'There are lies, damned lies and statistics.' Mark Twain claimed Benjamin Disraeli said this in the 19th Century. True, some say that statistics can be misleading but they can also be sobering, to say the least. Take, for example, this figure, released in September by the Department for Transport. Apparently, illegal, defective and underinflated car tyres caused over 1,210 road casualties in Great Britain during 2010. Over the last five years, 164 motorists have died as a result of having defective car tyres, 18 of those deaths occurring in 2010, according to the Road Casualties in Great Britain report.
What can be done about this? Well, October is Tyre Safety Month. Not for profit organisation TyreSafe was established in 2006 and is now one of the UK's leading tyre safety organisations. As its chairman Stuart Jackson says, “The latest figures are truly shocking and emphasise why we need ongoing action, education and awareness about tyre safety issues.”
TyreSafe is working hard to ensure that we are informed about the importance of looking after ourselves and the safety of others by looking after our car tyres. As part of Tyre Safety Month, drivers will be given a free tyre safety check. Where? Hundreds of tyre dealers and garages are taking part, so try your local ones.
There are also a number of online resources, to show you how to carry out critical car tyre safety checks quickly and easily. An enlightening online video, of a car being driven on ice, demonstrates the benefits of winter tyres.
Stuart Jackson continues, "If all drivers took just a few minutes every month to check their tyre pressures, condition and tread depth, we could help prevent this needless injury and loss of life. Our website contains some really simple guides to help drivers understand what to look for."
Tyre Safety Month is as much about education as awareness. The abovementioned website has material that will leave you fully informed about your car tyres and safety. You can learn about checking your tyres' tread depth and ensuring they contain the correct tyre pressure. There are also TyreSafe's 'Magnificent 7 Car Tyre Safety Tips'.
As we all know, the tail end of the summer season heralds the onset of poorer weather. We should also bear in mind that the need for car tyre safety monitoring will continue ad infinitum…it won't go away when November blusters its way in. In the short term, you can take a look at the TyreSafe web site. In the longer term, you may want to consider investing in a set of winter tyres. Or you could reflect on the wisdom of looking after the tyres you already have, keeping them in prime condition and being aware of the need to replace then as and when necessary.
The bottom line is this. As has been said time and time again, your car tyres are all that are ultimately keeping you on the road. Assuming you have no desire to become a statistic, neglect them at your peril. Why not take a look at keeping your tyres safe– it might just be a life-saving bit of browsing.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
The Car Tyre Deal Of The Decade?
In these grim financial times, making a good deal is practically compulsory. Here is news of a deal which can save your car tyres, save you money and perhaps even save your life. That this can be done with the aid of just twenty pence may seem too good to be true. That you needn't actually spend the twenty pence is downright unbelievable. Or is it…?
The law relating to car tyres in the UK couldn't be clearer. Your tyres must have a minimum of 1.6 millimetres of tread all round the central three quarters of their circumference. If they have less than this, you are breaking the law. That you are also in greater danger of being involved in an accident should be taken as red. Perhaps it isn't but, as money talks, let's look at what else breaking the law can cost you.
If you have less than the abovementioned amount of tread on your car tyres, you are risking a fine of up to £2,500, and three penalty points on your driving licence. This applies not to all of your tyres but to each individual illegal tyre. Apart from the obvious cost, there would be a less evident one. Insurance companies don't like lawbreakers. There are no prizes for guessing where your insurance company will hit you when you tell them about your brush with the authorities.
How can you avoid such unfortunate outcomes for twenty pence? It just so happens that TyreSafe, the organisation running Tyre Safety Month, has come up with a neat and simple test. Have you got a twenty pence piece? Take a look at it. You'll see that there is a broad rim around the edge on each side of the coin. If you were to put the edge of the coin into one of your car tyre's treads, you shouldn't be able to see the coin's outer rim. If you can't see it, your tread depth is fine. If, on the other hand, if you can see the outer rim, the tread depth is questionable; you need your car tyres looked at by a pro.
In this instance, you probably have a readily available, simple tyre tread depth gauge in your pocket. Though it's a coin of the realm, there is no need to spend it…and your car tyres' fitness for their purpose will have been verified.
There is a further use for twenty pence, though you have to spend it this time. Getting up close and personal with your tyres may not be the most alluring task but neglecting it can have dire consequences. Most garage tyre pressure machines will give time enough to check all four tyres – and probably the spare – for a mere twenty pence. Get into the habit of checking your car's tyre pressures once a month, and before each long journey. You never know, you might be lucky enough to come across a free air supply.
So, thanks to TyreSafe for reminding us that our tyres need nurturing. Remember that although October is Tyre Safety Month, the need to look after your car tyres is ongoing.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
The law relating to car tyres in the UK couldn't be clearer. Your tyres must have a minimum of 1.6 millimetres of tread all round the central three quarters of their circumference. If they have less than this, you are breaking the law. That you are also in greater danger of being involved in an accident should be taken as red. Perhaps it isn't but, as money talks, let's look at what else breaking the law can cost you.
If you have less than the abovementioned amount of tread on your car tyres, you are risking a fine of up to £2,500, and three penalty points on your driving licence. This applies not to all of your tyres but to each individual illegal tyre. Apart from the obvious cost, there would be a less evident one. Insurance companies don't like lawbreakers. There are no prizes for guessing where your insurance company will hit you when you tell them about your brush with the authorities.
How can you avoid such unfortunate outcomes for twenty pence? It just so happens that TyreSafe, the organisation running Tyre Safety Month, has come up with a neat and simple test. Have you got a twenty pence piece? Take a look at it. You'll see that there is a broad rim around the edge on each side of the coin. If you were to put the edge of the coin into one of your car tyre's treads, you shouldn't be able to see the coin's outer rim. If you can't see it, your tread depth is fine. If, on the other hand, if you can see the outer rim, the tread depth is questionable; you need your car tyres looked at by a pro.
In this instance, you probably have a readily available, simple tyre tread depth gauge in your pocket. Though it's a coin of the realm, there is no need to spend it…and your car tyres' fitness for their purpose will have been verified.
There is a further use for twenty pence, though you have to spend it this time. Getting up close and personal with your tyres may not be the most alluring task but neglecting it can have dire consequences. Most garage tyre pressure machines will give time enough to check all four tyres – and probably the spare – for a mere twenty pence. Get into the habit of checking your car's tyre pressures once a month, and before each long journey. You never know, you might be lucky enough to come across a free air supply.
So, thanks to TyreSafe for reminding us that our tyres need nurturing. Remember that although October is Tyre Safety Month, the need to look after your car tyres is ongoing.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Inside A Car Tyre
Many people take their car tyres for granted, but there's far more to them than meets the eye. Knowing how they are made will illustrate this point.
How is a car tyre made? Production starts with a halobutyl rubber sheet that has special air-retaining additives. This sheet forms the tyre's inner liner. A three-layer body ply comes next, in which a central layer of reinforcing fabric is sandwiched between two layers of rubber. Cotton used to be the material of choice for the reinforcing fabric but this has been replaced with Nylon, Rayon, polyester or even Kevlar. The body ply's role is to give the tyre strength and flexibility; two such plies may be used in a tyre.
The acceptable faces of the tyre, the sidewalls, include antiozonants and antioxidants to enhance their life. The sidewalls can resist chemical attack and abrasion, and the tyre's ratings and size codes are moulded into them.
Of course, the tyre's sidewalls need to form a seal on the wheel rim. Bands of high tensile steel wire, copper or brass coated for corrosion resistance, form the beads on the inner diameter of the sidewalls. The triangular rubber section that joins the beads to the sidewalls is called the apex. The bead structure is what forms an airtight seal with the wheel rim.
Now for the tread and its underlying structure. The belt package is the part of the tyre that sits inside the tread. It's made up of two layers of rubber that enclose a layer of steel cords. These cords run radially in the belt package, hence the term 'radial tyres'. The belt package is a major player in the tyre's strength. The tread pattern is visible but the rubber compound used to make it is just as important. The choice of compound is a matter of a selecting a balance, between hardness (wear) and (grip). Think 'compromise'.
These are the parts of a tyre and they must obviously be assembled and made into a tough, resilient structure. This procedure begins with wrapping the inner liner, body ply(s), sidewalls and beads around a special drum. Then, the belt package and tread are added, and the various elements are spliced together. At this stage the tyre is yet to be cured, and is known as a 'green' tyre. In this state, it is inflated and shaped.
Curing comes next, to bond the various parts of the tyre into a coherent whole. A rubber bladder is inflated inside the tyre, forcing it into a mould. Hot water, steam or an inert gas is used to inflate this bladder, and the curing process involves a great deal of heat and pressure…350 degrees Fahrenheit and 350 pounds per square inch to be precise. The curing process takes about 15 minutes.
The final stage is to test the cured tyre on a mock road surface, to seek out localized inflexibility and significant imbalances. Every tyre is given a visual inspection and sometimes, an X-ray inspection too.
So, car tyres are built tough to be tough, which they must be to take on the tough job they do. As they are all that keep your car on the road, it's reassuring to know how much effort and care go into making them.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
How is a car tyre made? Production starts with a halobutyl rubber sheet that has special air-retaining additives. This sheet forms the tyre's inner liner. A three-layer body ply comes next, in which a central layer of reinforcing fabric is sandwiched between two layers of rubber. Cotton used to be the material of choice for the reinforcing fabric but this has been replaced with Nylon, Rayon, polyester or even Kevlar. The body ply's role is to give the tyre strength and flexibility; two such plies may be used in a tyre.
The acceptable faces of the tyre, the sidewalls, include antiozonants and antioxidants to enhance their life. The sidewalls can resist chemical attack and abrasion, and the tyre's ratings and size codes are moulded into them.
Of course, the tyre's sidewalls need to form a seal on the wheel rim. Bands of high tensile steel wire, copper or brass coated for corrosion resistance, form the beads on the inner diameter of the sidewalls. The triangular rubber section that joins the beads to the sidewalls is called the apex. The bead structure is what forms an airtight seal with the wheel rim.
Now for the tread and its underlying structure. The belt package is the part of the tyre that sits inside the tread. It's made up of two layers of rubber that enclose a layer of steel cords. These cords run radially in the belt package, hence the term 'radial tyres'. The belt package is a major player in the tyre's strength. The tread pattern is visible but the rubber compound used to make it is just as important. The choice of compound is a matter of a selecting a balance, between hardness (wear) and (grip). Think 'compromise'.
These are the parts of a tyre and they must obviously be assembled and made into a tough, resilient structure. This procedure begins with wrapping the inner liner, body ply(s), sidewalls and beads around a special drum. Then, the belt package and tread are added, and the various elements are spliced together. At this stage the tyre is yet to be cured, and is known as a 'green' tyre. In this state, it is inflated and shaped.
Curing comes next, to bond the various parts of the tyre into a coherent whole. A rubber bladder is inflated inside the tyre, forcing it into a mould. Hot water, steam or an inert gas is used to inflate this bladder, and the curing process involves a great deal of heat and pressure…350 degrees Fahrenheit and 350 pounds per square inch to be precise. The curing process takes about 15 minutes.
The final stage is to test the cured tyre on a mock road surface, to seek out localized inflexibility and significant imbalances. Every tyre is given a visual inspection and sometimes, an X-ray inspection too.
So, car tyres are built tough to be tough, which they must be to take on the tough job they do. As they are all that keep your car on the road, it's reassuring to know how much effort and care go into making them.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Top Tyre Tech: Facts About Formula One Car Tyres
Formula One teams spend vast amounts on research and development. They spend on aerodynamics, on construction with composite materials, and on wringing the maximum amount of power from their engines. We must, however, remember that in Formula One, tyres remain the largest single performance variable.
So, car tyres are car tyres, right? Not quite; road car and racing car tyres are distant relatives at best. Road car tyres are made to last, typically for a life of 16,000 kilometres or more. Formula One car tyres are made to last 200 kilometres at most, but they are made to be both light and strong. Their internal nylon and polyester structure, with its complicated weave pattern, is designed to handle much greater forces than a road car tyre faces. Let's put it this way, no road car is likely to generate a tonne of downforce, or 5g of longitudinal load…or 4g lateral loadings.
F1 car tyres' soft rubber mix is there to offer maximum grip, at the cost of a limited life. The tyres wear very quickly. They also become very hot but this is meant to happen – cold race tyres offer little grip. By way of example, the dry grooved tyres used until recently were designed to run at between 90 and 100 degrees Centigrade. Look carefully at the TV footage and you'll see the cars' tyres, pre-race, clad in special coverings, which are electrically heated. The need for heat explains why Formula One cars can be seen weaving from side to side on the way to the starting grid. The drivers are perfectly sober and they aren't playing – they're just warming their tyres.
Slick tyres, those with no tread at all, offer maximum grip. However, it was decided in 1998 that slicks be outlawed. Grooved tyres were made de rigeur, to help improve F1 racing as a spectator sport by reducing cornering speeds. This made life difficult for the tyre makers. The rules specified that all tyres had to have four continuous grooves at least 2.5 millimetres deep, spaced 50 millimetres apart. So, tyre manufacturers had to adopt harder rubber compounds, to maintain tyre integrity. By the 2009 season, slick tyres came back. The FIA, Formula One's governing body, decided to use limits on F1 car aerodynamics as a means of keeping cornering speeds down.
How 'soft' or 'hard' the rubber compounds in F1 car tyres are, is varied by race, according to each track's characteristics. For each Grand Prix race weekend, teams choose from two different compounds, and every driver must use both during the race. What makes the difference in the hardness of the different specifications? A change in the proportions of ingredients added to the rubber mix. Of these ingredients, the three main ones are sulphur, carbon and oil. In general, more oil equals a softer tyre compound.
Formula One car tyres are obviously run at the appropriate pressures. However, air pressure isn't quite the right term. F1 car tyres are inflated with more nitrogen gas than air. This gas and air mixture is less susceptible to pressure loss and minimises the pressure differences that come about through temperature changes.
As will have become clear by now, there are huge differences between road car tyres and Formula One car tyres. They may share basic characteristics but the common denominators between them are certainly low on the scale.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
So, car tyres are car tyres, right? Not quite; road car and racing car tyres are distant relatives at best. Road car tyres are made to last, typically for a life of 16,000 kilometres or more. Formula One car tyres are made to last 200 kilometres at most, but they are made to be both light and strong. Their internal nylon and polyester structure, with its complicated weave pattern, is designed to handle much greater forces than a road car tyre faces. Let's put it this way, no road car is likely to generate a tonne of downforce, or 5g of longitudinal load…or 4g lateral loadings.
F1 car tyres' soft rubber mix is there to offer maximum grip, at the cost of a limited life. The tyres wear very quickly. They also become very hot but this is meant to happen – cold race tyres offer little grip. By way of example, the dry grooved tyres used until recently were designed to run at between 90 and 100 degrees Centigrade. Look carefully at the TV footage and you'll see the cars' tyres, pre-race, clad in special coverings, which are electrically heated. The need for heat explains why Formula One cars can be seen weaving from side to side on the way to the starting grid. The drivers are perfectly sober and they aren't playing – they're just warming their tyres.
Slick tyres, those with no tread at all, offer maximum grip. However, it was decided in 1998 that slicks be outlawed. Grooved tyres were made de rigeur, to help improve F1 racing as a spectator sport by reducing cornering speeds. This made life difficult for the tyre makers. The rules specified that all tyres had to have four continuous grooves at least 2.5 millimetres deep, spaced 50 millimetres apart. So, tyre manufacturers had to adopt harder rubber compounds, to maintain tyre integrity. By the 2009 season, slick tyres came back. The FIA, Formula One's governing body, decided to use limits on F1 car aerodynamics as a means of keeping cornering speeds down.
How 'soft' or 'hard' the rubber compounds in F1 car tyres are, is varied by race, according to each track's characteristics. For each Grand Prix race weekend, teams choose from two different compounds, and every driver must use both during the race. What makes the difference in the hardness of the different specifications? A change in the proportions of ingredients added to the rubber mix. Of these ingredients, the three main ones are sulphur, carbon and oil. In general, more oil equals a softer tyre compound.
Formula One car tyres are obviously run at the appropriate pressures. However, air pressure isn't quite the right term. F1 car tyres are inflated with more nitrogen gas than air. This gas and air mixture is less susceptible to pressure loss and minimises the pressure differences that come about through temperature changes.
As will have become clear by now, there are huge differences between road car tyres and Formula One car tyres. They may share basic characteristics but the common denominators between them are certainly low on the scale.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Worst Case Scenario – How To Cope With a Blowout
'Blowout'. It's a funny word. Unarguably a noun, it means…
1a. A sudden rupture or bursting, as of car tyre.
1b. The hole made by such a rupture.
2. A sudden escape of a confined gas or liquid, as from a well.
3. Slang A large party or other social affair.
4. Informal A lopsided victory or thorough defeat.
Here, we are concerned with part 1a of the definition. Blowouts are less common than they used to be but the usual suspects cause them. These are under inflation, overloading, impact damage, structural damage or a big puncture.
You'll notice that these factors have one thing in common. All cause or lead to a sudden loss of air pressure in the car tyre. The common denominator in any blowout is that it happens suddenly. The cause matters in that by taking care of your tyres means you can often avoid the risk of a blowout. Here, 'taking care' means keeping your tyres correctly inflated, and inspecting them frequently to look for cuts, bulges and other significant damage. Remember that a careful inspection should follow any known or suspected impact, such as with a kerb, road debris or a pothole.
Should the worst happen and one of your car tyres deflates quickly, your response can make the difference between a safe, controlled stop and a one-way trip into a ditch or worse.
Picture the scene. You're driving along, minding your own business. Suddenly, you hear a tyre letting go. BANG…hiss…flap…flap…flap! Your natural reaction will probably be to hit the brakes and try to wrestle with the steering wheel, which will be suddenly pulling to one side. WRONG!…and it makes no difference whether your driving a sports coupe or a big luxury car. Your natural reaction is…well, natural but it can be very dangerous.
The trick is to first of all follow the well-known advice of Corporal Jones in 'Dad's Army'. Instead of panicking, briefly dab the accelerator, or at least don't lift off it. Maintaining the car's momentum will let you keep in the lane in which you were travelling when the blowout happened. You'll have to apply counter steering to fight the car's natural tendency to veer off line but you'll find that you can still follow a reasonably straight track and keep the car stable. Then, gently ease off the accelerator and let the car slow down gently.
At this point, it's a great idea to activate your car's hazard lights. Your car should still be under control but you'll have to stop pretty soon and the hazards will tell other drivers that not all is well. Ignore the noise and debris emanating from your wrecked car tyre. You can then pull over to the side of the road as soon as you find a safe place to stop. Under the circumstances, it's OK to drive on for a short distance; the failed car tyre will be history anyway.
Finally, it's no good heaving a sigh of relief at having survived a blowout, only to be killed by a passing truck while trying to replace the wrecked car tyre. Never attempt to change a tyre on a busy road. Call out your breakdown provider if you can't reach a safe, quiet place to fit the spare wheel.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
1a. A sudden rupture or bursting, as of car tyre.
1b. The hole made by such a rupture.
2. A sudden escape of a confined gas or liquid, as from a well.
3. Slang A large party or other social affair.
4. Informal A lopsided victory or thorough defeat.
Here, we are concerned with part 1a of the definition. Blowouts are less common than they used to be but the usual suspects cause them. These are under inflation, overloading, impact damage, structural damage or a big puncture.
You'll notice that these factors have one thing in common. All cause or lead to a sudden loss of air pressure in the car tyre. The common denominator in any blowout is that it happens suddenly. The cause matters in that by taking care of your tyres means you can often avoid the risk of a blowout. Here, 'taking care' means keeping your tyres correctly inflated, and inspecting them frequently to look for cuts, bulges and other significant damage. Remember that a careful inspection should follow any known or suspected impact, such as with a kerb, road debris or a pothole.
Should the worst happen and one of your car tyres deflates quickly, your response can make the difference between a safe, controlled stop and a one-way trip into a ditch or worse.
Picture the scene. You're driving along, minding your own business. Suddenly, you hear a tyre letting go. BANG…hiss…flap…flap…flap! Your natural reaction will probably be to hit the brakes and try to wrestle with the steering wheel, which will be suddenly pulling to one side. WRONG!…and it makes no difference whether your driving a sports coupe or a big luxury car. Your natural reaction is…well, natural but it can be very dangerous.
The trick is to first of all follow the well-known advice of Corporal Jones in 'Dad's Army'. Instead of panicking, briefly dab the accelerator, or at least don't lift off it. Maintaining the car's momentum will let you keep in the lane in which you were travelling when the blowout happened. You'll have to apply counter steering to fight the car's natural tendency to veer off line but you'll find that you can still follow a reasonably straight track and keep the car stable. Then, gently ease off the accelerator and let the car slow down gently.
At this point, it's a great idea to activate your car's hazard lights. Your car should still be under control but you'll have to stop pretty soon and the hazards will tell other drivers that not all is well. Ignore the noise and debris emanating from your wrecked car tyre. You can then pull over to the side of the road as soon as you find a safe place to stop. Under the circumstances, it's OK to drive on for a short distance; the failed car tyre will be history anyway.
Finally, it's no good heaving a sigh of relief at having survived a blowout, only to be killed by a passing truck while trying to replace the wrecked car tyre. Never attempt to change a tyre on a busy road. Call out your breakdown provider if you can't reach a safe, quiet place to fit the spare wheel.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Under Pressure: UK Motorists' Shortcomings Revealed
According to research carried out in May 2011 it's official. What's official? That we don't all maintain our car tyres properly and this is proving costly in more ways than one. For their study, statisticians checked out 2,700 car tyres across the UK and uncovered some disturbing statistics.
The study showed that more than two thirds of cars in the UK are being driven with tyre pressures at least 3 psi below the manufacturer's recommendation. According the study, the average amount of under inflation is 5.75psi, a staggering 18 per cent below the recommended figure. It is estimated that UK motorists are wasting £993 million on additional fuel to compensate for the drag caused by under inflated car tyres. Under inflation can also cause poor braking and handling, and can lead to tread damage and even blowouts. The study also found that nearly ten per cent of cars had a difference of 10 psi or more between tyres on the the same axle. If you've ever driven a car with such a prssure mismatch, you'll know how unstable it felt.
Over inflation of car tyres also reared its ugly head. The study revealed that one in seven cars are tottering around with at least one tyre that has 3 psi or more pressure in it than the manufacturer recommends. This can quickly cause irregular tread wear and may lead to bulging of the tyre's sidewalls.
The car tyre that's usually out of sight and therefore out of mind was also found to be lacking, specifically in terms of air pressure. On average, the spare tyre was under inflated by a whopping 18 psi, 44 per cent lower than the recommended average pressure of 44 psi. So, many a driver needing to use the spare tyre could be in for a nasty shock. Fitting the spare wheel and carrying on regardless on a soft tyre may not be grounds for an immediate accident but it remains potentially disastrous. It's worth noting that space saver spare tyres generally have to be inflated to a much higher pressure. This, probably up to 60 psi, is almost twice the pressure used in a conventional car tyre.
Should a car tyre prove incapable of holding its pressure, this could be down to a puncture or slow leak at the valve. Such problems are usually cheaply and easily fixed at a good tyre bay. For those concerned about the pressure in their spare tyre, there's the option of having it inflated with nitrogen. The molecules in nitrogen are both bigger and drier than those in normal compressed air, so the tyre will maintain its correct pressure for longer.
So, in among these sobering statistics, is there an encouraging figure? In short, is anybody getting it right? There is but it hardly makes for any degree of self-congratulation. According to the study, there are motorists driving around with all four car tyres inflated to the recommended pressure. However, haloes are thin on the ground…only four per cent of the motorists surveyed could boast that they were travelling on correctly inflated tyres.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
The study showed that more than two thirds of cars in the UK are being driven with tyre pressures at least 3 psi below the manufacturer's recommendation. According the study, the average amount of under inflation is 5.75psi, a staggering 18 per cent below the recommended figure. It is estimated that UK motorists are wasting £993 million on additional fuel to compensate for the drag caused by under inflated car tyres. Under inflation can also cause poor braking and handling, and can lead to tread damage and even blowouts. The study also found that nearly ten per cent of cars had a difference of 10 psi or more between tyres on the the same axle. If you've ever driven a car with such a prssure mismatch, you'll know how unstable it felt.
Over inflation of car tyres also reared its ugly head. The study revealed that one in seven cars are tottering around with at least one tyre that has 3 psi or more pressure in it than the manufacturer recommends. This can quickly cause irregular tread wear and may lead to bulging of the tyre's sidewalls.
The car tyre that's usually out of sight and therefore out of mind was also found to be lacking, specifically in terms of air pressure. On average, the spare tyre was under inflated by a whopping 18 psi, 44 per cent lower than the recommended average pressure of 44 psi. So, many a driver needing to use the spare tyre could be in for a nasty shock. Fitting the spare wheel and carrying on regardless on a soft tyre may not be grounds for an immediate accident but it remains potentially disastrous. It's worth noting that space saver spare tyres generally have to be inflated to a much higher pressure. This, probably up to 60 psi, is almost twice the pressure used in a conventional car tyre.
Should a car tyre prove incapable of holding its pressure, this could be down to a puncture or slow leak at the valve. Such problems are usually cheaply and easily fixed at a good tyre bay. For those concerned about the pressure in their spare tyre, there's the option of having it inflated with nitrogen. The molecules in nitrogen are both bigger and drier than those in normal compressed air, so the tyre will maintain its correct pressure for longer.
So, in among these sobering statistics, is there an encouraging figure? In short, is anybody getting it right? There is but it hardly makes for any degree of self-congratulation. According to the study, there are motorists driving around with all four car tyres inflated to the recommended pressure. However, haloes are thin on the ground…only four per cent of the motorists surveyed could boast that they were travelling on correctly inflated tyres.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Friday, 15 July 2011
High Flyers on Car Tyres: More Star Cars
There are a great many movie star cars but some are rather less well known than others. All have put tyres to tarmac on screen and many still do off screen. Here are three star cars that perhaps aren't quite as familiar as some of their competitors.
Our first contender is the car that never was, in production terms at least. The Toyota 2000GT attracted a lot of attention when it first appeared in 1967. At the time, Japanese motor manufacturers were known for producing practical (i.e. boring) and derivative models. When 'Road and Track' magazine tested the 2000GT, it was described as, "One of the most exciting and enjoyable cars we've driven." It was also favourably compared with Porsche's 911. So, where have you seen a Toyota 2000GT on screen, spinning its tyres as competently as all the rest? You saw one in 'You Only Live Twice'. This white convertible was driven by James Bond's girlfriend Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), with Sean Connery in the passenger seat. Why was it the car that never was? The Toyota 2000GT was a coupe that was too low for the 6ft 2 in tall Connery to fit into comfortably. Yamaha – who built the car – tried making a targa-top version but Bond's head still protruded far above the windscreen, giving a rather ridiculous look. So, just two 'convertibles' were built especially for the film. Look very closely and you'll see that the car's folded 'hood' is nothing more than an upholstered hump.
Sticking with Bond film trickery, can a car really become a submarine? In 1977, 'The Spy Who Loved Me' would have had us believe one could. The Lotus Esprit S1 concerned tucked its tyres into its wheel arches (which magically filled themselves in), sprouted hydroplanes and apparently went diving. In reality, there was a real roadgoing Lotus Esprit S1, and a heavily modified body shell for underwater use. This shell was fired off a jetty using a compressed air cannon. The underwater mock-up was able to drop 'depth charges' but it had no real submarine abilities and no engine. Perhaps appropriate in a movie in which the villain was named 'Stromberg' – also the name of a kind of carburettor!
In the same year, 'The Car' was burning tyres and rendering audiences awestruck. The possessed star car in this average schlock-horror shocker (also known as DeathMobile) was based on a 1970-ish Lincoln Continental Mk III. In fact, four cars were built, two being destroyed during filming. The main stunt car featured a 460 cubic inch V8 engine, a roll over bar, heavy-duty suspension and amber-tinted glass. A locked 4.11 to 1 differential allowed for easier tyre spinning. The fourth and last car was based on a late 1970s Ford Thunderbird. It was loosely assembled, to be shot over a cliff for the final scene. The shop behind all this heavy metal was Barris Kustoms in North Hollywood. Barris was also responsible for building the original Batmobile, The Munster's Koach and the Green Hornet car, 'Black Beauty'. The 1977 invoice for 'The Car' shows it cost '$84,000.'
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Our first contender is the car that never was, in production terms at least. The Toyota 2000GT attracted a lot of attention when it first appeared in 1967. At the time, Japanese motor manufacturers were known for producing practical (i.e. boring) and derivative models. When 'Road and Track' magazine tested the 2000GT, it was described as, "One of the most exciting and enjoyable cars we've driven." It was also favourably compared with Porsche's 911. So, where have you seen a Toyota 2000GT on screen, spinning its tyres as competently as all the rest? You saw one in 'You Only Live Twice'. This white convertible was driven by James Bond's girlfriend Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), with Sean Connery in the passenger seat. Why was it the car that never was? The Toyota 2000GT was a coupe that was too low for the 6ft 2 in tall Connery to fit into comfortably. Yamaha – who built the car – tried making a targa-top version but Bond's head still protruded far above the windscreen, giving a rather ridiculous look. So, just two 'convertibles' were built especially for the film. Look very closely and you'll see that the car's folded 'hood' is nothing more than an upholstered hump.
Sticking with Bond film trickery, can a car really become a submarine? In 1977, 'The Spy Who Loved Me' would have had us believe one could. The Lotus Esprit S1 concerned tucked its tyres into its wheel arches (which magically filled themselves in), sprouted hydroplanes and apparently went diving. In reality, there was a real roadgoing Lotus Esprit S1, and a heavily modified body shell for underwater use. This shell was fired off a jetty using a compressed air cannon. The underwater mock-up was able to drop 'depth charges' but it had no real submarine abilities and no engine. Perhaps appropriate in a movie in which the villain was named 'Stromberg' – also the name of a kind of carburettor!
In the same year, 'The Car' was burning tyres and rendering audiences awestruck. The possessed star car in this average schlock-horror shocker (also known as DeathMobile) was based on a 1970-ish Lincoln Continental Mk III. In fact, four cars were built, two being destroyed during filming. The main stunt car featured a 460 cubic inch V8 engine, a roll over bar, heavy-duty suspension and amber-tinted glass. A locked 4.11 to 1 differential allowed for easier tyre spinning. The fourth and last car was based on a late 1970s Ford Thunderbird. It was loosely assembled, to be shot over a cliff for the final scene. The shop behind all this heavy metal was Barris Kustoms in North Hollywood. Barris was also responsible for building the original Batmobile, The Munster's Koach and the Green Hornet car, 'Black Beauty'. The 1977 invoice for 'The Car' shows it cost '$84,000.'
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
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