What’s Treading with Tire Review

All-weather tires are becoming a popular choice for drivers, particularly as colder weather approaches. According to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, there is a strong market opportunity within this segment, which saw 6.1 million replacement tires sold in 2023. This trend is not new to tire manufacturers like Goodyear, which is capitalizing on the demand with the release of its new Assurance WeatherReady 2 all-weather tire.

Recently launched in 58 sizes (with more to come) the tire offers a 60,000-mile tread life limited warranty. The WeatherReady 2 will eventually replace the original WeatherReady tire, introduced in 2017, as Goodyear plans to phase out the older model in most sizes. 

In this episode of What's Treading, Goodyear provided Tire Review an opportunity to test the WeatherReady 2 firsthand, and Goodyear’s product marketing manager, Andrew Lau, provided insights into the attributes of the new tire. 

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com 
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

How big is the knowledge gap between you and your customers when it comes to the difference between all-season and all-weather tires in your region? When you consider all the aspects surrounding the tire sale – from driver demands to technological differences to price to simple vocabulary befuddlement – it's easy to understand why your customers are confused.

According to Chris Han, Senior Product and Channel Marketing Manager at Kumho Tire, one of the biggest points of confusion stems from the similarity in terminology, as many consumers assume "all-season" means the tire will perform in all weather conditions.  "Many consumers think all-season actually means all-weather... but they’re not necessarily meant for severe weather conditions," Han says.

On this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Han emphasizes the evolving landscape of tire technology and consumer preferences, and introduces the Kumho Solus 4S HA32 tire, which was originally launched as an all-weather product but has since been repositioned as a next-generation all-season tire. Han also shares insights into the trade-offs tire manufacturers must consider when developing these products and practical maintenance tips for tire dealers and consumers alike.

This episode is sponsored by Kumho Tire.

Flying into Monterrey, Mexico, the first thing you'll notice is the serene & green mountain ranges all around you. After getting off the plane, the next thing you notice will be the restroom you just missed before joining the international customs line, as your brain hurriedly looks for another one. But we put that crisis behind us before joining employees from ZC Rubber for a special event.

Tire Review recently flew down to Mexico to witness the groundbreaking of ZC Rubber's third overseas manufacturing facility—and to get to the site where the facility will be, we had to take a short drive to the nearby city of Saltillo, specifically stopping in the Alianza Industrial Park. Though it's mostly a field for now, soon it will be home to ZC's third international manufacturing facility, and at a size of 600,000 sq. m., this plant is going to be big. For the ceremony, ZC executives and local government officials took turns thanking one another for the opportunity, and celebrating what they expect to be a fruitful partnership, before digging in with gilded shovels.

ZC said this plant will be highly automated and follow the company's "future factory" model. The company said this automation increases speed, safety, consistency, and warehousing and shipping capabilities. Despite the advancements, ZC expects to employ about 2,000 locals at the plant when it's up and running. Speaking of, the timeline to get things running is short. The company expects the first tires to roll off the line by late 2025 or early 2026.

"Actually, I already got some orders," said Henry Shen, ZC Rubber's vice president and secretary of the board of directors. Shen sat down with Tire Review for an interview during our time in Mexico, to break down details of this new project. He said even before construction began, customers were showing interest. "I already got some orders when I flew from Shanghai to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to here," Shen added. "People like Mexican products because there is a much shorter lead time and they can get tires within several days. The other very important reason for U.S. or Mexico customers this what they call a 'sustainable supply.' Thailand, Vietnam and China all have tariffs andy they travel a long distance. There's a lot of uncertainty there.”

The plant is expected to have a starting annual capacity of more than 13,000,000 passenger car tires and over 50,000 tons of off-the-road (OTR) tires, which Shen tells us will help supplement growing demand in the North American and Latin American markets.

"We studied a lot of places. This whole program started two years ago with people coming here to see different options,” he said.

In our interview, Shen also explains how ZC settled on Saltillo as the site to plant its flag, what goes into an automated facility like this, future plans the company has for this area and more. 

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com 

AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

Every year, members of the Ohio Tire & Automotive Association gather at the Country Club at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio for OTAA's annual golf outing. For the first time in three years, this year’s outing had a full field with 128 golfers – which included members of OTAA from independent tire shops and dealerships, friends and family of those members, and media.

Watch the video for more insight from Wallick and Boyd on the event, including an explanation on the benefits of the annual OTAA golf outing, information on OTAA priority legislation and an inside look from our perspective at this years annual outing.

Tire Review: www.TireReview.com
AAPEX: www.AAPEXShow.com

There’s no better place to find out how a tire performs than up close and personal on the track, which is why Hankook Tire, as the official technical partner and tire supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and the official sponsor of the races happening this weekend at the Portland International Speedway, to watch their product perform at the highest level of electric vehicle racing.

Hankook’s North America president, Rob Williams, said that the iON Race tire is directly responsible for the technology being used in Hankook’s passenger iON tires. The iON Race is constructed using organic rayon - a semi-synthetic fiber – which is common in racing tires and UHP tires. It is very stable, strong and heat-resistant, and by pairing it with a blend of natural rubber, Hankook was able to achieve a level of tear resistance and durability that they say they are very happy with.

In electric racing, the efficiency of the car is every bit as important as its power, because these vehicles want to squeeze every last ounce of energy out of those batteries before they have to fuel up again. So, of course, Hankook went the extra mile reducing roll resistance as far as possible on the iON Race to help make the car more efficient. 

These Gen3 Formula E cars are powerful. Gen3 hit the track during last year’s season and introduced a rather significant power increase of 100 kilowatts over the previous generation, to a maximum of 350 kW. That’s equivalent to around 469 horsepower, and vehicles can reach a top speed of 174 miles per hour.

Watch the video above to hear more about how these tires perform, how they influence Hankook's passenger EV tire line, and why keeping these tires sustainable is so important to Hankook, including interviews with German Formula E driver, Maximilian Günther and Hankook’s North America president, Rob Williams. Tire Review: 

www.tirereview.com 
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

Take a look at the next vehicle that rolls into one of your bays. If it was manufactured in the past 5-10 years, I'm willing to bet you'll be able to pick out a sensor or two staring back at you rather quickly. However, there's a significant gap in this technology when it comes to the tires. Sure, TPMS certainly prevalent and helpful, but it fails to alert the driver to attributes like tread depth, stiffness, and balance.

To address this issue, Yagil Tzur, vice president of products at Tactile Mobility, says his company is pairing the use of advanced sensors and artificial intelligence with tires to enhance the safety and efficiency of driving experiences.

"Car manufacturers rely on drivers to go and look at the tires to check that they are healthy and in good condition. But we can't fool ourselves – no one is doing that. Most of the people even don't know what to check in a tire, and this has become a major issue," Tzur says. "We must be able to monitor the tires automatically, just as we get an alert from the car if we have an issue with the engine, with the oil, with the exhaust or with the water level. We need to know what is happening with the tires." 

On this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Tzur explains how virtual sensors—software programs that analyze existing vehicle data to generate new insights – can combine data from various vehicle systems, such as wheel speed, steering angle, and engine torque, to monitor tire conditions and other safety-related parameters. 

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

The EV tire sector is red-hot – and for good reason. Kelley Blue Book reported there were 1.2 million EVs added to the car parc in the U.S. in 2023, bringing the market share of these vehicles to 7.6%. S&P tells us that in the U.S., 2024 and 2025 will have over 130 new vehicle launches, with over half of them electrified. Tire manufacturers aren't taking their collective eyes off of this data, with some putting a lot of effort and R&D into finding ways to stay ahead of the market and hone in on the needs of EV customers.

Sharing his thoughts on a recent episode of What's Treading, Shawn Denlein, president of sales and marketing at Kumho Tire USA, discussed the company's two latest EV-specific tire lines – the Majesty 9 Solus TA91 EV and Crugen HP71 EV – and how these lines fit into the EV tire marketplace.

"Our goal is not only to meet but exceed the expectations of EV drivers," Denlein says. "Kumho wants to be the new benchmark for performance efficiency and reliability in the EV market."

On this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Denlein dives into Kumho Tire's strategy behind designing tire lines exclusive to EV drivers, how important the EV marketplace is to Kumho Tire, and some of the standout technology found in the company's latest EV tire lines.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

How long have we been talking about the technician shortage now? Too long. It's been an issue for nearly every shop owner I've ever spoken to and seems to have taken hold of the industry around the time Moses was handed the 10 Commandments. We know better by now that there's no magic bullet out there to stop this boss monster, but there must be better ways to chip away at its life bar.

Andrew Coccari, VP of Sales and Marketing at Sonic Tools USA, says his company has a solution that has proven to be a great tool to battle this beast.

“When you provide the tools and give them a pathway to earn those tools as their own ... it leads to a much happier, more rewarding life at the shop if you're a technician,” says Coccari. "And, we have the data to prove that it actually makes it more productive as well." 

In this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Coccari delves into the causes of the technician shortage and offers some novel solutions to address the need for help around the country, such as modernizing the work environment to attract younger technicians. 

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

I don't care if you've been in the tire industry for 40 years or 40 days – a lot has changed since you got started. Recently, some of the biggest changes are happening on the technology side: AI, smartphones and sophisticated software have never had such a presence on the shop floor. There's too much to wrap your head around to successfully keep the evolutions in the industry straight.

To help address this, Anyline is this year announcing the first-ever T.I.R.E. Summit, emphasizing its focus on Technology, Insights, Regulations, and Engagement, taking place this year on June 13 in Vienna, Austria. During a recent conversation with Chris Plaichner, chief product officer at Anyline, he highlighted the need for industry players to share knowledge and explore new technological applications.

"There's a real demand in this industry because so many things are changing," he says. "We want to understand what's possible, how others do it, and how they apply the technology."

In this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Plaichner shares his thoughts on how shifting from traditional methods of tire shop management to real-time, mobile-based solutions can enhance efficiency and accuracy, how artificial intelligence is becoming a game-changer for the industry, and what can be expected from the upcoming event – even hinting at a U.S.-based version in the near future.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com

Ask anyone in business long enough to find success and they'll likely tell you that relationships got them there. Cosmo Tires, operated by Tire Group International, is no different and is continuing to lean on its uncanny ability to cultivate strong, family-first partnerships as a cornerstone for growth.

"With everything that we do as a brand, if it's not all authentic and we're not able to reach the consumers where they interact with brands in the marketplace, then we lose some of that connectivity. It can get filtered, and we want to make sure that we capture everything from the street, take it all the way into the organization, and feed it directly into product development," says Dominick Montouri, the chief strategy officer for Tire Group International. "We want to make sure we keep that chain very, very short, but also keep it authentic and you don't lose any of those key attributes about what really matters to consumers in our space."

In this episode of What's Treading with Tire Review, Montouri shares insights into how Cosmo Tires plans to expand its footprint and its engagement with consumers and partners, ensuring that the brand's evolution is just as much about meaningful connections and solutions in the tire industry as it is growth.

Want more What's Treading? Click here.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com
AAPEX: www.aapexshow.com