Progress with Low-profile Tyres
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I NCREASING use of low-profile tyres as replacements for twins on lorries was predicted last week by Raymond C. Firestone, president of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. of America. The forecast follows agreement in America on standard sizes for the new tyre and the announcement by Firestone that its Duplex tyre is now in production for marketing through normal channels.
Mr. Firestone said the idea of a single, wider tyre to replace duals could lead to extensive redesigning of vehicles. He said it appears that 10 sizes will be produced—three for light commercials and seven for heavier lorries and buses. The approved sizes range from 10-16.5 to 19.5-19.5. Firestone is currently producing six of these sizes and expects to add two more shortly.
Ford, Fruehauf, General Motors, Mack and White are among more than 35 manufacturers who have already delivered new vehicles on low-profile tyres. Many of the initial requests have been received from logging companies, operators of ready-mix concrete vehicles and other vehicles engaged in frequent on-and-off-the-highway haulage, where flotation and mobility are important. Others are expressing interest from the standpoint of both bigger payloads and less maintenance.
What is almost certainly the first vehicle equipped with Goodyear lowprofile tyres to enter service in the U.K. began work on Wednesday with P. Crate Ltd., Grove Road, London, S.W.19. The vehicle is an A.E.C. Mercury 8-cu.-yd. tipper used on general site clearance work and the tyres fitted-18-21, 18-ply rating—were specially imported from the U.S.A.
Mr. P. Crate, jun., who is responsible for the specifications and maintenance of vehicles in the fleets of P. Crate and associated concerns, said that he had had these tyres fitted experimentally with the aim of improving flotation on sites, reducing " bat " damage and making cleaning easier by eliminating the trapping of material between twin tyres. If the low-profile tyres are successful (as he expects), they will be specified on future tippers ordered.
A Simms Factory Acquired THE Ponders End Works (" The River' side Works ") of Simms Motor Units Ltd. has, after extensive negotiations, been acquired by Autolite Motor Products Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ford Motor Co. Ltd. The Ponders End Works makes vehicle electrical equipment, and its acquisition was foreshadowed in The Commercial Motor last September.
The supply and manufacture of Simms electrical products will be unaffected.