Making the Transition to Non-Lead Wheel Weights
The days of lead wheel weights are numbered. While the federal Environmental Protection Agency has been slow to act, a number of state governments – California, Illinois, Washington, Maine, Vermont and New York – have banned the use of lead wheel weights. In addition, similar legislation is pending in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maryland and Rhode Island,
SEMA Products
Hankook introduced the new Ventus V2 Concept high performance all-season tire, which the tiremaker said features a patented design and special compounds that allow it to match the performance capabilities of most summer tires, but with twice the snow traction. The tire’s “Twister System,” a 3-D wave pattern channel, removes water from the tire’s contact
‘Breakfast Cruises’ Bring Added Customers to Tire Dealerships
Most red-blooded Americans will agree with me – many rather enthusiastically – that doughnuts are great, in almost any form. Even vegans enjoy a Boston Cream doughnut. And although most of the officers in blue I know cringe at the old jokes about cops and doughnuts, park a cruller near their cruiser and soon they’ll
Keeping Race-Tuned Vehicles on the Road Requires Dedicated Tires
An eerily maniacal grin emanated from my buddy Steve Lobel’s face, giving me only a hint of what was to come. I arrived in the small burg of Canton, Ga., earlier that morning to see his car – recently retrieved from the tuner shop Forged Performance just down the road in Marietta, outside of Atlanta.
Giti Tire Blazes New Trail With New Champiro HPY HP Line
Giti Tire USA certainly made a lasting impression with its very first product demonstration event in North America – blistering track speeds on a blistering hot day in Arizona. The company unveiled its new Champiro HPY ultra-high performance line at Firebird International Raceway, where air temperatures hovered around 106F and track asphalt temps were measured
Goodyear Heads South – to Florida – for Winter Tire Rollout
It was a balmy 89 degrees in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., last month when Goodyear introduced its new Ultra Grip Ice WRT to a select group of dealers and media. No, that’s not a typo. The tiremaker used the McKinley Climatic Laboratory, housed at Eglin Air Force Base, as the site for the rollout of
Steering the Course at the Bridgestone Racing Academy
With the sun beating down and heat from nearby engines surrounding me, I thought to myself, “They definitely don’t prepare you for this in journalism school.” There I was, fully clad in a Nomex racing suit – plus shoes, Nomex socks, racing gloves, a helmet and a balaclava – squeezed into the cockpit of a
Revised CAFE Standards Afford Tiremakers New Opportunities
In the August issue of Tire Review, I began to address Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for vehicles sold in the U.S. and what the legislation means for the tire industry. Now we’ll take a deeper look at how tire manufacturers are responding to changing legislation – and consumer demand – with their own
Follow All-Season UHP Trends for Added Profits
In these days of slow recovery from economic doldrums, what tire dealer wouldn’t want to know more about a segment in which steady growth is nearly guaranteed? Add to that a high profit margin and an ever-expanding customer base, and the all-season UHP segment seems like a no-brainer. While being a player in this segment
Vehicle and Tire Changes Caused by CAFE Standards
Thirty-five years ago, the U.S. government enacted the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to improve the average fuel economy of cars and trucks sold in the U.S. The legislation came after several events – most notably the oil embargo of 1973, which drove up pump prices for gas, which in turn drove U.S. drivers
Tariff Turmoil, Market Volatility Put Added Pressure on Private Brands
The private brand tire segment underwent a tumultuous 2009 as a result of the global economic downturn that affected all aspects of the tire industry, as well as the Obama Administration’s placement of heavy additional duties on passenger tires imported from China. Nearly 12 months after the three-year additional tariff on China-made tires kicked in
Tire-Destroying Drifters Raise Tire Hungry Crowds – and Opportunities
Clutch drops. Trail braking. Line. Feint. Tansou (speed attack) and Tsuiso (chase attack). Oversteer. Oh, and tire smoke. Lots and lots of tire smoke. Drifters blend the entertainment of flash driving with the discipline needed to control a car at 11/10ths – just past the absolute limit of adhesion – and into a