Smithers Rapra has partnered with several tire manufacturers on its new MTS Flat Trac CT Plus Tire Test System at its Ravenna, Ohio, testing facility. Manufacturers who are part of the testing partnership include Bridgestone Americas Inc., Continental Tire the Americas, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Hankook Tire, and Michelin North America.
The new tire testing system enhances existing capabilities at the Smithers Rapra tire testing laboratory by providing higher wheel torque, as well as increased longitudinal and lateral load limits, Smithers said. It is engineered to deliver accurate and repeatable measurements of tire force and moment properties under steady-state and dynamic conditions.
“The automotive market’s shift to larger vehicles has pulled through larger tire sizes with higher load requirements,” said Nat Leonard, president of Smithers Rapra. “This partnership, focused on enhanced testing technology, will provide each partner company with additional capabilities and capacity to support their research and development activities for larger tire sizes. The partnership will also sell excess capacity on the machine to non-partners. Smithers is proud to be a part of this advancement and excited to enhance our internal expertise while supporting the industry with new technology.”
Smithers Rapra operates laboratories in North America, Europe and China, covering a wide variety of testing and consulting services from material chemistry and product durability testing, to tire, wheel and winter testing.
