BB Tyre Reviews

STS Tyre pro's and their satellite centres Central tyres no longer fit tyres for BlackCircles. Seemingly STS took offence to BC marketing of the STS/Central group as "their fitting centres". In addition to this STS felt that BC was redirecting existing customers lured by the cheaper online tyre price, in essence BC was using STS's overheads placing them in a better position to sell cheap tyres.

Taken from a BMW forum ..................................................... Just called my insurance company to inform them that the car will be going onto Winter tyres at some point in the next month or so. Going from M Sport double spoke 245/40/18 Summer RFT's to standard E60 SE, 225/55/16 M&S rated non RFT's. The insurance company have advised that as the change of alloy wheels to non standard wheels is classed as a modification and therefore is an increase in premium and admin charge. They have advised that there will also be an admin charge when i switch back to standard wheels. The additional premium is not massive, but £17.50 Admin charge per swap is wrong in my eyes. I fully explained the reasoning behind it and the chap agreed that he understood but still kept saying that the wheels "maybe" more "style ish" therefore is more risk and as they will improve handling they are a modification!!! I advised that the rims are OEM 16 inch, and this is a safety improvement not a style improvement. Plus, the rims are less risk due to their size and style, but got the generic reply of, I understand but its a mod, as the car did not come out of the factory with them wheels!! Having read other forums online, its seems that this is becoming very common with insurance companies "cashing in" on motorist who want to be safer at winter. If you are invloved in an accident and are found to of changed any equipment which they class as a mod and you have not informed them, your policy cover could be void. ..................................... I think that is an utter conn

Many will have woken up this morning to temperatures approaching freezing point; before the morning drive in Stoke-on-Trent, the hometown of Tyres & Accessories Towers, the sudden need to root out the ice-scraper and turn the blowers up high did not go un-noted. With temperatures to continue in this vein throughout the week, will UK drivers’ thoughts extend beyond the purchase of a new can of demister and head towards the tyres, just as last year’s cold weather brought on a rush to fit more suitable rubber for the conditions? Admittedly conditions are not even close to the spectacular snowdrifts seen last winter just yet, but as we all know by now, cold-weather tyres are designed to handle lower temperatures – such as the one degree Celsius seen on T&A’s dashboard – much better than their summer counterparts. Winter tyres yield shorter braking distances and better handling at the oft-quoted figure of 7 degrees Celsius, whether there is snow on the road or not. The subsequent outcry criticising local councils’ inability to predict the colder temperatures in 2009’s winter could equally be applied to drivers in 2010, should the current cold climate develop into a similarly cold winter, as is predicted. While last year the weather’s severity was unexpected after a decade-plus of mild winters; this year, no-one can argue they haven’t been warned. Souce Tyrepress

Rounding the final bend of its final season in the sport, Bridgestone is preparing for a new Formula One destination at Yeongam near the city of Mokpo for the first ever Korean Grand Prix on 22-24 October with its hard and soft compound Potenza tyres. The all-new Korean International Circuit has never previously held a motorsport event, meaning that the teams and Bridgestone will have to rely on simulation data before taking to the track for the first time on the Friday of the Grand Prix.

Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) From 2012 European legislation dictates that all new cars will be fitted with tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). With many modern vehicles already being fitted with them and the pressure watching technology due to become mandatory Tyres & Accessories has researched and compiled the latest information on the subject in order to answer the question: How will TPMS change the tyre retail business? To start off with, there certainly appears to be a need for it. The 2008 Annual Tyre Pressure Review undertaken by Kwik-Fit found just over 46 per cent of cars tested had at least one tyre underinflated. Scaled up to represent the current level of UK registrations, this means that a staggering 12.46 million cars could be running on the roads like this, using £1.5 billion pounds of extra fuel and creating literally thousands of extra tons of carbon emissions. That 30 per cent extra tyre wear also means that an unnecessary 108,000 tyres each year have to be manufactured and disposed of too. In addition research conducted by the Department of Transport, claimed that last year, over 2,600 serious injuries or fatalities were the direct result of tyre failure of under-inflation. Under-inflation reduces the driver’s ability to control the vehicle, with steering and braking inputs dramatically diminished by the tyre’s tendency to deform without the correct pressure to support it. According to Schrader Electronics’ Alfonso Di Pasquale, “It has been proven that up to 3 per cent of road accidents could be avoided if tyres were inflated to the correct levels…†For those operating in either the retail or supply ends of the market the issue is that, last minute changes in the law notwithstanding, the new law could mean that (from 2012 on) when a car leaves the factory with TPMS equipment fitted, should it become inoperable, it may leave the driver effectively uninsured or facing an MOT failure when the time comes. The current thinking is that retailers may need to ensure that their aftermarket wheel and tyre set-up incorporates OEM spec sensors – and that these communicate effectively and accurately with the factory display equipment – or else run the associated insurance and MOT risks.