ERJ Round-up: Tire Technology

ERJ staff report (TP)

Weekly round-up from the world of tire technology – reports on Continental ... Magna Tyres ... Kumho Tyre ... Mitas ... Tyre Oil Nynas AB

Maserati approved Continental summer tires to be fitted

at its factory for the Ghibli. Continental will now manufacture the

ContiSportContact 5 in eight sizes between 18 and 21 inches. To

distinguish it from other versions of the premium sports tire, the

original equipment models for the Italian sports sedan will feature the

additional 'MGT' marking on the side wall. Back last year, the sports

car manufacturer from Modena had already chosen Continental to supply

the tires for the Quattroporte.

Dutch firm Magna Tyres became the new exclusive distributor for tire wholesaler Ham-Re Oy in Finland. This will help Magna Tyres in the OTR tire sector, although it has already been operating in the Finnish market for several years. Provisions of the agreement grant Ham-Re Oy sole ability to purchase and resell Magna branded OTR tires used in the mining, construction, port handling and scrap metal/waste handling industries.

Kumho Tyre is to supply the ecowing es01 KH27 to Volkswagen-Navarra SA for fitment to Polo models built at its plant in Pamplona, Spain. The new Polo contract is one of the first "fruits of work" done by Kumho’s European Technical Centre (KETC) since it moved to Mörfelden-Walldorf in Germany and expanded its staff of engineers and test drivers. The es01 was also a recipient of the Red Dot Design Award in 2013.

Mitas are introducing new sizes of its Super Flexion Tyre (SFT) for high-horsepower tractors over 180 hp for European markets. Six dimensions are available from July 2014 onwards: 900/60R42, 710/60R34, 650/60R34, 710/65R46, 750/65R26, 580/85R42. Three new sizes: 620/75R26, 1050/50R25, 1250/50R32 will be introduced later in 2014. These nine sizes of Mitas SFT will not be produced in the Continental SVT range. They are solely designed and manufactured under the Mitas brand at the company’s factories in Otrokovice, Czech Republic and Charles City, Iowa, US.

Thorsten Lutze, global market manager for Tyre Oil Nynas AB, will hold a presentation on the role and contribution of naphthenic oils in the global tire market on 21 August. His presentation will take place at the Meridien hotel in Jakarta during the 8th Global Rubber and Tire Markets conference.

More to follow ...