Chain Gang Rules: Tire Chain Laws
Truckers in heavy-snow states already know how strict tire chain laws can be, but do you?
Back to Basics: Part 1: Beads and Sidewalls and What They Add to Performance
Did you know entry-level tire construction engineers, compounders and designers aren’t allowed to touch a new tire for a year or two? That’s because tire design and development isn’t part of any college curriculum. The making of a competent tire engineer isn’t the job of a college professor. That task belongs to veteran tire company
Small Town Inc.: Down-Home Business Dealings Got You Whipped? Find Your Chi With a Little Balance.
If the thought of dealing with City Hall gives you acid reflux, take a deep breath, relax, and think about boning up on jujitsu. These cleansing breaths are a quick fix if the board of zoning appeals is sitting on your request for a zoning variance or the architectural review board wants you to plant
Winter Tire Blues: Auto Advances Add Complexity to Winter Tire Servicing
The snowflake branded on the sidewall of a winter tire isn’t there for decoration. The designation means the tire addresses three winter driving concerns: traction, cornering and braking. “Put on a set of today’s winter tires, and driving in the winter becomes irrelevant.” That’s a direct quote from long-time tire test driver Bob Strange, who
Easy Rider Passes
Bogged down in a war of words and thought to be headed for a Congressional hearing, the American Jobs Creation Act instead breezed through the Senate on Oct. 11 and was expected to be signed by President Bush without delay.
Here We Go Again
Once again, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued proposed regulations requiring vehicles to be equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), this time by 2007.
Right Repair Rates: Following Rules Can Keep Speed Rating, Some Tiremakers Say
ff cleaner. Goodyear adds this proviso: “If the hole shows evidence of fabric splitting, such an injury cannot be properly repaired using a standard puncture repair procedure. This type of injury must be skived out and repaired as a section (reinforced) repair.” But, while this will maintain the serviceability of the tire, it will also
CHINA: Dealers, Tiremakers Are Capitalizing, But Economic Revolution Has Issues
Today’s China-made tires may well carry the names Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear or that of other majors and are produced using the same technology, processes and stringent quality standards of those well-known global brands. Only they are being produced for pennies on the dollar.My, how times have changed.
Does It Rate?: Do We Really Need Tires That Can Do 186 MPH?
There are tire engineers out there who don’t much give a hoot about tire speed ratings. “It®™s not even a government regulation,” says one. ®There is no government test for speed ratings. The only speed-related test is euphemistically called a ‘temperature resistance test,®™ and it’s built around the ability of a tire to disperse heat
Secrets of Winter Tires
Ordinarily used in the same sentence with cooking oils, canola has found a new niche at Nokian Tyre’s winter tire plant in Finland. That’s where the "low-sat-fat" oil is mixed into Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tire tread compounds. "It increases the tear resistance of rubber and improves the tire’s grip in winter and wet conditions," says
Get Pumped Up: Longer Tire Life, Fuel Savings Claims Heat Up Nitrogen Inflation
The gas from the past is making news again, and this time the story has legs. There’s nothing new about nitrogen inflation of tires. It’s been around since Texan Dr. Larry Sperberg brought it to our attention in 1968. That’s when he pronounced that a tire wears out from the inside out – a process
Inside Information: RFID Technology Bolsters Tire Management
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology isn’t new. But when it comes to using RFID technology to track truck tires instead of a skid of laundry soap, what’s old is becoming new again. At his trailer yard in Moses Lake, Wash., Lee McGraw, equipment maintenance manager for regional carrier LTI, scans the tires on 21 tractors