Wheel manufacturer and importer Performance Wheels Ltd. has released its 2010 ‘Mini Catalogue’. The A5 sized brochure showcases the company’s latest wheel ranges as well as the popular Cobra suspension range, covering an extensive range of fitments.
Hofmann, a brand within Snap-on Equipment, says that its geolite 3D wheel alignment machine makes the process “accessible to more workshops”, with a price tag of £7,995 (excluding VAT). The company says the geolite has the facility to take accurate alignment readings to OEM specification in under three-minutes from vehicle set-up, with global passenger car data for vehicles up to 25-years old.
Alcoa Auto Wheels has announced that the company is supplying forged aluminium wheel for the V12 Vantage – billed by Aston Martin as its most exhilarating sports car. "The forging technology behind these wheels enables significant weight savings directly benefiting handling performance, ride quality, acceleration and braking,” explained David Yates, marketing manager for Alcoa Europe, adding: “Our forging process results in a superior metal structure that also improves strength and durability, allowing finer wheel detailing and lighter weight.”
Regarding braking as one part of the triumvirate of chassis safety, car parts, garage equipment and training provider, CES UK has launched a series of events at educational facilities located close to its branch network across the UK. CES has a “Safety Triangle” logo illustrating this point, with the three ‘s’-es of stopping steering and stability emblazoned on each of the shapes sides. The events, in the words of CES, “will be looking at the safety critical systems within the chassis systems and exploring the results of component failure, duty of care, changes in technology and garages profit opportunities.”
TyreSafe has warned motorists that replacing their vehicle’s run-flat tyres with standard tyres could pose a safety hazard. The tyre safety organisation is concerned that attempts to reduce vehicle maintenance costs by selecting tyres which do not incorporate the added technology and features found in run-flat tyre could lead to drivers inadvertently yet significantly changing the handling characteristics of their vehicle, increasing the chance of being involved in an accident.
Continental’s Industrial Tyres business unit has released its successor to the IC80 and ConRad HT tyres. Called the ContiRT20 Performance, the pneumatic radial is designed to move extremely heavy loads at speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph).
Indian manufacturer Apollo Tyres has completed its second Vehicle Dynamics Workshop in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Apollo began the Workshop two years ago as a biannual platform for auto and tyre-makers, tyre testing authorities and homologation bodies to discuss vehicle dynamics, its facets, complexities, issues being faced and ways and means of addressing them. The company says the Workshop comes at a time when regulations across the world are being tightened, and both car and tyre makers are actively seeking ways to bring out products, which meet customer needs of safety, fuel efficiency, price and comfort while applying environmentally safe options.
Startrescue.co.uk figures suggest that the recent cold weather has left the UK’s roads in a bad way, causing the number of call-outs for tyre and suspension related repairs to rise rapidly in the 2009-2010 winter season. The relatively new breakdown recovery service reported a 13 per cent increase in December and January.
Snap-on Equipment is urging tyre shops to consider the commercial opportunity of adding wheel alignment to their existing undercar service business. Field research by the garage equipment manufacturer has shown that by carrying out just four alignment procedures per day can generate additional net income of £32,910 per annum, based on a five and a half day week, direct costs of £15 per hour and a charge of £50 for each alignment procedure. Accurate wheel alignment also diagnoses chassis problems due to kerbing and pothole damage that can often require replacement suspension and steering components, resulting in further revenue generation.
Pirelli has announced its latest motorcycle trackday and race slick tyre, the ‘Diablo Superbike PRO'. The company says the tyre has been released now to coincide with the start of the new World Superbike season tests at Portimão, Portugal. The new tyre is aimed at club racers and track day riders, with technology directly devised from Pirelli's development programme in World Superbikes. The ‘PRO' has been created with racers and track day enthusiasts in mind – it is designed to wear consistently and last for more than one racing event. It is easily recognized by a red stripe which is printed on the tyre and for its red "PRO" marking on the sidewall.
Last August we brought news on the American judge who passed sentence on the rear tyre of the car belonging to courtroom cleaner Jean Washington. Judge Robert C. Nalley, as tyrepress.com reported on August 13, deflated the tyre of the car allegedly parked in his “space” as “notes on the windscreen didn’t work.” Following nationwide media coverage, the tyre-deflating judge resigned from his post as Circuit Court chief administrator days later. Now Maryland's judicial commission has filed administrative charges against him.
Now the snow is beginning to recede and the freshly potholed roads are being revealed, TyreSafe is advising motorists to ensure their wheels are properly aligned. Driving over potholes can alter the vehicle’s steering and suspension geometries or damage critical components which can reduce vehicle safety or generate extra running costs. By ensuring wheels are correctly aligned, drivers can minimise the effects of any pothole damage and ensure they remain as safe as possible.
Dunlop India has resumed trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange following an absence of eight years. The company’s stock was relisted at Rs 50 per share, a figure that proved to be both its high and low on January 12, its first day back.
Cleveland, Ohio-based wheel manufacturer, Alcoa believes it has solved the problem of how to launch multiple new wheel programmes quickly without repeat capital investment. The company says that it has refined a process that generates “an infinite variety of styles from a single forged tool” through variations in design, machining and finishing. Using this process, Alcoa believes it can produce products that are amongst the strongest, lightest wheels available, but with the structural integrity to meet the toughest fatigue requirements. In terms of finishing too, Alcoa’s patented Dura-Bright surface treatment technology allows a wheel to be further differentiated not only by design and structure but also appearance and performance.
Indian news sources are reporting that Dunlop India is to resume production at its plant in Sahaganj from 2 December. A company press release stated that workers have been informed via a notice hung at the factory’s entrance. Its reopening had been delayed at first by the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company following its first suspension on 30 November, 2008. Electricity supply to the factory was delayed by deliberations over credit terms. Power was restored on 9 November following the acquisition of a bank guarantee. The plant’s medium-term closure was precipitated by the refusal of a number of workers to accept a temporary shutdown.
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