Director of the Pirelli Tyre Sector, Francesco Gori: “Pirelli’s strategy of attacking the North American original equipment market is producing significant results, thanks also to MIRS™ technology”
Pirelli car/compact van tyres have been ranked highest by American motorists, compared to all the other original equipment brands included in the study. This has been confirmed by J.D. Power and Associates, one of the principal institutes for the analysis of the United States market, in its annual tyre research into the Index of Satisfaction, conducted among 30,478 owners of new cars.

23rd September 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Creating a winter tyre market

When we contacted a number of tyre manufacturers to obtain information for this feature, we received a number of reactions along the lines of “Winter tyres? There’s not much call for them in the UK.” Some companies had to contact their mainland European offices for product details and the situation is neatly summed up by the fact that, if you want Michelin’s latest high speed winter tyre in the UK, it has to be ordered specially.

Perhaps this is not that surprising, as there is a shortage of winter tyres in mainland Europe, caused by the long winter which went on into March this year. One estimate is that winter tyre inventories are now around 15 per cent below normal, at six million units.
But the UK winter tyre market is minimal, mainly because we have light snowfalls over much of the country. However, you do not need snow for a winter tyre to be effective and to improve driver safety. The main supporter of this view is the head of Vredestein UK, Bert Stellinga. When he first came to the UK, he declared himself amazed at the tiny size of the UK winter tyre market and it is his ambition to see this grow.

If they are not designed for snow, then why fit winter tyres? The simple answer is that, when it is cold and wet – which, let’s face it, is more typical winter weather than snow – a winter tyre performs better than a summer version. Research showed that, in these conditions, braking distances were significantly shorter for winter-shod vehicles. The figure that you will see mentioned throughout the articles in this feature is +7ºC; below this, winter tyres outperform summer tyres.

Vredestein wanted to enhance winter tyre sales, so the company joined forces with a medium-sized car leasing company and the Euromaster chain of tyre retailers. The leasing company was looking at ways to differentiate itself from the herd and, after being convinced by a series of braking tests that stopping distances were indeed shorter on winter tyres (and by analysing accident statistics and finding that more happened in the winter) it came on board.

Says Bert Stellinga: “Back in 1995, winter tyres accounted for half of one per cent of Dutch tyre sales and, by the end of 2002, it was up to around seven per cent” he remembers. If we accept the rough figure of 25 million tyres in the UK replacement tyre market, then seven per cent equates to 1.75 million tyres, which is a figure that should be of interest to the manufacturers and to the tyre dealers too.

11th August 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli First Half Figures

First half sales of the Pirelli group totalled 3.022 billion Euro, down 9.8 per cent on the 1H 2002 figure of 3.35 bn Euro, preliminary, unaudited figures show. However, when exchange rate fluctuations and changes due to consolidation are factored out, sales actually increased by 3.3 per cent. Operating income was 118 million Euro, due largely to a growth (net of exchange rates) in the tyre sector of 14.4 per cent, with sales at 1.509 bn Euro.

6th August 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Car-makers’ Productivity Gap Narrows

European and US car manufacturers are catching up with their Japanese counterparts in Europe in terms of productivity. Toyota, Honda and Nissan averaged 87.5 cars per worker, in a report issued by the World Markets Research Centre – the European average is 58.6 cars/worker. But the gap is narrowing; Europe-based Japanese companies improved productivity by 5.4 per cent last year, while the improvement average for non-Japanese European manufacturers was 7 per cent.

8th July 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Thailand bans used tyre imports

Thailand’s Commerce Ministry has said that it will impose a ban on imports of used tyres from 29th July in a bid to prevent any negative impact on the environment and human health. The ban covers imports of used tyres for passenger cars, buses, trucks, bicycles and motorcycles, including parts of tyres for these vehicles, the statement said. The ban won’t cover tyres which are attached to imported vehicles or those imported for research purposes.

12th June 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Gingo Named Executive Vice President of Goodyear

Joseph M. Gingo (58), who has held several key global technical and business leadership positions for the tiremaker, has been named executive vice president, quality systems and chief technical officer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

8th June 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Greets Nobel Winner

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company played host to Nobel Prize winner Dr. Alan Heeger before he addressed the Akron Polymer Lecture Group at the University of Akron; a Goodyear-sponsored program for the past 50 years. Dr. Heeger was greeted at Goodyear’s Technical Center in Akron by Joseph M. Gingo, senior vice president, technology and global products planning, and Jonathan D. Rich, president of Goodyear’s North American Tire business. Dr. Heeger won the 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry for the “discovery and development of conductive polymers.” He is professor of physics and materials at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and heads a research group at the University’s Center for Polymers and Organic Solids. Rich holds a doctorate in chemistry and Gingo has a chemical engineering degree.

12th May 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli And Porsche In Coast-To-Coast Expedition

In the USA, four Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUVs have embarked on a coast-to-coast trek, raising funds for the cancer research charity, the Hope Foundation. The route is over trails restored as part of the “Cayenne Crossing Initiative”; a long-term project in which Porsche Cars North America is involved in restoring and maintaining roads and trails across the USA. Pirelli tyres are OE on the Cayenne and the four vehicles involved in the ten-day journey are fitted with 235/60 R18 Scorpion A/Ts, suitable for highway and off-road driving.

7th May 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Carbon Lock Out Continues

The Paper, Allied-Industrial and Chemical Workers International Union (PACE) reported today that contract negotiations yesterday failed to end an almost two-year lockout of 86 union employees at Continental Carbon in Ponca City, Oklahoma. According to Ernie Anderson, PACE’s chief negotiator, Continental Carbon’s negotiators want union members to serve as contractors and bid against non-union firms for routine maintenance. “The company even insists that the union bids must be 30 per cent lower than other bids for union workers to perform the maintenance work,” said Anderson. Goodyear, one of the company’s largest customers, no longer purchases carbon black from Continental Carbon.PACE has warned customers, particularly tyre manufacturers, of the danger of using carbon black from Ponca City where less-experienced replacement workers and overworked managers have attempted to produce high quality carbon black. PACE has stated repeatedly, based on research from tyre experts, that defective or contaminated carbon black can cause tread separation.

2nd May 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Teves And Bosch Join In ESC Coalition

Continental Teves, a unit of Continental AG, and Robert Bosch Corp, the North American subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, have joined together to form the Electronic Stability Control Coalition (ESCC). The coalition will conduct a consumer public relations and marketing campaign designed to educate consumers about the safety benefits of electronic stability control (ESC) systems in passenger cars and light trucks. ESC is an active safety system that enhances vehicle stability in critical situations by analyzing the driver’s intention and comparing it to what the car is actually doing. The coalition wants to promote the impact that ESC systems can have on improving the safety of automobiles. One of the key goals is to inform consumers of the importance and benefits of ESC, a breakthrough in safety technology. The public education programme will include the development of issues research, as well as the creation of broad-based grassroots programmes, such as seminars and brochures.

26th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors