By Denna Bowman

Bridgestone has extended its agreement to supply tyres to BMW Driving Experience, the business group that provides specialised training programmes to improve individual driver skills and safety.

The tyres will be fitted to the fleet of BMW 1-Series, 3-Series, X5 and X6 vehicles, in addition to the range of high-performance BMW M models.

In its previous form as BMW Driver Training, the programme put more than 50,000 motorists through driving programmes in Europe.

BMW Driving Experience now includes training courses for safety, snow and ice, the race track and professional driving, as well as BMW M Experience events, tours and customized driving experiences.

For Bridgestone, the programme fits perfectly with the company’s long-term strategic focus on safety, exemplified by Bridgestone’s leading position in the development of run flat technology.

Tom Fukuda, Senior Vice President of Bridgestone Europe Sales & Marketing, said: “BMW and Bridgestone share many of the same goals in terms of safety and sustainable motoring. This agreement with BMW Driving Experience adds another dimension to our growing partnership.”

The extension of BMW Driving Experience agreement further strengthens the long-standing partnership between Bridgestone and BMW in the development of high-performance tyres.

Bridgestone has grown to become BMW’s leading supplier of original equipment tyres and today provides Potenza and Turanza run-flat tyres across the whole BMW series range. More recently, eco-friendly Bridgestone Ecopia tyres have been supplied for the 1-Series and MINI Countryman.

Customers who order online want to be assured that they are getting the best deal and the best service whether they are buying a CD or a new set of tyres.

Our mobile tyres fitting teams around the UK take great pride in the fact that as well as offering low prices they also go the extra mile to make life easier for their customers.

This is what just two of our customers have had to say about the service they received from etyres in the last couple of days.

Andrew from Withersfield sent this message to Dean in our head office after calling on the services of our Cambridge branch: “I just wanted to thank you and the team at etyres for sorting out the replacement of my two front tyres and enabling me to leave my car at your head office.

“I got a call at 8.30am this morning from Dave the fitter to say he had completed the work which was great.

“Please pass on my thanks to Dave, Alex your manager and a big thank you to you for sorting it all out yesterday.”

While Melanie forwarded this email after using our Portsmouth branch: “I wanted to tell you about the superb service I received from your tyre fiiter (Clint) who works at your Hilsea Portsmouth branch.
Nothing was too much trouble, he is a fine ambassador for etyres..we shall continue to recommend to everyone we know.”

Sabrina, National Sales Team

Bridgestone Tyres UK has chosen the Midlands-based Acorns Children’s Hospice at its chosen charity for 2012.

Throughout the year the tyres company staff will be hosting a series of fundraising events including a monthly ‘Dress Down Friday’ day in aid of Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Established in 1988, the charity offers a care for terminally ill youngsters and their families, across the Midlands.

Acorns provides tailored nursing, emergency care and short breaks for the children at each of its three hospices across the region as well as continual support for their families from its highly trained Community Team.

Paul Lawrie, Human Resources Director at Bridgestone UK , said: “Supporting such as worthy cause is very close to many of our hearts within Bridgestone, and being based in the Midlands, it felt right we should support a local charity this year.

“In 2011 we raised more than £5,000 for our charity, we’re hoping to go beyond that this year.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Alex Kapadia

Former Formula One world champion has admitted that getting to grips with the Pirelli tyres will be his biggest challenge as he prepares to re-launch his racing One career.

The new Lotus driver won his title and a host of other wins on Bridgestone tyres. But the Italian tyres manufacturer took over the role last season.

The former McLaren and Ferrari driver feels that acclimatising to Pirelli rubber will prove to be his stiffest test.

He said: “The braking distances, the G-forces, the acceleration, those will come back very quickly. Getting on top of the tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I’m not really worried. I don’t think I’ve lost any speed.”

The 2007 world champion was speaking after he took to the wheel of a 2010 spec car at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit where he is getting up to speed following two years away from the grand prix scene.

After trying his hand at rallying and in Nascar Trucks, Raikkonen claimed his has rediscovered his passion for Formula One, according to the report in the Daily Mail.

By Denna Bowman

Punctured tyres are the bane of motorists lives, but now Bridgestone has announced it has developed a prototype that never goes flat.

The groundbreaking airless tyres use a special plastic resin that is weaved into a mesh of spokes that help to support the tread of the tyre and ensure it does not collapse under the weight of the vehicle.

The pattern of the spokes also plays a key part in assuring that it does not collapse, performing the function air pressure does in regular tyres, according to the report in the Daily Mail.

An added bonus is that the tyres resin is made of a plastic that can be repeatedly recycled and is therefore better for the environment.

According to Bridgestone, the ‘non-pneumatic’ tyre is at an early stage of development but it should eventually be available in retail vehicles.

The company unveiled its concept at the 42nd Tokyo motor show, which took place last month.

A Bridgestone spokesman said: “There is no need to periodically refill the tyres with air, meaning they require less maintenance.

“At the same the worry of punctures is eliminated.

“Non-pneumatic tyres have less impact on the environment than today’s conventional tyres.

“Bridgestone developed this technology with the aim of practical implementation.

“The concept tyre could prove to be a viable and more environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional tyres in the future.”

It doesn’t matter if you’re rushing out to do the school run or dashing to work, nothing can get the day off to a worse start like discovering one of your tyres is flat.

Flat tyres are enough to deflate anyway, but it must be even more annoying when your have a photographer on hand to snap your frustration.

This is exactly the situation Xtra Factor presenter Caroline Flack faced when she emerged from her London home to discover a deflated wheel on her Mini Cooper last Thursday.

The glammy TV star Flack stood in the road staring at her car as she assessed the situation, then headed back indoors to phone for a cab to take her to work.

But what happened next? Well who knows what Caroline did to get her tyre replaced or repaired, but savvy woman turn to etyres for an Xtra efficient and convenient service - and we save them some money too!

Our mobile fitting service means that we fit tyres at a time and location of our customers choice - whether it’s their home or work.

And because our overheads are low, our prices are cheaper than the leading high street tyre depots too.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Pirelli is on the hunt for a suitable car to help it test the new tyres it is developing for the 2013 Formula 1 season.

The Italian tyres manufacturer has been in talks with the teams over a suitable machine for its test programme to succeed the 2009 Toyota TF109 that it has previously used, according to the AUTOSPORT report.

However, Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director, claims that teams are reluctant to run the risk of any squad gaining an advantage by having its 2011 machine used for testing.

This is despite all data being shared openly between the teams and Pirelli using its own test driver to conduct the work.

“There has been a suggestion that we could modify the 2009 Toyota, but the car is now in a museum and it is not a realistic proposition,” Hembery told AUTOSPORT. “We’ve not yet been given what we think is a suitable option.

“We would like a 2011 car from somebody, but we don’t really care who it is from. We want to do our testing with precision and feel that the older the car gets, the further away it is from a state of the art car.

“We understand the teams’ point of view that they don’t want to give an advantage to anybody, but at a certain point we will have to make our own decision to achieve what we have to because nobody will give us any credit for not using a suitable car if things go wrong.”

Discussions with the teams are ongoing and Pirelli is keen to come to a consensus solution. But Hembery admitted that it was possible that the company could opt to do a deal with an individual team directly if no acceptable car is agreed upon.

“It’s quite possible, yes,” said Hembery when asked if Pirelli could buy a car from a team. “We are not interested in assisting one particular team and we need to do our job. We have some interesting ideas for 2013, but need to do work on them.

“We are going to do a lot on the simulator and probably we will do work with the teams in simulation by giving them all a black box with 20 specifications and ask them to drive on them. That I certainly don’t exclude and I’m sure they will agree.

“But In terms of finalising the tyres, particularly the compound work, we do need a number of sessions. No more than three probably, just to finalise the work. We will get there, I’m sure.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Denna Bowman

Continental has taken the coveted top spot in evo magazine’s third annual tyres test.

The ContiSportContact3 was lavished with praise in the monthly car mag’s performance tyres test, featured in February’s issue.

The test highlights exceptional performance across areas such as wet and dry handling, aquaplaning and braking.

Seen within the motoring industry as a stamp of approval for the best performance tyre, evo described Continental’s win as “an impressively complete performance”.

Fitted across a wide range of models throughout the market, evo tested the 225/40 R18 from a range of competitor brands, with the majority of testing taking place at the extensive facilities of the MIRA proving ground.

The title praised the Continental’s abilities across areas such as wet handling and braking, taking top spot in both categories. On Continental’s wet handling evo commented: “‘Masterful’, we said of the Continental. There were some great performances on the wet circuit but the Conti still stood out, setting the fastest lap time, recording the highest lateral G, and scoring the highest subjective mark, too-it wasn’t bettered.”

The title went on to heap further praise on the ContiSportContact3 and its breadth of abilities, adding: “Especially impressive was its stability-It barely acknowledged puddles that were registered by its closest rivals, and its traction was superb. ‘Amazingly surefooted and grippy; the limit is your nerve.’”

Jonathan Hayter, product manager at Continental, said; “This additional win for the ContiSportContact3 is an excellent endorsement for our product range. The ultra high performance tyre has proven its worth yet again next to competitor products and has displayed its prowess in a number of disciplines including wet handling and braking.”

At etyres the protection of the environment is a major concern and we dispose of your old rubber in the most ecologically friendly way possible.

We use carefully selected disposal companies and the tyres are sent to remould manufacturers or used in road construction, as fuel in power stations or even sometimes used for sea defences.

However, illegal tyre dumping is becoming an increasingly serious threat to the environment as unscrupulous traders use the business to make easy money.

The scam has prompted one of the latest victims to issue a warning to other landowners.

The landowner from Towyn, near Abergele, Conwy, was approached by a man who wanted to store tyres on the plot which he said he intended to recycle.

Initially more than 20,000 were initially stored on land at Towyn near Abergele, Conwy.

She said: “It sounded a good idea. He did have some licences to transport the tyres and I just thought, ‘yes, this looks a good deal’.”

Several weeks later the man said he had got some money available to buy a machine to “crumb” the tyres, she said.

“The machine never arrived and by this time he’d filled the unit up with more and more tyres, and the Environment Agency got involved.”

Initially Ms Burt said she did not think the situation was too bad, then she realised the cost of removing the tyres would approach £30,000.

Now she has warned landlords approached to thoroughly vet potential tenants, even visiting places where they had been before.

“I don’t think the idea they had initially was what they wanted to do. They did want to con me,” she added.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Denna Bowman

A survey by Continental tyres has revealed that 14 per cent of UK commuters car-share.

According to the study carried out for the tyres manufacturer, the environmental impact of motoring is the fourth most important consideration when commuters plan their journey to work.

The biggest concern that prompted people to find an alternative was the volume of traffic and the lack of available parking.

Half of all Brits say they will leave their car at home if fuel costs rise further, however 45 per cent of those using public transport now would switch to their car if petrol prices drop.

Tim Bailey, head of safety at Continental tyres, said: “What is clear is that people still appreciate the freedom and flexibility of driving and that sets a challenge and an opportunity for manufacturers.

“Three-quarters of us want more fuel efficient cars and nearly half would consider buying a hybrid motor.

“Car makers have invested considerable time and effort into technologies for bio-diesel engines and electric powered vehicles and as a result these are becoming a more popular consideration.

“Continental is also making significant investment in fuel efficient tyres for cars and is now developing new designs specifically for electric vehicles”.

The study of 2,000 motorists for established the routine and habits of commuters as well as their preferences.

It revealed that commuters will spend 58 working weeks - more than a year of their lives - sitting in traffic as part of their daily journey to work.

The survey also claimed that just over half, 51 per cent, of the respondents identified negative ways in which their commute affected their performance at work citing issues like feeling stressed and lacking energy due to delays.