Page 26 - CTB N12 - 2015-04

BUS & COACH TYRES
with all sectors of the truck, bus and coach market. The most striking factor over the past 12 months has been the significant increase in sales of quality budget truck tyres. Customers are increasingly recognising the price-performance package offered by these products.”
A recent addition to the range of products available from KRT is the new Blacklion BT160 385/65R22.5 trailer tyre, for regional haulage applications, which offers fleet owners a quality alternative to other budget tyre brands. The tyre is backed by full after sales and warranty services.
With budget performing strongly and premium maintaining its share of sales for KRT, the squeeze across the industry has been felt by retreads and some mid-range brands.
“There’s no doubt that retreads
are under pressure with the narrowing price point between new budget tyres and retreaded products,” explains Tim Bader. “Mid-range is also a tough market, but there will always be customers who value well established brands such as Uniroyal and Matador, that offer proven performance, consistency of supply and investment in their product range.” Bader points to the recent example of Uniroyal, with its new FH 40 steering axle
and DH 40 drive axle tyres in 315/80 R22.5, for both bus and truck applications.
KRT’s breadth and depth of exclusive brands is backed up with major investment in customer service and product availability. With an inventory of more than £10 million worth of tyres in stock, the vast majority of customer orders are supplied direct from the warehouse network. Many city-based customers receive same day delivery and collection is also available for dealers based close to the company’s warehousing and logistics centres.
With such major stockholdings, KRT supply a full range of products, not simply the faster moving lines. Its TBR offer includes Long & Regional haul, Mixed Service, On/Off road, Coach and Urban tyres.
The 315/70 X Line Energy tyres – designed to operate on long- distance journeys at a high average speed – showed around a five per cent advantage in fuel efficiency over the X MultiWay 3D tyres, which themselves blend strong fuel performance with excellent mileage potential for national and regional operations on a variety of road surfaces.
Les Bishop, Product Marketing Manager at MAN Truck and Bus UK, says: “The fuel efficiency achieved by MAN’s EfficientLine2 is a result of a carefully selected combination of components – not least energy-efficient tyres.
“The intensive week-long testing process revealed that the ideal fitment for us was Michelin’s 315/70 X Line Energy tyres; which is now the ideal fitment for new
provide a greater contact area with the road surface and promote even wear, with a high degree of tyre stability and a lower centre of gravity for improved vehicle handling. What’s more, with an 8,000kg front axle rating, they are also ideally suited for the additional unladen front axle weights imposed by most Euro VI vehicles.
“It’s the little things that add up to make the big difference when it comes to fuel efficiency,” adds Bishop. “This latest generation of Michelin X Line Energy tyres are well suited to both long-distance motorway driving in terms of fuel efficiency, and in durability and traction when dealing with the UK’s many roundabouts and A-roads.”
MAN’s Euro VI EfficientLine2 features a number of fuel-
MAN to fit X-Line Energy as Preferred Option on EfficientLine 2
EfficientLine 2 models rolling off the production line.”
He adds: “These fuel trials allow us to gather detailed feedback and results, which then guides us to select the optimum tyre for an individual class of truck. Michelin tyres frequently come out above other premium brands.
“We generally talk about how fitting a Michelin tyre will give you two to three per cent better fuel economy over anything else – and that’s before you get into the specialised X Line Energy fitments for long- distance trunking.”
Michelin’s 315/70-series fitments feature a wider nominal section width and lower profile than traditional 295/80 tyres previously favoured in the UK. They
saving enhancements, including cruise control, air pressure management and a lighter aluminium fuel tank, compressed air tank and wheel rims.
The vehicle can also be equipped with a tyre pressure monitoring system, which could help drivers ensure the trucks’ Michelin X Line Energy tyres are performing to the maximum in terms of longevity, mileage potential, safety, traction and – crucially for the cost-conscious operators of MAN’s EfficientLine2 – fuel savings.
MAN has chosen Michelin’s 315/70 R 22.5 X Line Energy tyres as preferred choice for its new EfficientLine2 model, after intensive testing revealed the tyres’ fuel-saving credentials perfectly suit the long-haul truck’s drive for efficiency.
In trials conducted with the support of Michelin’s UK technical team, low rolling resistance Michelin 315/70 X
Line Energy tyres ran a 130 mile test route for a week. The 315/70 R 22.5 X Line Energy tyres were being tested directly alongside sets of Michelin’s X MultiWay 3D ‘regional’ tread pattern tyres in 295/80 R 22.5, 315/70 R 22.5 and 315/80 R 22.5 sizes. The tyres were fitted to a MAN TGX XLX 26.440, pulling a fully-laden tri-axle Don-Bur trailer.
26 Commercial Tyre Business