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TIRE REVIEW (ISSN 0040-8085)(JANUARY 2013, Volume 113, Number 01. Published monthly by Babcox Media Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Periodical postage paid at Akron, OH 44333 and additionalmailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tire Review, 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333. A limited number of complimentary subscriptions are available to individuals who meet the qualification requirements. Call(330) 670-1234, ext. 242, to speak to a subscription services representative or FAX us at (330) 670-5335. Paid subscriptions are available for non-qualified subscribers at the following rates: U.S.: $69 for one year. Canada: $89 for one year.Canadian rates include GST. Ohio residents add current county sales tax. Other foreign rates/via airmail: $129 for one year. Payable in advance in U.S. funds. Mail payment to Tire Review, P.O. Box 75692, Cleveland, OH 44101-4755. Visa,MasterCard or American Express accepted. Founded in 1901. © 2013 by Babcox Media Inc. “Tire Review” is a trademark of Babcox Media Inc., registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. All rights reserved. Publisher reservesthe right to reject any subscription that does not conform to his standards or buying power coverage. Advertising which is below standard is refused. Opinions in signed articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of this maga-zine or its publisher. Diligent effort is made to ensure the integrity of every statement. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by return postage.

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Columns & Departments

■ FIRST LOOK: TireReview.comFarm Tires + Social Media + Health Care Taxes | 4

■ COMMENTARY: First Off - New Angle to Old Problems | 6The Car Side - Trials of a Mis-Bent Youth | 60

■ NEWSMAKERS:TIA Ready to Hit the Road | 8Micheln Reveals New UHP A/S | 12Pirelli NAFTA Chief Paolo Ferrari | 14New Tires, New Focus at Kumho | 16Dealer Tech Wins Wix Award | 18

■ BUSINESS:Market Intel - Tire & Service Pricing | 22Mobile Marketing - What’s Right For You? | 24Selling Smart - A Workout for Your Team | 28

■ TIRES: Tire Tech - What Will RR Testing Prove? | 46Truck Tires - Maximize Removal Mileage | 48

■ SOLUTIONS:Spotlights - Dealer Software | 50Products | 54

CONTENTSJANUARY 2013Volume 113 | No. 01

FEATURES


TireReview.com Visitor Comments

FIRST LOOK ONLINE @TIREREVIEW.COM

Track Farm, Weather Trends

Health CareTaxesThe Affordable Care Act has re-sulted in a number of changes tothe U.S. tax code. While all mannerof rumors have been floated aboutthe real impact of the new healthcare law, there are some real-worldimpacts that businesses and indi-viduals need to consider. tirereview.com/inBusiness

If you want to make a big impact with your ag tire customers, it takesmore than knowing tires and delivering timely service. In good times,when farmers have money, they’re willing to buy tires. Keeping a keeneye on weather conditions will not only help you better understand yourorder needs, but also help put the right tires on your farmer customers’equipment. tirereview.com/inTires

inBUSINESS

SocialResolutionsThe New Year is a great time totake stock in last year’s performance and make vowsfor improvements. So whatabout social media? Are youready to tackle the new chal-lenges and opportunities in thisimportant area?tirereview.com/blogs

BLOGS

Englewood, NYTDA Exec Dom Lamantea Passes Away“Sad to note Domenic Lamantea’s pass-ing. He was an instructor of mine in myearly days at Michelin and he definitelyhad a passion for our industry. He will bemissed.”– Manny Cicero, Alliance Tire Group

Tires Stolen, SUVs on Blocks at Ky. CarDealership“I’m sure they did. It’s not like it’s hard toget wheel locks off though. They don’tprevent theft if the thief is determined.”– Brady Maples

The Great MSRP Debate“The real hurt from mail order companiesis not the pricing but the fact that theydon’t have to charge sales tax, and for usin New York, they don’t even have tocharge tire tax. I’m happy we do a lot ofTPMS sales and reset so we keep ourcustomers coming back time and again.” – Al’s Hubcaps

Tire Shop Owner’s Death Brings Sudden Las Vegas Shutdown“Sad way to bring in Christmas. Some-one could’ve run the shops. People de-pend on their jobs just as employersdepend on employees.”– All Tire

Wondering Where the Lions Are? AllOver, According to Shops“1. Get government to pass an Internetsales tax bill to level the playing field. Ifwe can compete on a level playing fieldbusiness will increase and we can hire.2. The manufacturers need to stop say-ing the independent tire dealer is theirmost important customer, but acting inthe completely opposite direction.” – Arnie

inTIRES

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As long as I’ve known RandyGroh, the latest TIA presidenthas always been straight up.

Respectful about his approach, but hemeans what he says. He asks a lot ofquestions, gathers a lot of input, andwhen he says “Go,” you go.

This is what makes Randy such astrong follow-up to Larry Brandt, whocompleted the association reorganiza-tion push of his predecessor, Mike Ber ra,and drove TIA’s government rel ationsand dealer training to new levels.

Groh used the recent Global TireExpo/SEMA Show to stake his educa-tion position with a three-fold slate:

• Continue growing member andtech training

• Introduce a consumer tire educa-tion effort

• Bring some clarity for dealers onused tires and tire aging

Berra focused on refurbishing theinner workings of TIA and laying outan aggressive training future. Brandtbrought those plans home – and thensome, with the highly successful train-ing road show that reached dealers andtechs in 28 cities last year.

Groh’s platform is no less ambitiousand may be the most daring and diffi-cult, with focus on nagging industry is-sues (tire aging and used tire sales) thathave become particularly troublesomeover the past decade, and taking thefirst tentative steps into the great un-known – trying to educate the least fo-cused link in the tire buying/care chain:the consumer.

Having been highly critical of lack offirm action on the sale of used tires andthe entire tire aging issue (which is nowolder than some of the oldest tires being

sold today), TIRE REVIEW appl auds thepositive move forward – and the uni -que approach being suggested.

The “Recommended Practice” taghas been used for years in many othermarkets – notably both the automotiveand trucking industries – as a way tobring a well-studied and consideredprocesses, procedures, systems or evenquasi-regulations to bear withoutlengthy debate and misguided politics.

While no one gets arrested for notfollowing a RP, effective industries do agood job policing themselves, creating astrong air of “must do” vs. a weak-kneed “please consider.” And it often isthe case that there is a strong financialincentive for compliance, whether it isobvious operational cost savings, threatof lawsuits, employ ee/customer safety,compliance with actual laws/regula-tions, or to further the professionalismof that industry.

Bottom line: “Recommended Prac-tice” is a legitimate and effective tool –provided it is more than just a piece ofpaper. That means such RPs must bebold, logical and actionable.

Right now we have nothing but so-called “common sense” guiding thosewho choose to offer and sell used tires.There are some very responsible deal-ers offering used tires, but they are farfrom the majority. Manufacturers shud-der just thinking about the potential lia-bility attached to every used tire sold.And there are a lot of dealers whochose to avoid selling used tires alto-gether, also fearing that one catastro -phic failure.

Would a better solution be a RP thatprovides an acceptable framework forsafely and profitably selecting, inspect-

ing, repairing, selling and servicingused tires? Yes.

Tire aging is vexing to many becausetoo many want to make it more compli-cated than it should be. There is cer-tainly a lot at stake, but we alreadyknow what is lurking in the shadows.We need a point of reference that can beeasily explained to tire buyers and pro-tects both dealers and makers. A goodRP can do just that.

Groh and TIA say they plan to workwith the RMA on developing theseRPs, which would seem to meet someof the, shall we say, “unique needs” oftiremakers. Especially when it comes tothe issue of when is a “new” tire “tooold” to be sold. Especially as it pertainsto selling often untrackable takeoffs.

Despite the warm feelings beingpublicly expressed, the TIA-RMA rela-tionship continues to run hot and cold –depending on the subject of the day.Like, say, tire repair legislation.

One wonders just how much har-mony the two can generate, or just howengaged they want to be, or just howclosely they really, really do want towork. That, for better or worse, is forthem to sort out. But the fallout will fallon you.

We strongly urge TIA and RMA toquickly find solid, common ground tobuild workable and sustainable RPsthat will have a meaningful effect to thegood of this industry.

But if they choose to continue downseparate paths, then TIA must pressahead with its RP plan and get the rightpeople, the right messages and the rightbudget to launch a strong first effort toreach the buying public. ■


New Angleto OldProblems

TIA’s RP approach to

used, aged tires makes

sense. RMA should

agree, right?

COMMENTARY FIRST OFF

JIM SMITHEditor

[email protected]

Englewood Tire Wholesale execu-tive Dominic “Dom” Lamantea, 69,died on Jan. 4 after a lengthy battle withcancer.

During his 40-plus year tire industrycareer, Lamantea worked for MichelinNorth America, WTC Tire & Auto Cen-ters and Englewood Tire Wholesale. Healso was very active with the New YorkState Tire Dealers Association, most re-cently serving as second vice presidentand board member.

“Long before it was fashionable for asupplier to talk ‘value added service,’Dom was delivering it. He didn’t knowany other way,” according to MichaelFinley of Englewood Tire Wholesale.“When you sit with a tire dealer in theNew York Metro area, you’re likely tohear stories of how Dom helped themstart their business, or sat beside themduring a real estate negotiations, orhelped them write a business plan, or,by the way, attended their sons anddaughters’ baptism, graduations andweddings.”

Lamantea is survived by his daugh-ters Tricia and Traci, grandchildrenLexa and Jasper, and siblings Jack, DolliBacchi and Sandy Leone. The family

asks that in lieu of flowers, donationscan be made to the St. Jude Children’sResearch Hospital in Memphis.


Training is certainly Job One with TIA, which has set thedates for its Certified Commercial Tire Service InstructorTraining, and released the dates for its planned 17-stop2013 Automotive Tire Service (ATS) Instructor Tour. TIA said its Certified CTS Program exceeds the minimumtraining requirements established by OSHA and includes allaspects of truck tire and wheel service, including OSHAregulations, mounting/demounting/inflation, torque, punc-ture repair, balancing, road service and much more. TheCTS Instructor course combines classroom and hands-ondemonstrations, giving the students the tools and knowl-edge they will need to impart that information on their tireservice technicians.Baltimore classes, held at the Community College of Balti-more County in Catonsville, Md., will be March 19-22, April23-26 and Dec. 3-6. Denver classes, held at Lincoln Collegeof Technology in Aurora, Colo., are set for Feb. 26-March 1,Sept. 24-27 and Oct. 15-18.The four-day, hands-on ATS Instructor classes will be con-ducted across the country, with the goal of educating hun-dreds of retail tire techs and dealers on the proper safetyprocedures and guidelines for servicing passenger andlight truck tire and wheel assemblies. For the ATS Training Tour, TIA has confirmed six dates so

far: Feb. 5-8 – Miami; Feb. 12-15 – St. Louis; March 5-8 –Ghent, W. Va.; March 10-22 – Phoenix; March 26-29 – Char-lotte, N.C.; and Nov. 12-15 – Jacksonville, Fla.The other 11 cities TIA will hold the ATS Tour classes in areBoston; Toledo, Ohio; Los Angeles; Rochester, N.Y.; Pitts-burgh; Milwaukee; Seattle; Tampa; Oklahoma City; Min-neapolis; and Houston.“After analyzing the results of last year’s tour, we decided torevisit cities where we had the best attendance and addsome regions where we felt there were gaps in our cover-age,” said Kevin Rohlwing, TIA senior vice president oftraining. For more information or to register, visit tireindustry.org orcontact Christine Marnett at [email protected] or800-876-8372 x106.

Second Training TourReady to Hit the Road

Dom Lamantea

INDUSTRY NEWS & EVENTS

NEWSMAKERS

Dealer FriendDom Lamantea Passes Away

The RMA has set June 2-8 as the2013 National Tire Safety Week. Part ofthe RMA’s “Be Tire Smart – Play YourPART” program, NTSW is a focusedpush to help consumers learn how tokeep their tires in proper working con-dition, including inflation, conditionand tread depth checks.

RMA said that, “many participatingretail outlets use the opportunity topromote tire care through advertising,promotions, free tire pressure checksand community and media outreach.”

Free NTSW promotional materialsare available through RMA, and can be

Ordered online at betiresmart.org.

New executives have been tappedto lead three major tire companies –Toyo, Hankook and Kumho.

In early December 2012, formerMichelin North America and Q Tiresexecutive Roy Bromfield was hired asCOO by Toyo Tire USA Corp. Accord-ing to Toyo, Bromfield will “work incollaboration” with president and CEOTatsuo Mitsuhata “to develop andoversee strategies for sales, product de-velopment, and all elements of themarketing mix.”

Bromfield was with Michelin formore than 20 years in a variety of do-mestic and international posts, includ-ing time as president and CEO ofMNA’s Tire Centers LLC unit.

After three years at the helm ofHankook Tire America Corp., Soo IlLee has been replaced by Byeong JinLee. The move was effective Jan. 1.

In addition to becoming the newpresident of Hankook Tire America,Byeong Jin Lee also will serve as COOfor Hankook operations in North andSouth America.

Additionally, Hankook Tire Amer-ica named Jeong Ho Park as senior vicepresident of marketing, also effectiveJan. 1.

Soo Il Lee will become presidentand COO of Hankook’s China regional

headquarters, replacing the man whois replacing him in the Americas.

At Kumho Tire USA Inc., presidentJ.B. Kim will return to South Korea tohead the parent company’s domesticOE and replacement sales divisions.Coming on board as the new presidentin the U.S. is Hai Eok “Harry” Choi.

Choi has an extensive backgroundin both sales and marketing positionsin South Korea, Europe and LatinAmerica.

American Tire Distributors closedout November with the purchase ofthe assets of Edmonton-based TriCanTire Distributors. The purchase givesATD 15 distribution centers span-ning Canada, and marks the firsttime ATD has moved outside of thecontinental U.S.

Calling it a “significant step forATD,” president and CEO Bill Berrysaid, “Given the similarities ofCanada’s retail structure and leadingtire brands, expanding ATD’s foot-print and distribution services intoCanada represents a natural step forthe company’s growth plan.”

ATD said it will operate TriCan,founded in 1978, as a standalonebusiness unit and already is plan-ning for expansion of the distribu-tor’s footprint. TriCan will retain itsname and management team, led byChris Fletcher, president of TriCansince October 2006.

The waning days of 2012 saw a lotof changes to the independent tiredealer landscape, with three familiar

dealers selling out, another reachinga significant goal and still anothershutting down suddenly.

In the space of 48 hours in mid-December, Monro Muffler Brake Inc.purchased northeast Ohio’s EngerTire, Durham, N.C.-based Tire King,and Ken Towery’s Tire & Auto Serv-ice of Louisville.

Out of the deals, Monro gains 12locations in the Cleveland area, ninestores in the greater Durham region,and 24 retail stores in Kentucky andthree in Indiana. All will be con-verted to Monro’s Mr. Tire storebrand.

With the three recent buys, MonroMuffler Brake now has 950 total re-tail locations in the U.S.

On the other side of the coin,Florida’s Tire Choice & Total CarCare, owned by Dan and Diane Hen-nelly, opened its 35th retail store. Thenew eight-bay Bradenton locationsits right in front of a Walmart store.

“We are very proud of all of ourbusiness partners that in just eightshort years – and a Great Recession –later that we have accomplished thislofty goal of opening 35 stores,” saidDan Hennelly, chairman and CEO.“Now it is time to set our sightshigher.”

The sad news that longtime tiredealer Bruce Scher, 56, had passedaway suddenly on Dec. 4 was exas-perated by the equally sudden an-nouncement on Dec. 17 that all of his13 Las Vegas area retail stores wereclosed effective immediately.

The unexpected closing left theoperation’s 100 employees withoutjobs, though some were kept on afew extra days to complete promisedcustomer orders.

Scher also owned 17 tire stores inSouthern California, the Riverside-based Scher Tire Inc., under a sepa-rate company. The Las Vegas closingdid not immediately impact thosestores. ■


■ NEWSMAKERS: NEWS & EVENTS gFollow@Tire_Review

SCAN FOR INFOTo view additional news stories, go totirereview.com/news or scan this bar codewith your smartphone or tablet.

RMA Sets DatesFor 2013 TireSafety Week

Three CompaniesGet New TopU.S. Execs

LandscapeChanges WithDealer Sales

ATD Goes Northto Continue DCGrowth

■ NEWSMAKERS: NEWS & EVENTSgFollow@Tire_Review

Business Barometer

Total Tire Units

Retail Sales – Nov ’12 vs. Nov ’11 (Final)

100.2

Total Service $s

Broadline

HP/UHP

LT/SUV

Undercar

Underhood

100.4

100.1

100.0

101.1

95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102

101.1

101.1

Retail Sales – Dec ’12 vs. Dec ’11 (Prelim.)

Retail Sales – Dec ’12 vs. Nov ’12

Total Tire Units99.1Total Service $s

Broadline

HP/UHP

LT/SUV

Undercar

Underhood

99.3

99.1

98.8

98.7

93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

98.7

98.7

Total Tire Units96.7

Total Service $s

Broadline

HP/UHP

LT/SUV

Undercar

Underhood

96.8

96.9

96.7

96.9

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

96.9

96.9

Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 46011 TireReview.com 11

Retail Sales – Year to Date

104

103

102

101

100

99

Service $ Tire Units

105

98

97

Apr.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Aug.

Sept

.Oc

t.

Mar.

Feb.

May

July

June

New Orleans has always been“a different kind of place.”From its rich, unique history

to its people to its cuisine to its specialplace in all of our hearts, that spiritproved to well-accommodate Miche-lin North America’s pre-Christmaspre-launch of its latest tire.

MNA used the recently openedNOLA Motorsports Park to show offthe latest addition to its Pilot passen-ger tire family – the Michelin PilotSport A/S 3. Theprivate “countryclub” track in sub-urban New Orleanshosted some 60print media on thefirst day of a multi-day roll out.

With such an in-troduction, the tire-maker hosts a packof print journalists –magazine andnewspaper – to dis-tribute word andimages of the newproduct, its in-tended target vehi-cles and how it fits adealer productscreen.

This multi-day event includeddedicated days for the new web,blogger and social media types –what Michelin called “key influ-encers” – to experience the tires andoffer their thoughts directly to con-sumers.

This evolution in company-to-end-user communication was noted byJamey Fish, director of Michelinbrand consumer experience, whotouched on the new media approachand talked about the evolution of thePilot lineup.

Referring to its described improve-ments over previous Pilot all-seasonUHP options, Fish said the new PilotSport A/S 3 “meets the needs of thefast growing all-season UHP sub-seg-ment.”

Steve Calder, UHP technical mar-keting manager, talked about the par-ticipants taking a “test driverapproach” to the day’s activities; inthis way they will learn that “perfor-mance is more important than what itsays on the sidewall.”

The driving event itself was shortin the number of stations (four), butvast in the number of cars (24) andtires (96) tested. The four separate testareas – wet/dry braking, wet au-

tocross, dry autocross and high speedroad course – required V- and Z-ratedtires on sedans that included the In-finiti G37, Subaru WRX STi, CadillacCTS, and Audi A4. Complicating (atleast for the participants) the day a bitwas the fact it was unseasonably coldin southern Louisiana.

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3was compared directly with a varietyof competitive tires, including theGoodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric AS,Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS PolePosition, Pirelli P Zero Nero A/S,Yokohama Advan S.4, ContinentalExtremeContact DWS, GoodyearEagle GT, Bridgestone G019 Grid, andthe Yokohama Avid ENVigor.

“As an all-weather, all-season tire,the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 mar-

ries performance and practicality,”said Doug Brown, MNA’s UHP cate-gory manager. “This tire is ideal forsomeone who wants to optimize theperformance of his or her vehicle anddrive with confidence year-round.”

MNA said the tire provides“breakthrough levels of dry grip,”thanks to Michelin’s Variable ContactPatch 2.0 technology, and “an aggres-sive asymmetric tread pattern in-spired by the Michelin Pilot Super

Sport;” “incredi-ble wet grip andresistance to hy-droplaning” onany road surfacebecause of “ex-treme amounts ofsilica in the treadcompound com-bined with Vari-able ThicknessSipes and largecircumferentialgrooves;” and“cold weathermobility” due toMichelin’s HelioCompound” andits siping and bit-ing edges in thetread grooves.

The tire’s asymmetric tread pat-tern, which MNA said was unique forall-season tires, helps reduce roadnoise, provides greater flexibility fortire rotations, and puts more rubberon the road for better handling andcontrol.

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3was developed and is being producedin North America, MNA said, and isbacked by the Michelin Promise Plan.It will be available by mid-2013 in 65sizes, ranging from 175/65R15 to285/35R20, MNA said. ■



> Michelin North America

‘Key Influencers’ Tapped With UHP A/S Rollout

Sarah Robinson, Michelin test driver and technical marketing manager, explainshow the Pilot Sport A/S 3 tread impacts wet and dry braking.

Jim SmithEditor

[email protected]

Nearly one year ago, when PaoloFerrari left Telecom Italia to joinPirelli Tyre SpA as chairman and

CEO of its NAFTA region operations, hewasted little time making a major impres-sion on the tiremaker and its customers.Days, weeks, months were spent addressingeverything the unit was doing, and what itneeded to succeed. And he did all of thatwith no tire industry experience or back-ground.

In July 2012, Pirelli’s new $300 mil-lion passenger and light truck/SUV tireplant in Silao, Mexico, officially opened,clearly one major hurdle Ferrari knewdesperately needed to be addressed. Thetiremaker’s often confounding productscreen was cleaned up, and decisionswere made to boost Pirelli’s marketing,advertising and dealer education efforts.

The results of that initial work wereunveiled and demonstrated at PirelliTire North America’s dealer and distrib-utor meeting, held in November in SanAntonio. While Ferrari will be the firstto say that more needs to be done, hefeels confident that Pirelli now has aclear path in the North American mar-ket.

At that meeting, Ferrari sat withTIRE REVIEW for his first extensive in-dustry interview. The full-length ver-sion of the interview can be read attirereview.com.

It seems that your dealer audience wasimpressed by what they heard, partic-ularly regarding the product screen,which you know was an issue.

“You give me great confidence bywhat happened yesterday. You just toldme the takeaways are exactly what wewanted to get across. Part of that wastricky. The factory was an easy sell, theycan see that. The marketing was alsorelatively easy. The product screen wascritical because believe it or not Milan isvery sensitive about anything we dohere that is not perfectly aligned withthe way they see things. The way weexplained the product screen yesterdayis different than the way Milan hastheirs. Certainly in the way we describe

it. To us I think it is much more simpleand easier to understand. The otherthing we wanted to get across, and thisis also sensitive, is that we are ‘pre-mium,’ we start from ‘premium.’ Butthe risk in saying that is that you sort oflimit yourself as a ‘niche player’ to theextent that maybe some of these guysin the audience won’t take you seri-ously for bigger volume, for bigger

business.”

Over the last 30 years, it seems, Pirelliin the U.S. has been up and down, andto some dealers quite inconsistent. Isthat a mindset issue with how Milansees the market and customers here?

“I think right now we have a goodbalance. For instance, I guess I am a hy-brid. I was born and raised in Italy, but Ihave lived in America. Riccardo Chici isItalian but has lived here a long time.Tom Gravalos is as American as applepie. So I think we have a good mix ofpeople who have more experience inAmerica. We want to keep our Italianheritage, of course, and there is a lot ofvalue in that, but we must be smartenough to apply that locally in a waythat is oriented to the consumer.”

Talk about coming into Pirelli fromoutside the company and your im-pressions of the North American tiremarket.

“As everybody says, it is the mostcompetitive market that I have seen. Atthe same time it is also the most rationalmarket, meaning that if you do thingsright, if you pull the right levers, themachine moves in the right direction. I

think we are experiencing that inspecific channels where we triedsome things that in theory shouldhave delivered certain results butthey didn’t. So it is very competi-tive, it is very tough, but at the sametime it is rational, it recognizes valueand recognizes product quality. So ifyou use the right levers you can besuccessful. I like that, I like doingbusiness in America because it is ra-tional. The other thing that was sur-prising to me is that I would like tohave more market data, more datathat you can use to make reliabledecisions based on sell out data,pricing, marketshare trends, etc. Wehave all of that data, as you know,but it is not as sophisticated as youwould find in the fast moving con-sumer goods industries. Procter &Gamble knows exactly where it is

sold, the little SKUs of shampoo in aKmart in Cincinnati. So that makes it alittle more difficult to manage products.I would like to have more accurate sellout data, to be sure.”

Describe your management style andhow you want to relate to dealers.

“My background is that I was bornand raised in Italy and got my educa-tion in Italy first. I got my MBA is theStates (New York University - LeonardN. Stern School of Business). So mymanagement style is a lot more Anglo-Saxon than it is, say, Italian or Euro-pean. Which means my managementstyle is very, very direct, very transpar-ent, and I know that I am only as goodas my team is. The way I work is that Idevelop a very clear vision, I allow peo-ple to challenge my vision, and I think I



> Pirelli Tire North America

A Conversation With Paolo Ferrari, Chairman & CEO

Paolo Ferrari

am smart enough to accept those chal-lenges and maybe review, even par-tially, that vision. Once it is strictly clear,then we execute. I expect people to beentrepreneurs of their own functions,their own responsibilities for their rolesin meeting that vision. The most impor-tant thing someone in my position hasto do is move aside every doubt thatcomes along that continues to challengethat vision. Get them moved out of theway. What I have found over the yearsis that there are some people whospend their days putting doubts in theminds of your people instead of con-tributing to meeting goals.”

What do you see as PTNA’s strengthsand weaknesses? Talk about theweaknesses first.

“Our weakness has certainly beenthe service level and the way we havebeen able to supply our dealers. Andthere has been a very simple reason forthat is that: out of every 100 tires wesold in North America, only five wereproduced in North America. So 95% ofwhat we sold was sourced from otherPirelli plants around the world that asmuch as they are close, they are stillthousands of miles away. So the supplychain was very long. Now that is beingaddressed by our new Mexico factory.”

And strengths?“I think the biggest strength is the

fact that we really have a unique brand.A truly unique brand that has a goodlevel of awareness and an incrediblygood level of equity among our targetgroups. A brand that is supported bytremendously high quality products.And all we have to do is make sure thatwe align all of our market levers andramp up our marketing to make surewe leverage these tremendous assets.”

How much of your business in theU.S. and Canada is through the inde-pendent tire dealer channel?

“We have about 80% that is notwholesale, 80% that is just retail, eitherthrough independent distribution or di-rect. Pure wholesalers are about 20%.But within those I do include DealerTire, which is a wholesaler but a differ-ent kind of wholesaler, and Tire Rack.So let’s say pure, pure retailer – the in-dependent dealer – is about 50%.”

Obviously the new plant in Mexicohelps Pirelli expand its reach in North

America. But in what other ways willthe plant help PTNA’s efforts?

“Having a ‘steady state’ with pro-duction is going to improve profitabil-ity. We’re going to have at least twoyears of a ramp-up phase so our fixedcosts will continue changing each year.So getting to a ‘steady state’ will give usa profitability advantage. Fill rate, obvi-ously, will improve, as I mentioned.The most important point, I think, is theability to be faster in reacting to marketneeds. Whether that is specific avail-ability for certain products or certaininitiatives, or to develop a product linefor specific segments, that is really key.As we go ‘premium,’ within that mar-ket segment we need to be able to de-velop product for the subsegments.Having the plant means we can domore development and we can do itfaster. This means a faster industrializa-tion process and getting new productsout to the market faster.”

How do you see the green tire, the fuelefficiency segment for Pirelli?

“I don’t think we’re in a situationwhere a tire positioned as an ‘all-green’tire is going to sell a lot. But I do believethat the green tire concept is now moreand more transversal to all tires. Alltires will have the low rolling resistancecharacteristic that is desired, and I thinkthat is being shown well by the OEMs.We have Porsche and Bentley asking usfor low rolling resistance specificationsfor tires. Certainly the rolling resistancelevel for those tires will be differentthan that of a Prius, but it means thatrolling resistance is there as an attributeand it is here to stay. It is now an impor-tant feature across the board, and whileit is more important in some segmentsthan others, it is not important enoughto make it the sole performance propo-sition for a consumer. The challenge forus is improving rolling resistance butmaintaining all of the other attributesyou put into the tire.”

Looking at 2013, how do you think theU.S. tire industry will perform?

“We see 2013 as a transition year, aflatish market. Probably a weak firsthalf and a stronger second half that willhopefully be the preamble to a full re-covery in 2014 and beyond. I think thepremium segment will follow the sametrend, always four or five percentagepoints above where the total market isgoing to be.”

What obstacles are there for tiremak-ers and for dealers going into 2013-14?

“For the dealers, the challenge is stillgoing to be the economy, probably to alesser extent in 2013 than before be-cause the car parc is getting older andolder and the tires are balder andbalder, so there is going to be a naturalreplacement that is for need but it willbe a relatively ‘poor’ type of replace-ment. The additional challenge theywill face is probably the continuingconsolidation of the retail market. Thebig are getting bigger and the small aregetting smaller. That’s probably more ofan issue for the smaller dealer. On thetire manufacturer side, we feel the highend of the market is still growing. Asfar as we are concerned, we are concen-trating on the right end of the marketwhere there is less price competition.The other manufacturers that are morebroad are still going to be sufferingfrom price competition. So from a pricecompetition standpoint, the more youare in the premium market the moreprotected you are.”

In terms of sales, how will Pirelli fin-ish 2012 in North America?

“2012 will be a very good year forPirelli in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.For the U.S., both OE and replacementfor us are growing. We are growing involume, we’re growing in ‘premium’and we’re growing in revenue. It’s agood year, a very good year. In the re-placement market, our volume isslightly down, but that is the result of aconscious decision to slowly exit thestandard market. In the ‘premium’ seg-ment we’re growing by double digits.”

What are your goals for PTNA for2013?

“Looking at 2013 and onwards – Ihave a three-year horizon in terms of abusiness plan – in ‘premium’ I think wecan outgrow the market at least twotimes, we can grow twice as fast as thepremium market in next three years.And that means gaining marketshare,of course, and even then we are under-represented compared to the OE thatwe do. If we get our supply chain inline, we can recapture the marketsharethat we believe is natural.” ■

TireReview.com 15

■ NEWSMAKERS: NEWS & EVENTS

Jim SmithEditor

[email protected]

While acknowledging that2013 likely will be a chal-lenging year for tire dealers

and for the industry in general – sim-ilar to what was seen in 2012 – KumhoTire USA executives gave attendeesof its annual dealer meeting plentyto look forward to.

From new products and a return tothe medium truck tire market to a re-vamped Premium Fuel program andall-new Kumho Dealer Portal, themeeting’s announcementslived up to its theme, “Fuelfor the Future.” In addition,the tiremaker pledged towork more closely with deal-ers on events, promotions andsupport for their businessesmoving forward.

At the event, held Dec. 7-10 in Cancun, Mexico, Ar-mand Allaire, national vicepresident of sales, welcomed40 dealers and their guests,along with tire trade media.According to Allaire, the eco-nomic uncertainty of 2012 hasresulted in a “wait and seeattitude,” but “Kumho TireUSA is now.”

Fuel AdditionsAllaire detailed changes to Pre-

mium Fuel, mainly that the tires in-cluded in the program have expandedbeyond the original six Ecsta UHPunits to include 14 tread patterns thatcover passenger, CUV, SUV and lighttruck tires. “We are convinced we havethe best affiliate dealer program in theindustry,” Allaire said, adding that re-wards are now easier to achieve, aswell.

Rick Brennan, vice president of mar-keting, laid out the details after thedealer sessions, explaining that whenthe program first launched, a mini-mum of 200 units per quarter were re-quired for a dealer payout.

“When we rolled out PremiumFuel, we looked at what product wehad available with large enough capac-

ity to support the program, so that’swhy it was focused on UHP,” he said.“The program worked, but it left out85% of the market; if the dealer wasn’ta large UHP seller, he didn’t earn anymoney. Our production and fill ratescame back (Brennan estimates theynow sit at 95% to 100%), so this yearwe’re focusing on relaunching the pro-gram.”

Under the relaunch, the lowest pur-chase requirement has been dropped to

75 units per quarter, with a secondbracket of 150 units per quarter.

Kumho will pay anywhere from $3to $10 per unit depending on the typeof tire and the dealer’s level. And thereare benefits for full-line Kumho distrib-utors, as well, with an available 2% re-bate on everything that is a paid uponunit of Premium Fuel dealers, Brennannoted.

Allaire told dealers the revampedprogram also offers enhanced market-ing support direct to the retailer, in-cluding: an all-new Premium Fueldealer kit; new POS displays andbrochures; a redesigned EDGE onlinetraining program; new brand merchan-dise in the online store; and a new adbuilder for customizable print and dig-ital ads.

Kumho Dealer PortalLaunching in three phases in the

first quarter of 2013, the Kumho DealerPortal is designed to be an all-encom-passing resource for tire dealers, ac-cording to David Koh, marketingcommunications manager.

With a communication focus, theportal will offer: training, promotions,POS materials, wearables, an image li-brary, an ad builder, marketing sup-port, product videos, announcements,

a Q&A section and a chatforum. Added functionality,possibly including rewardsstatus and inventory tracking,will come as dealers offer theirfeedback on the portal, Bren-nan noted.

“The portal will provide ac-cess to a lot of different ele-ments that will help the dealersell more,” he said. “It gives usthe element to communicatewith dealers not just throughthem logging in, but possiblythrough direct emails, alerts,etc. It allows dealers to getmore information aboutKumho that may enhancetheir business.”

“One great element is theflexibility to make adjust-

ments based on dealer feedback,”added Megan Wentz, marketing com-munications coordinator. “This allowsus to better service dealer needs andfigure out what other information wecould be providing or utilizing moreefficiently.”

New ProductsOn the new product front, John

Mosby, product planning coordinator,introduced two new passenger prod-ucts – the Kumho Sense KR26 all-sea-son touring tire and a still-to-be-namedEcsta all-season UHP tire.

Mosby said the new Ecsta AST,slated for release in the third quarter of2013, will come in 27 V speed ratedsizes ranging from 15- to 18-inch wheeldiameters. With a UTQG rating of 560



> Kumho Tire USA

New Tires, New Focus, New Dealer Resources

Product planning coordinator John Mosby showed off twonew additions to Kumho’s PSR product screen.

AA, the tire will carry a 55,000-milelimited treadwear warranty.

The yet-to-be-named tire, whichwill be marketed to sports cars andsporty sedans, is a “well-rounded tirethat excels in all-season traction, wetand dry handling and long mileage,”Mosby said, adding it also offers im-pressive snow braking, handling andacceleration.

The Kumho Sense KR26, an H-ratedall-season touring tire, will launch inthe first quarter of 2013 in 28 sizesranging from 13- to 17-inch wheel di-ameters. According to Mosby, the tireoffers circumferential grooves for waterevacuation and improved lateral grip;a full-depth sipe system for enhancedwet, dry and light snow traction; multi-ple lateral grooves for improved trac-tion; and a variable pitch tread blockfor a quiet ride.

He explained that OE tire sales of14-, 15-, and 16-inch H-rated tires havemore than doubled in the past twoyears. “These sizes are primarily usedon small sedans and hatchbacks, such

as the Honda Civicand the Mazda 3.The KR26 wasspecifically de-signed for this seg-ment by providingexceptional rideand handling, aswell as a light-weight design forlower rolling resist-ance.”

Allaire high-lighted Kumho’srenewed focus onthe medium truckand bus radial tiremarket, with thenewly-hired RonGilbert serving asdirector of com-mercial tire sales.He added the tire-maker plans to addtwo TBR sales spe-cialists, as well.

The tiremakerhas a SmartWay-verified tire forsteer, drive andtrailer positionswith its KLS02e,KRS02e, KLD01eand KLT02e, Al-laire noted, adding

that Kumho also is launching its newKMD41. The tire, which replaces theKFD04, is a mixed service drive tirewith an updated compound for bettercut/chip resistance and an increasedmaximum speed of 65 mph. It is avail-able in sizes 11R22.5 and 11R24.5.

“Five years ago, we were a full-lineTBR supplier and had up to a 2% mar-ketshare within that market,” Brennanadded after the meeting. “We ran intosome issues with price competition inthe U.S. and we couldn’t meet thatprice pressure at the time, so our mar-ketshare dwindled pretty rapidly.”

He said since that time, prices haverisen in the U.S., putting Kumho backin a competitive zone in the second tierand spurring the tiremaker’s reen-trance into the TBR market. “To get toour maximum velocity overall, wehave to offer all products,” Brennansaid. “That’s why we’re reentering andhiring more people to specifically han-dle TBR. We’d like to get back up toour former marketshare.”

Marketing Changes DetailedOn the marketing side, Koh said

Kumho’s goals for 2013 are to continueboosting brand awareness and percep-tion, target print and digital enthusiastmedia for the AST launch, and con-tinue to provide outstanding value. Healso noted Kumho will increase digitaladvertising on enthusiast and tradewebsites, e-blasts, e-newsletters, mo-bile and social media, as well as growits radio ad presence on top regionaland local stations to complementsports sponsorships and promotions.

While the tiremaker will continueits successful sports marketing strategy– as an example, more than 720,000Lakers fans saw Kumho’s lower ringdisplay at the Staples Center in the2011-12 season – the extent will be re-duced somewhat to allow more re-sources for partnering with tire dealerson regional events, Koh added.

“Sports marketing did a great jobfor us in increasing our brand aware-ness, but more importantly, throughour activation efforts at sports events,we were able to interact with people sothat brand awareness will stick longerin their minds,” Brennan told TIRE RE-VIEW. “We’re still brand building, butfor us it’s really important to help ourpartners and support them. It could beanything – sports, Internet, consumerpromotions – to support them in sell-ing more Kumho tires to earn themmore profits. We want to tailor the ap-proach with each dealer, instead of cre-ating a standard program that we takeout to everyone.”

Kumho is so serious about workingwith its dealers to improve their busi-nesses, the tiremaker created a dedi-cated email address to answercomments, questions and concerns:[email protected].

This improved focus on dealer prof-its was echoed by J.B. Kim, Kumho TireUSA president and CEO, in his addressto meeting attendees.

“When tough economic times faceus, we must join forces to overcome ob-stacles,” he said. “There are no easypromises, but this is what we can tellyou…that you can and should counton Kumho tire in 2013.” ■

TireReview.com 17

■ NEWSMAKERS: NEWS & EVENTS

National vice president of sales Armand Allaire and vicepresident of marketing Rick Brennan gave Kumho dealers acomplete review of where the tiremaker is headed.

Denise KoethManaging Editor

[email protected]

Kim Brant, an automotive tech-nician at Joe’s Tire and AutoService in St. Joseph, Mo., was

selected as the 2012 Best Tech.The second annual Best Tech con-

test is sponsored by Wix Filters, partof the Affinia Group, and the BabcoxMedia Tech Group, which includesBRAKE & FRONT END, IMPORTCAR andUNDERHOOD SERVICE magazines.

Brant was announced as the win-ner during the annual AutomotiveWarehouse Distributors Association(AWDA) Meeting and Conference inLas Vegas on Oct. 29. As part of hisaward, Brant and a guest traveledall-expenses paid to AAPEX in LasVegas.

Runners-up in the 2012 awardcontest were Kevin Dietz from BTSTire and Service in Providence,Rhode Island, and Travis Luscombfrom Larson’s Service Inc. in Pea -body, Mass.

“From the diagnosis of electricalproblems to evaluating exhaust sys-tems to recommending the best parts– technicians play a major role in en-hancing a vehicle’s performance,”said Mike Harvey, brand managerfor Wix Filters. “We are thrilled torecognize Kim Brant as the 2012 BestTech.

Harvey specifically pointed outBrant’s “distinguished career builton outstanding customer service as acommitted advisor and resource, andfor his dedication to learning as vehi-cles become more sophisticated witha wider range of repairs and mainte-nance work.”

Brant, an ASE Certified MasterTechnician and a Wix Expert-Levelcertified tech, said he was thrilledand humbled to receive the honor ofbeing named Best Tech.

“With complicated systems thatmake up automobiles today, it is im-perative that technicians provide thehighest-quality service to ensure thatdrivers and passengers are safe onroadways,” said Brant. “I am trulydelighted to win this award not only

for myself, but for everyone at Joe’sTire & Auto Service. From our tech-nicians, owners to service writers,we hold the shop to the highest stan-dards by encouraging ongoing edu-cation, implementing top-levelindustry standards and providingexcellent customer service, whichdrives returning customers.”

Brant, who has been in the auto-motive and repair service industryfor 28 years, was a runner-up in the

2011 Best Tech program. He hasworked at Joe’s Tire and Auto(stjoeautoservice.com) for about fouryears, and before that served as atechnician in a few local car dealersand tire stores.

Besides his exceptional customerservice, Brant has been active in hiscommunity’s youth organizationsand local technical school. He wasespecially recognized for communityinvolvement that includes raisingmoney for Habitat for Humanity, as-sisting in fundraising efforts to sup-port the Special Olympics, and

participating in neighborhood beau-tification programs and recycling ef-forts.

He also is credited for his pen-chant to go the extra mile to gain anew customer for Joe’s Tire and AutoService, an independent tire dealer-ship that has been servicing the St.Joseph area since 1984.

“My biggest enjoyment is fromthe challenge of determining the ve-hicle failure and taking that processclear through to returning the vehicleto the customer, properly repaired,”he said.

Brant’s love of vehicles developedat an early age through his father’sbusiness. “My father owned a Mobilservice station from my infancy tomy teenage years,” Brant said.“Without his involvement in the au-tomotive world, I’m sure that Iwould not be involved myself.”

One of the most unique jobs Branthad seen as a technician had to bethe servicing of an A/C system on alocal Life Flight helicopter that hadbeen grounded. The law requires theA/C system to be in working orderfor the helicopter to be used for med-ical purposes, but the company thatpreviously serviced the system wasno longer in business. So the ownerof Joe’s Tire asked Brant to see if hecould fix the helicopter’s system.

Although he had never repaired avehicle designed to leave the ground,Brant hit the Internet to do some re-search, grabbed his tools and headedout to Rosecrans Memorial Airport,where he was greeted by a gratefulLife Flight crew.

Brant said he was happy to be ofassistance in the Life Flight’s returnto the skies, and that today’s shopscan find business “outside the box.”

“I’ve worked on a lot of uniquevehicles – from Ferraris to Lam-borghinis to Prowlers – but not manytechs in this business can say theyhave worked on a helicopter.”

And not just any helicopter, but aLife Flight helicopter. ■



> 2012 Best Tech Award

Missouri Dealer Tech Wins Top Honors in Contest

Kim Brant, right, displays his Tech ofthe Year trophy with two-time NHRAFunny Car champion Tony Pedregon.


BUSINESS MARKET INTEL

Legend * = Tier 1 Brand ** = Tier 2 Brand *** = Private Brand/Other

Seattle, WA MarketPeriod 12/3-12, 2012 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $29.99 $24.99 $23.99 $27.99 $42.95 $29.98Replace All: 215/60R16 $556.08* $696.96* $640.00* $678.40* $868.00* $687.89 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $79.99 $79.95 $69.99 $79.00 $129.95 $87.78Replace All: 225/60R16 $539.96* $387.96** $416.00** $440.00* $532.00* $463.18 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $220.00 $179.90 $180.00 $190.00 $189.95 $191.97Replace All: 265/70R17 $719.96* $535.96** $796.00** $620.00* $640.00* $662.38

Des Moines, IA MarketPeriod 12/3-12, 2012 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $33.00 $29.99 $24.95 $29.99 $34.95 $30.58Replace All: 215/60R16 $540.00** $495.96* $554.52* $526.00* $712.46* $565.79 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $69.99 $79.99 $79.99 $64.99 $79.95 $74.98Replace All: 225/60R16 $403.96* $463.96* $560.84* $564.00* $390.96* $476.74 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $159.99 $160.00 $250.00 $169.99 $145.00 $177.00Replace All: 265/70R17 $575.96* $667.96* $863.40* $676.00* $688.00* $694.26

Indianapolis, IN MarketPeriod 12/3-12, 2012 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $26.99 $29.99 $19.99 $32.00 $38.99 $29.59Replace All: 215/60R16 $503.96* $452.00* $501.80* $423.54* $808.00* $537.86 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $59.99 $79.99 $87.50 $69.99 $109.95 $81.48Replace All: 225/60R16 $359.96*** $463.96* $504.00* $348.96*** $392.68* $413.91 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $180.00 $154.99 $275.00 $180.00 $200.00 $198.00Replace All: 265/70R17 $539.96*** $559.96* $711.48* $549.85*** $672.00* $606.65

Colorado Springs, CO MarketPeriod 12/3-12, 2012 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $29.99 $36.99 $35.99 $29.99 $36.50 $33.89Replace All: 215/60R16 $630.80** $589.14* $378.54** $458.32* $845.00* $580.36 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $79.99 $79.99 $64.99 $79.99 $69.95 $74.98Replace All: 225/60R16 $479.96* $427.96*** $520.00* $454.00* $420.00* $460.38 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $149.99 $362.88 $140.90 $185.00 $220.00 $211.75Replace All: 265/70R17 $799.96*** $539.96*** $820.00* $604.00* $640.00* $680.78

Miami, FL MarketPeriod 12/3-12, 2012 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $31.89 $29.99 $29.99 $35.00 $40.00 $33.37Replace All: 215/60R16 $527.96* $503.96* $699.84* $472.00* $791.52* $599.06 Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $79.99 $79.99 $80.00 $65.00 $90.00 $79.00Replace All: 225/60R16 $311.96*** $495.96* $440.00* $512.00* $476.00* $447.18 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $129.00 $197.93 $230.00 $125.00 $220.00 $180.39Replace All: 265/70R17 $503.96*** $791.96* $640.00* $744.00* $592.00* $654.38

Boston, MA MarketPeriod 12/3-12, 2012 Mass Mass Tire Tire Car Avg. Merch. Merch. Dealer Dealer Dealer All A B A B

Vehicle 1Oil Change/Filter $34.99 $29.99 $35.00 $34.99 $44.99 $35.99Replace All: 215/60R16 $740.00* $484.12* $524.48* $538.46* $768.00* $611.01

Vehicle 2 4 Wheel Alignment $89.95 $79.99 $79.00 $89.99 $79.95 $83.78Replace All: 225/60R16 $532.00* $356.00** $640.00* $412.00** $392.00* $466.40 Vehicle 3 Front Brakes, Turn Rotors $250.00 $169.99 $200.00 $200.00 $179.95 $199.99Replace All: 265/70R17 $748.00* $660.00* $904.00* $736.00* $672.00* $744.00

TIRE RE VIEW and InteliChek pres-ent up-to-date tire and service priceinformation from major U.S. metro-politan areas.

For this monthly feature, Inteli -Chek directly contacts a selection ofindependent tire dealers, mass mer-chants/chain stores and car dealersto obtain current pricing on replace-ment tires and vehicle services.

InteliChek requests and verifies

retail prices via phone calls, usingcommon specific vehicles, tire sizesand vehicle services. In that way, di-rect and useful comparisons can bemade by readers.

The tire prices shown in this re-port are for tires only, and do not in-clude mounting/balancing or anyadd-on warranties or other servicesor fees. To allow for a more accuratecomparison, the level of tire brand –

Tier 1, Tier 2 and Private Brand/Oth -er – recommended by the retailer isnoted. (See legend below charts.)

The services chosen for these sur-veys include a standard oil change(oil plus filter), a standard four-wheel alignment and front brakework (replace front pads and turnboth rotors).

For more information on InteliChek,visit intelichek.com. ■

The elections are over and theholidays has passed. Now is agreat time to take a quick

breath, reflect on the past year andmake plans for 2013. Was 2012 a yearof change for your business?

Many of our newest clients sharedtheir frustrations with me about howmuch things are changing. And howfast. The way you market mustchange, as well.

Just recently, I was a featuredspeaker at an event in Baltimore.As I was explaining the threeplaces you must be found to getnew customers, one of the atten-dees in the audience started get-ting very upset.

Then, in front of several hun-dred people, he stood up andstarted screaming at me.

The good news was that hewasn’t mad at me. He was actu-ally mad at himself. His businesswas down from the year priorand he was still spending $20,000a month with the Yellow Pages.

What used to work plainly – atleast for this gentleman – doesn’t al-ways work anymore. His business?He runs a tow truck company – oncea darling for such phone books.

The days of simply putting out asign or having a coupon in the paperare gone. Even the Yellow Pages andsimilar phone books are now onlineand have gone mobile. The truth isthat whether we like it or not, theworld is going mobile.

The use of mobile phones for In-ternet search has grown much fasterthan anyone expected. The MobileMarketing Association predicted that

by the end of 2013, there will bemore searches on mobile devicesthan on traditional computers.

Based on how fast mobile market-ing has grown in just the past sixmonths, I personally think it will besooner than that.

Consider this: According to recentstatistics from Google, nearly 60% ofall searches regarding a particularbusiness come from a mobile device.

So Much ConfusionThe good news/bad news in these

statistics is that people searching foryour business on a mobile device aregenerally NOT shopping, but theyare looking to make a purchase. Theyare interested in something you areselling but aren’t necessarily sold onyou as the resource.

Here are some interesting num-bers from a survey recently pub-lished by Google, based on itsresearch of consumer behaviors onmobile devices.

The question I often am asked is:

Do I need a mobile website or a mo-bile app?

The correct answer is both. How-ever, let me make some clear distinc-tions for you. A mobile website iswhat should appear on the screen ofa smartphone or tablet when some-one is looking for your product orservices.

If they come to your website andit is not mobile-optimized, there is a

very good chance – better than av-erage – that you will lose them asa potential customer. Testing andstatistics clearly show that thoseconducting a mobile search willnot take the time to thumb arounda standard website; something de-signed to look great on a 15-inchlaptop screen doesn’t work wellon a 4-inch smartphone screen.

Simple and elegant is the rule.You want to ensure that your busi-ness is easy to connect to with a“click to call” button, as well asmaps that can integrate with anynavigation system consumers mayhave on their mobile devices.

Google’s latest Maps is a great op-tion.

There are other features importantto an effective mobile website, butthe major issue with mobile websitesis that too much information is anegative. Your mobile website mustbe easy to look at, easy to navigateand easy to make a connection.

Mobile websites are primarily forattracting new customers. Apps formobile devices are designed to keepcustomers by making it handy tomaintain a relationship.

There are many ways to raise rev-


What’sRight ForYou?

Compare mobile

websites and apps to

determine your

shop’s needs

BUSINESS MOBILE MARKETING

BRIAN SACKSContributing Writer

[email protected]

Sources: Gartner, 2010; Google Mobile Opti-mization Webinar, 2011; Cisco, 2011

enue in your business. Making newsales is always an easy answer, butthe best way to increase revenue isby bringing current customers backfor more services. That’s where amobile app can be beneficial.

With a mobile app, your cus-tomers will have your business at

their fingertips 24/7. Best of all, theyagreed to have your mobile app ontheir mobile devices.

Your customers will have yourlogo (branding) on their mobile de-vices, as well as your hours of busi-ness, locations, phone numbers,services, coupons for downloading,

even a way to schedule service ap-pointments. They also will be able toreceive text messages from you.

The easiest customer to sell yourproducts or services to is your exist-ing customer who already knows,likes and trusts you.

The bottom line is that most busi-nesses will benefit from both a mo-bile website and a mobile app.However, it is a priority to first focuson a mobile website.

Once that is in place, you shouldthen consider adding a customizedmobile app to your marketing tool-box. ■


■ BUSINESS: MOBILE MARKETING


Source: Google 2012 Mobile Survey

Brian Sacks is a mobile market-ing expert with more than 26years of direct response market-ing experience. He is co-founderof Trackable Response Inc., a mo-bile marketing provider to thetire and auto service industries,based in Catonsville, Md. Briancan be reached at [email protected] or 410-747-1100.

With 2013 now upon us, manyindividuals have adoptedthe popular New Year’s res-

olution of getting in shape. While thatcertainly is a noble objective – and ifyou’re one of these individuals I hopethis is the year you achieve your phys-ical transformation goal – what aboutyour business?

Have you ever considered the fitnesslevel of your customer service effort?No, I’m not referring to some sort ofemployee exercise program. Rather, I’masking if the employees that providesales and service to your customers arefunctioning at peak per - formance.

If you haven’t given this properconsideration, you’re probably not see-ing the big picture issues that are likelyhurting your business performance.

Just like with personal fitness, thereare many aspects to managing thewell-being of a customer service effort.With personal fitness, exercising onearea, say your shoulder muscles, willimprove the shape and performance ofthat area, but will do little for the restof your body and overall conditioning.Customer service fitness is much thesame way. It’s about conditioning allthe elements that make up a high qual-ity customer service effort by execut-ing specific strategies and techniquesto improve performance and results.

In order to reach an optimal level ofcustomer service fitness, there are cer-tain questions that you should askyourself to properly assess your organ-ization. The answers will give you aclear overview of where you are suc-ceeding and where improvementsneed to be made.

Here are six key questions you

should be asking now to improve yourbusiness performance this year:

1) Are You Keeping Them inPeak Condition?

Do you know any professional sportsteams that only play games and do notpractice on a regular basis? Probably not,but this is a frequent occurrence in thetire/auto service industry. Employeesshow up for work (the games) and dovery little, if anything, to practice andimprove their skill set in between.

Sales and customer service trainingand skills enhancements should be on-going processes to ensure your team iswell-resourced and properly preparedto succeed.

A sales organization that is notwell-trained often loses those precioussales opportunities, costing substantialdollars in lost revenues and profits.The same is true of customer service.Without a well-trained staff, you’re notmaximizing customer interactions andany deficiency in this area leaves thedoor open for capable competitors totake the business away from you. Salesand customer service are the lifebloodof every business. No Train, No Gain!

2) What is Their Attitude?Positive attitudes are the fuel that

powers a winning team culture todrive a world-class customer serviceeffort. It’s critical to be honest in yourassessment here. Do your managementand work environment contribute ordetract from proper atti tudes? Do youremployees feel appreciated and recog-nized by the company?

Employee dissatisfaction can dra-matically affect a company’s customer

service performance and ultimately itsbottom line. As I wrote in the July issueon best practices to build a winningteam culture, unengaged employeesdon’t create engaged customers. If em-ployees are feeling negative and under-appreciated, you can rest assured thatthey will either directly or indirectlycommunicate this to your customers.

3) How Do They Sound?This area goes hand-in-hand with

employees’ attitudes. It’s often over-looked, but for effective customercommunication, how we sound is ac-tually more important than what wesay. Along with appearance and bodylanguage, the voices of your employ-ees are a significant part of the first im-pression and ongoing perception thata customer has of your organization.

Winning organizations sound a cer-tain way: positive, professional, up-beat. Do your employees sound thatway or do they sound bored, tired anddisinterested? Make some calls to yourstore and find out for yourself. Ifyou’re hearing less than pleasant,cheerful voices on the line, guesswhat? Your customers are, too!

4) How Do They Engage?Whether face-to-face or on the

phone, every customer-employee in-teraction should have a functional ele-ment and an emotional element.

The functional elements representthe business/transactional side of yourcustomer interactions. The emotionalelements are the people/relationship-building side.

Although functional components area necessary part of customer interac-


Does YourTeam Needa Workout?

The New Year is a great

time to measure your

dealership’s customer

service fitness

BUSINESS SELLING SMART

STEVE FERRANTEContributing Writer

[email protected]

tions, it is the emotional aspects that cul-tivate relationships and create lastingloyalty to your business. All too often,tire/auto service employees rely on thefunctional elements and minimize, if notoutright neglect, the emotional elements.

For peak customer service fitness,employee-customer interactions shouldhave a proper balance between func-tional and emotional elements. Recog-nizing the importance of connectingwith customers emotionally, world-classcustomer service organizations typicallyfocus 50%-70% of their employee devel-opment and customer attention on theemotional aspects of interactions.

5) What Do They Do?One of the leading indicators of a

company’s customer service health is aconsistent effort of employees to go theextra mile and consistently exceed cus-tomer expectations.

Unfortunately, quite often personnelare not exceeding expectations; they are,at best, just meeting expectations. Con-sumer research has shown that compa-nies typically lose 50% of satisfiedcustomers, and that those customers

who are merely satisfied will happilyleave as soon as they find a businessthat provides a superior experience.

As I teach in my sales and customerservice training, there are three possi-ble outcomes to every customer inter-action: satisfy, dissatisfy or impress.The goal should always be to impress.Customers who are impressed are farmore likely to return in the future andbecome a “promoter” of your businessto their network of friends and family.

Ask yourself, is the service your or-ganization provides ordinary (likeyour competitors) or do you truly ex-ceed expectations and impress cus-tomers on a regular basis?

6) How Do They Manage Prob-lems?

The true test of a business’ cus-tomer service fitness is not whenthings are going right, but rather whatis done when things go wrong. All toooften, when confronted with a cus-tomer problem, store personnel takeon a defensive posture and argueagainst the customer’s position.

This lack of empathy and under-

standing rarely works to create a happy,loyal customer. The best companies rec-ognize that, even if the customer iswrong, it is far better to agree with theirfeelings and concede a little now than torisk losing a customer forever – andhaving that person “spread the word”of their dissatisfaction with the business.

Is your organization losing cus-tomers due to ineffective managementof customer complaints and problems?

In an upcoming issue, I’ll explorecustomer complaints in detail andhow to proactively manage them toensure you don’t jeopardize customerrelationships and potentially harm thereputation of your business.

For now, happy new year and bestwishes with your resolutions! ■

TireReview.com 29

■ BUSINESS: SELLING SMART


Steve Ferrante, CEO of SaleAway LLC, is the producer andhost of the Pinnacle Performancesales and customer service train-ing program for the tire/autoservice industry. He can bereached at 866-721-6086 ext.701 or [email protected].

Nearly every tire dealer offers vehicle service – whether it is basic maintenance or complete repairs.Service is a major revenue stream for tire dealers, especially in today’s economy where driverswant/need to “get another year” out of their vehicles.

So it’s not surprising that the typical tire dealer will see well more than 50% of his/her annual revenuecome from service work; some dealers easily top 80%. The cost to participate – ongoing training, equip-ment, parts and supplies – is high, but dealers are responding and are taking advantage of the opportunityto shore up their service side.

To help add to their education regime, TIRE REVIEW has compiled an extensive collection of key questionsoften asked by service technicians of all skill levels, and responses from our cadre of auto service experts.

Visit tirereview.com to see a more extensive collection of vehicle service questions and answers, andemail [email protected] with your comments about this feature!


From A to Z, Qs and As to Sharpen Your Knowledge

FEATURE

AUTHORTitle

email

Service Tech2013

Q. How can you tell if a battery needs to be replaced?

A. There are several ways to determine if a battery is“good” or “bad.” A battery is “bad” and needs to be re-placed if: a) it is fully discharged (no voltage at the termi-nals) and it won’t accept or hold a charge; b) it takes acharge but never recovers to full voltage; or c) it acceptsand holds a charge, but fails to maintain a certain volt-age when a load is placed on the battery (or it fails todeliver its normal current).Batteries are tested for two things: state of charge (abase voltage measurement that shows if the battery islow or fully charged), and capacity (a load or conduc-tance test that checks the condition of the plates insidethe battery).

Connecting a voltmeter to the battery’s positive andnegative terminals (key off and all lights and accessoriesoff) will reveal the charge level of the battery. A readingof 12.66 volts indicates a fully-charged battery. If thereading is 12.45 volts or less, the battery is low andneeds to be recharged.

Some batteries have a built-in charge indicator; agreen dot tells you the battery is at least 75% charged.A dark indicator (no dot visible) means the cell is low andthe battery needs to be recharged. A yellow or clear in-dicator tells you the electrolyte level inside the cell is lowand the battery needs water. If the battery has a sealedtop and water cannot be added to the cells, the batterymust be replaced.

A load test or conductance test will tell you if the bat-tery is still usable. The load test is done by applying acurrent load on the battery (one-half of its cold crankingamp or CCA rating) with a load tester for 15 seconds. Agood battery that is at least 75% charged should notdrop below 9.6 volts.

A conductance battery test is faster and easier, andcan be performed even if the battery is run down. Theconductance tester pulses an alternating frequency sig-

nal through the battery to reveal its condition. If it failsthe test, your customer needs a new battery.

Q. How long should a car battery last?

A. All lead-acid car batteries have a limited service life,typically four to five years with wet cell batteries, and acouple of years longer with absorbent glass mat (AGM)batteries. How long a battery lasts depends on batteryconstruction (conventional wet cell or AGM, and thedurability of the cell plates and connectors), the operat-ing conditions to which the battery is subjected (heat,cold, vibration, frequency of use), the number of dis-charge/charge cycles it has experienced, and the condi-tion and performance of the vehicle’s charging system.

For maximum life, auto batteries must be maintainedat or near full charge throughout their life; they don’t re-cover well if allowed to become fully discharged. Thiscan occur if there is a problem with the vehicle’s charg-ing system or if lights have been left on after turning theengine off. Though many models go into “sleep mode”to conserve power, there still can be a steady drain ofpower that will eventually run the battery down if thecar isn’t driven often enough or long enough to fullyrecharge the battery.

TireReview.com 31

■ FEATURE: COVER

SYSTEM: BATTERIES

Q. How can you tell if a wheel bearing is failing?

A. Noise is the most common symptom, usually a cyclicchirping, squealing or growling noise that changes inproportion to vehicle speed. The sound may disappearat some speeds or only occur at certain speeds. Thenoise may get worse when turning, or it may disappearmomentarily.

Looseness or roughness in the bearings is anothersymptom. Any play or roughness that can be felt whenrotating a tire by hand may indicate trouble. If the bear-ings are the adjustable type, cleaning, repacking andreadjusting them may solve the problem. But if the vehi-cle has sealed wheel bearings, looseness or roughness,it’s time to replace the bearings.

To check wheel-bearing play, raise the vehicle so thewheel is off the ground, then grab tire at the 12 and 6

o’clock positions and rock the tire back and forth. As arule, you should not feel any play or looseness if the ve-hicle has sealed wheel bearings. On older vehicles withadjustable wheel bearings, a little play is normal but a lotof play is not. Refer to the vehicle’s service specificationsfor the maximum amount of acceptable play.

Wheel bearing play can be measured with a dial indi-cator by placing the dial indicator against the hub androcking the wheel in and out by hand. As a rule, youshould see no more than .005 inches of play if the bear-ings are good.

Q. Do wheel bearings require maintenance?

A. Wheel bearing cartridges and hub assemblies on latemodel vehicles do not require any maintenance. They aresealed for life and cannot be lubricated.

SYSTEM: BEARINGS

On many older vehicles, the wheel bearings are notsealed and do require periodic inspection, cleaning andrepacking with grease. The recommended service inter-val is typically every 30,000 to 50,000 miles (or more fre-quently if the vehicle is driven off-road or through hubdeep water). Wheel bearings also should be inspectedand lubricated when the brakes are serviced, or if a bear-ing problem is suspected (noise, roughness or loose-ness).

After the bearings have been installed, bearing end-play must be adjusted to specifications by tightening

and then backing off slightly the spindle nut. Most oldercars and trucks allow a small amount of end-play, butsome require a slight preload. The grease cap must fittightly to keep water and contaminants out of the hub.

Q. If a serpentine belt is squealing, should it be re-placed?

A. It depends on the condition of the belt and belt ten-sion. A worn or glazed serpentine belt can be noisy, ascan a belt that has been contaminated with motor oil,grease or coolant. But even a relatively new belt in goodcondition can slip and squeal if the automatic tensioneris weak or the belt is not tensioned properly.

An automatic belt tensioner uses spring tension; astiff coil spring inside pushes the tensioner arm and pul-ley outward to keep the belt tight. Over time, the springmay weaken or break. The pivot arm also may stick orbind as a result of rust and corrosion, preventing the ten-sioner from exerting adequate pressure against the belt.

Symptoms that indicate a need for a new belt ten-sioner include excessive belt flutter when the engine isrevved, noise from the tensioner pulley bearings, visiblewobble or looseness in the tensioner pulley, binding or


■ FEATURE: COVER


SYSTEM: BEARINGS (cont.)

SYSTEM: BELTS & HOSES

dragging in the pulley bearings, or belt squeal immedi-ately after engine start up, when turning or turning onthe A/C.

Sometimes belt noise may be the result of someonehaving installed a replacement belt that is the wronglength. If a belt is too long, the tensioner may not haveenough travel to keep the belt tight. Markings on thebase and arm of an automatic tensioner indicate its mini-mum and maximum range of travel. The indicator shouldusually be about halfway between the minimum andmaximum marks. If the indicator is at or near the maxi-mum mark, it means the belt is worn and needs to be re-placed.

Q. How do you determine belt wear on a serpentinebelt?

A. Most late model serpentine belts are made of EPDMrubber, which allows belts to last upwards of 100,000miles. EPDM rubber belts can still look like new even athigh mileage and don’t crack like older neoprene belts,so there are fewer telltale clues that a belt may be near-ing the end of its service life.

The best way to gauge belt wear is literally with aspecial gauge designed for this purpose. Several beltsuppliers have inexpensive plastic belt wear gauges thatcan reveal the true condition of a serpentine belt. Thegauge fits into the grooves on the underside of the belt.

If the gauge is flush with the tops of the grooves, thebelt is worn and needs to be replaced.

Belts made of rubber or other synthetic rubbersshould be replaced if they are cracked (more than fourcracks per inch), frayed or have chunks of rubber miss-ing. Belts also should be replaced if they have been con-taminated with oil, grease or coolant.

Q. What could cause the premature failure of a radiatoror heater hose?

A. Heat and ozone accelerate the normal aging processthat causes natural and synthetic rubber hoses to lose

TireReview.com 33

■ FEATURE: COVER


their elasticity and become hard and brittle. EPDM hosesare more durable in this respect, but they, too, can dete-riorate after many years of service.

If a coolant hose fails at unusually low mileage, it maysignal something unusual is going on inside the coolingsystem, such as electrolysis corrosion. Contaminants in

the coolant such as salts or minerals, or depleted corro-sion inhibitors in the coolant can allow electric currentsto use the coolant as a conductive path. This can acceler-ate internal corrosion of vulnerable metal parts (heatercore, radiator and other parts), as well as the hoses. Elec-trolysis can eat pits and lesions into the inside lining,

weakening the hose and eventuallyeating all the way through.

If a low mileage hose has failed, itshould be cut open and inspected tosee if the inside has been attacked byelectrolytic corrosion. If it has, thecooling system needs to be cleanedand flushed, and refilled with fresh50/50 premixed antifreeze to avoidthe possibility of recontamination withsoftened water or tap water. If a cus-tomer is refilling with full strength an-tifreeze, they should mix it in equalparts with distilled water, never ordi-nary tap water.

New radiator and heater hoses, aswell as new clamps, should always berecommended for any customer whois replacing a water pump, thermo-stat, heater core or radiator.

Q. Are there any standards for com-paring friction materials?

A. Yes. One such rating method isthe SAE J661 and J866A Brake LiningQuality Control Test, also called a“chase” test. A one-inch square of fric-tion material is placed in a special ma-chine that measures the material’scoefficient of friction over a range of

temperatures. From this, thelow- and high-temperature fric-tion ratings for the material aredetermined and printed as atwo-letter edge code on thebrake linings.

The edge code letters formost passenger car and lighttruck linings are some combina-tion of E and F, while G and Hare found primarily on racingpads. The coefficient of frictionrange for E is 0.25 to 0.35(least aggressive), F is 0.35 to0.45, G is 0.45 to 0.55, and H is0.55 to 0.65 (most aggressive).

As a rule, the better the fric-tion material, the more consis-tent its friction characteristicswill be under different temper-atures and pressures. A friction



SYSTEM: BELTS & HOSES (cont.)


SYSTEM: BRAKES


■ FEATURE: COVER

material rated FE will provide good braking when cold,but may fade when it gets hot. Friction materials ratedFF and higher often are recommended for performanceapplications.

Q. Can you mix different kinds of friction materials onthe same wheel?

A. Yes. Some OE and aftermarket brake suppliers arenow using different types of friction materials for theinner and outer brake pads on the same wheel. By doingthis, they can take advantage of the different perform-ance characteristics of different friction materials to im-prove overall brake performance and customersatisfaction.

A semi-metallic pad or friction material with a slightlyhigher coefficient of friction may be used on the insideof the rotor with a softer and less aggressive ceramic ornon-asbestos organic pad on the outside.Under no circumstances should different types of frictionmaterials be used on opposite sides of a vehicle (sameaxle). Any significant difference in friction coefficientsside-to-side can cause uneven braking and a brake pull.Since brake pads are normally replaced in matched axlesets, this is usually not a concern, but it can be if a cus-tomer is replacing only the brake pads on one wheel be-

cause the pads were contaminated by brake fluid from aleaky caliper.

The same issue can arise if a customer is replacing aleaky or frozen caliper with a loaded caliper that comespreassembled with new pads. The new pads in theloaded caliper should match the friction characteristics ofthe old pads on the opposite wheel, otherwise the padson both sides need to be changed to keep braking ef-fort equal.

Q. Will resurfacing rotors eliminate a brake pedal pulsa-tion?

A. Brake pedal pulsation is caused by thickness varia-tions between the faces of the rotor. As the rotor turnsaround, any variation in thickness of more than about.001 inches may be felt when the brakes are applied.Resurfacing the rotors to make both faces flat and paral-lel will solve the problem, but it may be only a temporar-ily fix.

With a pedal pulsation issue, most experts recom-mend replacing the rotors. The thickness variation thatcauses pulsation often is the result of hard spots in therotor that extend deep into the metal. Resurfacing onlyshaves off the top of the hard spots. Eventually, the hardspots return – sometimes within a few thousand milesafter resurfacing.

Q. How often do chassis parts need to be replaced?

A. More often than they are now. Long before they hitthe salvage yard, most vehicles have worn-out ball joints,control arm bushings, tie rod ends, steering racks,springs and other chassis parts that should have been re-placed long ago, but were not.

Worn chassis parts are most often detected when avehicle is experiencing tire wear, steering or handlingproblems, or when a technician is doing a pre-alignmentinspection. The consequences of ignoring worn chassisparts can be serious, if not deadly. If a badly worn balljoint fails, the suspension collapses, causing a loss ofsteering control. The same thing can happen if a badlyworn tie rod end separates from a steering arm.

Most OE chassis parts are built to withstand the rigorsof everyday driving, and will usually last well beyond100,000 miles or more. But as the cumulative effects ofpotholes, jars and jolts add up over time, even thetoughest chassis parts can succumb to wear. The life ofthe parts depends on the size and weight of the vehicle,Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 46036

SYSTEM: BRAKES (cont.)

SYSTEM: CHASSIS PARTS

38 January 2013 | TireReviewRapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 46038

and what kind of roads it is drivenupon, and the number of miles driven.

Q. If one ball joint is worn out,should the others be replaced at thesame time?

A. Chances are the ball joint on theopposite side is also near the end ofthe road, even if it is still marginallywithin specifications. Many techni-cians recommend replacing bothjoints at the same time.

Q. How does a short-long arm (SLA)suspension differ from a strut suspen-sion?

A. SLA suspensions use a pair of con-trol arms on each side to support thesteering knuckle and wheel. The pivotpoints of the arms are connected tothe chassis with bolts and bushings,and the arms are connected to thesteering knuckle with an upper andlower ball joint. The spring is usuallyplaced between the lower controlarm and vehicle sub-frame, but onsome applications it may be locatedon top of the upper control arm. SLAsuspensions are typically used onlarger, heavier vehicles such as full-size pickup trucks, SUVs and luxuryrear-wheel drive passenger cars.

Alignment problems can occur ifthe ball joints or control arm pivotbushings are worn. This may cause asteering pull, suspension noise or ac-celerated or uneven tire wear. Replac-ing the ball joints and/or bushings willusually cure the problem.

Most strut suspensions don’t useupper control arms or upper balljoints. These parts and the spring arereplaced with a MacPherson strut as-sembly. The strut attaches to theupper part of the steering knuckle andthe bearing plate on top of the strutallows the wheel to steer in either di-rection. The spring is positioned

around the strut for a more direct act-ing suspension. Strut suspensions aretypically used on front-wheel drivecars and minivans, and also somecrossover vehicles and smaller SUVs.

On “wishbone” strut suspensions,upper control arms and ball joints areboth used to support the steeringknuckle, but struts are still used tosupport the weight.

Q. Is it easier to replace a worn CVjoint or to replace the entire half-shaft?

A. The hands down favorite in mostinstances is to replace the entire half-shaft as a complete assembly. It’sfaster, easier and only a little more ex-pensive than replacing a bad CV joint.

Half-shafts in front-wheel drive carsand minivans connect the transaxle tofront-drive wheels. On AWD or RWDvehicles that have half-shafts, theshafts connect the differential to thedrive wheels.

Removing a half-shaft with a badCV joint requires dismounting thewheel, removing the outer axle nutand separating the outer end of thehalf-shaft from the steering knuckle orhub. Some disassembly of the suspen-sion also is necessary so there is roomto push the half-shaft back throughthe knuckle or hub. Once the outerend is free, the inner end of the shaftcan be disconnected from thetransaxle or differential.

Most replacement shafts comewith new/remanufactured inner andouter CV joints, eliminating the risk ofreusing worn high-mileage joints ifonly one joint on a shaft is being re-placed.

Q. How do you know if a CV jointneeds to be replaced?

SYSTEM: CV JOINTS &HALF-SHAFTS

A. Most CV joint failures occur as a result of a boot fail-ing. If the boot fails, the grease leaks out and contami-nants get inside the joint. Other symptoms include:

• A popping or clicking noise when turning. This almostalways indicates a worn or damaged outer CV joint. Aquick way to verify this condition is to put the car in re-verse, crank the steering wheel to one side and drive thevehicle backwards in a circle (check the rearview mirrorfirst). If the noise gets louder, it confirms the diagnosis andthe need for a new joint or replacement shaft assembly.

• A “clunk” when accelerating, decelerating or whenputting the transaxle into drive. This kind of noise cancome from excessive play in the inner joint on FWD appli-cations, either inner or outer joints in a RWD independ-ent suspension, or from the driveshaft CV joints or U-jointin a RWD or AWD powertrain. Be warned, though, thatthe same kind of noise also can be produced by excessivebacklash in the differential gears. A quick way to verifythe diagnosis here is to back the vehicle up, alternatelyaccelerating and decelerating while in reverse. If theclunk or shudder is more pronounced, it confirms a badinner joint.

• A humming or growling noise. Sometimes due to in-adequate lubrication in either the inner or outer CV joint,this symptom is more often due to worn or damagedwheel bearings, a bad intermediate shaft bearing onequal length half-shaft transaxles, or worn shaft bearingswithin the transmission.

Q. Does the vehicle need to be aligned after replacingthe shocks or struts?

A. Replacing front struts does require realigning the frontwheels. Many struts have “camber bolts” at the lower endthat allow the strut to be repositioned with respect to thesteering knuckle. Even if the position of the camber bolt ismarked as a reference point prior to removing the oldstrut, manufacturing tolerances in the new strut housing

may change the alignment. For this reason, alignmentshould always be checked and adjusted as needed afterthe new struts have been installed.

On other struts, alignment is adjusted by moving thetop of the strut in or out to change camber, and/or movingthe top of the strut forward or backward to change caster.As before, alignment should always be checked and read-justed as needed after the new struts have been installed.

With rear struts, there may be camber adjustments atthe top or bottom of the strut that can affect rear align-ment. But even if there are no factory adjustments, wheelalignment should be checked after the struts have beeninstalled to make sure alignment is within specificationsand that no other parts are damaged or bent.

There is no need to realign the wheels after newshocks have been installed. The shocks play no direct rolein wheel alignment other than to dampen the move-ments of the suspension.

Q. How can you tell if the shocks or struts need to bereplaced?

A. Symptoms that typically indicate the need for newshocks or struts include suspension bottoming after hit-ting a bump, excessive nose dive when braking, exces-sive body lean or sway when cornering, a bouncy orundulating ride, wheel shudder or shimmy after hitting abump, and cupped tire wear.

Fluid leaks are another clue the piston seals are leak-ing. Sooner or later the loss of fluid will diminish theshocks’ or strut’s ability to control the motions of the sus-pension.

Gas leaks are harder to see, but if a piston is leakingfluid, chances are it has probably lost its gas charge, too.This will significantly reduce the shocks ability to resistfade when it is working hard.

A bounce test is still a valid means of identifying weakdampers. Rock the suspension several times up anddown, then release it. If the dampers don’t stop the mo-tion within one bounce, the shocks are weak and shouldbe replaced to restore like-new ride control. ■

TireReview.com 39

■ FEATURE: COVER


SYSTEM: SHOCKS & STRUTS

Located in the suburbs of Min-nesota’s twin cities, SamaritanTire has been helping cus-

tomers find the perfect set of wheelsand tires since 1971.

It originated as a retailer, and ran awholesale operation until the early2000s. When the original owners de-cided to sell, longtime tire salesmanChris Mortensen purchased the retailside of the company in 2003 afterdecades of experience in variousareas of the tire business.

Since Mortensen took over, themulti-brand tire store has been grow-ing steadily.

“We went from being a $1.5 mil-lion a year store to a $4 million a yearstore and we went from selling 10,000tires a year to 25,000 tires a year,”says Mortensen, adding the amountof business his single store does is

comparable to a company with fiveor six locations.

Mortensen’s secret to success issticking with what he knows, and forhim and his 60 employees, that istires and tire service.

“I think what makes us unique isthe experience we have here in thestore,” says Mortensen. “My storemanager has been with the companyfor 25 years and our service managerhas 20 years of experience, so you’realways talking to someone who is ex-perienced in the business.”

With decades of knowledge in theshop, Mortensen said they’ve built asolid reputation with customerswhen it comes to quality productsand exceptional service.

“I think tires are very complicatednow, compared to the way they usedto be,” says Mortensen. “When I


TOPSHOP

SamaritanTire

FEATURESHANA O’MALLEYContributing Writer

High ceilings, large floorspace and clean bays give Samaritan Tire service and tiretechs an efficient, comfortable place to deliver quality service.

Ownership Shift Brought Steady, Solid Growth

> Samaritan Tire

Tire Brands: Goodyear, Dunlop, Kelly-Springfield, Michelin, BFGoodrich,Uniroyal, Continental, General, Kumho,Pirelli, Yokohama, Vogue, Nitto, Nexen,Hankook, Bridgestone, Firestone, Carlisle,Falken, Toyo, Mickey Thompson

Tire Changers: Hunter, Corghi, Beissbarth

Tire/Wheel Balancers: Hunter Road Force

Lifts: Hunter, Rotary

Alignment Racks: Hunter, John Bean

Brake Lathes: Ammco

Compressors: Champion, Ingersoll-Rand

POS Software: Goodyear GBMS

Marketing/Buying Groups: MichelinMAST, Kumho Fuel, Continental Gold andGoodyear G3X

TOP SHOP SPECS:

started out, 17 years old in high schoolmounting tires, back then you hadmaybe 12 sizes to choose from and thebiggest decision was whether youwanted a radial tire or a bias ply tire.Now you have the complexity withtire pressure monitoring sensors andperformance tires and low profile tires.That makes instillation a bit compli-cated, so I think it’s important to havethe people who have experience todial it all in.”

Mortensen adds that they try andmake the purchasing experience aseasy as possible by making recommen-dations and keeping most appoint-ments under an hour.

“People are short on time so it’spretty important to do what we saywe’re going to do,” he says. “We givepeople rides to work and back. Wealso make it simple to buy tires. Some-times it’s hard to get the year, makeand model of the vehicle, let alone tiresize, so we’re good about making theright recommendation based on thecustomer’s driving habits.”

The 10-year-old facility features 10bays, three alignment racks and anopen waiting room with modernamenities.

“The waiting area is pretty spa-cious, it’s got wireless (Internet) andcable TV and vending machines,”says Mortensen. “A lot of people waithere. After about 20 minutes theywant to get up and walk around sowe have an open atmosphere. They’rewelcome to go watch technicianswork on the car.”

Range of BrandsThe shop keeps roughly 2,500 to

3,000 tires in stock, including Good -

year, Dunlop, Kelly-Springfield,Michelin, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, Con-tinental, General, Yokohama, Vogue,Nitto, Bridgestone, Firestone, Kumhoand Pirelli. It also has a wholesalesupplier located just a few minutesdown the road.

Mortensen says approximately80% of business comes from tire salesand service. The rest of the business ismade up of wheel alignments andservice for brakes, suspension, shocksand struts.


■ FEATURE: TOP SHOP

Samaritan Tire does about $4 million in retail tire and service sales – 25,000 tires –from this single location.

While Samaritan Tire doesn’t do un-derhood work such as fluid or oilchanges, they’re able to catch a lot oftire business that other multi-serviceplaces aren’t equipped to do.

“We have a lot of high-end tirechanging equipment with Corgi, aswell as machines that other placesdon’t have,” he says. “We can doMichelin PAX tires and basically anykind of tire.”

With heavy snowfall during easternMinnesota’s harsh winters, Mortensensays they do a lot of seasonal tirechanges and provide a unique solutionfor seasonal tire storage.

“We store tires here in the building,so if you do winter and summerchangeovers, we will store them. Thatway customers don’t have to takethem home,” explains Mortensen. “Itmakes it easier for them so they don’t have a set of tirestaking up space in the garage. It also keeps them comingback here, because if they have tires here, they’re probablygoing to come back for service.”

When it comes to advertising, Mortensen invests in com-mercial spots on a major radio station in the Twin Cities andrelies on the shop’s website to inform customers.

“If you look at what people do before a major purchase,whether it’s tires or anything else, they do a search on theInternet to get some information and then make a fewphone calls and make a decision,” says Mortensen. TheirNetDriven site makes it easy for customers to searchbrands and shop for tires, he says.

The company also is involved in promotional and com-munity events such as the “Back to the50s” car show hosted by the MinnesotaStreet Rod Association. The annualevent is held at the Minnesota StateFairgrounds and features more than11,000 cars.

Additionally, Samaritan Tire is avendor at Car Craft’s Summer Nation-als and a sponsor of the local car clubEurowerk’s.

This past summer, the shop hostedits seventh annual car show, which fea-tured 140 cars and 300 spectators. Allof the money raised during the eventwas donated to the Courage Center, aMinnesota-based, non-profit rehabilita-tion and resource center.

“Those events help us a lot becauseif you have a show car and you trust usto put tires and wheels on that, thenyou’ll surely trust us to put tires andwheels on your pickup truck or youreveryday driving car,” says Mortensen.

Mortensen adds that seeing his cus-tomers at events helps with one of hisbiggest forms of advertising – word ofmouth.

“When we’re at those events, we’re not really sellingtires, we’re building relationships with customers whocome back to us,” he adds.

While Mortensen says he isn’t always a price leadercompared to his competition and big box chains, he be-lieves customers keep coming back to Samaritan Tire be-cause they know they’ll get a quality job, good customerservice and no hassles.

“The experience level is very high; people trust thatwe’re going to get it right the first time,” he says. “We’rebig on when we say we’re going to do something, we do itand you’re going to get what you pay for.” ■

TireReview.com 43

■ FEATURE: TOP SHOP

Well-kept and relatively uncluttered, the front sales counter at Samaritan Tire.

TIRES

Last January we were looking atthree straight years of recordfarm incomes. Fast expanding

crop opportunities and fast-growingexport markets brought good news toeveryone in the ag chain – from thefield to the equipment manufacturer.

And then the rain stopped. Well, itnever really started. The Drought of2012, while nowhere near as epic the1930s Dust Bowl, still dramatically al-tered attitudes and plans. And a rela-tively dry autumn 2012 has farmers onedge about the coming year.

While irrigation systems, “good ge-netics” and crop insurance helped min-imize the damage for farmers, expertssay the drought was every bit as bad asdescribed, perhaps worse than imag-ined, and left ag tire buyers – OEMsand farmers – wary of the near-term.

“Right now, most of the Great Plainsand the Southeast are still in seriousdrought, and parts of the Midwest arestill too dry for comfort,” reports SethWalters, vice president of marketingand supply chain for Alliance TireAmericas. “Everybody will be waiting

for snow in the next few months. Fewfarmers are in a buying mood – an atti-tude we expect will carry into 2013,when insurance checks and some win-ter rainfall will hopefully raise opti-mism again.”

“As the summer progressed andconditions became worse, we saw adefinite pause in our replacement mar-ket business, especially on harvest re-lated tires,” says Tom Rogers, directorof ag tire sales and marketing forBridgestone Americas. “Understand-ably, growers were not buying tireswhere drought conditions existed. Aswe look into 2013, we see overall netfarm income still very strong and all in-dications point to a good year in the agtire business next year.”

Bill Haney, sales manager for BKTTires USA, says that the “main impacton 2012 was replacement tire ship-ments were slowed down during thethird quarter, and inventories werehigh. This means availability will begood during the spring 2013 period.”

Michelin North America’s JamesCrouch, farm segment marketing man-ager, says that even with the drought,heading into the close of 2012 “farmersare still projected to have the secondhighest net farm income year ever dueto high commodity prices and landprotected by crop insurance. Newequipment sales continued to be strongthroughout 2012, and the downturn inthe replacement tire market is expectedto reverse in 2013 as farmers reinvest intheir business, and dealers continue towork through their inventories.”

“It appears that although OE ordersand shipments remained pretty strongthrough the 2012 fall, it was more thanlikely from orders that were placed and

financed several months prior,” offersF.A. Jenkins, president of Mid-USATire, a distributor of Petlas brand agtires. “Equipment orders may havebeen placed upwards of 12-plus mon -ths ago. It is rumored that severalnewer orders were canceled due to thedrought conditions that covered a largeportion of prime agriculture produc-tion regions, especially on larger tractorand harvest/combine equipment.”

Skip Sagar, sales manager for TitanTire Corp., concurs with his colleagueson the impact of the Drought of 2012,and suggests at least part of 2013 looksgood. “Looking into 2013, OEM sched-ules for production of farm equipmentseem to be pretty strong. The secondhalf of the year is anybody’s guess.There were some availability issuesduring 2012, so we believe there’s quitea bit of pent-up demand. When someof the uncertainty goes away and thegrowers receive their crop insurancepayouts, we anticipate an increase inspending on replacement tires.”

It’s obvious, though, that cautionwill be the watchword for 2013. No onecan predict the weather, and Washing-ton has to tackle both an importantFarm Bill (stalled in Congress) and ne-gotiate a long-term resolution to ourfiscal and debt problems.

More Important Than EverEven though the Drought of 2012 is

over, only the calendar has changedand it’s certainly not business as usualanymore. Dealers will have to get backto a more consultative sell, experts sug-gest. “It’s a perfect time for dealers tobe selling return on investment,” saysWalters. “Farmers are under pressure.They’ve seen commodity prices go up,


FEATUREJIM SMITHEditor

Drought, DC Weigh on Entire Farm Tire Chain

Serious Concerns

>TAKEAWAYS

• DROUGHT RECOVERY SLOW

• CONCERNS OVER FARM BILL,

NATIONAL FINANCES

• EXPERTS SEE BETTER

SECOND HALF OF 2013

• IF, VF HOT TECHNOLOGIES

but they’ve also seen all their costs goup, too. They need confidence thattheir tire supplier is providing serviceand a long-term relationship he cantrust in good times and bad.”

Jenkins suggests that strong newequipment sales over the past fewyears opened the door to some newtire players, giving dealers new op-tions. “The heavy OEM focus with themajor brand producers has allowednew import manufacturers to enter themarket and gather up some replace-ment marketshare.”

Trends and Planning While the drought captured the

headlines, the biggest “variable” hasbeen the Farm Bill, legislation that gov-erns everything about the farm econ-omy from subsidies to crop insuranceto research programs.

“Federal programs have a big im-

pact on planting decisions, dairy prof-itability, and other aspects of agri -culture,”says Walters. “Farmers watchthat carefully for a sense of how securetheir safety net is, and so do theirbankers. Congress was clearly willingto gamble with the entire farm econ-omy as the election approached – andthat didn’t help anybody’s attitude.”

From a trend standpoint, BKT’sHaney says, “farmers are managing in-come increases by keeping debt down,making land purchases, and generalimprovements to their own personal fi-nancial planning. They are tending tobe thoughtful about equipment pur-chases to better manage this recent in-crease in income.”

“As input costs continue to increase,farmers are being more efficient,” says

Bridgestone’s Rogers. “This is drivingthe precision farming trends, equip-ment purchases and tire choices. Weare seeing farmers maintaining propertire inflation, and specialized andhigher capacity equipment are makinggrowers more efficient, which is driv-ing demand for application specificand higher load capacity tires.”

Precision farming techniques andtechnologies have fully captured the at-tention of today’s farmer, according toMid-USA Tire’s Jenkins. “Precisionfarming is leading OE equipment pur-chases,” he says, and that will impactlater replacement buys.

While farmers are concerned aboutwhat’s happening in North America,they’ve also become global in theirviewpoints, according to Sagar. “We al-ways have to consider the fact that welive in a global marketplace. China isstockpiling soybeans, which impactsexports, and therefore, prices. Roughly

55% of the soybeans grown in Iowa goto export. So, a lot of what we seegoing on globally will have a direct im-pact on our exports.”

The national attention on “renew-able fuels is an important factor, too,”he says. “Roughly 40% of corn produc-tion in Iowa goes toward renewablefuels. So, any legislation on renewableenergy production will profoundly im-pact agriculture in some states.”

Latest and GreatestPerformance in the field is always

the key issue for crop farmers. As oneexpert said squarely: Performance andvalue never go out of style.

“That said, the big story of the pastyear or so is definitely flexion – IF and

VF tires,” says Alliance’s Walters. “Thebenefits are really impressive – IF tirescan carry 20% more load at a given in-flation pressure, or operate under a par-ticular load at 20% less inflation pressure, compared to a conventional tire ofthe same size. That gives farmers theflexibility to haul bigger loads or tomanage their inflation pressure to re-duce soil compaction.”

Bridgestone’s Rogers and Miche-lin’s Crouch concur. “Equipment is be-coming more and more specializedand capacities keep growing as farmerslook for ways to become more effi-cient,” says Rogers. “This is driving de-mand for application-specific tiredesigns and higher load capacity tires.Growers are looking for the best ofboth worlds, more load capacity but ata reduced inflation pressure to mini-mize compaction.”

Vital, says Crouch, are tires that “en-able the farmer to carry the same loadat a lower air pressure than the stan-dard tire, offering IF and VF class tiresin many of our market segments. Withthe lower pressures required in thesetires, the farmer is lighter on his fieldand experiences less yield-robbing soilcompaction, improved traction andlongevity of the tires.”

“At the moment, there’s nothing sodifferent or so new that dealers can’tservice these tires with their existingequipment,” suggests Scott Sloan,Titan’s product engineering manager.“Dealers need to continue to stay in-formed on these new technologies inorder to recommend the right tire forthe job. We also want dealers to be veryvocal about any issues local farmers arehaving with tires, because we’re striv-ing to take much more of a solutions-based engineering approach.”

From the dealer side, says Rogers,“knowledge and service are still key.Providing extended seasonal hoursand having in-field service capabilitiesare critical; having the training to un-derstand specific applications earns acustomer trust and makes that dealerthe expert in his area.”

“The best thing a dealer can do is tosell the right tire for the job and makeall the appropriate recommendationsfor proper inflation and use,” says Wal-ters. “Deliver a timely response whenproblems arise. And give good, honestadvice, whether it’s repair or replace-ment. There’s no quick patch for bro-ken trust.” ■

TireReview.com 45

■ FEATURE: TIRES

Labels indicating fuel efficiency(rolling resistance), wet grip andnoise are now mandatory on all

replacement passenger tires sold in theEuropean Union. The new EU labelgrades tires on a scale from “A” to “G”for fuel efficiency and wet stopping dis-tance.

The Energy Act of 2007 requiredNHTSA to establish a national tire fuelefficiency consumer information pro-gram for replacement tires – testing andeducation on tire fuel efficiency, safetyand durability.

In March 2010, NHTSA issued its“final rule” on the Tire Fuel EfficiencyConsumer Information Program. Theactual regulations are expected to be re-leased within the next 12-18 months.

NHTSA plans to require some typeof new tire label showing a grade forfuel efficiency (rolling resistance), safety(wet traction), and durability (tread-wear). As you might tell, this is moreabout tire testing and performancemeasurement than it is about consumereducation.

The fuel efficiency rating will bebased on rolling resistance. NHTSAconducted a two-phase study to deter-mine how it would rate rolling resist-ance. Phase 1 was an evaluation oflaboratory test protocols, while Phase 2examined the effects of tire rolling re-sistance levels on traction, treadwearand vehicle fuel economy.

Wet traction and treadwear ratingsare part of the UTQG Standards al-ready required by federal law and thetire labeling scheme will not change theexisting UTQG test methods.

The new label will use different rat-ings than the present sidewall informa-tion, which will supposedly give con- s umers true apples-to-apples informa-tion so they can compare one tire to thenext. If fuel efficiency is their concern,the grades should let them chose thetire that delivers the lowest rolling re-sistance. Same with “safety” and “dura-bility.”

Rolling Resistance FactorsRolling resistance is the force re-

quired to move a loaded tire at a con-stant speed, on a level road in a straightline; it primarily is caused by the highhysteresis of rubber compounds.

Hysteresis is the characteristic of anymaterial that causes the energy requir -ed to deform the material to be greaterthan the energy of its recovery. Rub-ber’s high hysteresis means it bouncesback slowly and with more resistancethan a material like steel that bouncesback faster and more completely.

The combination of hysteresis, thetread’s interaction with the road sur-face, and cycling of the tire’s internalcomponents as the tire rotates through

repeated cycles of deformation and re-covery produces rolling resistance.

The tread and its underlying pliesare a tire’s heaviest and largest compo-nents and create most of its rolling re-sistance – typically about two-thirds ofthe total. The sidewall and bead areaaccount for the remaining one-third.Because larger tires contain more rub-ber and internal components thansmaller tires, within one particular tiremodel line, larger sizes will have morerolling resistance than smaller sizes.

There are two principal standardsfor measuring rolling resistance: rollingresistance force and the rolling resist-ance coefficient. Rolling resistance forcemeasures energy loss per unit of dis-tance in pounds of resistance. By com-paring rolling resistance force, tires ofthe same or different sizes can be read-ily and accurately compared.

The tire rolling resistance coefficientis calculated by dividing the measuredrolling resistance force of a particularsize tire by its load rating. Rolling resist-ance varies with the load on a tire, sotires with different load indexes aretested at different loads.

With rolling resistance coefficient,larger tires may have a lower rolling re-sistance coefficient than smaller tires,even though larger tires generally havehigher rolling resistance forces. Conse-quently, rolling resistance coefficientsonly allow realistic comparisons amongtires within a single size.

The NHTSA test will be based oncalculated rolling resistance forceusing the ISO 28580 Draft Interna-tional Standard the EU selected for itsrolling resistance rating system. Thisshould allow harmonization of the


What WillRR TestingProve?

NHTSA fuel efficieny

label scheme may not

matter in not-so-perfect

world

TIRES TIRE TECH

RICH ASHLEYContributing Editor

>TAKEAWAYS

• ROLLING RESISTANCE MEAS-

URE ALLOWS COMPARISON

• CONSISTENT WITH EU

TEST SYSTEM

• 12-18 MONTHS UNTIL

IMPLEMENTED IN FULL

U.S. and European standards and testpractices.

RR and Fuel Economy Fuel economy is determined by a

vehicle’s total resistance to movement,including aerodynamic drag, drivelinefriction, inertia, the grade of the road-way and tire rolling resistance. Typi-cally, tire rolling resistance is only 15%of a vehicle’s total resistance in stop-and-go driving. Driveline friction is thelargest component at 45%, overcominginertia represents 35% and aerody-namic drag 5%.

Once out on the highway in rela-tively steady speed conditions, tirerolling resistance generally representsabout 25% of total rolling resistancewhile aerodynamic drag rises dramati-cally to about 60%. Driveline friction isonly about 15% of the total and over-coming inertia is not a significant factor.

The impact of tire rolling resistanceon fuel economy ranges from 4% in citydriving to 7% on the highway. Automanufacturers typically estimate that a10% reduction in tire rolling resistancewill result in a 1% to 2% improvementin vehicle fuel economy. NHTSA foundthat a 10% decrease in tire rolling resist-ance resulted in a 1.1% increase in fueleconomy.

Vehicle manufacturers have contin-ued to demand low rolling resistancetires as OE to help achieve CAFE stan-dards. Tiremakers have responded withreduced weight tires molded with thin-ner sidewalls, shallower tread depths,and low rolling resistance tread withsilica replacing carbon black.

Does It Really Matter?How much of an actual difference is

a set of these lower rolling resistancetires going to make to the consumer?Consider a situation where low rollingresistance replacement tires have ahuge 20% decrease in rolling resistancevs. the existing tires.

We need to multiply the portion ofthe tires’ influence on overall rolling re-sistance (15% city and 25% highway) bythe 20% decrease in tire rolling resist-ance to calculate the potential change inmiles per gallon.

If the vehicle previously provided25 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on thehighway, the calculated increase in fuelmileage for tires with 20% lower rollingresistance would be 3% (25.75 mpg) incity driving and 5% (31.5 mpg) on the

highway. A measurable difference, butthere are some hurdles to achieving thecalculated savings.

First, the new tires may not initiallyprovide lower rolling resistance as full-tread tires generate more rolling resist-ance than worn tires. Because of thereduction in tread mass and hardeningof the tread compound, tire rolling re-sistance usually drops 20% during atire’s life. While the gradual reductionin rolling resistance and any subtle in-crease in fuel mileage probably wentunnoticed, the installation of new tires(even with 20% lower rolling resist-ance) is likely to be a break-even andmay even cause a decrease in fuelmileage.

Also, new, full-tread passenger cartires are typically 0.5-inch larger in di-ameter than identical worn-out tires. Sothe revolutions per mile for the new tiremay cause the vehicle’s odometer tounderstate the actual miles driven by1% to 2%, and fuel economy would ap-pear to decline a like amount.

Finally, tires branded as the samesize may vary in their specifications bymanufacturer and model. Passenger cartires sometimes vary by as much as 0.2-inch in diameter, with resulting differ-ences in revolutions per mile. If a tirerolls fewer times per mile than the tire itreplaces, the vehicle will actually betraveling farther than indicated by theodometer.

Individually, these factors are proba-bly not significant. However, whenadded together, a consumer’s new lowrolling resistance tires may not producethe expected improvement in fuel econ-omy. If OE low rolling resistance tireswere replaced, the new tires may evenappear to reduce fuel mileage.

On the other hand, correct tire pres-sure may be as important as the tiresthemselves. A 20% reduction in infla-tion pressure (from 35 psi to 28 psi)may increase tire rolling resistance 10%or more resulting in a 1% to 2% reduc-tion in fuel economy.

The key seems to be in understand-ing the numbers. Reductions in tirerolling resistance only reduce a portionof the vehicle’s total rolling resistance.

Valid comparisons between tires canonly be made within a particular tireclassification (e.g. standard touring vs.standard touring), and while lowerrolling resistance tires can enhance fueleconomy, the day-to-day difference isnot large. ■

TireReview.com 47Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 46047

The goal of fleets when it comes totheir tire program is to maximizetire removal miles and fuel econ-

omy. This keeps the fleet maintenancebudget and fuel costs in line.

To get optimum removal mileage,tires must wear smooth and evenly. Ifirregular wear develops, tire fuel econ-omy will also suffer. Any signs of un-even and irregular wear should beconsidered an early warning sign thatthere are other issues – either with thevehicle or tire/wheel assembly – thatneed to be addressed.

This is why it is so important thattires are visually inspected on a regu-lar basis. Such inspections are also im-portant because, as we all know, steer,drive and trailer tires all have uniqueirregular wear issues that can develop.

Steer tires are the most sensitivewhen it comes to developing unevenwear. Shoulder step or more com-monly called ‘chamfer wear,’ is wherethere is ‘step’ (depressed) wear in theshoulders. This is confined to the outerportion of the shoulder rib. It canoccur in either one or both shoulders.

Tires run in line-haul operationstend to see this type of wear, especiallyif the specific tire tread pattern doesnot have a ‘defense’ or pressure distri-bution groove. This condition will notaffect overall mileage or fuel economy,and it is not something that requiresthe tire to be replaced.

Full shoulder wear is another story.This excessive wear extends over oneor both shoulders, and is usually re-lated to misalignment. If there is exces-sive axle toe-in, the outside shoulderof both steer tires will be worn. If thereis too much toe-out, then the inside

shoulder of both steer tires are worn. If you find one steer tire has inside

shoulder wear and the other steer tirehas outside shoulder wear, then the di-agnosis is the drive axles are mis-aligned. Sometimes poorly maintained

suspension components can producesimilar tire results. On rare occasions,improperly seated beads will also leadto the same irregular shoulder wear.

Another alignment-related condi-tion that is common for steer tires is‘one-sided’ wear. This is defined as ex-cessive or fast wear extending fromone shoulder gradually to the othershoulder. Drive axle misalignment isusually the culprit. If you measure thetread depth in each groove and themeasurement keeps getting smaller,then you know it is time to check thevehicle alignment.

Feather wear is also found on steertires that have excessive toe and/ordrive axle misalignment. Feather wearis the condition where each individualrib is worn high to low. Excessive sideforce scrubbing is the cause of feather

wear and this not only affects tire re-moval miles, but fuel economy is alsosignificantly reduced.

If you find tires that have shouldercupping that creates a scalloped ap-pearance then this indicates an out-of-balance condition. If the tire is alsounderinflated, this can magnify thisproblem. Too much wheel-end bearingplay will also contribute to this shoul-der cupping condition. You will needto diagnose this imbalance condition,which may include the wheel, hub,and/or brake drum.

Depressed rib wear or punch wear


Maximize RemovalMileage

Staying ahead of irreg-

ular wear means un-

derstanding how and

where it starts.

TIRES TRUCK

AL COHNContributing Editor

The most important tool in a tire tech’s arsenal is a good tread depth gauge. It’sthe best way to gauge irregular wear patterns.

can be found on steer tires that are rununderinflated. Improper tire bead seat-ing and assembly out-of-balance canalso generate this tread condition.Usually one rib is depressed comparedto an adjacent rib. It is an easy condi-tion to spot. Maintaining proper tireinflation pressure based on the loadwill usually minimize this condition.

Drives & SuperwidesThere are many different drive tire

tread patterns available in the market.The common denominator is the lugs.If there is rapid shoulder wear on onlythe inside shoulder of an inside dualtire then negative axle camber underfull load may be a contributing factor.Axle-flex under load and misadjustedbearings need to be checked. Also, ifthere is uneven inflation pressure be-tween the duals, this can also lead tothis condition.

If you have a vehicle running su-perwide tires on the drive position andboth shoulders have fast wear then thetires are overinflated. Superwide tiresare sensitive to running at pressuresbased on the load. When you add toomuch air, the shoulders are not in con-tact with the ground, which leads toshoulder scuffing and fast shoulderwear.

Heel/toe wear is found on dualdrive tires that have mismatched tiresand/or mismatched inflation pres-sures. Heel/toe wear can be describedwhere each lug is worn high to lowfrom the front to back edge. This con-dition is very easy to eliminate. Ensurethat when you replace only one tire ofa set of duals that the overall circum-ference is as similar as possible. Theworst case scenario is installing a newdrive tire next to a worn drive tire. Ifthe overall circumferences and tire

pressures are not equivalent then theheel/toe wear will become more se-vere.

Alternate lug wear is another irreg-ular wear condition found on drivetires. It is caused by the same condi-tions just described regarding heel/toewear.

When it comes to trailer tires theremany irregular wear conditions thatdevelop simply because this is themost neglected of all wheel positions.Many fleets do not own their owntrailers and, as a result, are not check-ing tire pressures and conditions on aregular basis and have minimal visualinspections.

If you see a tire with a localizedspot of excessive wear across the treadface that may even extend into the cas-ing, then this is considered a brakeskid. New brakes, aggressive use ofbrakes, and driver abuse such as usingonly trailer brakes to stop a vehiclewill all lead to brake skids. Driver edu-cation will help minimize this condi-tion.

Diagonal wear is represented by lo-calized flat spots worn diagonallyacross the tread.These diagonalspots will repeataround the tire. Inmost cases thiscondition devel-ops as a result of aminor brake skidand progressivelygets worse. Thiscan also occur be-cause of loosewheel bearing anda toe-out condi-tion.

The two irreg-ular wear condi-tions for trailertires directly re-lated to alignmentissues are rapidwear on oneshoulder and one-sided wear. Exces-sive camber willlead to rapidshoulder on oneshoulder. One-sided wear – themeasured treaddepth of eachgroove diminishesas you go across

the tread surface – is usually caused bytoo much toe. Very few fleets actuallycheck trailer alignment but if youcome across either of these two irregu-lar wear conditions then it is an earlywarning sign to perform a traileralignment.

Another common condition seen intrailer tires is called multiple flat spotwear. There are numerous areas wornaround the tire. These tires just lookugly. When trailer tires are not main-tained for inflation pressure, mis-matched inflation pressures, driverabuse of trailer brakes, and emptyloads all contribute to this trailer tire ir-regular wear.

Training drivers and vehicle servicetechnicians to visually inspect tires andmeasure inflation pressure on a regu-lar basis is the best way to identify ir-regular wear conditions at an earlystage.

Understanding the probable causesof the specific irregular wear conditionwill allow your fleet customers tomake the proper vehicle corrections toensure that they maximize tire re-moval miles and fuel economy. ■

TireReview.com 49

■ TIRES: TRUCK


>TAKEAWAYS

• IRREGULAR WEAR IS A TIRE-

KILLER FOR FLEETS

• ID-ING IRREGULAR WEAR

LEADS TO RIGHT SOLUTION

• DRIVERS, ALIGNMENT ARE

OFTEN CHIEF CULPRITS

Whether it’s the click of a mouse or a finger swipe across a tablet or smartphone, technologyis changing the way tire dealers run their businesses. Dealers need to access their shop infor-mation seamlessly, from anywhere and from any device – and many of the latest software de-velopments provide just that, and more. Cloud storage service, mobile applications andeasy online shopping tools are some of the latest features in dealer software technology.


Product Spotlight

SOLUTIONS SPOTLIGHT

Dealer Software Technology

TIRE COMPANY SOLUTIONS As a premier technology provider in the industry, TCS said itunderstands what tire dealers and automotive centers need torun a business effectively and efficiently. Among many newfeatures, Tire Power software provides single click access totire and part data, labor lookup, vehicle and TPMS info andparts ordering. Additionally, the latest software includes dis-tributor integrated tire lookup and direct ordering, as well ascustomer information enhancements, including vehicle datalookup and marketing efficiencies. tcstire.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46150Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46150

FREEDOMSOFT TireShop is the latest tire store management software from

Freedomsoft. It is designed for speed, efficiency and ex-ceptional ease of use, according to the company. TireShop

is a full-featured program for full service shops. It is tirestore software, auto repair software, and quick lube soft-

ware all in one. tireshop.info

Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46151Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46151

TireReview.com 51

■ SOLUTIONS: SPOTLIGHT

AFTERSOFT Aftersoft provides point-of-sale, retread and e-commercesoftware to retail, wholesale and commercial tire dealers andretreaders. VAST Enterprise point-of-sale is used by some ofthe largest and most successful tire dealers in North Amer-ica, according to Aftersoft. VAST ItemBroker allows dealersto shop online for parts, showing multiple vendor costs andavailability from one screen. Also new is the WarehouseManagement Software module, which provides comprehen-sive functionality from product receiving and put-away topicking and shipment. VAST is used by over 1,900 customerlocations across North America.aftersoftna.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46153Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46153

ANDREOLI & ASSOCIATES The Bay Management module of the cloud-based HITS BPOS

point-of-sale software enables rapid identification of openbay times and quick creation of repair orders that are auto-

matically populated with date, time and bay from a calendar-bay grid, according to Andreoli & Associates. Bay

Management within HITS BPOS is designed to enhance effi-ciency and workflow by allowing shop associates to work off

the same calendar-bay grid. At any time, everyone in theshop knows what work is going on, in which bays, when, and

for how long. aasys.com

Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46154Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46154


NET DRIVENThe Net Driven Service Center represents a significantupgrade, the company said, and features thousands ofnew automotive illustrations, hundreds of new servicedescriptions, online customer quoting and enhancedservice scheduling, specials/coupon integration,search engine optimized content and is GPS-enabled.The Net Driven Service Center represents “our contin-ued commitment to delivering the most cutting-edgeeffective Internet marketing solutions to the automo-tive industry,” the company noted.netdriven.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46152Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46152

MADDEN CO.MaddenCo has unveiled the company’s new mobile suite, including MciFleet,which allows salesmen and/or customers to review fleet status, retreads, orders andother customer account information. Additionally, MciDelivery captures signatureson a smartphone at the time of delivery to the customer while text messaging al-lows salesmen to text customers from the point-of-sale counter. The mobile suitesare available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones.maddenco.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46155Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46155



AUTOWARE TECHNOLOGIES AutoWare Technologies has launched the recently updated Nex-tWheels online e-commerce program at jegs.com. Customers cannow buy custom wheels and tires directly through the NextWheelsonline program, after they have visually previewed exactly how thewheels and tires will look on their vehicle. With a simple click of the“check price and availability” button, the program will guide usersthrough the selection of the wheel and tires, according to the manu-facturer. The wheels and tires are then added directly to the existingshopping cart. jegs.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46156Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46156

TireReview.com 53


E-SOLUTION PROFESSIONALSE-Solution Professionals has launched the latest release of its pop-ular Ezytire product – Ezytire mobile. Ezytire’s mobile website isenabled free of charge on all Ezytire websites and allows con-sumers to view inventory, pricing, place orders and contact thestore directly from their mobile devices. E-Solution Professionalsdevelops e-commerce applications for the tire industry includingTireweb, Tirelibrary, Ezytire and Wheelweb. eztire.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46159Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46159

WECNOLOGYWECnology offers a full array of reputation marketing prod-ucts including mobile marketing with MobiText to create aVIP loyalty club to keep customers coming back. MobiTextcreates mobile coupons, text messages nad full landingpages with graphics, as well as conducting polls, question-naires, and text-2-win contests. In addition, the tire dealersoftware tracks mobile loyalty user programs. wecnology.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46158Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46158

Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 46053Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 46063

ASA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMSThe Tiremaster family of software products has introducedthe next generation of innovation for ASA AutomotiveSystems, including web-based applications running in thecloud for all mobile devices, including tablets, PCs, lap-tops and smartphones. Tiremaster software is comprisedof a series of interfaced modules that can be tailored tomeet the point-of-sale, inventory management, order pro-cessing, accounting, marketing and e-commerce needs ofany size retail, wholesale or commercial tire dealer or autorepair shop.asaautomotive.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46157Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46157


SOLUTIONS PRODUCTS

Performance Balancer Bosch has released the WBE4430 high performance wheelbalancer, featuring integralwheel illumination. According toBosch, the WBE 4430 includeshigh performance low tapermounting adaptors for more ac-curate and repeatable mount-ing. A laser indicator andself-locking weight application are help to increase weightplacement accuracy and ensures that the weight is placed atthe proper location every time.bosch.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46160 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46160

Online MarketingThe Kukui online marketing suite offers clean, powerfulwebsite designs, optimized to boost conversion rates aswell as search engine rankings, according to the maker. Thesimple-to-use content management system is included withevery website and is integrated with a tire dealer’s POS sys-tem, enabling owners to see their marketing ROI. Addition-ally, it helps owners effortlessly improve customer relationships through service reminders, emails, blogs and cus-tomer review posts. kukui.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46161 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46161

Skid Steer TireThe Galaxy Muddy Buddyfrom the Alliance Tire Groupintroduces a super-deep-tread design to the Alliancelineup of skid steer tires. TheMuddy Buddy’s new extra-deep tread, shallow lugangle and sharp shouldersprovide better traction onslick or slushy surfaces, andoffer more high-durability rubber for longer service life, ac-cording to ATG. Additionally, the Muddy Buddy is ideal forthe construction industry, which enhances skid steer per-formance in muddy conditions and on uneven surfaces.atgtire.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46162Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46162

Police PadsACDelco is adding a proprietary surface coating to its po-lice brake pads to help reduce the break-in period and im-proves pre-burnish brake effectiveness. According toACDelco, the coating is designed specifically for police ap-

plications and is suitable for both patrol and high-speedpursuit situations. The newly coated pads provide coveragefor Chevrolet Caprice, Impala and Tahoe; Ford Crown Victo-ria and Interceptor; and Dodge Charger police vehicles.acdelco.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46163Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46163

Tire PrinterLAC tire printer is based onunique inkjet technology andoffers excellent printing qual-ity in full color, according tothe company. Printed imageswill be durable for one yearand its printing speed is 6 to7 minutes on average for onesidewall. accorp.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46164Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46164

Heavy-Duty SyntheticThe Shell Rotella T6 0W-40 is the latest product now avail-able from Shell Lubricants. The fullsynthetic heavy-duty diesel engineoil is designed for extreme coldconditions by using free flowingsynthetic base oils that allow reli-able pumping on start-up underextreme cold climate conditions. Italso remains thick enough underhigh temperature operation to pro-tect against engine wear, accordingto Shell. rotella.comRapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46165 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46165

Bead ExpanderKen-Tool recently introduced the new T131 utility tire pneu-matic bead expander (31431). According to Ken Tool, thisproduct was designed to save time for both service tractorshop technicians who have difficulty getting 10- to 22-inchdiameter utility tires to seat on the wheel rim. Weighing justtwo pounds, the T131 uses an internal heavy-duty neoprenerubber tube featuring an internal over-pressure relief valvethat protects the expander from accidental over inflation.Additionally, it can handle shop air pressures up to 150 psi. kentool.com Rapid Response: www.TRRapidResponse.com/46166 Or call 800-928-1184 – Ext. 46166

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TireReview.com 55

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the pizza with a fork. “Care for somesoggy pizza?”

“Naw, I’ll pass.” Riley topped uphis travel mug and carried it over tothe office door. He peeked into thebays. “Hey, is that a 3.8 in the carBeanie’s working on?”

I nodded. “We replaced the upperintake plenum – leaking coolant intothe cylinders.”

Riley chuckled. “Another connect-ing rod bites the dust.”

I snapped my head around, almostdropping my fork. “What do youmean by that?”

He shrugged. “Just that almostevery 3.8 I ever saw in our rebuildshop came in with a bent con rodcaused by a leaky plenum. You know– hydro-locking and all that.” Heslurped some coffee and grimaced.“Sheesh, got anything to neutralizethis wicked brew?”

“We used to,” I said dejectedly, “butdonuts are off the menu right now. Carefor some Parmesan cheese?”

After Riley left, I went to find Basil.“Is it possible for a bent rod to cause amiss at idle, but not at higher speed?”

Basil tugged his left earlobethoughtfully. “It’s possible. I wouldn’tbet the farm on this, but the theory isthat because the bent connecting rodshortens the stroke, the piston has al-ready gone past TDC by the time thespark fires.

Therefore, the ECM sees this as amisfire. But when the timing advancekicks in at higher rpm, the cylinderbegins to contribute enough tosmooth things out.”

We had Beanie check the compres-sion, and sure enough, No. 2 cylinderwas slightly lower than all the rest.With a borescope we also could seethat the piston wasn’t coming up ashigh as it used to. “I don’t think ourcustomer is going to be happy aboutthis,” said Beanie.

Basil rubbed his chin. “In the fu-ture, it might be a good idea to do acompression test on these leakyplenum jobs before we go any fur-ther.”

All of a sudden, the smoke alarmwent off as smoke poured into theshop. Tooner burst through lunch-room door, a tray of flaming pizza inhis gloved hands. “Fire in the hole!”he hollered as he crashed through the

outside door and into a snow bank.Apparently, he’d snuck in and turnedup the temperature setting on thetoaster oven when I wasn’t looking,and then forgot about it.

“Sheesh,” said Beanie in surprise.“Ashes Monday again, and it’s noteven Tooner’s turn.” ■

TireReview.com 59

■ COMMENTARY: THE CAR SIDE

Continued from page 60Rick Cogbill, a freelance writer

and former shop owner in Sum-merland, B.C., has written TheCar Side for a variety of trademagazines for the past 14 years.“A Fine Day for a Drive,” his firstbook based on the charactersfrom this column, is now availablefor order at thecarside.com.


Well, Beanie, what did youbring us today?” I tucked aleftover Christmas napkin

under my chin in anticipation. “Andhurry it up…I’m hungry.”

Basil nodded in agreement as headded a touch of honey to his tea.“After last week’s disaster…” – heglanced significantly in Tooner’s di-rection – “…I’m looking forward totoday’s offering. Hopefully,it’s not a burnt one.”

“Hey, watch it,” growledTooner. “Keep this up andyou’ll get nothing from me butstore-bought junk.”

Not a bad idea, I thought.Last week, Tooner had tried tobake cookies in our mi-crowave using a metal cookietray, and almost burnt theshop down in the process. Asa result, we now refer to hisday as Ashes Monday.

The crew at Slim ShamblesTire & Auto Repair had madea New Year’s Resolution – in-stead of buying greasy donutsonce a week, we’d take turns bring-ing goodies for coffee break. Thisweek it was Snacks à la Chef Bean.

Beanie colored slightly as heopened up a large paper bag. “I apol-ogize, guys, but I was too busy tocook this weekend. So I just grabbedsomething out of the freezer.” Heplunked a frozen pizza on the tableand stared at it. “My mother gave itto me two months ago. I guess Ishould have given it a few minutesin the microwave, huh?”

Basil sighed and reached for hislunch kit. “It’s those late nights

again, isn’t it, Beanie? When are yougoing to start keeping sensible hours?”

Tooner snorted. “Sensible? Theserowdy young upstarts don’t knowthe meanin’ of the word. I’m tellin’ya, Bean, quit partyin’ yer life awayor you’ll end up a loser!” He waggledan arthritic finger in Beanie’s direc-tion. “An’ I speak from exper ience.”

“Hey,” protested Beanie. “I wasn’t

partying. Samantha dragged me to abowling marathon with all herfriends. I was throwing gutter ballsuntil 4 a.m.!”

The pizza wasn’t getting anywarmer, so I removed the napkinand changed the subject. “How’sthat intake job coming Beanie?Surely you must have it running bynow.”

A 2002 Chevy Impala with a 3.8LV6 had been hibernating in Beanie’sbay for the past two days, sufferingfrom a bad case of upper plenum re-placement. The EGR port had

melted, allowing engine coolant toleak into the combustion chambers.It was a common complaint with thismotor. At first, our apprentice hadwelcomed the challenge, but now hewasn’t so sure.

Beanie sank back in his chair.“I’ve got it back together, but it has amisfire at idle on cylinder No. 2.” Hefrowned. “The funny part is, once I

raise it off idle, it smoothsout.”

Tooner chewed on a pieceof beef jerky, the only treat hecould find in his brown paperlunch bag. “Have ya checkedfor fouled spark plugs, ortried swappin’ the injectorsaround?”

Beanie nodded. “Done allthat. Checked the whole igni-tion system, as well.” Hesighed. “Got any other sug-gestions?”

We put together a list ofthings to check that includedcleaning the MAF sensor,flushing the injectors, check-

ing the O2 sensor action, and evenpulling off the valve covers to checkfor broken springs. As he shuffled offto continue his testing, I threw hisfrozen pizza in the toaster oven – Iwasn’t taking any chances with themicrowave. With any luck it’d bethawed out by noon.

A little later, Re-man Riley stop pedby for a late coffee, a good indicationthings were slow over at Block Busters,the rebuild shop where he worked.“What’s cooking today, Slim?”

“Not much,” I replied, poking at


Trials of aMiss-BentYouth

Microwave and frozen

pizza prove as big of a

challenge as misfiring

Chevy Impala

COMMENTARY THE CAR SIDE

RICK COGBILLaka Slim Shambles

Contributing Writer

Continued on page 59

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