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Yokohama Geared Up for Success at Isle of Man TT

After a week of practice racing in the Isle of Man TT gets underway on May 31, and Yokohama is proud that its tyres will see plenty of three-wheel action in the coming days. It reports that, once again, it is by far the dominant tyre brand in the sidecar class, with no less than 41 of the 58 entrants running on Yokohama products, serviced by Yokohama HPT dealer Express Tyres.

The favourite for the two race wins has to be Dave Molyneux, the third most successful rider ever in the history of the Isle of Man TT in terms of race wins, behind John Surtees and Joey Dunlop. He holds the position as the most successful sidecar racer, with 13 wins to his credit and giving Yokohama an outstanding record of 14 consecutive years with a win on the island. Other top runners in the class have also chosen to ride on Yokohama, with last year’s early leader Nick Crowe looking to heap the pressure on Molyneux once again. Crowe also has the island lap record under his belt, an accolade he took from Molyneux at last year’s event, with a stunning lap averaging 116.667mph over the 37-mile course. On top of this, Yokohama regular John Holden is tipped to put up a strong showing, as he, Crowe and Molyneux were the main protagonists in last year’s event.

30th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

MAK Releases the Corsa

At the recent Reifen Essen show Italy’s MAK released its latest wheel product, the Corsa. The company has designed the Corsa with young customers in mind, hence its sports design and appearance at a price within the budgets of its intended market. As MAK says, the wheel is a good solution for those who looking for a good quality/price ratio.

The wheel’s 20 spokes give the Corsa a light and modern look: the spokes are slim and tapered, and the wheel is presented in a finish known as Ice Titan – dark grey for the rims, high sheen diamond for the spokes. The Corsa is available for 4 or 5 stud fitments, maximising the number of 15-inch and above fitments the wheel is suitable for.

The MAK Corsa is available in the following sizes range: 6,5J15”, 7J16”, 7J17”, 8J17”.

29th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Luxury Wheels Improves Your ‘Lex Appeal’

While Bristol based Luxury wheels is carving a name for itself as a source of quality aftermarket wheels, many people don’t realise the company also offers an extensive range of styling lines in its product portfolio.

To give an example of the company’s work, the Lexus LS600h pictured here was specced by one of Luxury Wheels’ Norwegian dealers with the full Autocouture styling package. The ‘Progressive Line’ kit consists of front bumper, fog lamps, side skirts (in either short or long wheelbase), rear bumper, two replacement front wings with vents, and a rather saucy dual stacked exhaust. This ensemble is topped off with a rear spoiler and Autocouture boot emblem for that final finishing flourish.

27th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

American Racing, Wheel Pros Brands Merged

Equity firm Platinum Equity has merged its American Racing and Wheel Pros properties. Platinum Equity acquired American Racing in July 2005, and bought Wheel Pros this past March. Randy White, a former American Racing executive who co-founded Wheel Pros in 1994, has been named CEO of the new company. Jody Groce, also a co-founder of Wheel Pros, has been named president.

16th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pro-Cut Europe Launches New Website

Pro-Cut Europe has launched a new company website www.procuteurope.com. The website offers current and potential customers the opportunity to find out more about what the company calls the best on-car brake lathe in the world. Visitors to the website will find information about the lathe including a live demonstration, press releases and testimonials. The website also has a profit calculator allowing visitors to fill in the amount of MOTs, pad changes (without discs), sales car preparation and warranty jobs they carry out per week and how much profit they could be making by resurfacing discs. One of the more popular pages is frequently asked questions which answers many of the current myths around resurfacing Including: “I can make more profit per hour replacing discs than resurfacing them”; “Resurfacing discs takes them below minimum thickness”; and “My part sales will go down if I resurface discs”.

16th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Accuride Posts Quarter Loss Results

Components manufacturer Accuride reports that in the quarter to March 31, 2008 the company achieved sales of US$238.2 million, a decrease of 26.2 per cent on the same quarter a year earlier. This decline in net sales, says the company, reflects a 33 per cent decline in North American Class 8 production and a $24 million reduction due to products re-sourced by a light vehicle customer during 2007.

A net loss of $11.7 million was reported for the first quarter of 2008, compared to a loss of $1.9 million in the corresponding quarter of 2007. Adjusted EBIDTA was $18.5 million, compared to adjusted EBIDTA of $49.2 million a year earlier.

14th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Solideal Introduces Steel Surcharge

Solideal has announced that it is to introduce a steel charge on all wheels and assemblies, effective 15 May 2008. According to an official statement on the matter, the action is “strictly due to the hyper-inflation in steel prices. The surcharge will be evaluated monthly and will begin at the rate of US$0.49/kg.” Solideal CEO, Cesar Clemente, explained: “As commodity prices are increasing so dramatically, we have absolutely no choice but to make this move.” The company is also planning to announce a general price increase on tyres and wheels in June.

12th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Additional Hero Atlanta AR01 Sizes

Hero has extended the size range it offers for its Atlanta AR01 tyre line. The company announced five new sizes including 14 and 17-inch fitments and T to W speed ratings. The new sizes are: 175/70R14, 195/65R15, 205/65R16, 215/60R16 and 215/55ZR17. The line up will be introduced to a greater breadth of fitments at later stage. The Hero Atlanta line already covers a range of sizes for wheel diameters of 13 to 17 inches and aspect ratios from 70 series down to 55 series – 28 sizes in total.

12th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin X MaxiTrailer Makes CV Show Debut

Michelin launched its new 255/60 R19.5 X MaxiTrailer at the 2008 Commercial Vehicle Show. Designed with vehicles like low loaders in mind, the new tyre reportedly takes up no more space than a 17.5-inch tyre despite have a 19.5-inch wheel rim diameter.

According to Michelin, the new MaxiTrailer tyre simultaneously enhances safety and productivity as it can be used with disc brakes, which reduce braking distances by up to five metres in comparison with drum brakes. In Michelin’s words, this marks a breakthrough in the tyre industry, since disc brakes traditionally operate at up to 40 degree higher temperatures than conventional drum brakes, making them unsuitable for operation with most 17.5-inch tyres.

6th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hayes Lemmerz Receives Fiat Qualitas Award

The steel wheel manufacturing facility operated by Hayes Lemmerz in Guarulhos, Brazil has recently been honoured with a Qualitas Award from the Fiat Group. Hayes Lemmerz received the quality award in the metals category, based upon its performance in product development, delivery and quality to Fiat’s IVECO truck manufacturing division. Of more than 1,000 Fiat Group suppliers, only 60 were recognised with this award.

“We are honoured to receive this award from Fiat, especially since it is a reflection of Hayes Lemmerz’ continuous effort to make customer satisfaction our top priority,” said Fred Bentley, Hayes Lemmerz CEO. “Our employees are truly focused on world class manufacturing,” he said.

6th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hennessy Says It Will Fight Patent Suit

Hunter Engineering recently filed a patent infringement action against Hennessy Industries. On April 30, Hennessy issued this statement:

“Earlier this month, Hunter Engineering filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Hennessy Industries. The suit alleges infringement of Hunter patents relating to a balancing system marketed by Hunter under the SmartWeight brand name.

“Hennessy Industries disputes the merits of the suit, and intends to vigorously defend its right to market EconoBalance (EB) technology in its Coats brand wheel balancers.” (Tire Review/Akron)

2nd May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

New Wheels Mark Breyton’s 25th Birthday

BMW tuner Breyton is marking its 25th year as one of Europe‘s most respected tuning brands. To celebrate, it has released two new designs onto the market. The Race GT for all BMW fitments and the Flame Junior Sport for New Minis. Both are said to combine classical good looks with Breyton’s usual blend of build quality and integrity.

The Race GT brings the lines of a radial spoke DTM wheel to the road market. Available in a variety of finishes, including silver, black and ball-burnished in sizes from 8.5 x 19-inch up to 10 x 20-inch. Offsets and fitting kits are available to cover all road going saloon BMWs. Prices start at £349.45 including Vat for the 19-inch.

2nd May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BFGoodrich Hits CUV/SUV Segment With New Long Trail T/A

Michelin North America has released the BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A Tour, targeting the growing crossover and small SUV market segments. Available in 35 sizes covering 15 to 20-inch wheel diameters, the BFGoodrich Tires Long Trail T/A Tour features a closed shoulder design with contoured tread blocks for handling and precise cornering, as well as a rigid center rib, siping and rib shifting for positive on-centre feel, all-season traction and a quiet ride, the company said.

1st May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyo Reaches Back for New HP Sales Manager

Joe Jordan has returned to Toyo Tire USA Corp as national sales manager for high performance and specialty light truck tyres. Jordan worked for Toyo from 1991 to 2000 before operating his own tyre and wheel accessory store near San Diego.

In his new role, Jordan will manage sales and training programs for the ultra high performance and specialty light truck tyres as well as support marketing and promotional efforts surrounding the products. (Tire Review/Akron)

1st May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin ‘Ready for Le Mans’

Michelin scored another win in the Le Mans Series at the weekend, with taking the Peugeot-Total-Michelin team the chequered flag in Monza. The cars, driven by, Stéphane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy, ended up winning after what company representatives described as “a real ding-dong battle with the No. 2 Audi [of] Mike Rockenfeller at the wheel.” The No. 17 Pescarolo (Tinseau / Primate) finished third.

For Michelin, the Monza race proved to be the perfect testing ground to validate tyres in preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Matthieu Bonardel, Director of Four-wheel Competition commented: “Firstly, we want to wish a speedy recovery to Stéphane Ortelli from the Oreca team, who suffered an incredible “off” today and we hope to see him on the circuits again soon. With regards tyres, this race was by no means easy. The Monza circuit is highly specific and the evolution of the track today was quite strong. While there was a definite phenomenon of understeer in all categories during practice, it was not the case in the race…The only disappointment for us was because we failed to find a solution to double-stint and gain time. We tried both with medium and hard compounds, but we soon found that the mediums lost on performance over time, while the hards didn’t have the performance to start with.

28th April 2008/by Tyrepress Editors