Please forgive my indulgence on the topic of tyre testing, but the end result of a safe tyre is, the tyre is only safe IF the appropriate inflation pressure is used!

The physical road testing of a pneumatic tyre is the last part in a very long line of testing procedures used to manufacture the tyre. The actual manufacturing is not the end of the line as the tyre has to be competently mounted to a wheel and then appropriately inflated prior and during use.

If the tyre/wheel assembly is not balanced in mass and dimension, then the tyre is not going to perform as expected, nor will the tyre perform as expected if the inflation pressure is not appropriate to the load and speed the vehicle is going to be utilised at.

The humble pneumatic tyre is a composite assembly of many different materials, each having to work in harmony and unison with each other.

The different materials used to manufacture the tyre have already undergone substantial testing as individual products to assure the sought-after properties and qualities are exactly what is required to produce a tyre that is not only safe but performs as expected.

Many years ago, on a major construction project in Asia with one of my clients, the tyre company I was an engineer with suffered many catastrophic tread separation failures. This was a time critical project so having haul trucks out of service was a serious impediment to achieving the extensive earthworks required. A long story short, I was given to understand that there was a change in the supplier of the carbon black used in this particular tyre tread specification. The fresh manufacturer’s product checked all of the (then) testing parameters, but when it came to actual live service, there was a deficiency somewhere. I was never privy to the actual product details, just the end result of seeing haul trucks with fuel and hydraulic tanks on the ground having been slapped off by tread packages parting from the tyre casing. Having up to 1,000 kg of tread rubber flapping out of control is not conducive to a safe operation.

The testing regime for the product used was seemingly insufficient to identify this issue pre-production, ending up with very costly results.

One can read in various publications of tyre testing where a group of journalists and motoring writers take vehicles fitted with various tyre producers’ products around a circuit in an attempt to quantify the performance, in lap times, but more importantly, in feel.  ‘Through the seat of your pants’ is a commonly used phrase.  As a young two-wheel motorcycle racer, I progressed from using treaded road tyres to a full racing slick. The feeling was totally different and, to be honest, I didn’t ever get the slick tread tyres to operate as they were designed.  After progressing to three-wheel bikes (sidecars), slicks became the ideal product.

In todays’ tyre production world, I suggest that the development on MotoGP motorcycles leads the way. Think of a MotoGP bike where cornering lean angles of up to 65 degrees, yes 65 degrees, are common place, all the time transmitting a power to weight ratio of more than 1:1, which is more than one horsepower per kilogramme of weight (including the rider!).  When combined with the technology developed in the giant OTR tyres used in mining, the development of tyre performance is progressing rapidly. The ability of a giant mining tyre to support a load in excess of 100 tonnes per tyre (think 50 average passenger cars, yes that’s per tyre) whilst travelling at 60 km/hr is an everyday event for a mining operation. These tyres on a drive position transmit thousands of horsepower to motivate the truck. These numbers are far in excess compared to your daily drive!

A passenger car tyre benefits greatly from all of this research and development leading to the actual physical testing of the tyre in the hands of the journalists pushing a car around a circuit.

Yet, all this testing can be undone by the end user’s reluctance to verify that the tyre’s operating pressure is appropriate for the duty cycle being undertaken. The adoption of real time tyre pressure monitoring (TPMS) has generated an increase in safety IF the driver actually uses the data.

Race pilots (drivers and riders) carefully study the operating tyre pressure detail as they well understand that just ½ a psi may make the difference between winning or finishing off the podium.

Alas, our industry has not really educated the daily driver to the critical importance of ensuring their tyres have the appropriate inflation pressures installed. Inflation, it seems, is only important to economists and price rises.

All the material testing, quality control in production and physical mounting of the tyre can be undone by the ignorance of the end user in not attending to the inflation pressures adequately. No matter how deep the science used, the quality control measures employed within production our product’s success remains at the whim of the end user as to whether they can be bothered to ensure the very item that provides their safe passage is indeed fit for purpose.

Regardless of the impressive advances in testing technology, the serious quantitative leaps in the use of computer aided design and manufacture, the improvements in material science yielding growth in all the useful features for a tyre combined in production benefitting the end result can be undone by end user apathy. As an industry, we have a programme of continuous improvement, but does the end user have the same? Do they care?

For all the testing programmes we, as an industry, have in place, the one lacking I feel is the understanding of the level of knowledge from the perspective of the driver. Do they understand the information that the physical tyre testing provides? In the case of a motoring enthusiast, very much yes, but they make up a small percentage of the population.

The advent of the Euro 7 standards will draw the performance of tyres into the everyday realm for the legislators and regulators. Again, how the daily drivers that use their vehicles for commuting actually care is an unknown, and I feel that the care factor is probably less than zero.

In speaking with learner drivers, I ask whether the driving instructors had mentioned tyres at all and was totally unsurprised when the answer came back as a no. I know I have said before that unless we can engage drivers into understanding and appreciating their tyres’ contribution to their personal safety whilst driving, then our industries progress will be stymied.

All the progress in material science, advanced vehicle standards, wonderful testing regimes can all be negated when the vehicle driver ignores the very basic of the tyres operating requirement – the appropriate operating inflation pressure. 

How we change the mindset of the end user is still testing my knowledge and patience; it is more than tiring to keep on hearing that people don’t even acknowledge the benefits they enjoy from the use of the product our industry produces.

Please educate the end user on the critical importance their tyres have in overall on-road safety. Look after your tyres, so when you call upon them to look after you, they will be appropriately equipped to do so.

Stay TyreSafe

Pyrum Innovations AG has announced that its Supervisory Board has extended the contract with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Kai Winkelmann until 31 March 2030 to ensure continuity in the management of the company.

Winkelmann joined the firm in February 2021, and on 1 April 2022, he was initially named to the Executive Board as CFO. He has so far played a major role in obtaining the company's funding during his tenure at Pyrum, including last year's successful capital raise. Winkelmann is in charge of Finance, Compliance and IT in his role on the Executive Board.

Alf Schmidt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said, “We are pleased about the contract extension of Kai Winkelmann, who has proven his skills and in-depth expertise in the financial sector and at the management level in recent years. Over the last four years, he has made a significant contribution to the development of the necessary administrative structures and to the success of the company, and has promoted its rapid further development. We have confidence in his foresight and are convinced that Winkelmann will continue to play a central role in the successful implementation of the company’s goals in the years to come.”

Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) has been selected once again to continue as a constituent of three internationally renowned environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes: the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes, the FTSE4Good Index Series and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World).

Bridgestone has been a part of the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes for two years in a row since 2023, the DJSI World for three years in a row since 2022 and the FTSE4Good Index Series for seven years in a row from 2018. Bridgestone's specific Mid Term Business Plan (2024-2026) has been steadily implemented, putting sustainability at the centre of its operations. The company's 2020 vision and Mid-Long Term Business Strategy served as the foundation for the plan.

According to the company statement, “Setting forth the vision of ‘Toward 2050, Bridgestone continues to provide social value and customer value as a sustainable solutions company’, Bridgestone links its business to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and nature positivity across the entire value chain. From the ‘produce and sell’ phase and the ‘use’ of its products through to their ‘renewal’ to raw materials, Bridgestone aims to build a foundation for creating sustainability value.”

The following initiatives have contributed to Bridgestone's inclusion in these indexes:

• Contributing to a circular economy and attaining carbon neutrality by using ENLITEN technology to make tyres from recycled and renewable resources, using BCMA and switching to ‘Green & Smart’ manufacturing at Bridgestone locations to increase resource productivity and energy efficiency.
• Encouragement of nature positivity through initiatives for the sustainable use of water resources and natural rubber that are closely related to the commercial operations of the firm, including strengthening assistance for natural rubber smallholders.
• Strengthening of a thorough structure and procedure for human rights due diligence that aims to identify, mitigate, avoid and disclose human rights concerns.
• Visualisation and disclosure of the impact of social contribution actions that are in line with the global goals.

German automotive company and tyre major Continental has been added another feather to its cap with bagging the ‘Tire Manufacturer of the Year’ at this year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence at this year’s Tire Technology Expo.

With this, Continental becomes the only tyre maker to have won two concurrent awards – Tire Manufacturer of the Year and Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing. The company’s Lousado facility in Portugal was also recognised for manufacturing tyres CO2-neutrally since last year.

Edwin Goudswaard, Head of Research & Development, Continental Tires, said, "We are especially proud to be the only manufacturer to be honoured twice at the Tire Technology Awards in an extremely competitive field. Both awards highlight our strong commitment to sustainable tire development and manufacturing. In such a highly competitive market, this success demonstrates our innovative prowess and our ability to actively shape the future of the industry."

Interestingly, this also marks it the fourth time that the German company has bagged the Tire Manufacturer of the Year award. The awards took into consideration tyre makers globally and were evaluated by a jury of 27 independent industry experts.

Going forward, Continental has outlined its ambition to switch all of its tyre plants to fully carbon-neutral production processes by 2040 at the latest.

Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) has appointed Jongseon Ahn and Sanghoon Lee as Executive Directors and new Co-CEOs, following a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors meeting held on 26 March.

Ahn will be in charge of Hankook Tire's global innovation, R&D, procurement, production and quality, while Lee will be in charge of global sales and marketing initiatives to strengthen the premium positioning of the company's unified global brand, Hankook, as well as the supply of original equipment (OE) tyres for new vehicles. In addition to the leadership nominations, shareholders approved all eight agenda items at the Annual General Meeting, including the approval of the consolidated financial accounts, partial revisions to the Articles of Incorporation and director appointments.

Ahn has extensive leadership expertise and a proven track record of advancing technology innovation in the operational holding firm, Hankook & Company. He oversaw general management and spearheaded innovative initiatives in 2021 while serving as COO of Hankook & Company and Head of ES (Energy Solution) Business Headquarters. He became the CEO in 2022 and oversaw the company's expansion of premium Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery sales into important international markets, which greatly increased profitability and strengthened the company's platform for long-term success.

Lee's vast worldwide leadership experience serves as the foundation for his profound understanding of marketing and global sales strategy. He has held important regional leadership positions in China and Europe since 2018, during which time he has played a crucial role in bolstering the company's premium brand positioning internationally and continuously promoting creative business performance, both of which have greatly increased revenue. At the conclusion of last year, he was nominated as Hankook Tire's Co-CEO due to his success and leadership.