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What are these red and yellow dots on my tires?

That’s a question we often at tireteam.com. Believe it or note, those polka dots you see serve a very important purpose when it comes to mounting and balancing your tires. These markers help our tireteam.com certified installers find high spots, low spots and light points on tires. Proper adjustments are then made to make sure your tire is balanced correctly.

According to Bridgestone, “The difference between the high and low is called radial runout. By using detailed computer analysis, engineers have found that a graph of the force variations looks a bit like a wave, as does a graph of the runout variations.

By simplifying these graphs to what is called their “first harmonic,” it is now possible to find the place on the tire where, on average, the force variation is the greatest. That’s where the first harmonic curve hits ...[more]

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
...[more]

Bridgestone tires Americas announced they are raising prices on Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand replacement and original equipment passenger and light truck tires up to 6 percent starting June 1.

This new price increase is the second for Bridgestone in 2010, following a 5 percent hike on January 1.

“The steady increase in raw materials and energy costs made it necessary for us to take this action,” said Eduardo Minardi, Chairman, CEO and president, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations.

“While we are successfully implementing measures at all levels of our company to enhance our efficiencies and increase our productivity, those efforts are simply not enough to overcome the escalation of raw material costs,” stated Minardi.

...[more]

Bridgestone tires is recalling 768 Potenza RE050A (size 245/45R18 XL), Turanza ER30 (size 205/65R16) and B390 tires shipped from Bridgestone plants in Japan without the required U.S. federal safety labels.

The tires were intended to be OE fitments on vehicles built in the U.S. and Canada for export to markets outside North America. However, the tires were inadvertently shipped to customers in the U.S. replacement market.

The recalled tires did not meet the marking requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the missing labels could lead to the tires being overinflated or underinflated, “increasing the risk of a crash.”

Bridgestone will notify owners of th ...[more]

Receive up to a $100 American Express Branded Prepaid Debit Card with the purchase of a qualifying set of 4 eligible Bridgestone tires.

The promotion runs from April 1, 2010 to May 1, 2010. All rebate claim forms must be postmarked no later than June 1, 2010 and allow 10 to 12 weeks for receipt of the prepaid card. When submitting your rebate, be sure to include a copy of your original invoice.

Qualifying Sets:

$100 American Express Prepaid Card
Dueler A/T REVO 2
Dueler H/L Alenza
Dueler H/P Sport
Potenza RE050A
Potenza RE050 Pole Position
Potenza RE050 RFT
Potenza RE-11
Turanza w/Serenity

$75 American Express Prepaid Card
Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position
...[more]

With a population over 1 billion, India needs a lot of tires. As a result, Bridgestone tires announced it’s investing $540 million through mid 2013 to build its second tire plant in the emerging nation.

The new plant is slated to begin producing car tires in January 2013 and truck/bus radials in August 2013. By 2020, the new facility will reach its maximum output of 10,000 passenger and 3,000 truck/bus radials daily.

Bridgestone’s existing Indian facility is a 12-year-old passenger tire plant in Indore. The plant is currently expanding its car and light truck tire capacity and adding medium truck tire capacity in a $56 million project scheduled for completion next year.

Bridgestone has secured a 190-acre plot in an industrial estate ...[more]

The dots actually serve a very important purpose in ensuring accurate installation. The red and yellow dots help installers find a tire’s high spot, low spot and light point for consistent balancing.

According to Bridgestone, “The difference between the high and the low is called radial runout. Using sophisticated computer analysis, engineers have found that a graph of the force variations looks a bit like a wave, as does a graph of the runout variations.

By simplifying the graphs to what is called their “first harmonic,” it’s possible to find the place on the tire where, on average, the force variation is greatest. That’s where the first harmonic curve hits its high point. And, it turns out that the first harmonic high ...[more]

Bridgestone tires and the Nashville Predators pro hockey team have reached an agreement giving Bridgestone naming rights to the team’s home stadium in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

Pending Sports Authority approval, starting March 3rd, Nashville’s Sommet Center will be renamed Bridgestone Arena. The initial term of the agreement is five years with extension options. The financial terms were not released.

In addition, Bridgestone has also announced a five-year extension on their existing marketing partnership with the team.

“Bridgestone Americas is proud to be a part of Nashville, and this naming rights agreement will let the world know that Nashville is our home,” said Christine Karbowiak, executive vice president of community ...[more]

Bridgestone tires announced it’s contributing approximately $77,000 toward Haitian relief efforts in response to the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Bridgestone Tokyo is donating 2.5 million yen, or roughly $27,000 to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas is contributing $25,000 to the Clinton Bust Haiti Fund, and Bridgestone de Costa Rica is adding $25,000 to Habitat for Humanity International to help rebuild homes in Haiti.

According to Christine Karbowiak, executive vice president, community and corporate relations, Bridgestone Americas, “The global Bridgestone group has a long tradition of lending support in a crisis, and we’ll now join together to help survivors of the tragedy in Haiti.”

Bridgestone de Cost ...[more]

After seven decades of exclusive fitments from Michelin, French automaker Citroën has selected Bridgestones as original equipment on two 2010 models.

The 2010 Citroën vehicles running on Bridgestones are the compact C3 and the premium DS3. The 2010 C3 5-door hatchback will feature the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 in size 185/65R17 88H. The 2010 DS3 3-door hatchback, the first model in Citroen’s new premium DS line, will be equipped with the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A.

“Bridgestone is extremely pleased to work with Citroën and supply flagship Potenza and Turanza tires for the launch of these two exciting new models,” stated Didier Schneider, vice president Original Equipment, Bridgestone Europe. “Both our companies share the same commitment to creativity and technology. Expanding ...[more]