The Fastest Tires In The World
On the July 17, a unique two-engined Audi TT, which has passed through the hands of MTM tuning studio professionals, set a new speed record of 393 km / h on high-speed track in Papenburg. The car, which has its own name - Bimoto was equipped with two 1.8-liter turboengines from Volkswagen, which boosted to 370 hp each, dressed in the Continental ContiSportContact Vmax tires. After successful tests MTM Continental specialists are sure that sports car with a combustion engine can speed up to 400 km / h.
The main purpose of MTM in Papenburg was to prepare to a speed record races in Nardo (Italy) in October this year. Record at 393 km / h was recorded in the first day of testing at 07:25. This is the highest speed ever reached with the ContiSportContact Vmax under test conditions.
Choosing a suitable tire, MTM holder Roland Meyer conducted the test with the tires and other brands. Summing up, he said: «At high speeds that Bimoto reached, ContiSportContact Vmax Tires showed excellent stability».
ContiSportContact Vmax is the fastest tire in the world, suitable for speeds up to 360 km / h. Moreover, in testing conditions, this point can be increased. That is why the tests in Papenburg were attended with delight by technical staff of Continental. Initially, the ContiSportContact Vmax tire has been developed for ultraspeed fine-tuned and sports cars. Continental spent several years developing ideal sports tires and Continental specialists were imperially impressed in Papenburg with their own achievements. Now it has is entered the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest tire in the world.
Michelin Museum
L’Aventure Michelin Exhibition Hall in Clermont-Ferrand will open its doors to the public on March 31, 2009. It is located in the industrial complex in northern Clermont-Ferrand, where you can trace the past, present and future companies in chronological order. The Hall is located on the fully renovated factory, which makes exhibits more variability.
After the first private showing for former and current Michelin employees on January 27 L’Aventure Michelin is ready to accept the primary audience. Presented exhibits tell about the more than 120 years of Michelin history, and here everyone can find something interesting for themselves, regardless of age. Lots of interactive multimedia displays will allow each visitor to arrange a tour according to their choice.
The exhibition shows the different types of vehicles that have been developed since a hundred years ago, a bold idea that the «people can travel by air». In the lobby visitors are immediately immersed in an atmosphere of Michelin history and its innovations. Among the exhibits there, for example, is Madagascar Michelin, train on tires, developed in the 1930’s, and biplane Breguet, created by Michelin in 1917.
After that, visitors are sent on a journey through the nine sections, each with different style and atmosphere. The exhibition occupies two floors and 2,000 square meters, so the audience expects a lot of surprises. Among them, the Bibendum fountain, which decorated the first pool of Clermont-Ferrand, the first removable tire, used by the winner of a Paris-Brest-Paris race, a unique racing map with the length of 5 meters and Eclair, the car from Michelin, which many years ago participated in the first automobile race in the world. There is also a section dedicated to advertising, where you can see the first poster with the image of Bibendum and a copy of carousel, created in 1895, which clearly proved the benefits of air-inflated tires, compared with an iron rim - one of the earliest examples of comparative advertising. In addition to the production of tires the company for more than a hundred years provides the necessary travel equipment. Visitors can examine maps and guides from Michelin, first published in 1900, look at the map for the Allied troops in Normandy in 1944, which was given to the U.S. military, learn more about Itineraries Office, travel service, which was founded in 1908 and became the prototype for the modern on-line Service ViaMichelin.
Chinese Tire Manufacturers Care About The Environmental Conditions
Chinese tire manufacturers are taking steps to create new environmentally friendly tires as China Economic reports. «The emergence of radial tire) in 1946, reduced rolling resistance by 20%, and “green” tires of 1990-s continued this trend», - said the head of the Expert Group of the Committee of Economy and China tire manufacturers planning association Chen Zhihong, adding that «although everything is just beginning, but “green” tires in the future will help to reduce fuel consumption and the level of harmful emissions».
According to an analysis by Mr. Zhihong, the best way to reduce rolling resistance - is to use a smoothed surface and white soot. In this case it is possible to reduce rolling resistance by 26% and reduce fuel consumption at 3-8%, without the harm to other characteristics such as noise and the clutch. At the same time now in China these tires are only for premium cars because of their high price.
AS China Economic states, the first company that produced fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly tires for trucks and buses in the Chinese market was Michelin. While the major tire manufacturers around the world are continuing to develop in this direction, Chinese companies have also decided to take their example. Several companies have already begun to work on creating China’s first environmentally-friendly tires, but the question is which of them will go ahead and submit them to the market.
«In the area of reducing fuel consumption and environmental protection there is still a noticeable leading of the world’s tire companies in comparison to their Chinese counterparts», - Mr. Zhihong noted. Of all the Chinese tire manufacturers there are only 300, who have 3C certificate, and only 30 of them produce radial tires.
The Second Generation Of BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/A KM2 Tires
Expressive lamellas located across the surface of the tread and sidewalls, which are characterized by the tire BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T / AKM showed their outstanding characteristics in the off-road. Henceforth, the replacement of the tire on the American market is done by the second generation of these tires - BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/AKM2.
BFGoodrich assured that new Mud Terrain T/AKM2 provides excellent performance when driving off-road, regardless of road surface, characterized by durability, resistance to damage and good traction. The tire is represented in 16 sizes from 15 to 17 inches in diameter with a section width of 215 to 305 mm in the series from 85 to 70 and the Q index of velocity . M + S marking on the sidewall indicates the suitability of tires for use in mud and snow-covered surfaces.
During the development of tires engineers focused on creating a tire that is able to overcome any obstruction on the complex, rocky, mud and rocky surfaces, so the main priority was to develop a tough tire. The strength and durability of the tire, according to the manufacturer, provided through the three technologies – aggressive lamellas on the sidewall, the further sidewall increase in resistance to puncture and damage, as well as substantial cords in the sidewall. These three specifications have proven to be effective and the company calls this the most successful tire product in the history of tires for extreme off-road racing.
Cord in the sidewall of new tires, as producer says, is 33% stronger than that of its predecessor. Three-frame TriGard also includes a sturdy cord, resulting in significantly increased resistance to rubber damage.
