Is it Cheap to Replace Tires on Bugatti Veyron?
If you think that it’s expensive to keep your car in order, you should obviously get acquainted with the following facts. The Autocar magazine told its readers about the luxurious Italian Bugatti Veyron sports vehicle and the tire it is equipped with. The money its owner has to spend on the tire replacement and car maintenance makes the car one of the most expensive and even money-robbing in the world.
Bugatti Veyron comes with Michelin Pilot Sport Pax System tires. There’re 245/690 R520 A on a front axle while rear tires feature 365/710 R540 A size. It’s not cheap at all – car owners have to spend as much as 30,000 Euro to replace the tire on their favourite Bugatti Veyron.
The main reason for such a high price tag is the tire’s uncompromised performance and excellent high-speed durability. You can safely develop speeds of up to 252 mph, which you are not likely to find with the majority of tires.
Still, the expenses are even higher. Every forth tire replacement operation (provided that you have enough money for it) must be accompanied by disk check. The car is fitted with 20-inch wheel disks and all of them must be examined on cracks and other, which costs as much as 8,000 Euro.
Furthemore standard Bugatti Veyron service takes 14,700 Euro. If you add the cost of tire replacement of the cost of a new wheel disk to the sum, you can see that the total price escalates up to 50,000 Euro.
Are you still thinking that your car is expensive?
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.
Go Around the World with Michelin Agilis Tires
Brain Davidson, a delivery man from Great Britain, has made almost 355 thousand miles while being “on duty” with his van equipped with Michelin Agilis tires. The distance is exceptionally long and is 14 times longer than the equator.
He used two pair of tires in his rides. Back in 2004 he mounted a 215 / 75R16C tires on a rear axle of his Citroen Relay LWB Hi-Roof van and changed them only when his odometer showed 353, 000 miles. Front tires lived a shorter life and demanded a change after driving through 118, 000 miles.
Mr Davidson’s business is based in Cambria (Great Britain) and he manages goods delivery around the country as well as outside its borders, namely in some European areas. He has to transport goods weighing up to 1 ton.
Mr Davidson point out to the exceptional longevity of the tire, which is the result of its extra deep tread picture. The only reason he had to change the tires is that the left one ran flat, so he decided it would be safer to replace the whole pair at once. Quite naturally, the new tire was the same Michelin Agilis bought from Denton Tyres local distributer in Carlisle.
Michelin Agilis tire lineup includes a wide range of tires designed for modern vans as well as Agilis Alpin sub line-up for use in wintertime. In addition to their long mileage the tires are renowned for their eco-friendliness. Many a model is branded with a Green X marking on its sidewall, which indicates lower rolling resistance. Hence, Michelin Agilis tires provide for your vehicle’s lower fuel consumption, which saves your money as well as reduces the amount of harmful substances emitted into the atmosphere.
