Getting Geeky: TPMS Issues, Vehicle Systems Keep Dealers on Their Toes
We’re at 100% TPMS compliance now. Are we having fun yet? To keep customers in your shop, plan on investing in diagnostic scanners and software, not to mention a serious investment in personnel who have an aptitude for technology. Just this week, I had a friend who owns a local tire store call me regarding
Zipper Rupture Bulletin Issued
Think about the thousands of truck tire debris pieces alongside many major roadways, almost every one responsible for an unscheduled (and expensive) service stop. It has been well documented that many of these failed tires share several common traits they were underinflated and fitted to an inner dual tire position. Consider that, for every one
What Color Are Retreads?
Retreaded tires are one of the most environmentally friendly of all recycled products, containing one of the highest post consumer contents since the actual tire is being recycled. Every time a tire is retreaded there is one less tire to go to our already overcrowded landfills. The oil savings with retreads is also very significant
What’s The Best Way To Ruin A Tire? Part Two
In our first Best Way To Ruin a Tire article we discussed improper tire repairs. Today let’s discuss improper tire inflation. Tires that are improperly inflated WILL fail, given enough time. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Tires are simply vessels to hold air, even though they are also incredibly
Looking Up: End in Sight For OTR Tire Shortage, Capacity Improving
For the past few years, the OTR tire market has presented many challenges for manufacturers and dealers alike. Rapid growth in developing countries, large amounts of military orders and the soaring mining industries in North and South America have caused a shortage that affects everyone in the pipeline, from tiremakers down to end users. The
A New Era: TPMS Compliance Calls For New Products
The tire industry is now well into a new era. It may not rival the radial age, but the epoch already is memorable and some say forgettable. It’s the TPMS era. While most participants know that the groundwork was laid several years ago, the reality is that the TREAD Act’s final deadline for the “start”
Disaster Avoidance: Calm, Calculated Approach Vital to Eliminating Wheel Offs
The 2008 NASCAR season is about to start and the testosterone is flowing. Now is the time to remind your technicians that installing wheels on passenger vehicles is not like being on a pit crew for a racecar. We all see how quickly a pit crew can change four tires, usually in 14 seconds or
‘Psst…Keep an Eye on Your Tires’
“Before you get too carried away, check with the real world.” Those words were directed at me – an enthusiastic, young engineer – by my older, more experienced boss early in my career. His words were particularly applicable, because I was working for a large tire company. As they were then – and still are
What’s The Best Way To Ruin A Tire?
Actually, there are a few “best” ways, but improper tire repairs is right up there, so today let’s discuss the WRONG way to repair a tire. • “Just plug it! Why bother taking the tire off the wheel?” • “Have the kid down at the gas station do it. He began last week and needs
By The Num8ers: Medium Truck Tires
U.S. tire dealers will be happy to know that manufacturers of medium truck tires believe the market will improve considerably during the second half of 2008. This means dealers will have a choice between more tires of the brands and types they prefer to sell. Bridgestone/Firestone, Goodyear, Hankook, Michelin and Toyo unanimously agree that 2008
Still Strong: Retreading Market Remains Steady Amid Ownership Changes
For the retread market, 2007 was a year of significant activity and change, with Bridgestone Corp. acquiring Bandag in June, followed the very next month by Michelin North America’s acquisition of Oliver Rubber Co. Both actions were all about efficiency and effectiveness, and fundamentally complete the marriage of new tire producers to major retread suppliers
Form vs. Function: Performance Still Most Important in Today’s Tires
During a long career in the tire biz, I’ve seen a few tires that simply didn’t look right. Once upon a time, a tire company rolled out a cantilevered sidewall that looked as strange to me as it must have appeared to would-be tire buyers. It didn’t sell. Neither did a one-ply bias tire billed