Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/244093
Your turn Tere's more to issue than tire age alone Dear Editor: Concerning Bob Ulrich's recent blog titled "Tire aging issue hits home: Should I replace 12-year-old tires?": Here are thoughts based on my own personal experience, primarily with top-name brands such as Goodyear, Firestone and Bridgestone. I just retired a set of Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires which were made in 1993. Tey were only on the car for fve months a year, and up to this spring I never had any issues with them. None! Te tires showed some cracking in the sidewall, but I never had any issues. My summer wheels had a pair of Firestone Firehawk SZ50s on the rear. Tey were made in late 1999. Te tires had been stored in a temperature-controlled area away from any light since I purchased them in 2004. I've had no issues and have had many interstate drives on them this summer at up to 85 mph. Te front of the car has some 2002 production date Potenza S-03s which have shown cracking between tread blocks. Tey have been in service three years since being installed, and other than the cosmetic cracking, once again no issues. Maybe I'm a crazy guinea pig, but there's simply more to judging this issue than age alone. Te quality of the tire has to be top-notch to start with. Tire storage until being placed into service makes all the diference. Sunlight is the biggest enemy of tires, as we know, and limiting that is huge. Maybe I'm in the small percentage of those who don't believe in the aging hype or maybe I'm just lucky. I do believe in real-world results and it's based on my own experience with my own vehicles and not some book or published study backed by the companies that sell tires. Chris Campbell, Owner Campbell Performance Tire Sterling, Ill. TPMS is a good idea and it works — when it is properly maintained Dear Editor: A tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is a good idea and does work when properly maintained. Te only thing that gives me doubt is the fact that the U.S. Congress agrees with me and that makes me worry if I am a moron or on crack. Al Eisenberg, President Al's Hubcaps & Wheel Repair Mineola, N.Y. Question of the month We asked our National Advisory Council (NAC) members: "What are your predictions for 2014? Do you feel it will be a good year for the independent tire dealer? What kind of vibes are you geting of your customers concerning willingness or ability to spend money on tires and services?" Here are some of their responses: 1. I think the independent tire dealer will continue to face stifer and stifer competition from all channels. Car dealers continue to spend more on their physical plants, inventory and advertising to atract tire buyers. Mass merchandisers want the tire customer visiting stores, not just for the tire sale and subsequent service, but for that tire customer to be exposed to the thousands of available items on their shelves. Internet suppliers are becoming a greater factor each year as the tire buyer becomes more and more knowledgeable about tire pricing through the Internet activities. Don't forget that independents square of against each other to see just how short the margin rate can be in order to survive. Te trend will continue toward lower tire margins because we are forced to react to our market conditions almost daily. With all of that said, our company intends to sell more tire units in 2014 than we did in 2013. Trouble is, our margins will probably be lower than they were this year. To answer your question about the willingness or ability to spend money on tires and services, I'd say we are in a very high survival business because no mater the economic conditions, people in our country want to drive their cars and trucks and it takes folks like us to keep that happening for them. Most don't like spending money with us, but they have to in order to continue driving. 2. I feel that tire pricing is going to remain sof through the frst half of 2014. People have forgoten how important tire replacement is for their safety. Tey seem to be puting their fnancial problems before their tire problems. 3. It looks like a good year coming up for the independent dealer in our rural area. Last month purchases of new tractors and combines were up over the same month a year ago, and purchases will continue to be strong in passenger and pickup tires. Most customers are willing to spend money on needed repairs and maintenance as well as on new tires. 4. Te forecast is revenue neutral. Customers are spending what they need and delaying longer to make purchases. Tere is an over-abundance of supplier goods and suppliers continue to stuf inventory in the channel, ignoring sell-out paterns. ■ Join Modern Tire Dealer's National Advisory Council Each month, Modern Tire Dealer is guided and infuenced by a select group of readers — members of our National Advisory Council. Tese members' opinions are the heart of the monthly Your marketplace, compiled by industry analyst Nick Mitchell. If you'd like to join this prestigious group, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Contact Editor Bob Ulrich at Bob.Ulrich@bobit.com or call (330) 899-2200, ext. 11. 74 MTD January 2014