0 Warning for drivers in West Brisbane: driver fatigue and poor tyres kill

Tips to stay safe on the roads during school holidays

It’s that time of year again – school holidays. It means many of you could be packing up and heading out on a road trip from West Brisbane into the outback or interstate. Driver fatigue is a factor in as many as one in three road accidents. Poor tyres are a factor in almost as many road accidents. We want you and your family to stay safe, no matter whether you are on a shopping trip in West Brisbane or a family holiday to Perth.

In this article, you’ll read my tips to prevent driver fatigue and ensure your tyres will do the job they are designed for.

How do you know you’re getting tired behind the wheel?

Driver fatigue makes you a worse driver. Your reaction times are slower, and you’ll find it harder to concentrate on the road ahead. It leads to poor judgement. In the worst case, you could suffer a fatal accident.

There are some tell-tale signs that you are suffering from driver fatigue. These include:

• Heavy eyes and yawning
• Daydreaming behind the wheel
• Variable driving speeds
• Cramping in your legs and arms
• Impatience behind the wheel

You may also find that your braking becomes more lethargic, your steering less pronounced, and you change gears with a crunch. As tiredness increases, you’re likely to drift across lanes.

When are you most at risk of driver fatigue?

Many fatigue-related road accidents occur at night. However, contrary to popular myth, driver fatigue can happen at any time and isn’t confined to long-distance journeys.

Another myth is that it is the act of driving that makes drivers tired. It’s true that if you drive for hours upon hours, you are going to get tired. But most driver fatigue is a problem caused by lack of sleep before a road trip. You may work long hours or inconsistent shifts. You may have problems sleeping. Perhaps a newborn baby has been keeping you awake most of the night. There are many reasons why you could be tired before you sit behind the wheel.

How to avoid driver fatigue

When your body is in desperate need of sleep, your brain will shut it down. You get advanced warning of this – all those signs of fatigue we discussed a couple of paragraphs earlier. You should listen to them, and take a break. To avoid driver fatigue:

• Only travel for a maximum of ten hours in a day
• During a road trip, take regular breaks every couple of hours
• Share the driving if possible
• Avoid driving when you would normally be asleep

If you’re planning a long trip, make sure you sleep well the night before – and don’t drink alcohol before you go to bed. Alcohol stays in your system for 24 hours and makes you fatigued.

Now you’re fit for the road, are your tyres?

Okay, you’re ready to drive and fit for your family’s road trip. But are your tyres? When was the last time you checked the tread and tyre pressure? Here are a few basic tips to make sure your tyres are as fit for the journey as you are:

• A couple of days before you are due to leave, inspect your tyres. Make sure they don’t have bald patches, scuffs, bulges and scrapes. Legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm. As soon as the tread reduces to below 3mm, tyre performance will be adversely affected. At 2mm, your braking distance is severely lengthened. If you are concerned about tread depth at all, bring your vehicle to our West Brisbane tyre shop. It isn’t worth the risk to do nothing.
• Before you leave, check tyre air pressures. Make sure they are at the recommended levels – you’ll find these on the tyre placard on the door jamb or in your vehicle owner’s manual.
• Make sure that each tyre valve is capped. It protects against dust and water.
• Don’t forget to make the same checks on your spare tyre.
• Don’t forget to check the tyres on a trailer or caravan if you are towing.

If you haven’t changed your tyres for five years or more, get them checked. Even if a tyre looks good, tyre rubber degrades because of the effects of weather. Particularly here in Brisbane, UV rays from the sun deplete tyre strength.

Be safe, not sorry. Don’t take any chances. Contact us today and book an appointment for a tyre check.

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 Continental’s latest truck tyre pressure monitoring system is unveiled in Brisbane

Greater safety, lower costs and greener fleets promised

The Brisbane Truck Show is Australia’s premier truck event. This year’s show held over three days in mid-May at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. In its fiftieth year, as ever, the show had something for everyone. Corner for the kids, a hub for those seeking a new career in the truck industry, and the fantastic Plaza Terrace BBQ Bar. For those wanting a little up-market R&R, the Piano Bar beckoned.

One of the favourites of the show is the Heavy Vehicle Industry Innovation Centre. This year the exhibits didn’t disappoint. They never do. Continental took this opportunity to unveil its new truck tyre check products. And they look pretty good.

The new all-seeing eye for your truck tyres

The best truck tyre pressure monitoring systems help a fleet save on fuel costs and increase mileage. They help reduce costs further by increasing the ability to retread the tyres. Equally important, these systems increase safety by reducing the potential for tyre failure.

Easy-to-install tyre checking

Continental’s ContiPressureCheck is easy to install and mounted inside the tyre. You don’t have to have Continental tyres fitted to benefit from the system, either – it’s compatible with all tyre brands.

The sensor monitors the tyre continuously for both temperature and pressure. This data flow can be integrated with an existing telematics system and viewed on an external device.

Giving control to fleet managers

Another tyre check system, the YardReader Station, lets fleet managers monitor the tyre pressures of their fleet. It reads the data from the ContiPressureCheck each time the truck passes the station in the fleet yard. The fleet manager is more able to control the fleet’s tyres, ensuring they are inflated to the correct pressure for load and driving conditions. This system is due to be released here in Australia within the next few months, at the same time as the new ContiConnect.

Analytics made easy – ContiConnect

ContiConnect has been designed specifically for commercial fleets. It monitors and analyses tyre data that has been collected by the YardReader Station from the ContiPressureCheck sensors in each truck’s tyres. A report sent to the fleet manager. In the report, recommendations made for any corrections that may be needed. It allows the fleet manager to be more proactive in taking action such as tyre maintenance.

The entire system configured to connect the entire fleet’s tyres for monitoring. It means that whether a vehicle is on the road for several days at a time, or in and out of the yard on a daily basis, the data is always relevant and ‘in date’. Receiver units connected in the depot or in vehicles that are on the road, with an online portal providing full reporting of performance and efficiency.

Fleet-friendly benefits

Tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) continue to evolve. The Continental system is an integrated system that works with existing systems and on all tyre brands.

Across an entire fleet, the effect of measuring, monitoring and correcting tyre pressures can be staggering. Mileage should increase as fuel consumption decrease. It is better for the environment as well as your bottom line.

With better tyre maintenance routines prompted by the reports produced by the Continental system, you should find that breakdowns caused by tyres minimised. It will slash your downtime, and increase the on-time delivery rates. Your drivers will be safer, as will other road users.

If you’d like more information about tyre pressure monitoring systems and how they could benefit your fleet, contact us today. Our mission is simple:

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 Six tyre myths burst forever

Are your tyre beliefs compromising your safety on Brisbane’s roads?

Most people hold a lot of common misconceptions about their tyres. Perhaps our fathers have taught us what they’ve been mistakenly taught by their fathers. Maybe what seems to be common sense, isn’t. Whatever the reason, if you follow these incorrect ‘tyre rules’ you could be putting yourself, your passengers, and other road users at risk.  Here are the six most common tyre myths I hear from customers.

1.    “There is no need to rotate tyres”

Most people have heard about the need to rotate tyres. Some drivers I’ve spoken to in Brisbane even think that rotating tyres is dangerous. Few believe that tyre rotation could save your life and protect your quality tyres.

Tyres wear differently depending upon where they are positioned on the vehicle. Rotating them evens out this wear and tear, and makes for a smoother and safer driving experience. It also helps to prolong the life of your tyres.

2.    “Used tyres are either great or rubbish”

Everyone has an opinion on used tyres and retreads. The majority either believe they are a bargain and perfectly usable, or that they should be avoided like the plague. The truth is that some used tyres are a bargain, especially if they are nearly new.

If you are considering buying new tyres, make sure you inspect them closely for wear, cuts, grazes and scars. A spare set of used tyres could be an investment worth making. If you do suffer a flat, you’ll have a replacement immediately handy.

3.    “There’s no need to check tyres”

If you think there is no need to check your tyres, you are not alone. You might also be one of the most dangerous drivers on Brisbane’s roads. The more experienced drivers are usually the ones that carry out regular tyre checks because they know how important it is. A bulging sidewall could be the warning of a blowout soon to happen.

If there is one habit you should adopt, it’s the four-minute tyre check that everyone should make.

4.    “If you inflate the tyre above its maximum pressure, it will burst”

The maximum pressure denoted on the sidewall indicates the maximum pressure at which the maximum load can be carried safely. A quality tyre won’t burst if inflated above the maximum pressure. However, you will want to avoid hitting a pothole at speed if your tyre is inflated to a very high pressure.

5.    “Unused tyres will last forever”

No, they won’t. Tyre rubber degrades even if the tyres aren’t driven on. Sun primarily degrades tyres. Even if you don’t drive many kilometres, you should consider changing your tyres a minimum of every five years – and certainly, have them checked by a specialist to make sure they are still robust and safe to use.

6.    “When you replace tyres, always put the new ones on the front axle”

It certainly sounds like the correct thing to do, but when you replace tyres, it’s the rear ones you should replace. Move the existing good tyres to the front, and put the new tyres on the rear. The reason you do this is that it is your rear tyres that give most stability to the car. They help maintain balance when you brake in wet conditions. It helps prevent skidding and spinning.

If your rear tyres have less tread than your front tyres, contact us today. Any delay in doing so could put you at risk, especially in poor driving conditions.

You should enjoy your driving, and know you’re safe while doing so. Your tyres are key to your safety on the road. Check them regularly, inflate correctly, and rotate regularly. Buy the best-quality tyres you can afford. And don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any doubts about the condition of your tyres here in West Brisbane.

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 How do Australia’s drivers know they need new tyres?

The easy way to check your tyre tread and stay safe on Brisbane’s roads

All Australian drivers understand that driving on illegal tyres puts them and other road users in danger. According to some studies, almost nine in ten Australians don’t know what the minimum tread depth is. In this article, we examine how to tell if your tread depth is too shallow, and that you need new tyres to stay safe and legal on Australia’s roads.

Legal minimums and tyre safety

The legal minimum tread depth in Australia is 1.5mm. It means that none of the treads across the entire tyre must be shallower than this. If it is, you are driving illegally. More importantly, you’re putting your life and the lives of your passengers and other road users in danger.

I’d argue that this minimum tread depth should be increased for safety reasons. Some manufacturers suggest that tyres should be changed when the depth reaches 3mm. I’d certainly argue for the minimum to be raised to 2mm. Why?

Tests have shown that below a depth of 2mm, the risk of having an accident increases dramatically. It is because traction and handling worsen. Braking distances are evidence of just how much more dangerous it is to drive on worn tyres. In the wet, and travelling at 80kph, on tyres with:

• 8mm tread depth, a car stops in 25.9 metres
• 3mm tread depth, a car stops in 31.7 metres
• 6mm tread depth, a car stops in 39.5 metres

On worn tyres, it’s going to take you a lot longer to stop. If you’re a driver, who loves to tailgate, think about this for a second. How old are your tyres? How new are the tyres on the car ahead? That extra stopping distance is the equivalent of three saloon cars. If you’re closer than this and the driver in front decides to stamp on his brakes, at 80kph you are likely to hit him. And that is your fault.

So, how long do tyres last on Australia’s roads?

Australia’s roads play a big part in determining how long a tyre will last. As does your driving style. If you’re a fast driver and brake hard, your tyres will wear out faster. If you drive on dirt tracks or poorly maintained roads, the rubber is more likely to be scraped and grazed. Vehicle design also impacts tyre wear, as does weather and climate. UV rays from the sun degenerate tyre rubber. And here in Brisbane, we have a lot of sun.

It’s impossible to say how long a tyre will last in Brisbane, or anywhere for that matter. There are so many factors involved. It is why you should conduct a regular tyre check. A few minutes each week could save your life.

How do you know your tyres must be changed?

When you are checking your tyres for tread wear, remember that the minimum legal requirement is 1.5mm. If there is less tread than this anywhere on the tyre, you must change it immediately.

It includes if you notice a bald patch, uneven wear, or wear on the inner or outer edges of the tyre. Any of these symptoms indicate that you may have a dangerous issue with the set-up of your vehicle. Most commonly this will be wheel balancing or wheel alignment. If this is the case, bring your vehicle to Darra Tyres, and we’ll run the necessary checks to make sure you are driving a safe vehicle and not a death trap.

Other signs of excessive wear or dangerous damage include:

• Wear down to the tread bar indicators. You should change tyres before this point.
• Sidewall damage, such as bubbling, chips and grazes. If you notice this type of damage, change your tyre immediately. Your risks of a blowout when travelling at speed are greatly increased when sidewall damage is present.

Good parallel parking technique will help to avoid tyre damage.

When did you last check your tread depth?

If you’re like most Australian drivers, it has probably been months since you last checked your tyres’ tread depth. Go and check them now:

• Check the tread bar indicators on the tyre.
• Use a tread depth indicator.
• Use a 10 cent coin. Place it in the tyre grooves. If the outer band of the coin is obscured, tread depth is above the legal minimum.

When should you change your tyres?

There are several reasons you may need to change your tyres. These include sidewall damage. Many manufacturers recommend changing tyres when they are five years old, irrespective of use and wear.

Although the legal minimum tread is 1.5mm, you should consider changing them if the depth is worn to 3mm. If you are not sure whether your tyres are safe, or need any tyre advice, contact us today. Our mission is simple:

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 Can low rolling resistance truck tyres save you money?

How not to jeopardise driver safety when you save on fuel costs

As a fleet manager, you’ll know that a truck’s tyres could be responsible for as much as 30% of fuel consumption. It is because contact with the ground causes a truck tyre to heat up and deform. It is rolling resistance. The higher the rolling resistance, the harder the engine must work to turn the wheels, and the higher your fuel consumption.

It stands to reason that a low rolling resistance tyre (LRRT) will reduce fuel consumption and cut costs. But are LRRTs worth the extra cost? And how do you choose the best for your trucks?

A little history of LRRTs

Low rolling resistance truck tyres have been around for decades. Michelin pioneered the technology back in the mid-1990s. Since then, the major tyre manufacturers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on research and development in this field. Their aim is to sell more tyres, of course. To do this, they must produce tyres which are more reliable, and which deliver better energy performance with a longer life expectancy. Not only this, but fleet managers want their drivers to benefit from a better grip on the roads.

LRR technology is not simply about lowering running costs. If your drivers’ safety is compromised, better fuel consumption means nothing.

What affects your choice of LRRTs?

An LRRT has a different rubber composition to standard tyres. They are designed differently, and the tread is constructed to reduce resistance. They run more smoothly. However, it is not enough to simply buy the tyre with the lowest rolling resistance. The tyre that produces the lowest resistance on the road depends on several factors, including:

• The type of vehicle on which the truck tyres will be fitted
• The engine type
• Loading
• Axle torque
• Type of roads and the conditions driven in, including weather and traffic
• Driving style
• Maintenance program

What other factors affect your choice of a truck tyre?

In addition to rolling resistance, you will probably also be concerned about surface grip and noise level. There will always be a compromise between different tyres and the business they are required to do in your fleet. Consider the advice provided by the manufacturers of your vehicles and tyre specialists.

Going green – an added benefit of LRRTs

A by-product of driving on LRRTs is that they reduce your CO₂ numbers. Less fuel is consumed, so less harmful gases are released. If using LRRTs reduces fuel consumption by 1 litre per 100 kilometres in your fleet, this is equivalent to 2.66kg lower CO₂ emissions per 100 kilometres. It is a reduction of 2.6 tonnes per 100,000 km!

No compromise on comfort

When a driver is in the seat of a truck for hours on end, their comfort is imperative. Fully inflated tyres are designed to soften the effects of potholes, cracks, bumps, and other imperfections on our roads. The major brands include comfort in their tyre tests, and LRRTs benefit from some of the highest comfort ratings.

However, the comfort level is not entirely the result of the type of tyre you equip your trucks with. It is also dependent on the even distribution of load, tyre inflation, driving style, and maintenance of tyres and vehicle.

More expensive, but cheaper!

LRRTs tend to be more expensive than other tyres. However, this initial outlay can be quickly recouped. These tyres give optimal performance when matched correctly to vehicle and use. Your trucks will cover more miles between fuel refills. Low rolling resistance tyres pay for themselves.

How do you select the best LRRT for your fleet?

With every new generation of low rolling resistance tyre, the fuel consumption numbers improve. So does longevity. However, unless driver safety can be maintained or improved, then the extra mileage and lower fuel costs are irrelevant.

When deciding on which tyre is the best for your fleet, consider what it will be used for, where and how. There is a reason why tyre manufacturers develop a range of tyres for different uses. The strain placed on a construction vehicle tyre is different to that experienced by a tyre used for a general transport vehicle. Long-distance journeys wear tyres in a different way to urban delivery routes.

For the best advice for your fleet tyre needs, contact us today. Our mission is simple:

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 How to avoid tyre damage when you parallel park in Brisbane

The five rules of parallel parking

I see a variety of damage to cars and tyres in Brisbane. The odd scratch here and there, perhaps a tiny dent or ding in a wing. Front and rear bumpers are prone to damage but look at most car doors, and you’ll notice tiny dints and marks – parking spaces never give enough door clearance, and even the smallest brush by an opening car door can leave a lifelong scar. Even when your car is parked on your drive, it runs the risk of a collision with the handlebars of your kid’s bike.

Some of the worst damage I notice is caused by gutter rash, the scraping of your wheel against the kerb when you’re parallel parking. If you hit the concrete kerb when parallel parking, your rims are going to suffer. Scratches, scrapes and scores will transform great-looking wheels into eyesores. But this is just aesthetic.

What’s most important is the damage you do to your tyres when you kerb them during a parking manoeuvre. You could find they get pinched, gouged, or split. Your sidewall strength is compromised, and this could have fatal consequences if you suffer a tyre blowout.

So, how do you avoid damaging your tyres and wheels when parallel parking? Here are five rules that will help you keep your tyres and wheels in tip-top condition when parallel parking in Brisbane.

1.    Learn how to parallel park

First and foremost, learn how to park. Pick a spot that is big enough, overshoot a little, and reverse slowly into the parking place. Turn your hazard lights on, and move the steering wheel first one way and then the other to reverse in. Move slowly, and steer quickly. We all hit the kerb now and again, but if you are reversing slowly, there’ll be very little (if any) damage to your tyre.

This YouTube video tutoring parallel parking is one of the best parking lessons I’ve watched.

2.    Know the size of your vehicle

Most gutter rash occurs because the driver isn’t sure of the size of the vehicle. It is why gutter rash is more common when you’ve changed cars, or you’re using a different car temporarily. There are a lot of vehicles that get driven out of the showroom and within a few hours have nasty wheel scrapes.

Learn how big your car is, and where the front and rear wheels are located. It will help you to park and avoid needing a taxi to get you from the car to the kerb.

3.    Use your mirrors!

You have mirrors for a reason, and they move for a reason. One of the best innovations in vehicle technology has been the electric wing mirror. Move the mirror, point it at the kerb, and watch for your rear tyre nearing the concrete. It’s the very best indicator of when you need to turn the steering wheel. So, you must spend a few seconds readjusting your mirrors for normal driving – isn’t this better than expensive (and dangerous) damage to your wheels and tyres?

4.    Fit the right-sized tyres

The rubber of your tyres helps to protect the wheel if you do kerb it. A correctly fitted tyre will create a shield which prevents your wheel from being gouged by a concrete kerb. If the tyre is too narrow, not only is it dangerous to drive on, but it exposes the tyre to kerb damage. So always make sure you have the right-sized tyre fitted to the right-sized wheel.

5.    What if you hit the kerb?

The harder you hit the kerb, the more damage you will cause your tyres and wheels. If you puncture the tyre, it will deflate quickly. If you don’t puncture the tyre, the sidewall could be compromised to such an extent that it becomes dangerous to drive on. You may not realise the danger until you are on the motorway, travelling at speed.

In our next blog, we’ll explain a simple and effective tyre checking process. In the meantime, if you have kerbed your wheels when parallel parking, don’t take any chances with your safety. Take your car to the nearest tyre shop, and get the tyres checked by a professional. This check could be the few minutes that saves your life.

If you’re in West Brisbane, contact us and let us know you’re on your way. We’ll be ready and waiting to make sure your tyres do what they are designed to do – keep you and your passengers safe.

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 To ballast or not to ballast – what’s best for your agricultural tyres?

Should you ballast your tractor tyres, and what is best to do so?

You may add fluids to your agricultural tyres for extra traction and to lower the centre of gravity of your vehicle. If your tyres slip on wet surfaces, adding some fluid should help to improve agricultural tyre performance.

Reasons to ballast agricultural tyres

There are several reasons to ballast agricultural tyres. Perhaps the three most common are:

• Modern 4×4 tractors have a higher centre of gravity, because of their taller tyres. Especially on hilly surfaces, the higher the centre of gravity the more liable you are to slip or topple. By adding ballast, your tractor could work more effectively and safely.
• Also, if you have a bucket loader. If you accidentally overload the bucket, the rear tyres could lift. That producing a heart-thumping moment. Adding ballast to the rear tyres on your agricultural vehicle makes tractor operation safer in these circumstances.
• With a heavy rear plough attached, adding ballast to your front tyres will increase steerability.

However, when you add ballast, ride quality can be adversely impacted. It is particularly true if you drive on the tarmac at higher speeds. When ballasting your tyres, you’ll need to consider what work you are doing, what terrain is being driven on, and what fluid is preferred.

What’s the best ballast fluid for agricultural tyres?

Farmers are super resourceful and cautious with money. That’s a great combination, and, when it comes to ballasting tyres, has led to some innovative solutions. Here are a few, with the pros and cons:

·      Water

The cheapest ballast material. However, water freezes. Now, while this shouldn’t pose a problem in most Queensland winters, if we have prolonged cold spells like we did in 2014 (when the temperature fell as low as -6.1ᵒC in Oakey) you could find that water ballast damages your tyres. This damage could include the tyre coming off the wheel rim.

·      Calcium Chloride

To get over the problem of freezing water ballast, you might want to add calcium chloride. It will take the freezing temperature down to around -50ᵒC. On the downside, while a calcium chloride solution is cost-effective, it can rust your wheels. Any money you save on ballast fluid pales into insignificance against the cost of a new set of tractor wheels.

·      Antifreeze

Although not the cheapest fluid to use as ballast, antifreeze removes the disadvantages of calcium chloride while retaining the resistance to freezing. However, it is toxic. For this reason, if you are thinking about adding antifreeze to water, use propylene glycol and not ethylene glycol.

·      Beet Juice

Beet juice is a liquid tyre ballast. It’s heavier than water (so you need less of it), non-toxic, and non-corrosive. However, these benefits come at a cost: beet juice is not cheap.

·      Foam

Foam-filled tyres possibly provide the best ride. However, if you need to change the tyre, it will need to be cut off the wheel. Also, the pressure cannot be changed on foam-filled tyres, so you won’t be able to adjust to varying conditions. The expense of filling with foam also means you are best to fill new (or nearly new) tyres to get maximum life.

What is your favourite ballast fluid?

The above fluids are the most common used for ballast on agricultural tyres. I’ve also heard of farmers using windscreen washer (it’s cheap and shares many of the qualities of antifreeze). Whatever your favourite ballast fluid, you’ll need to use a filling device – and making use of gravity removes the strain of pumping fluid into the tyre, after deflating the tyre and removing the valve core. By locating the valve at different positions (e.g. 4 o’clock or 2 o’clock) you will automatically regulate how much fluid you are adding to the tyre.

What is your favoured ballast fluid? Have you got any tips for other farmers in Queensland? Contact us and let us know.

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 Continental Tyres in Brisbane – the tyre of choice?

Is Continental the safest tyres for Australian drivers?

Continental tyres in Brisbane have been sweeping up Best Tyre awards over the last few months. Awards have been flooding in from around the world. The best and safest performance tyres in Australia is the latest. It comes hot on the heels of success as producing the winner of the 2016 tyre test, as selected by the UK’s number one private hire and chauffeur magazine, Professional Driver. And between these two accolades, Continental tyres is given first place in Auto Bild magazine’s sportscar summer tyre test.

Which of Continental’s tyres is going gold and platinum? And how they selected as Australia’s best performance tyre? Let’s start with the tyre selected by Auto Bild.

The SportContact 6 tyre – “fast, crisp, faultless”

Auto Bild’s sportscar testers had nothing but praise for Continental’s SportContact 6 tyre. They tested the tyre on track, driving on both wet and dry asphalt. The tyre put through ten disciplines in both conditions and pitted against stiff competition from nine other tyres.

Testers praised the tyre for its handling, and precise steering response calls it “Fast, crisp and faultless on a wet track. The stuff champions are made of.”

Continental have reformulated the composition of the tread and redesigned tyre construction to give us mere mortals driving on Australia’s roads the same performance benefits. The range spans 50 rim sizes, from 19 to 23 inches.

ContiPremiumContact 5 – the No. 1 choice for UK professional drivers

Professional drivers want safety and efficiency from their tyres. Continental’s ContiPremiumContact 5 tyre delivers both. That’s the conclusion of  Professional Driver magazine. It names the tyre as the winner of its 2016 tyre test. It said the tyre is strongest in wet grip and fuel economy and provided the drive that is “easily the most comfortable”.

The tests conducted took tyres through their paces, examining performance, quality, safety and comfort. The 3D edges give the tyre more contact with the road when braking, and its eco-contour reduces energy loss and thus minimises fuel consumption.

Scott Benbow, the Product Marketing Manager at Continental, said, “This win for the Continental ContiPremiumContact 5 is an excellent endorsement for our product range, and commitment to constantly improving our tyres performance. Suitable for a wide range of cars from compact to luxury, the ContiPremiumContact 5 boasts extremely short braking distances on dry and wet roads. Utilising the superb handling characteristics from the ContiSportContact 5 and the low rolling resistance characteristics from the ContiEcoContact 5, it offers a top choice for professional drivers.”

ContiSportContact 5 P – The performance tyre for Australians

Now to Continental’s latest award, currently celebrated here in Australia.

MOTOR magazine tested a huge range of brands and tyres in its 2017 tyre test. Its objective was simple: find the best tyre choice for Australians. Tests at Sydney Dragway included:

• Slalom runs
• Dry braking
• Wet braking
• Gymkhana
• Wet lateral G-exam

Continental’s ContiSportContact 5 came top of the pile. Impressively, it proved to be the best tyre for braking in both wet and dry conditions and scooped either second or third place in the other three test categories.

Test driver Warren Luff described the tyre as “Consistent from front to back, and lively with a bit of an edge”, commending it for its “great wet weather performance”.

Continental – an investment in your safety

It has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into tyre research and development and is producing innovative tyres that slash braking distances and fuel consumption while increasing passenger comfort and safety.

These tyres are proving to be the choice of professionals. They are beating other tyre manufacturers in test after test around the world. If you consider Continental’s track record of safety, performance, and economy, it’s easy to see why they don’t sell at budget prices. Then again, what price do you put on road safety?

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 How to stop your commercial vehicle tyres being stolen

Tips to deter wheel and tyre theft in Brisbane

Commercial vehicle tyres can be an expensive investment. If you own a light commercial vehicle or ute and have ever bought a set of new tyres, you’ll know how expensive they can be. So, you’ll want to protect them.

For example, you’ll take precautions which help commercial vehicle tyres last longer. You’ll make sure they’re inflated to the correct pressure, that you don’t overload your vehicle, and that you rotate your tyres at regular intervals. You’ll also make sure you use a simple tyre cleaning routine to improve safety and increase tyre life.

According to a Carsafe.com.au study, 148 cars are stolen every day in Australia, and one of the country’s hotspots for car crime is Brisbane. What many don’t realise is that your tyres and wheels are at risk of being stolen, while the rest of the vehicle is left behind. So how do you protect your tyres from being stolen?

Here are five things you can do today to stop your tyres disappearing tonight:

1.    Keep your car in the garage

Okay, so this is an obvious tip. But you might be surprised at just how many people have a garage and never use it to house their ute. My advice is to get your vehicle off the street and under lock and key.

2.    No garage? Use a camera

If you don’t have a garage, consider putting a camera in a prominent position. Often, the sight of a camera is enough to deter thieves from attempting to steal your wheels. Today, these cameras don’t have to be expensive and can be linked wirelessly to your home PC.

3.    Alarm your vehicle

It’s not easy to remove wheels from a vehicle, and probable that the thieves will bump it. With an alarm fitted, they’ll be chased off by the shrill sound that wakes up the whole street. To stop the thieves before they start, put a sticker in the window warning them that there is an alarm fitted. Prevention is better than cure.

4.    Plug your lugs

There are a couple of things you can do with your wheel lugs to put off thieves. The first is to cover them. What can’t be seen can’t be coveted. Use a wheel cap to hide the lugs. That little extra effort that the thieves will need to exert could be enough to encourage them to move on. Thieves are lazy. That’s why they steal. If they didn’t mind a bit of hard graft, they’d work for their money.

Even better than a cover is to purchase specialised wheel lugs. To remove these, a thief will need a special tool. The chances of them having this are slim to none.

5.    Take care about parking

With those new set of tyres fitted, you’ll take care not to kerb your wheels. Take as much care about where you park as you do about how you park:

• Instead of saving a couple of dollars by parking on the street, pay for a ticket to put your car in a covered car park that has security cameras.
• If you’re out at night, park under a street light on a busy road which benefits from lots of pedestrians.

Having your wheels stolen is a massive inconvenience and a pretty expensive one. Not as bad as having your whole vehicle taken, but in the frustration stakes, not far off. Wheel theft, like car theft, is an opportunity theft. If you take the right precautions, you’ll make life difficult for thieves. You’ll remove the opportunity.

We’ve got more than 100 years’ experience in the tyre business. You’ll find our approach is personal but professional. We care about your safety, your property, and our reputation. Contact us (by Skype, telephone, or on our contact form), and we’ll help you make the best choice of commercial tyres for your vehicle, driving needs and pocket. And we’ll give you a few tips on how to keep the thieves at bay in Brisbane.

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood

0 What new tyres should you buy in Brisbane?

Tips for buying new tyres in Brisbane

If you’ve never bought new tyres in Brisbane, it can be difficult knowing which are best for your vehicle. The answer isn’t always as simple as matching new tyre size and loading with that recommended on the tyre placard (which you’ll find on the driver’s side door jamb or glove box). Nor is it as easy as buying ‘brand X’ because your friend told you they are the best.

In this post, you’ll learn what factors you should take into consideration when buying new tyres in Brisbane.

Where you live and how you drive

The main factors that affect tyre choice include the type of road you drive on most, and how you drive. For example, do you:

• Drive on motorways at high speeds?
• Live in an area that is surrounded by potholed side roads?
• Brake heavily when cornering?

Did you buy your car new or second-hand?

It might seem like a strange question to ask, but the age of your car when you bought it does have a bearing on which new tyres you would be best to buy. For example, if you bought your car new and you’ve been happy with the tyres supplied, then you’ll probably do best to replace like for like.

On the other hand, older cars are likely to have had their tyres changed at least once. The tyres on the car may even be mismatched. Don’t assume that the tyres on your vehicle are the best ones for it. You might need to talk to a tyre expert – feel free to contact us. We’ll be pleased to help you decide which tyres you should buy, taking everything into consideration.

What’s your budget?

Of course, you’ll also need to consider your budget. Though the price of tyres should never be the ultimate decision-maker, you should buy the best tyres in your price range. A few dollars extra for better grip and balance on the road is worth it every day of the week.

The good news here is that the most expensive tyre is not always the best. We have a variety of quality tyres in all price ranges, and several of the mid-priced tyres are of equal (or near equal) quality to the most expensive brand names.

Review the range

Take a few minutes to scan our tyre pages on this website. You’ll find information about the tyre brands that we supply. It will help you make your decision.

We’ve got more than 100 years’ experience in passenger car tyres. You’ll find our approach is personal but professional. We care about your safety, and we care about our reputation. Contact us (by Skype, telephone, or on our contact form), and we’ll help you make the best choice of tyres for your vehicle, driving needs, and pocket.

Keeping your family and fleet safely on the road,

Kevin Wood