Fleet & Tire, 12.2012

FFlleeeett&TTiirree

Creating Profitable Fleet and Tire Dealer Relationships

A Supplement to Tire Review and Fleet Equipment

Ever-ChangingRole of Tires

• Assets: A new way to consider modern radials?

• How new regulations impact tires, maintenance

• SmartWay verified truck tires and retreads

December 2012

Rapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 45301

TireReview.com • FleetEquipmentMag.com 1

Treat tires as assets to maximize performance

Getting MaxResults

There’s no doubt that tires are asignificant part of a moderntruck fleet’s budget. The pur-

chase and maintenance of new and re-treaded (if used) tires represents thesecond largest expense item – next tofuel – on any fleet budget.

Fleet managers and commercial tiredealers alike have been taught, edu-cated, reminded and fixed on “TiresAre a Major Expense,” and, therefore,they do all they can to safely stretchevery mile out of every tire.

As a result, fleets and their dealersstrictly look at the plain dollars andcents of tire lifecycle costs, constrictingthe real value of a modern radial trucktire to the same viewpoint of 20 yearsago.

At least one tiremaker now suggeststhat fleets of all types and sizes mightbe better served if they drop that old-school “commodity” view and startconsidering their tires (and retreads) as“assets” – on the same level as powerunits and trailers, replacement compo-nents and support equipment.

Those are all big-ticket items thatare intrinsic to a fleet’s on-road success,and are closely monitored for theircost-effectiveness and lifecycle cost.

Just like tires, according to KurtDanielson, president of BridgestoneAmericas’ commercial tire operations,who forwarded the thought-provokingconcept at a recent media programheld at the tiremaker’s Middle Ten-nessee home. Bridgestone hosted the

truck and tire media at its plants inLaVergne and Warren County, Tenn.

Danielson said when it comes totoday’s tires, fleets and dealers need toconsider “a total solution” and not justthe price tag. Making and selling“cheap tires” is easy for any tiremaker.“What’s not easy is to ensure that tireshelp improve the fuel economy of trac-tor-trailers, that they help keep trucksup and running. It’s that additionalvalue that helps fleets be profitable andsuccessful,” he said.

This is not the first time a tire com-pany posited this idea, and like “re-treadability” and “total lifecycle cost”concepts that are now well-establishedin the truck tire mindset, the “tires arean asset” mantra is a drumbeat thatsurely will continue to gain traction.

So why should dealers and fleetschange their line of thinking?

Well, there are a few good reasons.Consider:

Safety & Regulation The importance of careful tire selec-

tion and continuing maintenance wasdriven home when the Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration’s(FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Account-ability (CSA) program launched. In-tended to improve safety and reducehighway crashes involving commercialvehicles, CSA has captured the atten-tion of fleets (and, by extension, theirtire dealers and retreaders) in a big way.

What separates CSA from previous

vehicle inspection programs is the in-volvement of drivers. Previously, a tireviolation would be the responsibility ofthe carrier. “Before CSA, there were noramifications for the driver,” said SteveGraham, vice president of purchasingat Schneider National. “Now the driveris much more interested because viola-tions affect him, as well.”

“It’s top of mind for both fleets anddrivers,” said Steve Wilton, vice presi-dent of fleet solutions for GoodyearCommercial Tire Systems’ Wingfootunit. “Drivers are becoming more par-ticular about the tires on their vehiclesbecause they have a shared responsibil-ity under CSA.”

CSA measures carrier and driversafety performance under its SafetyMeasurement System (SMS), which re-placed the SafeStat system for identify-ing carriers for safety audits. SMSgroups carriers according to size andranks them based on safety perform-ance with their peer group. Drivers arecompared with one another, althoughFMCSA doesn’t rate drivers as it doescarriers.

Under SafeStat, FMCSA focused onout-of-service violations. SMS tracksmany more violations based on vehicleinspections. Inspectors evaluate notonly inspections, but also maintenancerecords – and tires are at the top of thelist.

Tire violation points are posted to acarrier’s safety score under VehicleMaintenance, one of CSA’s seven Be-

havioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, orBASICs.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation, 17 differ-ent tire/wheel-related violations accounted for roughly 10%of total inspection violations that took place during a 12-month period that ended in April 2012. More specifically,10% of out-of-service violations involved tires. The most fre-quent of all violations was drive or trailer tire tread depth lessthan 2/32-inch, which accounted for 5% of total violationsand 8.4% of out-of-service violations.

Safety violations earn a fleet points – ranging from 1 to 10,with 10 as the most severe. The most severe tire violationscarry 8-point weightings, and include:

• Drive or trailer tire tread depth less than 2/32-inch• Steer tire tread depth less than 4/32-inch• Flat tire or audible tire leak• Tread and/or sidewall separation• Carcass fabric exposed• Sidewall cut that exposes tire ply or belt material

With CSA, it takes a team approach to help keep a truck ortrailer road-worthy. The fleet maintenance manager has to dohis job spotting problems and making sure each vehicle andtire sees consistent and thorough care. Drivers need to maketheir daily, weekly or monthly walk-arounds more detailedand effective. And tire dealers and retreaders must engage inthe process to better monitor not only the performance oftheir products, but their condition and serviceability.

In other words: Treat tires like a true asset.

Complexity Consider this fact – a basic four-belt modern medium

truck radial features some 15 different rubber compoundsand a couple dozen unique components. Each has a specific

2 December 2012 | Fleet & TireRapid Response: 800-928-1184 ext. 45302

Among the most severe tire violations are drive or trailertire tread depth less than 2/32-inch, and steer tire treaddepth less than 4/32-inch.

role, a job to do either to hasten curing,combat Mother Nature, and/or resistthe near fatal beating a finished tirewill endure for years on the road.

It’s a simple system on the surface,according to Guy Walenga, commercialtire engineering director for Bridge-stone, but when you consider every-thing that goes in, a modern radial tireis probably the most complex non-me-chanical machine in transportation.

All of those pieces – the rubber andthe steel and the chemicals – have todeliver extraordinary removal mileage,carry 40 tons of truck and freight oversometimes harsh roadways, survivelong days under a blazing sun andeven longer ones in below freezing cli-mates – and do all of this while deliver-ing better fuel economy, traction andsafety than their predecessors.

One single product producing out-standing results under constant back-breaking pressure. An asset, no doubt.

True Value A new radial truck tire is unlike

most products. Even as some still viewtruck tires as disposable commodities,a good truck tire is expected to produce250,000 original miles and at least an-other 300,000 in second and third livesas a retread. Steers beget drives begettrails – a circle of lifecycle to which anycost-conscious fleet prescribes.

Just as some people look at a mod-ern radial and see a hoop of rubber andsteel instead of an intricate machine,the new-tire-to-retread equation is equ -ally ill-considered.

It takes an extremely well-devel-oped tire to reach 250,000 originalmiles, and a robust casing to see itthrough its future lives. Because thesethings can be carefully tracked, it iseasy to put a dollar figure to suchmileage performance. For some fleets,that cost-per-mile measure is enough.

And let’s not forget fuel economy,and the highly desired EPA SmartWaydesignation. Are the tires deliveringbetter fuel economy compared to yourprevious radials?

Fleets and dealers need also con-sider less trackable results. Did thattire, for example, need emergencyroadside attention? Did it, perhaps, ex-ceed fleet and dealer established per-formance parameters? How much lessraw materials did it take to producethat tire or retread? How many gallonsof diesel did that particular radial (newand retread) save the fleet? Did its trac-

tive abilities perhaps prevent a costlyon-road incident?

Given those unknowns, how can youassign a real value to that tire? Perhapsby seeing it as an asset instead of a cost.

“Purchasing a ‘good tire’ is no lon-ger good enough anymore,” Danielsonsaid. With the economic downturn andrising tire costs due to raw material in-creases, he noted, fleets survived bytightening the managing of their busi-nesses. “That’s why we believe the keyto maximizing tire value going for-

ward is to view them as assets and notcommodities,” he continued.

The challenge to price-focused fleetsand dealers is to find greater value inthe attributes that are most important –any or all of fuel economy, removalmileage, retreadability, total lifecyclecost, whatever. If you’re not maximiz-ing your tire performance results, thenyour tires are no asset at all.

If you are getting max results, thenyou understand that tires truly are as-sets. ■


■ Fleet & Tire: FEATURE


The trucking industry is gearingup for the next mandate forchange, which is slated for 2014

– the EPA and NHTSA GreenhouseGas 2014 initiative.

It will be focused on reducinggreenhouse gas emissions while im-proving fuel economy of heavy-dutytrucks. The GHG14 mandate may

bring about the most wide-sweepingchanges we have seen to date, prima-rily because truck OEMs and enginemakers have been suggesting that inorder to be in compliance, there willneed to not only be changes to the en-gines, but also changes to vehicleaerodynamics – and the addition oflower rolling resistance tires.

Tires contribute greatly to the fuelefficiency of Class 7-8 vehicles. About35% to 50% of a tire’s rolling resistancecomes from the tread, for example, soit follows that tread compoundingand design have a significant impacton fuel economy.

Typically, shallow treads (primar-ily trailer positions) are more fuel-effi-cient than deep ones (primarily drive)and rib designs (steer axle primarily)tend to be more fuel-efficient than lugor block designs (drives). By incorpo-rating continuous shoulder ribs innewer-generation tires, however, tiredesigners have found they can bemore flexible in selecting tread rubbercompounds. The result is that certainclosed-shoulder tires offer overall fuel

economy equal to or even better thansome rib designs.

Tiremakers also use different treadcompounds in each tire to achievelower rolling resistance and betterfuel economy. In the past, more fuel-efficient rubber compounds might nothave worn very well, but engineershave devised ways to improve rollingresistance without causing a signifi-cant loss in other important character-istics, such as traction, durability andtread mileage.

Using specialized synthetic/nat-ural rubber blends with engineeredproperties, together with a specifictread design, today’s tires deliverlong wear characteristics. In particu-lar, new rubber mixes that generateless heat when flexed are under de-velopment. Some compounds, espe-cially those incorporating silica orusing special formulas that combinenatural and engineered-structure syn-thetic rubber, can help lower tire tem-perature and in turn promote longercasing life.

4 December 2012 | Fleet & Tire

The impact of tires on new fuel economy regs

Fuel-Efficient

GREENHOUSE GAS 2014

• IMPACT OF ENTIRE VEHICLE TO

BE CONSIDERED

• ROLE OF TIRES IN FUEL SAVINGS

STILL IMPORTANT

• COMPLIANCE WILL REQUIRE

TIREMAKERS TO CONTINUE

TWEAKING CURRENT TIRES

Additional HelpTo ensure that tire pressure re-

mains stable so that the rolling resist-ance benefits can be maintained – ontrailers, in particular – a larger num-ber of fleets are now utilizing on-board tire monitoring and inflationsystems. Automatic tire inflation sys-tems connect all tires on the trailer toa controlled air supply to fill andmaintain tires at the desired pressuresetting, even while the vehicle is mov-ing. As air pressure drops below thetiremaker’s recommended level (orthe fleet’s desired pressure), air is au-tomatically routed to refill any under-inflated tires.

At least half of fleets’ tire prob-lems, including compromised fuel ef-ficiency, are caused by improperinflation – and the problem is morewidespread than many fleets realize.

The Federal Motor Carrier SafetyAdministration reports that only 44%of all truck tires are within 5 psi oftheir target inflation (FMCSA PSV-04-0002). Other studies show that ap-proximately 20% of all tractor dual

tire assemblies and 25% of all trailerdual tire assemblies differ in pressureby more than 5 psi.

Put another way, this pressure dif-ference creates a 5/16-inch difference

in circumference between dual tires,causing the smaller tire to be dragged13 feet per mile, or 246 miles whendriven 100,000 miles.

In addition to losing the fuel effi-



Proper care and maintenance – including casing inspections, pressure checks andmeasuring tread depth – will help ensure tires run as fuel-efficiently as possible.


ciency benefits of lowerrolling resistance tires (20%underinflation lowers fuelmileage by 1% to 2%), whenair pressure drops – as littleas 20% underinflation – tirecasing life may be reduced by30% and tread life could dropby 25%.

Before the governmentbegan laying the groundworkfor the upcoming GHG14, theEPA created the SmartWayTransport Partnership, thepurpose of which is to helpfreight companies improvefuel efficiency, increase envi-ronmental performance andincrease supply chain sustain-ability.

EPA SmartWay has deter-mined that certain tire modelscan reduce NOx emissionsand fuel use by 3% or more,relative to the best sellingnew tires for line-haul Class 8tractor-trailers. Nearly all ofthe truck tire producers havenew tires that meet SmartWay

qualifications, and as of mid-2012, retreaded tire systemsalso can receive SmartWayverification.

Over the last several years,carriers, truck OEMs and tire-makers have sought to meetthe more fuel-efficient bench-marks established by this pro-gram. Currently, fleets thathave attained SmartWay sta-tus must maintain enginesand aerodynamic equipmentper service recommendations.

If you ever wanted to un-derstand the role tires and re-treads play in fuel savingsperformance and the reduc-tion of greenhouse gases, thefact that SmartWay fully en-gages new and retreaded tirescannot be ignored. Over time,SmartWay tires and retreadswill be the norm instead ofthe exception.

And, over time, the per-formance bar will continue tobe raised. ■




Tire/Wheel Assembly BalancingDelivers Fuel Savings

Performance Innovations Technology in Que-bec, which works alongside the Canadian gov-ernment, utilizes SAE J1321/TMC Type II FuelConsumption procedure to assist transportcompanies in identifying technologies that helpimprove the energy performance of vehicles. Recently, PIT ran such a test on CounteractBalancing Beads, which the company claimedshowed a 1.6% fuel economy improvement.The tests were conducted on the use of Coun-teract Balancing Beads technology, which bal-ances the complete rotating mass of a tire andwheel assembly. Counteract said the technology previouslywas tested by the PAVE testing facility atAuburn University using the same SAE/TMCapproved procedure and resulted in a 2.2% fueleconomy improvement. These findings couldrepresent a significant savings for fleets; Coun-teract itself estimated that the ROI on fuel con-sumption alone – based on these tests – isestimated at $20 saved for every $1 invested.To view the test results, visit cbbtests.com. Butthe real tests come from the field: Roy Gambrell, director of maintenance forTruck It in Cottontown, Tenn., said, “I was askedto try Counteract, but was very skeptical as toits value with the program we had. The onlyreal issue we were faced with was river wear onour front tires, which is normal with radial tires.We had to rotate our tires about 40,000 to50,000 miles due to the wear pattern. Since weran the same type of tires on the rear, we justsimply moved the fronts to the rear and rear tofront. We installed the beads in our front tires.We did not let the driver know anything aboutwhat we were doing. “Using the beads, we were able to extendthis mileage out to 80,000 or 90,000 miles. Itappears the beads helped slow the river weardown,” he said. “This saved in labor costs byincreasing the miles before having to rotate.Also, we save one cycle of rotation.” Tire dealer Steve Greer, of Purcell Tire Co. inDesoto, Mo., noted, “My first experience withCounteract was in a situation under duress. Acustomer had a particular tire that was givinghim quite a balance problem. He wanted me todo a service call and balance the tire. I had justbeen introduced to Counteract and thoughtthis would be a good time to try it. It not onlyimproved the balance situation for my cus-tomer, it also gave me a good tire account. Westarted using Counteract strictly in medium/ -heavy (tractor trailer and large trucks), thenlight trucks that couldn’t be balanced due totheir size and required weight.”

For more information, visit cbbtests.com.

In the tire industry, EPA SmartWay verification has gonefrom the exception to the rule in just a few short years, andis now fully a demonstration of performance that tiremak-ers, tire dealers and fleets wear with pride.

The number of radial medium truck tires that have beenreviewed and verified grows monthly, and today (at leastas of this writing) there were 33 separate brands carryingSmartWay verification – more than 170 unique tire modelsin all.

In June, the EPA expanded SmartWay verification to en-

compass retreaded truck tires. This came after nearly fiveyears of lobbying by retread suppliers and producers alike.

A complete test protocol was created and issued, andnow there are seven precure treads from three manufactur-ers that have been approved and are now available on themarket.

Below is a complete rundown of all of the new and re-treaded medium truck radials that (as of Nov. 1) receivedEPA SmartWay verification.


BRAND DRIVESTEER TRAILER

Advance

Aeolus

Arisun

Atlas

BFGoodrich

Bridgestone

Continental

Double Coin

Dunlop

GL283 LET

HN267

CR989, AS600

STRD09e+, AP100e+,

APW09e+ (315/80R22.5

only)

ST244, ST230

R280, R287, R287A,

R283 Ecopia

HSL1 Coach, HSL2 (re-

places HSL), HSL2 ECO

Plus, HSR, HSR1, HSR1

ECO Plus, HSR2, HSR2

ECO Plus, HSR2 SA

FR605

SP384 FM

GL283 LET

HN308+

CM983, AD737

N/A

ST244

M720, Greatec M835

Ecopia, Greatec, M710

Ecopia, S803Z,

S718WZ, and S718YZ,

HSL1 Coach, HDL ECO

Plus, HDL2 ECO Plus,

HDL2 DL ECO Plus,

HDR, HDR1 ECO Plus,

HSR, HSR1, HSR1 ECO

Plus, HSR2, HSR2 ECO

Plus, HSR2 SA

FD405

SP456 FM

N/A

HN808

CR915

N/A

TR144

Greatec R135 Ecopia,

R195, R197 Ecopia,

S197

HTL ECO Plus, HTL1

FT105, FT125

SP193 FM


Updated SmartWay List: What Tires Have Been Verified?


Suis miscere perspicax catelli, etiam oratori frugaliter praemuniet saetosus catelli.Parsimonia chirographi deciperet pessimus fragili


Falken

Firestone

General

Geostar

Goodride

Goodyear

GT Radial

Hankook

Hercules

Kumho

Leao

Linglong

Michelin

Roadmaster (Cooper)

RI109 Ecorun, RI128

Ecorun

FS507 PLUS

S371, S580, S581

G300, G305SW

CR989

G399 Fuel Max, G662

Fuel Max

GSL213 FS

AH24, AL07+, AL11

H-802

KLS02e, KRS02e

LLF16e+,F816e+,

LFE823 (11R22.5 only),

LLF02e+ (315/80R22.5

only), LLA08e+ (11R22.5

only), AFE823

F816e+, LLF16e+,

LFE823 (11R22.5 only),

LLF02e+ (315/80R22.5

only), LLA08e+ (11R22.5

only)

X Coach XZ, XZA3,

XZA3+, XZA2, XZA1+,

XZA2 Energy

RM180, RM185

BI887 Ecorun

FD695 PLUS

D660, S371, S580, S581

N/A

CM983

G305 Fuel Max AT, G305

LHD Fuel Max, G392

SSD, G572 Fuel Max

GT669+ FS

AH24, DL11, Z35A

H-702 (size 11R24.5

only)

KLD01e, KLD02e

DriveLLA08e+ (11R22.5

only), ADE 822

LLA08e+ (11R22.5 only)

XDA Energy, XDA3, X

One XDA, X One XDN2, X

One XDA Energy, X

Multi Energy D, X Line

Energy D

RM851

RI119 Ecorun

FT455 PLUS

ST250

N/A

CR915

G316 LHT Fuel Max,

G316 Fuel Max

DuraSeal, G394SST

GT979 FS

TL 01

N/A

KLT02e

ATE821

N/A

XTA Energy, XT1, X One

XTA, X ONE XTE

RM871




Roadone

Roadpro

Sailun

Samson

Sumitomo

Toyo

Triangle

Westlake

Yokohama

Wanli


S180 FS

S605 EFT

GL283A LET

ST778SE

M137

TRS01

CR989

RY617, RY023, 103ZR,

101ZL

SFR01 (315/80R22.5

only)


R610FS

S768 EFT

GL283 LET

ST938SE

M657

TRD01

CM983

703ZL, TY517mc2,

TY577,

N/A

R910FS

N/A

N/A

Trailer ST710SE

Trailer M157

N/A

CR915

RY407, RY587,

RY587mc2

N/A


Verified Low Rolling Resistance Retread TechnologiesEPA has determined that certain retread technologies can reduce NOx emissions and fuel use by 3% or more,

relative to the best selling retread technologies. These improvements are achieved under the following conditions:

1. Verified retread technologies are used on both the drive and trailer axles.2. The retread technologies are used on the axle positions shown in the table below.3. Verified low rolling resistance steer tires are used.4. All tires must be properly inflated according to the manufacturers’ specifications.

The following low rolling resistance technologies are SmartWay verified when used on Class 8, line-haultractor trailers:

Bandag

Continental

Michelin

B710 FuelTech (precure)

HDL Eco Plus (precure),

HTL Eco Plus (precure)

XDA2 -AT (precure)

B197 FuelTech (precure)

HTL Eco Plus (precure)

XT1-AT (precure)

BRAND DRIVE TRAILER

Fleet & Tire, 12.2012

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