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Rubber Manufactures Association Articles:
TIA
CERTIFIED TIRE TECHNICIANS
During the month of September 2004, Sullivan Tire began administering the Tire Industry Association exam for technicians. The 2.5-hour exam covers everything from lift placement on the vehicle to wheel assembly removal and installation to balancing the tire. The hands-on certification contains roughly a 50-point checklist that the trainers have to sign off on in order to receive a passing grade. Sullivan Tire now has over 145 TIA Certified Technicians on staff!
TIA (Tire Industry Association) as well as the RMA (Rubber Manufacturers Association) worked to put this program together. Part of the written test required extensive knowledge on tire dimensions, load and inflation ratings and the proper application to vehicles that we deal with on a daily basis. Once the training is complete, the technicians should have much more confidence in what they are doing in the field, whether it is on the counter recommending certain tires for an application, or in the bays. Technicians who are new to the industry as well as veteran players with 25 years experience have come up to the instructors and said that the information in this training is VERY good and reinforced the good habits that they already do on a daily basis. TIA ( www.tireindustry.org ) and the RMA (www.rma.org) are the leading sources for information and correct procedures in the field of tires and automotive work. They are THE ones who have developed proper industry standards.
No matter what type of automobile you own, Sullivan Tire has a large selection to choose from. Sullivan Tire carries major brand tires for all types of vehicles. And, our state-of-the-art equipment like our Hunter Force Variation Balancer and The Corghi touchless tire machine will protect your expensive rims.
Check out our tire pages to see some of what Sullivan Tire has to offer. You may choose your vehicle year and model from the pull-down menus to the right.
What we don't stock we can certainly order for you. In most cases we can have it the next day. In some cases we can have it the same day. Call us or email us and we will be happy to locate the tires of your choice.
Choosing Tires for Your Vehicle
There are a number of things to consider when purchasing tires for your personal vehicle. There is a tire-line to fit virtually every driver/vehicle combination and need. There is a significant amount of overlap in different tire lines to satisfy these different combinations of needs. For example, there are All-Season/ Grip/ "S" Speed-rated/ Low Price tires; Touring/ Treadwear/ "H" Speed-rated/ High Price; All-Season/ Treadwear/ "T" Speed-rated/ Medium Price tires; Performance/ Grip/ "Z" Speed-rated/ High Price tires, etc. All designed to meet customer needs. Let's look at each of the considerations listed above in more detail.
All-Season vs.Touring
vs.Performance
All-Season tread designs will provide good all-around
traction for varying road conditions such as Wet, Snow and Ice, but still
provide good Treadwear & Tire Noise characteristics. Performance tread
designs have been engineered to Enhance a vehicles Handling capabilities
on wet and dry roads, but usually exhibit increased Tire Noise and Lack
Long Treadwear Life. Performance tread designs usually have larger tread
elements to provide a stiff tread area for handling performance. Touring
tread designs were designed to bridge the gap between All-Season &
Performance tires. Touring tread designs combine the technology for good
treadwear characteristics from All-Season tires and handling & grip
associated with Performance tires. Touring tires also exhibit very good
Tire Noise and Ride Comfort.
Treadwear Performance
vs. Grip/ Handling/ Traction Performance
The treadwear-traction trade-off has been a focus
in Tire Performance-Enhancement Technology for decades. Tire companies
have been trying to reduce the trade-off between treadwear & traction
through the development of new rubber, new tread designs, and new tire
construction techniques. Basically, a tire will wear-out quickly if it
is providing maximum grip to the road. This is due to the tread rubber
being torn from the tire (on a microscopic level), while it is adhering
to the road surface. An excellent treadwear tire minimizes the amount
of rubber being removed at the road surface; thus providing long tread
life, but less road gripping traction.