Motor Authority - blog Tag: tires

Bridgestone has scrapped its policy of leaving a gap between the two types of tire compounds supplied to formula one teams in 2009.

At the remaining rounds of the season following next Sunday's German grand prix, the sport's official tire supplier will instead revert to supplying consecutive compounds.

Fernando Alonso had hit out at the situation earlier this year, slamming the policy as in the interests of a false spectacle while making the drivers look "ridiculous".

"We have made the change to the tire allocation concept based on the data we have collected from races so far this year combined with our knowledge of the tracks we visit... Bridgestone has scrapped its policy of leaving a gap between the two types of tire compounds supplied to formula one teams in 2009. At the remaining rounds of the season following next Sunday's German grand prix, the sport's official tire supplier will instead revert to supplying consecutive compounds. Fernando Alonso had hit out at the situation earlier this year, slamming the policy as in the interests of a false spectacle while making the drivers look "ridiculous". "We have made the change to the tire allocation concept based on the data we have collected from races so far this year combined with our knowledge of the tracks we visit for these (next) races," director of tire development Hirohide Hamashima said. He said continuing the 'gap' policy would have caused problems at the next five races, including the twisty Hungary and Valencia, cool Spa-Francorchamps and Monza in Italy. Read More

Three famous Italian automotive firms have joined forces to bring a new “Cyber Tire” to the market. While tire pressure monitoring systems have become commonplace on all but the most entry-level cars, these companies are working on a self-powered microchip-based system that reports temperature, pressure and load wirelessly to the car's computer.

Pirelli will work with Magneti Marelli on the electronic control systems and Brembo for the brakes on the new tire. The goal will be to develop a complete solution for car companies that will reduce their engineering costs and be easy to integrate into current product plans.

The... Three famous Italian automotive firms have joined forces to bring a new “Cyber Tire” to the market. While tire pressure monitoring systems have become commonplace on all but the most entry-level cars, these companies are working on a self-powered microchip-based system that reports temperature, pressure and load wirelessly to the car's computer. Pirelli will work with Magneti Marelli on the electronic control systems and Brembo for the brakes on the new tire. The goal will be to develop a complete solution for car companies that will reduce their engineering costs and be easy to integrate into current product plans. The system involves a piezoelectric power generation system and microchip applied to the inside of the tire's carcass. The rolling motion of the tire generates the electricity the system needs to function, so as long as the car is rolling, the tire can report its information. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology underlying the system is well-known and proven, allowing the tire to store its own production date, site and tire type. The hope is that by providing even more information on the tires' current conditions, systems like stability control and ABS will be able to function more precisely, helping to improve traction and safety in all situations. In addition to the temperature and pressure-sensing features, a tri-axial accelerometer is also embedded in the tires, giving full 3D data to relate the tire's angle to the car's thrust angle, slip angle and the relative friction coefficients of each individual tire, in extremely fine-grained detail. With such ground-level information being streamed constantly to the car's computer, it will allow traction control and ABS systems to effectively respond before the driver is even aware of a problem, and even before the computer-controlled systems currently in use. A similar product is being developed for motorcycles, and will be called the Cyber Tire Lean. The motorcycle implementation will be delivered to market first, expected to start as early as 2010. The automotive Cyber Tire is expected to enter production in 2011 or 2012. Read More

The race for ever shorter sidewalls and ever wider contact patches is nearing the limits of what is possible with Kumho's debut of a tire with a sidewall height aspect ratio of 15 in its new ECSTA SPT KU31. Designed for super-high-performance models like the Ferrari F430, Dodge Viper and Corvette Z06 or ZR-1, the tire also bears a tread width rating of 385mm, or just over 15".

That's a very, very wide tire, and that width is what makes the 15-series sidewall height possible. The numerical figures that determine a tire's size - in this case, 385/15ZR22, contain a wealth of information about its construction. The tread, or section, width of... The race for ever shorter sidewalls and ever wider contact patches is nearing the limits of what is possible with Kumho's debut of a tire with a sidewall height aspect ratio of 15 in its new ECSTA SPT KU31. Designed for super-high-performance models like the Ferrari F430, Dodge Viper and Corvette Z06 or ZR-1, the tire also bears a tread width rating of 385mm, or just over 15". That's a very, very wide tire, and that width is what makes the 15-series sidewall height possible. The numerical figures that determine a tire's size - in this case, 385/15ZR22, contain a wealth of information about its construction. The tread, or section, width of a tire is the first number. The sidewall aspect ratio is the second number, trailing the forward slash, and represents the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the section width. In order to get a tire's sidewall down to just 15% of its width, a very wide tire is necessary for there to be enough material to provide for proper inflation, sidewall deflection over bumps and through turns, and adequate passenger comfort. Nevertheless, at just 58mm tall, the sidewall is about 50% shorter than that of a still fairly low-profile 275/40 tire.Kumho Ecsta SPT KU31 15-series low-profile tire Read More

American carmakers are putting a heavy emphasis on the 2008 SEMA show starting in Las Vegas today. Bringing a dozen or more cars and trucks of varying types, companies such as Ford and GM will have plenty to see, but neither will have the single-model impact that Nissan will make with its fleet of 14 R35 GT-Rs - all but one a fully customized special edition.

That one exception is a completely stock car being exhibited by Nissan, but the remaining thirteen are complexes of carbon fiber, unique paint jobs and huge alloy wheels. We've already covered several of these cars independently, so we'll hit the highlights of the lesser-known models... American carmakers are putting a heavy emphasis on the 2008 SEMA show starting in Las Vegas today. Bringing a dozen or more cars and trucks of varying types, companies such as Ford and GM will have plenty to see, but neither will have the single-model impact that Nissan will make with its fleet of 14 R35 GT-Rs - all but one a fully customized special edition. That one exception is a completely stock car being exhibited by Nissan, but the remaining thirteen are complexes of carbon fiber, unique paint jobs and huge alloy wheels. We've already covered several of these cars independently, so we'll hit the highlights of the lesser-known models in this roundup. Status Racing fit a full body kit and rear underspoiler to the car, plus a few JDM touches like clear side markers. HRE 20" C90 competition wheels on Toyo tires plus a Top Secret suspension kit give the car even more handling potential. To give the interior a unique feel, the headliner is replaced with black alcantara. Next up is the Mobil1 GT-R, wearing a custom 'Midnight Purple' paint job that shifts colors depending on the light source and viewing angle. The car also features a wide array of performance and appearance modifications, including a front fascia, side skirts, grill, rear diffuser and front fender ducts all made of carbon fiber, plus an Amuse dry carbon Hi-Mount rear wing. The engine gets Amuse products from the turbo back, a Cobb Accesport ECU tuning, HKS blow-off valve and a carbon fiber radiator shroud from Zele. To keep things handling and stopping as well as it goes, the tuners added an Amuse suspension, Endless Mono-6 racing brakes at front and rear, plus BBK LM-DBK 20" wheels on Toyo Proxes R888 tires. Inside the car gets carbon fiber/kevlar racing seats and Takata harnesses. The Haltech GT-R focuses on its Platinum series ECU, due for release in about a month, which allows full modification while preserving many stock features such as cruise control. Custom Rays TE37 wheels and graphics give the car a clean look. Seibon, a carbon fiber parts specialist, also put their hand to the GT-R, fitting all the lightweight carbon they could to the car, including a custom hood, trunk lid, sideskirts, front lip and front bar. Custom black wheels and graphics across the hipline help mark the car out from the crowd as well. Perrin Racing and Hankook Tires are two of the remaining sponsors of custom GT-Rs at the show, but so far little has been revealed about the cars except that they feature custom wheels, body kits and a few other touches. Axis Sport Tuning's car adds a Cobb Accesport tune and Password:JDM's full carbon fiber parts catalog to the recipe. GFG brought two cars, each featuring plus-sized (21" and 22") wheels with huge Continental tires, but otherwise stock cars, to show of the Giovanna and Gianelle wheels. Cars from Toyo Tires, Vivid Racing, Mines and Zele will also be on the floor. Via: GTR-WorldFourteen Nissan GT-Rs at SEMA 2008 Read More

Over-the-top customization is the hallmark of the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show, held in Las Vegas every year. In just about a month's time, Toyo Tires will be featuring a special Nissan GT-R, shod in a set of 20-inch Proxes R888 racing tires - the first set of the gigantic race tires from Toyo.

The rest of the custom work on the car will be done by Bulletproof Automotive. Custom BBK wheels will be the support system for the advanced Toyo tires, which are sized in 285/35ZR20 for the front and 315/30ZR20 for the rear. A flotilla of carbon-fiber component upgrades, an Amuse Super Tough Titanium (STT) exhaust and Endless... Over-the-top customization is the hallmark of the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show, held in Las Vegas every year. In just about a month's time, Toyo Tires will be featuring a special Nissan GT-R, shod in a set of 20-inch Proxes R888 racing tires - the first set of the gigantic race tires from Toyo. The rest of the custom work on the car will be done by Bulletproof Automotive. Custom BBK wheels will be the support system for the advanced Toyo tires, which are sized in 285/35ZR20 for the front and 315/30ZR20 for the rear. A flotilla of carbon-fiber component upgrades, an Amuse Super Tough Titanium (STT) exhaust and Endless monoblock six-piston front and rear brakes round out the performance upgrades. In addition to the GT-R, a bevy of custom cars flaunting special tires will be on display at the Toyo booth. A custom 1931 Studebaker Model 54 hot rod, a 650hp (485kW) Mitsubishi Evo X, another iteration of the fully-custom 800hp (596kW) Bentley Tetsu GTR, and a unique Toyota Tundra will all be on show. A sixth and as yet secret vehicle will also be on display, wearing Proxes ST II tires, which are designed for sport trucks, SUVs and crossovers.Toyo Tires 2008 SEMA Show cars Read More