Apollo Tyres has announced a “significant partnership” with India’s National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX), one of the country’s leading providers of testing and validation services. The partners are establishing a test track for validating electric vehicle tyres and low rolling resistance tyres. According to Apollo Tyres, this dedicated testing facility for EV manufacturers is the first of its kind in India.
Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer and Tyre Research Institute (HASETRI) has become the world’s first accredited Proficiency Testing Provider (PTP) for Rolling Resistance Tests by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The unique certification has been awarded according to ISO 17043:2010 standards for C1 (passenger car tyres), C2 (light truck tyres), and C3 (heavy truck tyres) tests.
Almost a year after presenting its first dedicated Long-Haul Trailer (LHT) tyre, Apollo Tyres has commenced deliveries of the Apollo EnduMile LHT. The tyre maker says EnduMile LHT provides “impressive levels of performance across the board,” including an A-rating for rolling resistance – a first for an Apollo Tyres truck tyre.
Although the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders indicates that battery electrics will hold a 17.8% new car market share by the end of 2023, vehicles powered from the socket remain the subject of lively debate and sensational headlines. Tyres aren’t exempt from such discourse, as the Daily Mail made clear in July when maligning these as the “dirty secret behind your electric vehicles.” To bring some common sense back into the EV tyre conversation, Michelin has shared its views on the subject.
Testing, consulting, information, and compliance services firm Smithers has produced a new whitepaper reporting the effects of temperature on tyre rolling resistance. It will soon offer the whitepaper for free download on its website.
Grippier sipes and softer rubber compounds mean higher rolling resistance when driving on winter tyres. They wear more quickly than summer tyres too, but anyone who fits these products can maximise tyre mileage by adapting their driving style and treating the tyres with care. Continental offers tips for using winter tyres in the most resource-efficient way possible.
Bridgestone Corporation has extended Enliten to the light truck segment, and next month will introduce the first Bridgestone truck tyres featuring the weight and rolling resistance technology.
With the addition of a new high-and low-temperature rolling resistance testing machine at its tyre and wheel testing laboratory in Suzhou, China, testing, consulting, information and compliance services firm Smithers is equipped to conduct rolling resistance testing on PCR, LT and light-duty TBR tyres at ambient temperatures between 40°C to 40°C (-40°F to 104°F). The new machine will be fully operational and begin running client data this month.
Indian consumers will soon benefit from tyre performance requirements very similar to those covering tyres sold in the UK and Europe. The country’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) announced the upcoming regulatory change on 28 June 2022.
In its recent test of ten summer tyres in the performance size 245/40 R19 98Y, Auto Bild reports that an original equipment tyre tested “by chance” alongside the aftermarket models delivered an “alarming result” in the wet braking test. Elaborating on this strongly worded evaluation, the motoring magazine explains that the OE specification tyre had been tweaked for optimally low rolling resistance – and thus minimal fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – at the expense of stopping distance on wet roads.
Continental is introducing a further five AllSeasonContact dimensions, and these tyres are the first in the range to offer an EU label rating of A for fuel efficiency. Furthermore, four of the five new sizes are XL rated for heavier loads; Continental says this combination “makes the tyre the ideal retrofit option for electric vehicles, as it can carry the higher average weight and extend the range of e-vehicles.”
Continental shares that it has further improved the rolling resistance properties of a specific OEM EcoContact 6 tyre, and by doing so has set a “new rolling-resistance benchmark for the entire industry.” This rolling resistance properties of this tyre, which Continental supplies to Ford as original equipment, now surpass the EU tyre label’s ‘A’ category by more than 15 per cent.
Grantham-based retreader Vaculug has achieved a world-first with the launch of its KT01. Testing at the Applus+ IDIADA testing ground in Spain has verified that this latest addition to the Vaculug portfolio has a lower rolling resistance coefficient than is required for a new tyre to gain an EU label rating of A for this criterion.
Continental is rolling out the latest-generation Conti EcoPlus range, the Conti EcoPlus 3+. It states that thanks to these tyres’ reduced rolling resistance and higher fuel efficiency, it can offer fleet operators “an optimised commercial vehicle tyre.”
Continental reports that its share of the tyre market for fully electric vehicles is growing, with six of the ten global highest-volume manufacturers of electric vehicles selecting the brand as original equipment in 2020. This includes fitment on key electric models like the Tesla Model 3 and Model S, and Volkswagen’s ID.3, as well as with manufacturers aiming to gain a foothold in the European electric vehicle market, such as BYD, one of China’s largest car producers.
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