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08

Self-Inflating Tires…Soon To Be A Reality?

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Driving around on underinflated tires is just a bad idea all the way around. Underinflated tires increase a car’s rolling resistance, meaning a drop in fuel efficiency since it takes more energy to move the vehicle down the road.

A single tire that’s down by ten pounds of air means a 3.3 percent drop in fuel economy…multiply that by all four tires, and you can figure on giving up ten percent of your gas mileage. The added friction and rolling resistance also means more heat is generated, and heat is the enemy of the internal structure of a tire. That heat will damage a tire to the point of failure. Studies show that underinflated tires are a full 25 percent more likely to fail, and at least half of one-car accidents involve a tire problem as a factor. And still, it’s estimated that 60 to 80 percent of the vehicles on the road are rolling on tires that are low on air.

The tire pressure monitoring systems on newer cars are all well and good, but what can be done to stabilize tire pressure in vehicles, especially when many drivers just ignore it?

Self-inflating tires are on the horizon. For military vehicles and heavy trucks, self-inflating tires have been around for a while, but they always involved a compressor or air reservoir on the vehicle to supply air. There are now a couple of new, innovative designs for self-inflating tires:

  • A system from SIT uses a tube chamber near the bead of the tire wall. At its lowest point, the tube is kept closed with the normal deformation of a tire due to the weight of the vehicle. The portion that’s squeezed closed constantly changes as the tire rolls. If the tire pressure drops, sensors and an automatic pressure regulator kick in and the squeezing/releasing action of the tube begins to suck in atmospheric air. When the tire reaches its proper pressure again, a check valve prevents the tube from introducing any more air. The SIT design actually won the 2009 Tire Technology of the Year award at the Tire Technology Expo.
     
  •  A system designed by Halo uses a pendulum-type mass that’s suspended at the center of the truck wheel. As the wheel rolls, the pendulum swings and drives a self-contained pump which adds air until the desired air pressure is reached. This five-pound unit mounts directly to the wheel’s axle cap, not unlike a hub odometer. While it’s currently only available for heavy trucks, buses and tractor-trailers, the Halo system has been tested for over 8 million miles on various vehicles.

While these self-inflation designs may not be widely used yet, they point the way to a time when having to worry about tire inflation will be a thing of the past. What kind of shape are your tires in? Have you checked their inflation level lately? Give us a call and make an appointment at the shop and let us have a look at your tires!

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The GOODYEAR FALL PROMOTION EVENT is a manufacturer’s online rebate. This is a consumer tire rebate event for select Goodyear tires. To qualify for this event, you must purchase your eligible tires between September 9, 2024 and the expiry date of December 31, 2024. One (1) rebate form per sales receipt/invoice. Limit one (1) online rebate per qualifying purchase, per visit. Limit four (4) rebates per individual consumer, per promotion period. Federal and provincial taxes are calculated on the selling price before the rebate. Minimum purchase of a set of four (4) tires is required to receive the full rebate amount. Rebates are also available per tire on a prorated basis with a minimum purchase of four (4) tires and a maximum purchase of six (6) tires per sales receipt/invoice. The consumer must submit the rebate form online along with a copy of the sales receipt/ invoice on or before January 31, 2025. Offer is only open to residents of Canada and is only valid for tire purchases from a participating Canadian retailer that operates a retail location in Canada. This rebate offer cannot be combined with any other Goodyear rebate offer. This is a consumer rebate that also applies to business-to-business purchases, excluding tires sold to national accounts, government accounts, P&R accounts, secondary supply points, other retailers or any other delivery for the account of Goodyear. All sales receipts/invoices submitted must include detailed product and customer sold-to information to be eligible for rebates. The participating retailer is solely responsible for determining the selling price of the tires without direction from Goodyear. Visit goodyear.ca or see a participating retailer for more details.

Aditional terms and conditions: Goodyear reserves the right to substitute a cheque of equal value in lieu of a Goodyear Prepaid Mastercard® or Virtual Account at its discretion. Fraudulent submissions will not be honoured and may be prosecuted. Goodyear is not responsible for non-complying rebate submissions. Non-complying rebate submissions will not be honoured, acknowledged or returned. Void where taxed, restricted or prohibited by law. All decisions made by Goodyear (or its authorized representatives) relating to the validity of any submissions are final and binding. This promotion is subject to all federal, provincial, and local laws and regulations. Retain copies of the materials you submit.

Tire rebate will be issued in the form of one (1) Goodyear Mastercard Prepaid Card or Virtual Account. Card/Virtual Account is issued by Peoples Trust Company under licence from Mastercard International. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. No cash access or recurring payments. Card can be used where Mastercard is accepted. Virtual Account can be used online or for phone/mail orders where Mastercard is accepted. Card/Virtual Account valid for up to six (6) months; unused funds will be forfeited after the valid thru date. Card terms and conditions apply.

2Service rebate: Offer valid with a minimum qualifying service addition. Minimum purchase of $150 required to get $50 rebate on qualifying service, including tire installation, parts and labour. Qualifying service purchase must be made with the purchase of a set of four (4) qualifying Goodyear tires from September 9, 2024 to the expiry date of December 31, 2024 and only at participating Canadian Goodyear Tire & Service Network retailers. Offer is only open to residents of Canada with mailing addresses in Canada. Tire purchase, shop supplies, disposal fees and taxes are excluded from this offer. Cannot be combined with other Goodyear service offers.

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