Magazine for the professional tire industry
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MTD August 2016 Wheel weight update When lead is banned, many dealers try steel first By Ann Neal B ans on the use of lead weights, efforts to reduce vehicle weight to improve fuel economy, and the popularity of custom wheels are creating more wheel weight choices for passenger tire dealers. When lead wheel weights are banned, many dealers switch to steel weights at first, according to Gregory Parker, market- ing manager for Wegmann automotive USA Inc., the parent company to the Perfect Equipment and Hofmann Power Weight brands. "In the seven states with a lead ban we have seen customers jump on the cheapest option when they initially transition away from lead and then thereaer realize that maybe the product they chose is not working for their business," says Parker. "ey tend to move toward a more premium, so-metal solution given time because those solutions are more forgiving and easier to work with and traditionally have fewer issues across the board. We have seen this with small single-store shops to some of the country's largest tire chains." Plombco Inc. also has seen dealers turn to steel weights when legislation prohibiting lead weights is passed. "In the states and communities where lead has been banned, steel has been the most popular non-lead option while zinc use trails behind steel," says Emilie St-Onge, marketing director for the Valleyfield, Quebec-based company. St-Onge says Plombco is the only wheel weight company that manufactures steel, zinc and the exclusive Plasteel wheel weight. "Plasteel is a steel weight that is covered in plastic, and that eliminates scratched or damaged wheels caused by the hardness of steel and zinc. e tire installers using Plasteel wheel weights have stated they are the easiest to use and the most economical alternative to lead. Plasteel is our fastest growing product line." Use of adhesives grows e use of clip-on wheel weights is decreasing as original equipment manufacturers move toward more adhesive wheel weight automation at the factory level. "With this you are see- ing a growth in flangeless rims and thus a growth in adhesive weight usage inside the aermarket," says Parker. St-Onge says that as the passenger car market trends toward more flangeless wheels, the need for clip-style wheel weights will decline. "We expect that adhesive or stick-on wheel weight use will continue to increase." A decline in the use of steel wheels and the traditional wheel cover is also affecting clip-on weights. "e clip-style weight used for steel wheels is also fading," says St-Onge. "e Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards have led car manufacturers to find ways of reducing vehicle weight. Steel wheels are typically heavier than aluminum and alloy wheels so this is another factor in the decline of clip-style wheel weights." Parker says the use of so metal clip-on weights is growing. feature In response to the increased use of adhesive wheel weights, Plombco recently launched StickPro wheel cleaner. The company says it is important to properly remove the existing weight and leftover adhesive residue. It is equally impor- tant to clean and prepare the wheel before applying the new wheel weight. 38