Fast Furious Fun
By now, loyal readers of Tire Review and Wheel Turnings know that we spend a great deal of time and effort to bring you the most up-to-date articles covering real-world performance tire and custom wheel topics. This month starts a two-part series that will showcase several tire/wheel dealers around the country who have set the
Christmas in July: How Dealers Forecast Winter Tire Sales Before Summer
Now that it’s mid-July, it’s safe to assume tire dealers in the traditionally snowy climates of North America aren’t really paying all that much attention to winter tires. And why is that? Well, because most of them have already placed their winter tire orders, of course. That’s right, by now most dealers who handle winter
Rock-Solid Profits
Everywhere across this land, men and women are turning ordinary trucks into monstrous off-road vehicles capable of tackling terrain that would make a mountain goat tremble. I recently had the opportunity to go on a trail ride with a friend, Rich Sterzoy, who owns Majestic Tires & Service in Mobile, Ala. Sterzoy started his business
Private-ly Niched: Specialty Private Brands are on the Rise, Filling Niches Nicely
The perception is that the private brand market hasn’t always gotten the respect within the tire industry it deserves. Not because private brand tires are in any way inferior in quality and performance. But merely because they aren’t "major" brands. As any private brander will tell you, their tires are of the highest quality, at
Mounting the Big Boys
Over the last several months, we’ve seen how the demand for ultra-large wheels has risen even higher. The 24-inchers have been out for a year now, and 26-inchers are on the horizon. We’ve covered the marketing potential of selling these monsters, so now it’s time to talk about the equipment necessary to handle them. We’ll
Telematics and Tires: Satellite and Chip Technologies Will Launch a Brave New World
What exactly does the term "telematics" mean? The term has been well used in recent years by commercial vehicle engineers and logistics planners in developing different truck components, data recording and retrieval systems, communications systems and other projects. And it is popping up more and more on the consumer vehicle side, with such services as
Balancing Acts
Balancing Acts You’ve just sold that $2,500 set of tires and wheels. Congratulations! Now you have to make sure that the assembly is pro-perly balanced, or you’ll be seeing that customer more often – and for the wrong reasons. Recently, I had an opportunity to sit in on a balancing clinic provided by Mike Kroll
Reinventing the Wheel
Companies on the leading edge of the wheel industry are always taking chances and coming up with hot new ideas. This month, we’ll take a closer look at what is arguably one of the hottest design concepts since the invention of the wheel itself. I’m talking about the various types of free-spinning or constant-motion wheels
A Walk Down the Aisles
A Walk Down the Aisles As promised, for those poor souls who didn’t get to make the trek to Las Vegas and the ITE/SEMA show, here is the salt for your wounds … Where do I begin? So much to tell, so little space. Let’s start with the tires featured at the show. If you
Alignment & Driveability
Alignment & Driveability You’ve worked hard to make the sale, now you have to make sure that the customer doesn’t come back with a serious complaint. When dealing with issues regarding the driveability of the vehicle, there are several inspections, and possibly a few adjustments, to be made. You better be ready for the inevitable
From the Track to the Rack
From the Track to the Rack Racing tires, like passenger car tires, are specialized for different applications and purposes. Every form of racing has its own speed, traction and handling needs that require specially designed tires. A Formula 1 car obviously needs a different type of tire than a NASCAR racer or a NHRA Top
Diagnosing Ride Problems
o ensure proper contact of the wheel to the vehicle. Now that the vehicle is ready, mount the tire on its wheel, and then place on the balancer. While balancing – you are using a dynamic balancer, right? ®“ check for repeatability before proceeding to the rest. This will ensure that you don’t have an