Installation is All in the RIST
A lot of customers think that wheel installation is so easy that a monkey could do it, to which I like to respond by scratching my armpits and jumping up on the counter. Seriously though, wheel installation is never quite as easy as it looks, particularly since doing it wrong carries some serious risks for
Servicing Wheel Bearings & Wheel Speed Sensors
If you are replacing a wheel bearing on a late-model vehicle, you’ll be dealing with a wheel speed sensor. In the past decade, wheel speed sensors have been moving from differentials, axles and knuckles to inside or on the wheel bearing or hub unit. At this location, the sensors are more accurate and often more
Solid/Live Axle Diagnostics
In 1963, almost every car manufactured in the U.S. had a solid rear axle. There were exceptions like the Corvette and Corvair. Today, pickup trucks and only a few light- to medium-duty SUVs/passenger vehicles still use solid rear axles. It’s not uncommon for a solid rear axle vehicle to go its entire life on one
5 Mistakes Newbie Tire Techs Make
Ah, brand-new tire techs. I think of them somewhat as similar to puppies: cute, eager to please, and clumsy as all get-out. Feed them regularly, play fetch the new tire with them, and make sure they get paper trained (with training). Nothing can turn a new tech into a veteran but time and experience, and
Lessons from Jack Welch
Jack Welch is one of the most successful business leaders of the last century. For those unfamiliar with him, Jack Welch was the CEO of General Electric from 1981 until his retirement in 2001. Over his 20-year tenure, Welch earned numerous awards for his leadership as CEO, culminating with Fortune magazine naming him “Manager of
Leveraging Online Reviews
Creating positive word-of-mouth advertising has always been a marketing cornerstone for successful tire dealers. Over the years, savvy dealers have fine-tuned their customer service efforts to maximize the potential for positive publicity from such brand ambassadors. It’s the same in today’s digital age – just multiplied exponentially. Where a satisfied customer was once able to
Breaking Down Winter Tires
There are three principal categories of winter tires: performance winter, studless ice and snow, and studdable winter tires. All meet severe snow service standards and are branded with the mountain snowflake pictograph. Performance winter tires are for drivers looking for (relatively) high levels of dry road handling from their winter tires and are willing to
Hankook Breaks Ground on First U.S. Plant
Exactly one year after Hankook Tire Co. entered into an agreement with the Clarksville- Montgomery County, Tenn., government to build a tire production facility, government officials, Hankook executives, media, guests, and business partners gathered on Oct. 9 to break ground for Hankook’s first U.S.-based tire plant and eighth global production facility. The 469-acre greenfield plant
Random Notes From the South Side
Back from another SEMA Show/Global Tire Expo, as are a supposed 140,000-plus other people in Las Vegas for the automotive world’s biggest week. Word was that the combined SEMA-AAPEX world was up considerably from the year prior, good news coming on the back-end of a seemingly endless recession. Colleagues over at AAPEX report that it
Bridgestone Begins Guayule Research in Arizona
In the middle of blistering hot cotton country, Bridgestone Americas is working hard to introduce a new kind of crop that it feels will be a true “game-changer” for the tire industry. On Sept. 22, the tiremaker hosted a grand opening for its Biorubber Process Research Center in Mesa, Ariz. The 10-acre research and development
Meet the 2014 Tire Review Platinum Performers
Not only did our Benchmarking Study set standards of performance against dozens of real-world business measures, the results also allowed us to grade the actual results of participating dealers against the group. The end result is 10 tire dealers – some are pure retail, some with a mix of vibrant wholesale and/or commercial elements –
Platinum Performers: Conclusion and Tire Brands Carried
This is just a snapshot of the mass data collected in our first Tire Industry Benchmarking Study, and we expect going forward as more and more dealers participate, the level of information and analysis will only improve. Download the Tire Review Platinum Performer Awards feature here. Establishing clear-cut benchmarks that all dealers can use as