Proper Tire Maintenance

Tires are the only contact between your vehicle and the road. Keeping that contact maximized at all times requires selecting the right tires and properly maintaining them. UTQG or Uniform Tire Quality Grading System ratings and speed ratings help you select the right tire. Proper inflation, balance and alignment keep them wearing evenly to maximize the contact patch. Being aware of these facts will help you have a safer and more enjoyable driving experience.

Yokohama has signed a sponsorship agreement with the Dallas Cowboys for the 2010 football season.  Yokohama already has sponsorship agreements with Los Angeles Angels, the Boston Celtics, and the San Antonio Spurs.  Dan King, Yokohama vice president of sales and marketing, says there will more announcements in the coming weeks about marketing partnerships with other teams.

We often get questions on what a State Tire Fee is and why we charge it. The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a great article about State Tire Fees and what has been accomplished with the funds generated. According to the article Virginia has identified 25 million tires since 1983 that needed to be cleaned up and recycled. The state is now capable of dealing with 7 million scrap tires a year. Tires had been dumped all over the state since the 1960’s. In the 1980’s a wakeup call came in the form of a Frederick County tire fire that burned for 9 months and became a 17 year SuperFund hazardous waste site.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association sponsored the 9th annual Tire Safety Week June 6th - 12th, 2010. Tire safety and proper maintenance go hand in hand and provides the added benefit of extending the useful life of your tires. Who ever said safety didn’t pay? The major component of tire maintenance and safety is proper inflation. Proper inflation shapes the body of the tire and influences the amount of tread contacting the road and heat dissipation properties. The correct inflation pressure is specific to the vehicle and can be found on the placard on the inside of the drivers side door on your car. We also have a handy tool on our home page to help you find out the correct air pressure for your vehicle.
Rotation and alignment are useful for extending wear as well. We recommend roating your tires every 5 thousand miles following the rotation pattern suggested in the owners manual for your vehicle. Regular rotation also allows the technician an opportunity to ‘read’ your wear pattern and determine if you need an alignment or suspension work.

http://www.rma.org/tire_safety/tire_maintenance_and_safety/national_tire_safety_week/index.cfm

While Road Force balancing is a great tool for diagnosing ride complaints, no tire manufacturer will warranty a tire based entirely on its results. The Hunter Road Force balancer exerts force on the tire as it rolls to help diagnose ride complaints. The roller measures the uniformity of the tire to confirm not only the static roundness of the tire but also the dynamic or rolling roundness of the tire. This is accomplished by measuring the deflection of the tire by the roller attachment on the balancer.
Often a consumer will become concerned because of how the results were interpreted whether they actually have a ride complaint or not. Because they have invested millions of dollars in their own proprietary quality control equipment and the training of the people that operate it, many manufacturers often test tires that are returned for ride complaints. Depending on the results of these tests they may or may not approve the credit for the returned tires. If you’re concerned with the Road Force testing results on tires you’ve purchased from TireTeam and you have a ride disturbance, please contact us so we can consult with the tire manufacturer to find the best resolution for you.

Tire Registration is an in important part of new tire ownership. Tire manufacturers are required by federal law to notify you in the event of a recall on your tires. In order to do this, they need to know who you are and what you have. When you register the DOT numbers with the manufacturer they are able to identify the specific product code and even the tire production date in order to make sure that you’re notified in the event of recall.

TireTeam maintains a link library to register your tires online.

The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco will come with the Assurance Fuel Max by Goodyear Tires. The 17 inch fitment features a fuel saving tread compound to help reduce enegy loss and dual zone tread provides outstanding grip. the Cruze Eco is expected to achieve and estimated 40 miles per gallon highway when equipped with the 6-speed manual transmission. 

Already a popular replcaement tire, the Assuracnce Fuel Max has also been chosen as the exclusive OE fitment for the Chevrolet Volt and is also fitted to the 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Ford Fusion S.

Saul Ludwig reports to Modern Tire Dealer that many manufacturers are scrambling to increase production to cover a short fall in passenger and light truck tire inventories. After a long 2009 that saw many manufacturers draw down their inventories to match demand, a sudden surge in demand has them boosting output. North American aftermarket sales are reportedly up 13% and OE is up 55%.
The following brands are scheduled to increase prices in June:
BF Goodrich Tires
Michelin Tires
Uniroyal Tires
Bridgestone Tires
Firestone Tires
Dayton Tires
Fuzion Tires
Continental Tires
General Tires
Mastercraft Tires
Yokohama Tires
Goodyear Tires
Pirelli Tires are scheduled to increase in July.

S.Res.513 - A resolution designating July 9, 2010, as “Collector Car Appreciation Day” and recognizing that the collection and restoration of historic and classic cars is an important part of preserving the technological achievements and cultural heritage of the United States.
Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em

It’s starting to look like June 1st is a good day for raising tire prices. Yokohama Tires has joined the list of manufacturers including Bridgestone-Firestone, Michelin, Continental, Cooper and Falken hiking tire prices this June.

Yokohama Tire Corp. is raising consumer tire prices up to 8% starting June 1 as the result of escalating raw material, manufacturing and transportations costs.

Passenger, high performance and light truck tires will all be included in the price jump.

“Raising prices is always a difficult decision,” stated Shawn Denlein, Yokohama’s director of sales, consumer products. “We’ve been doing our best to contain our costs, but the continued rise in raw materials, energy and transportation must, unfortunately, be reflected in Yokohama’s pricing.”

Find out more info at YokohamaTire.com.