Former TIA president and one time head of Northwest Tire Factory Nick Hodel is now president and CEO of Tire Performance Indicators LLC, based in Vancouver, Wash.
TPI has developed and patented a new aftermarket tire wear indicator product – Visual Tire Performance Indicators – that is now available to tire companies, distributors and retail and commercial dealers.
The company claims its indicators, which are installed into the tread face of a tire, have passed DOT FMVSS 139 testing.
The indicators will help drivers “easily see the need to change driving habits during wet or wintry weather, and to schedule maintenance or replacement related to tread depth, inflation, alignment and rotation,” the company said.
Solid black when first installed, the indicators turn yellow to warn when tires are close to replacement time, and red when they should be replaced immediately.
“Tire manufacturers have been putting stud pins in winter traction tire molds for over 30 years, so this technology is very familiar, and the capitalization needed to insert the VTPI stud pins into existing or new molds is relatively inexpensive,” the company said. “VTPIs can be inserted utilizing the same standard studding equipment that is already used to insert studs into winter traction tires.”
For more information, visit tireperformanceindicators.com.
