The Rodeo, Isuzu’s new, robust 4×4 vehicle, is fitted with KYB shock absorbers as original equipment front and rear. As well as enhancing off-road performance on any type of terrain, the suspension system is designed for high levels of comfort, driver control and handling. KYB has OE contracts with numerous vehicle manufacturers and the company says that one in every four new cars is fitted with KYB shock absorbers as original equipment.
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. has announced the sale of its Southfield, Michigan iron suspension components machining plant to Whitebox Advisors, LLC and the management team who had previously purchased the Company’s Cadillac, Michigan ductile iron foundry in December 2005.
KYB has introduced a new coil spring catalogue specific to the UK market, giving details of the company’s K-Flex coil spring range, which is manufactured to OE specifications. The 190-page catalogue lists over 1,900 part numbers, including many new vehicle applications and springs for commercial vehicles. KYB recommends that, as coil springs are a vital part of a vehicle’s suspension system, they should be replaced every four years or 50,000 miles and where possible changed at the same time as shock absorbers.
Trackday driving is a fast-growing activity for drivers who want to see exactly what their cars are capable of, but often the car will not go where it’s pointed – and nine times out of ten the tyres are the biggest influence. Jerry Freeman of Service & Sport, official tyre partner of Easytrack, Europe’s biggest trackday event organiser, says that there’s a handful of key rules that can turn a trackday nightmare into a driving dream. A former Pirelli motorsport specialist with thousands of racing support miles under his belt, Freeman says 99 per cent of the problems are invisible to the layman.
Dunlop used the Great and British Motorsport Festival at Thruxton to put the latest Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyre to its toughest test in preparation for the forthcoming 2007 Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup for Production Cars. The Dunlop SP Sport Maxx road tyre was tested on two cars that are expected to grace the grids of the new production cup next year. The Hyundai Coupe V6 and Vauxhall Astra VXR Sprint were both chosen for initial tyre evaluation work as these powerful front wheel drive cars make the front tyres work extremely hard over a race distance.
The VECO range of automotive components is now available in Northern Ireland after Belfast-based SIA Agencies teamed up with GP Automotive, the official distributor of the brand in to the UK aftermarket. Under the new agreement, SIA Agencies has become the exclusive new VECO distributor in Northern Ireland and components are available immediately from the company’s warehouse in Belfast. The VECO label has gone from strength-to-strength since GP took over the brand last September. Its range of braking, clutch, water pump, cables, wheel bearings, and steering and suspension components have proved popular with aftermarket retailers seeking a cost-effective and reliable hard parts programme. The current VECO range exceeds 11,000 part numbers.
The second generation Mercedes-Benz M-Class continues to set the standard, using a new tyre set up from Bridgestone that is said to offer a sportier ride without compromising high speed stability or on-the-road comfort.
The classy SUV bears all the hallmarks of the ground-breaking mark one M-Class that paved the way for modern off-roaders following its launch in 1997 – majestic looks, stunning performance, a stylish interior and masses of load capacity.
Jaguar Cars has selected two Dunlop SP Sport performance tyres for its new supercharged XKR, a 420-horsepower sporting Grand Tourer. Dunlop tyres, standard on the 2007 Jaguar XK, have also been specified for the XKR, which delivers 120 more horsepower. The XKR will jet to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds; the car arrives in showrooms by year’s end. The convertible model takes 5 seconds.
Hankook has continued to have a strong UK motorsport season with the latest successes in the Jim Clark Rally – the second round of the Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship. The SJR Hankook team set a string of fastest times with driver Gwyndaf Evans and increased its points haul with an impressive finish by team-mate Stuart Jones.
Tenneco Inc., manufacturer of Monroe® shock absorbers, is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the start of its shock absorber manufacturing activity with a number of initiatives that support its new brand promise “Monroe is More®”. The company, which was one of the first to invent shock absorber technology in the early 1900s, today supplies more than 200 vehicle platforms worldwide with its original equipment ride and emission control products. To mark the occasion, Tenneco is expanding coverage of its Monroe® range of aftermarket shock absorber, providing more training and introducing an all-new look for its aftermarket shocks.
Dunlop is working with young engineers to bring Formula racing car BMM02 into reality. The team consists of 20 postgraduate Automotive and Motorsport engineers from Brunel University West London, with the common goal of designing and manufacturing a formula-style racing car for the Formula Student Competition 2006.
Tecalemit has a range of play detectors for cars, LGVs and HGVs. The DE 9002 Car and LGV Play Detector with pneumatically driven plates is suitable for testing steering and suspension component wear on cars and LGVs up to a gross axle weight of 2500Kg.
The unit, which allows movement in two directions and partial turn and has a low voltage hand lamp and controls has been designed for use on inspection pits and, subject to approval of lift manufacturers, 4 post lifts, scissor and parallelogram lifts. A recessed option is available.
Pitching their marketing directly at young drivers looking to upgrade their first hot-hatch, DJ Wheels has released two additions to its 2006 range. With vivid computer game style images on both the literature and point of sale material, Sherbrook is aiming to move ‘First Wheels’ marketing forward in a campaign that breaks new ground in the accessory sector. In total nine designs are available in the 2006 DJ Wheels line-up.
The new DJ388 is said to deliver ‘split-rim’ styling at an affordable price. The five-spoke design comes in either 4 or 5-stud fixing. Size availability is: 7×15 and 7×16 in Sport Silver finish, with 7×17 and 7.5×18 in Hyper Silver.
Bridgestone Corporation has unveiled a more compact, lighter version of its revolutionary in-wheel motor system for electric vehicles (Version III). Bridgestone first released details of the in-wheel motor system in September 2003. Then, a more compact and lighter version (Version II) was designed in September 2004. Based on this technology, Bridgestone developed the latest version especially for small tyre sizes.
Installing the drive motors inside the wheels means each wheel can be controlled individually, which supports excellent handling. It also eliminates the need for the differential gear and drive shaft and therefore allows for unprecedented freedom when designing vehicles. Designers can allocate more space to the driver and passengers without increasing the overall size and weight of the vehicle.
(Akron/Tire Review) Yokohama Tire Corp.’s Advan Neova tyre brand has been named the exclusive tyre for Dinan’s modified BMWs and Minis. Dinan, which featured Advan Neova tyres on its cars at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January, will offer Advan tyres exclusively, according to Yokohama. More than 130 Dinan-authorised BMW/MINI Performance Centres will offer the tyres.
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