Michelin New Tires: No More Punctures
Michelin took part in the forum of innovative automotive technologies on May, 18-22 in Berlin and has unveiled there its self-repairing passenger tire. The exhibition visitors could see the tire run over several sharp studs measuring 20 mm in height and still be able to go on running as if nothing had happened.
There was a sound of the tire resisting tearing followed by the sound of tearing rubber as the tire went over each of the three studs, one after another. It proved that it had actual punctures yet there was no fizzing after it, even a short one. Moreover, the air pressure in the tire remained the same before and after the experiment. The manometer showed that it lost not a single tenth of an atmosphere.
The secret of the self-regenerating tire hides in its 2-mm flexible sticky layer that covers the inner part of the tread surface. The layer is made from a specially designed substance that starts working immediately after the puncture and blocks it thus preventing air from leaking. The driver isn’t likely to learn about his “catching” a nail or any other sharp object.
One of the main issues that the tire developers had to cope with is how to make this sticky substance retain even distribution over the inner tread during long-term parking. Anyhow, even this problem was solved and the tire didn’t show any “whims” in various temperature conditions.
The maximum diameter of the hole subject to mending is 6 millimeters while 98 per cent of punctures don’t exceed 5 millimeters in diameter. The Achilles heel is the tire sidewalls that are not reinforced with the sticker, yet Michelin claims that it is tire tread that gets 95 per cent of possible tire damage.
The self-mending tire is going to hit the markets in a 2-4-year term. Then you’ll no longer need either a spare wheel or a jack, which will reduce your car’s weight and hence will help you save on fuel.
Auto Bild Tests 225/40 R 18 Summer Tires
On the threshold of the new season the Auto Bild magazine conducted their regular summer tire performance tests. This time they compared 225/40 R 18 tires, the size being standard for numerous sports cars and tuned vehicles. The tires were mounted on Mazda MPS.
The Auto Bild tested as many as 10 tires during these tests, namely Hankook Ventus S1 evo K107, Pirelli PZero, Continental ContiSportContact 3, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Uniroyal Rainsport 2, Bridgestone Potenza S001, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx T, Michelin Pilot Sport 3, Falken Ziex ZE 912 and LingLong L688.
The best wet performance is shown by Hankook Ventus S1 evo and Goodyear F1 Asymmetric as their steering response is perfectly precise while their braking distance is exceptionally short. At the same time, the cheap Chinese LingLong tire disappointed the testers by its poor handling and rather a long braking distance. The affordable Falken tires also proved the fact that it’s better to decide in favor of a higher price tag than to compromise on safety.
The best dry handling is to be found with Pirelli PZero and Continental ContiSportContact 3. Uniroyal Rainsport 2 is not very good in this respect, but it is made designed specially for wet roads. Pirelli and Bridgestone deliver the shortest braking distance in the dry.
Uniroyal and Bridgestone provide for the best hydroplaning resistance in this group while LingLong shows the poorest wet performance despite its V-shaped tread pattern. Pirelli and Hankook deliver the shortest braking distance in the wet. Hankook and Goodyear show the safest maneuvering in the wet while Michelin and Falken would be slower in this respect.
You shouldn’t wait extra smooth ride from you sport utility vehicle, yet Bridgestone and Uniroyal tires absorb road irregularities comparatively well. The stiffest tires are LingLong and Falken. As to noise build-up, all the tires don’t differ much unless you have a sensitive ear.
To colclude with, it should be said that it is Hankook S1 evo and Pirelli PZero that were called the best tires as a result of the Auto Bild summer tire tests.
Avon Tyres Equip Catherham Seven Supersport Car
It’s common knowledge that an old friend is better than two new ones. So, to continue a long-term collaboration, the British Catherham Car company and Avon Tyres decided to equip the latest Catherham Seven Supersport model with 13-inch Avon CR500 tires.
The new sports car is based on a racing Caterham Supersport vehicle and sticks to the concept of miniature cars with excellent overall handling and performance.
The Avon CR500 is designed to match the needs of lightweight yet powerful Caterham sports cars. At firth, the tire was created specially for an exclusive Superlight R500 vehicles, but later they became used as Original Equipment for the entire Superlight car line-up.
The CR500 highway tire benefits from all the advanced Avon technologies and ensures optimal wet traction thanks to excellent water removal from under the contact patch area while retaining reliable traction as load increases.
The Supersport measures just 520 kg in weight. Its 1.6-liter Ford Sigma engine provides the car with the ability to speed up to 62 mph for 4.8 sec while the maximum speed equals to 125 mph. When equipped with CR500 tire the car can be used on both public roads and racing tracks.
AvonTyres maintains that they are proud to collaborate with Catherham Cars. The cars from the Seven line-up are getting better and better, so Avon is pleased that Catherham as well as extreme driving lovers confine in their tires.
Hankook, Goodyear and Yokohama Become Winner of Tire Technology International Awards Ceremony
This year the Tire Technology International Awards ceremony took place in Koln (Germany). The main award was given to Hankook company who became Tire Manufacturer of the Year. Goodyear was the first in Tire Technology of the Year while Yokohama won the first prize for being Ecological Achievement of the Year.
Jury members were extremely impressed by the development of Hankook company over the latest twelve months, which would likely make it the fifth world’s largest tire manufacturer in a couple of years.
Jin-Wook Choi, the executive manager and the head of European Hankook department said that they are very glad to get such an award for it means the recognition of their philosophy of standing growth. He added that the previous year was a great success for the company, which became thanks to the hard work of their employees.
The second and the third prizes in this category were given to Apollo and Bridgestone companies.
Goodyear was awarded thanks to its high-performance UltraGrip Ice+ frictional winter tire highly praised by the jury. It was called an impressive tire designed to manage the most problematic roads in the world, the ice-covered roads of Scandinavia. Marс Junio, the general director of Goodyear Innovative center in Luxemburg – it is where the tire was worked out – said that they are proud of their tire’s performance and are glad to be the best among winter tire manufacturers.
Speaking about Yokohama company, jury members stressed that the company’s numerous ecological projects weren’t unnoticed while the most impressive one was the one dealing with bio diversity preservation. In the frames of that project Yokohama carried out a profound research on how its activities affect the environment and tried to reduce negative influence on it caused by the use of natural rubber and mineral resources.
