Modern Tire Dealer - February 2019 by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup

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The Industry’s Leading Publication February 2019, Volume 100, Number 2

F E AT U R E S performance 20 Defining Speed ratings are no longer the emphasis. Still... hunt for technicians 22 The The shortage continues, and tire dealers need to take action

30 Service brakes, ride

control and tires together to reduce comebacks

34 How mounting

and balancing will change in 2019

DEPARTMENTS

Equipment is designed for difficult tire and wheel fitments

4 Editorial A Noble effort: BTS helps its retail dealers understand millennials

6 moderntiredealer.com

News and navigation tools for MTD’s website

Commercial Tire Dealer™

39 Sylvester Truck and Tire Service Inc. is a onestop shop for local and out-of-town fleets

8 News/Views A reversal: Chinese truck tires hurt U.S.

16 Your Marketplace Government shutdown reduced quarterly GDP as well as consumer confidence

18 Numbers that Count

of optimism 46 Plenty Panelists predict the OTR tire market will continue to grow

Relevant statistics from an industry in constant motion

47 Business Insight What employees get right: Become better at pointing out the positives

48 Mergers and Acquisitions Acquiring controlled distribution aids brand share growth

TPMS 50 Nissan Titan 2004-2018 54 Products 56 Ad index 57 Classified

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Editorial

A Noble effort

BTS HELPS ITS RETAIL DEALERS UNDERSTAND MILLENNIALS By

Bob Ulrich

ho better to fill in the generational gaps when it comes to hiring than a husband and wife team from different generations? Amy Noble, part of Generation X, is the special events coordinator for Black’s Tire Service Inc. in Whiteville, N.C. Keith Noble, a baby boomer, is director of retail sales for the same company. They did double duty last December at the BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors dealer meeting in Myrtle Beach, S.C., by outlining the pros and cons of millennial workers compared to other generations. It was very interactive. Amy needled her husband about being older than she was, a trait that spans generations and gender. My dad used to tease my mom, who was only 3-1/2 months older than he was. In truth, Keith was born near the tail end of the baby boomer age range, 1945-1964, and Amy was born near the beginning of the Gen X age range, 1965-1979. Some of their generational traits overlapped. Keith said baby boomers represent some 74 million people. And it’s not uncommon for them to average at least 15 years with one employer. Millennials, born between 1980 and 1995, represent about the same number of workers, but their average tenure per job is about 18 to 24 months. “I think the millennials get a bad rap for being lazy and not wanting to work,” said one tire company representative in attendance. “They don’t mind working. They just want to work when they want to work. “They want to start work at 6 a.m. and then stop at 9 a.m. and go work out at the gym at your facility or down the street. Then they’ll come back and work the rest of the day. “A lot of them only want to work three or four days a week. They want to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 12-hours each day, and get Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off.” In order to get the job done six or seven days a week, a company has to set up staggered shifts, he added. If you want a millennial to work 60 to 80 hours a week, he won’t last 18 months, said Keith. “He won’t last 18 days,” said an attendee. When asked if they thought the average tenure for millennials was also the result of job sites like LinkedIn that give them seemingly unlimited opportunities on a daily basis, the Nobles agreed. “It gives them flexibility,” said Amy. “It goes back to our digital age, electronics, easy access to so much information,” said Keith. Here’s another generation gap. Baby boomers don’t talk about their compensation to coworkers. It’s very private to them, said Keith. The topic is a little less private to Gen X workers, who might share that information with a trusted co-worker. And millennials? They are completely transparent, said Amy. “I experienced an example of that this week,” said Keith. “The

Millennials want to know what a company’s values are,” said Amy Noble. “That’s what they’re all about. They want to see what you do in the community, and how you affect the world they live in.”

first thing the new guy did was go into the shop and tell everybody what he was making.” When that happens, the potential fallout can be messy, he said. “What does your employee handbook say about that?” asked a dealer. “It says it is private and must be kept to yourself,” said Keith. “This generation expects your handbook to fit into their characteristics,” said Amy. Whether you have to make allowances for millennials or “think outside that box,” as one dealer put it, millennials already have been replacing the “matures” (born prior to 1946) and baby boomers in the workplace. The Nobles left the dealers in attendance with strategies for cross-generational leadership. 1. Re-energize your compensation and benefits. Baby boomers value monetary compensation, where Gen X and millennials value time off for their hard work and efforts. 2. Expand your communication strategies. Make your company messages available in different formats, including emails, texts, phone communications, etc. Create opportunities for cross-training so the generations can learn from one another. 3. Make mentoring a constant. Make mentoring part of the employment cycle, as it will ensure that your company’s history and knowledge continue from one generation to the next. You as leaders must remain open to new ideas and provide constant feedback.

These strategies may not help you with members of the next generation, Gen Z, some of whom have yet to be born. But the learning curve won’t be as dramatic. ■ If you have any questions or comments, please email me at bob.ulrich@bobit.com.

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Big names hit the ground running in 2019 Last month the www.moderntiredealer.com website reported on big news from the big tire makers and big independent tire dealers. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC made news hiking Firestone truck tire prices and introducing a new winter tire. Groupe Michelin made moves to buy an Indonesian tire maker and had its truck tires tested along with Continental Tire the Americas LLC and Double Coin (marketed by China Manufacturers Alliance LLC). Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reported on 2018 fourth-quarter results and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. made plans to end consumer tire production in England. Meanwhile, Raben Tire Co. LLC, Big O Tires, Max Finkelstein and RNR Tire Express all reported news for the new year. Here are our top 10 items. 1. RNR Tire Express CEO predicts a great 2019 for small business owners 2. Firestone truck tire prices are going up 3. Raben Tire expands in Kentucky 4. Bridgestone introduces the Blizzak WS90 winter tire 5. A truck tire test: Michelin, Continental and Double Coin 6. Michelin plans to buy Indonesian tire maker Multistrada 7. Cooper will end consumer tire production in England in 2019 8. Goodyear’s tire volume dropped 3% in final quarter of 2018 9. Big O Tires moves into Texas 10. Max Finkelstein opens second distribution center in Virginia

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MTD February 2019

News/Views

A reversal: Chinese truck tires hurt U.S.

HOW IT HAPPENED When the ITC started its re-examination, it did so with five members on the commission. Four had been part of the original ruling, and they split their votes 2-2. The fifth commissioner, Jason Kearns, was new to the case. Kearns had been nominated in the final days of former President Barack Obama’s term in Jan. 2017, and then was nominated by President Donald Trump in June 2017. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2018. The former commissioner who had determined there was no injury to the domestic tire market, Scott Kieff, left the ITC in June 2017, three years before his nine-year term was to expire. In a footnote to the report, it’s noted the new commissioner, Kearns, “made his determination in these remand proceedings de novo by weighing all of the evidence in the record and reaching his own independent conclusion,” and ended up being the swing vote. He voted with Irving Williamson and Rhonda Schmidtlein and determined the domestic truck tire market is being harmed by the imports. (Commissioners David Johanson and Meredith Broadbent maintained the market isn’t being hurt by the Chinese imports.)

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t took three years and a day, but the International Trade Commission (ITC) has reversed an earlier decision and ruled the U.S. tire market is being harmed by the import of truck and bus tires from China. On Jan. 30, 2019, the ITC filed a 62-page determination in response to an order from the U.S. Court of International Trade. The court remanded the ITC’s earlier decision not to impose tariffs on truck tires — effectively forcing the ITC to re-examine the case. What does it mean? Truck and bus tires imported into the U.S. from China could be subject to tariffs after all. The court ruling doesn’t consider tariff rates or a timeline. But all of the parties will have an opportunity to respond to the ITC’s new findings.

HOW WE GOT HERE The issue of Chinese truck tires became a formal government complaint in January 2016 when the United Steelworkers union filed a complaint, saying the imports were harming the U.S. truck tire market. The complaint worked its way through the typical process, with investigations by both the Department of Commerce and the ITC. It was a surprise in February 2017 when the ITC voted 2-3 not to impose tariffs, as every other tariff investigation in the tire industry had resulted in duties being charged at the border. The USW had one more chance. They appealed the ruling to the trade court. On Nov. 1, 2018, the court issued its ruling, and the ITC was forced to re-examine its work.

WHAT THE COMMISSION REVIEWED The court upheld some of the ITC’s findings, but found an issue with two points, and told the commission to reconsider them. The ITC did not reopen the record, meaning it examined the same data that was presented originally. It focused on the price effects of the imported tires and the impact of the imports. Price effects: In studying price effects, the ITC is charged with determining if there has been “significant price underselling” by the imports as compared to the domestic product. Also, the ITC must determine if the imports depress prices significantly or prevent price increases that otherwise would have occurred. The ITC looked at data for four different truck and bus tires, including price

data for shipments to both original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. “In total, the Chinese subject tires undersold the domestic tires in 79 of 85 comparisons. In the aftermarket, the segment with the most significant growth over the investigation period and where the subject imports are concentrated, the Chinese truck and bus tires undersold the domestic tires in all 60 quarterly comparisons. These quarterly data totaled 2.5 million tires. In the OEM market, the subject imports undersold the domestic like product in 19 of 25 comparisons.” The price differences were “substantial” and increased over the period of investigation. “Thus, we find underselling by the subject imports to be significant.” Impact of the imports: The ITC was looking at data from 2013-2015, and during that time the U.S. market grew by 21.3%. But the domestic tire makers’ share of the market dropped by 7.7%, from 53.3% to 45.6%. Domestic shipments grew 3.9%. At the same time, Chinese imports grew by 41.9% and their market share increased from 28.7% in 2013 to 33.6% in 2015. Capacity utilization improved, U.S. production increased, but domestic shipments only grew by 3.9%, far below the overall consumption of 21.3%. Chinese tire makers say their imports are filling a gap in demand in the U.S., but the ITC says data doesn’t support that claim. Industry wide, capacity contracted slightly from 2013 to 2015. The Chinese producers also argued that the financial health of U.S. tire producers proved there was no harm. “We disagree. We find that subject imports had a significant adverse impact on the domestic industry. The industry lost substantial market share to the subject imports in a period of strong demand. The subject tires undersold the domestic product by significant and increasing margins of underselling and depressed prices, preventing the domestic industry from increasing its revenues commensurate with growing demand. — Joy Kopcha MTD February 2019

News/Views

Bites Magna Tyres expands Magna Tyres Group, based in the Netherlands, is opening an office in Canada to serve the North American market. Alex Vitale is general manager. He most recently was CEO in North America for Prometeon Tyre Group Commercial Solutions LLC, the commercial arm of Pirelli Tire North America Inc.

USTMA issues report The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) has issued a sustainability report, which presents its membership’s collective progress and shared vision for a sustainable U.S. tire manufacturing industry.

Ford promotes Quick Lane Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center, a business of Ford Motor Co., has more than 800 locations in the U.S., and is focusing on consumer convenience in a new advertising campaign.

Alliance gains member The newest member of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Inc. is Distribuidora De Autopartes Pescador, S.A. (DAPESA). Founded in 1995 and headquartered in San Rafael, Mexico, DAPESA is operated by brothers Daniel and Domingo Pescador and serves a majority of Mexico from four warehouses.

Seanard joins Renault Groupe Michelin’s CEO Jean-Dominque Senard is the new chairman of Renault Group. Renault’s board of directors tapped Senard following the resignation of Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. Senard had previously announced his intention to leave Michelin at the end of the 2019 shareholders meeting.

BKT helps community Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) had a major role in the creation and construction of a community kitchen in Bhuj, India. The kitchen serves food to local school children, helping to fight hunger and malnutrition. BKT has a tire plant in Bhuj.

Denso adds classes Denso Products and Services Americas Inc. has added four training classes to its instructor-led automotive repair courses and now offers 45 classes through the Denso Automotive Technical Academy.

K&M Tire thrives in a year of disruption for tire distribution

ith 730 employees working from 28 warehouses to provide tires to customers in 27 states, K&M Tire Inc. recorded a fifth straight year of double-digit growth in 2018. And with more tire brands available, more tires in inventory, and more people on its payroll, K&M expects that growth to continue into its 50th year in business. Cheryl Gossard, president of the company her father, Ken Langhals, started in 1970, says sales increased 14.5% in 2018. Here’s a partial rundown of how K&M Tire achieved that growth:

Cheryl Gossard, left, greets K&M Tire customers as they enter the trade show during the tire distribu• opened distribution centers in Milwaukee, tor’s 2019 dealer meeting in Dallas.

Wis., and Columbus, Ohio. • added 50 new delivery routes. • expanded its sales team. • added sales teams dedicated to farm and commercial tire sales. • offered three new tire brands: Alliance, GT Radial and Nexen. • continued the installation of a digital inventory system. • increased tire inventory by more than 20%.

And all of that growth came in 2018, the year that will be remembered for its shakeup of tire distribution. Gossard says that disruption “has given us a lot of opportunity.” Existing customers have relied on K&M more heavily while other tire distributors struggled or made changes, and Gossard says a shakeup in tire sales to new car dealers also contributed to K&M’s growth last year. (Dealer Tire is no longer supplying tires to Chrysler dealerships.)

MANAGING MORE INVENTORY K&M isn’t about to rest in 2019. After installing an inventory management system at four of its warehouses in 2018 (Delphos, Ohio; Grinnell, Iowa; Minneapolis, Minn.; and Grand Rapids, Mich.), the company will add it in two more locations. The system allows K&M to store 20% more tires in its warehouses. Gossard says the system has helped K&M keep better tabs on its inventory to serve customers better. In the past when the assigned space for a specific tire in the warehouse was full, tires could easily get lost. They’d still be in the inventory, and a customer would order them, but then the warehouse workers couldn’t find them. Gossard says the inventory management system “has cut those shortages by 75%.” K&M’s information technology staff has learned how to do much of the setup of the inventory management system, which has helped the company install and expand the system in additional warehouses. Gossard says the first installation at the company’s largest warehouse in its hometown of Delphos was close to a $200,000 investment.

NEW WAREHOUSES IN SOUTH DAKOTA K&M currently leases two locations in South Dakota — in Rapid City and Sioux Falls. But the company is building two new — and much larger — warehouses in those same cities. The tire distributor expects to move into its new Rapid City space this month. The Sioux Falls warehouse is expected to open by the first quarter of 2020. Rapid City will move from an 18,000-square-foot space into a 40,000-squarefoot warehouse. Sioux Falls will move from a 40,000-square-foot building into a 150,000-square-foot space. — Joy Kopcha

MTD February 2019

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News/Views

Titan auctions help FFA Titan International Inc. raised $91,481 in 2018 for Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters in Iowa, Nebraska and Georgia from tire auctions. The auctions allow the public to buy Titan- and Goodyear-brand farm tires with proceeds benefiting FFA.

Virginia Tire & Auto expands The 15th Virginia Tire & Auto location opened on Jan. 16, 2019, and it marks MSS Inc.’s first move into the Richmond, Va., area. Gary Spencer is manager of the new 11-bay store in Harpers Mill.

Trelleborg buys distributor Trelleborg Wheel Systems has acquired Pneus ICM Inc., an industrial tire distributor and service provider in Montreal. The company says Pneus ICM is a primary service provider for eastern Canada.

SMP is a top supplier Standard Motor Products Inc. (SMP) earned 2018 Supplier of the Year honors from O’Reilly Auto Parts. In addition, SMP was recognized for its extensive training support throughout 2018.

Falken extends warranty Falken Tire Corp. has expanded its road hazard protection warranty to cover 11 replacement tire lines for purchases made after Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2019.

Max Finkelstein expands Max Finkelstein Inc. (MFI) has opened its second distribution center in Virginia. MFI now has 15 distribution centers.

Big O Tires moves into Texas

BC Corp. has sold eight of its NTB Tire & Service Center stores in Texas to a Big O Tires franchisee, allowing the Big O Tires brand to enter the Lone Star State. Franchisee Chris Monteverde will convert the stores to the Big O Tires format in the next few months. Monteverde also owns 19 Big O Tires stores in California. “Chris is an exceptional operator; he and his team live the values of the Big O Tires brand each and every day, and we’re fortunate to have them representing the team,” says John Kairys, vice president and general manager of Big O Tires. With the nine added stores, Big O Tires has more than 455 independently owned and operated locations in 25 states. “As an organization with more than 3,200 retail locations, both company-owned and franchise, it’s imperative that we consider our entire portfolio when evaluating opportunities,” says Erik Olsen, CEO and The rebranding of the 19 NTB stores into Big O Tires locations, president of TBC. like this one owned by Monteverde in Napa, Calif., is underway. “We will now have the opportunity to serve consumers in the state of Texas through three retail great brands — Big O Tires, Midas and NTB — at nearly 170 locations.” Monteverde says: “The opportunity to expand our portfolio within the Big O brand and have a chance to do business in the great state of Texas was one that we didn’t think twice about. We’re excited about the future and eager to continue exceeding customer expectations in California as we make a name for ourselves in Texas.” This isn’t the first time TBC turned some of its company-owned retail stores over to a franchisee. At the end of 2017, TBC expanded the Big O Tires brand when it franchised more than 40 company-owned NTB locations in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri to Western Automotive Ventures Inc. That franchisee also had an existing relationship with TBC and Big O Tires. A Western Automotive Ventures affiliate, Western Automotive Group LLC, also owns and operates 11 Big O Tires locations in Nevada.

Acquisitions boost Monro’s 3Q results

VIP supports Make-A-Wish VIP Inc., which does business as VIP Tires & Service, has given Make-A-Wish a record donation of $78,123.76 following its annual holiday campaign at its 58 stores in New England.

Bridgestone will build a factory Bridgestone Americas Inc. will begin building a race tire manufacturing plant in Akron, Ohio, in the summer of 2019. Production is set to begin in 2020 and will reach about 30,000 Firehawk tires every year. Bridgestone also extended its partnership with the NTT IndyCar Series through 2025.

ew store sales accounted for 6.4% of Monro Inc.’s net sales in its third quarter ended Dec. 29, 2018. That boost helped the company register an 8.5% increase in total sales versus the same period last year. (Monro’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.) Monro recorded net income of $20.5 million on net sales of $310.1 million for 3Q 2019. That compares to income of $11.6 million on sales of $285.7 million in fiscal 2018.

The company’s income-to-sales ratio was 6.6%. Monro also recorded a 4.8% increase in operating income, which rose from $29.3 million to $30.7 million. The company plans to enter a new state in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 with a 12-store acquisition in Louisiana. These locations are expected to add approximately $15 million in annualized sales, repre senting a sales mix of 35% service and 65% tires. MTD February 2019

COURTESY OF TBC CORP.

Bites

News/Views

The Work Truck Show & The Green Truck Summit, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Ind. (800) 441-6832 www.worktruckshow.com

March 8-9 North Carolina Tire Dealers Association Expo, Raleigh Convention Center/Marriott City Center, Raleigh, N.C. (877) 784-0111 www.nctda.com

March 18-21 American Trucking Associations Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. (703) 838-1700 www.trucking.org

March 21-23 Automechanika Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia +852 2802 7728 www.automechanika-kl.com

March 27-29 Automechanika Astana, Kazakhstan International Automotive Expo, Korme Exhibition Center, Kazahkstan +7 (495) 649-69-11 www.automechanika.kz

March 28-30 Mid-America Trucking Show, Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Ky. (502) 899-3892 www.truckingshow.com

March 29-30 New England Tire & Service Association Trade Show & Convention, Foxwoods Resort and Casino, Mashantucket, Conn. (855) 638-7248 www.netsa.org

April 10-12 Clemson University Global Tire Industry Conference, Sonesta Resort, Hilton Head Island, S.C. (864) 656-2200 www.clemsontireconference.com

he California Tire Dealers Association (CTDA)-Federated New Year Luncheon drew tire industry leaders from across the nation as well as from California. The annual gathering was held on Jan. 16, 2019, in Santa Fe Springs. (Last year’s luncheon was held in Pico Rivera.) Representatives from 48 companies and organizations attended. The CTDA gained five new members as a result of the event, according to Marc Connerly, executive director. “The new, larger venue provided more space for networking, which was important because the attendance grew again this year, with 95 people enjoying socially networking the old-fashioned way.” Federated Mutual Insurance Co. was the title sponsor, joining (From left): Ben Wysocki, Federated; Billy Eorhost sponsor 1-800EveryRim OEM dekian, 1-800EveryRim; Chris Barry, Independent Wheels, gold sponsors Yokohama Tire Dealers Group (ITDG); Brian Rigney, TIA; Allan Tire Corp. and Lakin Tire West Keefe, SEMA; and Matt Burrows, Yokohama. Inc., and silver sponsors Myers Tire Supply, Pirelli Tire North America Inc., Penn Tire Exchange LLC and Net Driven. The guests of honor were Tire Industry Association (TIA) Vice President Brian Rigney of Dill Air Controls Products LLC and Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Wheel and Tire Council Senior Manager Allan Keefe. ■

COURTESY OF CTDA

March 5-8

California tire dealers kick off 2019

Charley Gowland, Chabill’s Tire founder, has died Charles Gowland Sr., co-founder of Chabill’s Tire and Auto Service LLC, died Jan. 24. He was 76. Gowland and Billy Parker founded Chabill’s in 1968 after BFGoodrich approached the two men about selling tires in Morgan City, La. They combined their first names into the store name. Over the next five decades the business grew to 18 locations and more than 130 employees. On New Year’s Day 2019, Gowland turned over leadership of Chabill’s to his daughter, Elizabeth “Beth” Gowland Barron, who took over as CEO upon his retirement. Gowland was a native of New Orleans and resident of Morgan City for 62 years. He was a longtime member of Modern Tire Dealer’s National Advisory Council and was a member of the Louisiana Independent Tire Dealers Association (LITDA) for several years and served on the board of directors for the last 20. During his tenure

he served as president, vice president, and convention chairman. He was a parishioner of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where he was a lector for 13 years. He was a longtime member of the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce and served on its board of directors. He also was a member and past president of Rotary. He was a strong supporter of area schools, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and also of youth activities in each of the communities served by his business. He also was a mentor to young men and women in the tire business. Gowland was inducted into the LITDA Hall of Fame in 2009. Gowland is survived by his wife of 51 years, Peggy Cefalu Gowland; his children, Catherine David and husband Tim, Beth Barron and husband Carey, Charles L. Gowland Jr., and Joanna Marx and husband Jeffrey; 14 grandchildren; and a sister and brother. MTD February 2019

COURTESY GOWLAND FAMILY

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Autho zed Deale

Yo u r M a r k e t p l a c e

John Healy

Government shutdown reduced quarterly GDP as well as consumer confidence

ur recent discussions with dealers leave us confident that sell-out continues to trend in a promising direction, with retail conditions remaining healthy and volumes improving over the prior year’s period (sixth straight month). From a volume standpoint, surveyed dealers reported they saw unit sales volumes improve modestly (approximately 1.1%) compared to the same period last year. Although December sell-out volumes were solid, we note commentary from our contact base that trends gradually slowed as we progressed through the month, especially among dealers in colder climates. Even though dealers in our contact base experienced a firm December overall, there have been a few recent developments in the external atmosphere that could pose risks to an acceleration in retail sell-out trends moving forward. This is not to say it is time to sound the alarm, but since things continually remain fluid within the tire industry we felt it was prudent, as we turned the page on the calendar year, to point out risk factors that could pose a threat if they were to come to fruition. On top of unfriendly climate conditions (for tire sell-out), we want to point out that raw material spot prices remain volatile and, in spite of some subsidence in raw material cost pressures, we expect these costs to be up year-over-year, at least through Q1. That said, it is not entirely out of the question manufacturers could again flex pricing actions within the next few months to recapture lost margins during this cycle of rising input costs. Another peripheral issue that has come to the forefront and had ripple effects in a multitude of industries is the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. It not only directly affected nearly a million of government workers, but also started to have wide-ranging implications for government contractors, airlines/ transportation companies and other businesses that deliver services to the federal government. In addition to businesses that derive revenue from the government and are now under pressure as they lost millions in sales, federal government workers had a month without pay and some even reported dipping into retirement savings to fund their regular monthly expenses. Economists estimate that every week the

Average tire tier rankings Tier

Oct ’17

Nov ’17

Dec ’17

Oct ’18

Nov ’18

Dec ’18

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

SOURCE: NORTHCOAST RESEARCH HOLDINGS LLC

shutdown lasted it reduced quarterly GDP by 0.13%, and more importantly, business and consumer confidence. Government workers who were not getting paid were likely to drastically cut back on discretionary purchases (re: tires). However, if old-man winter comes knocking again and political pressures subside, we expect that pent-up demand will quickly return to the marketplace and volumes will continue to march higher, returning to normal seasonal demand patterns. Despite these near-term challenges, we believe that demand trends are continuing to firm for much of the industry.

MONTHLY SURVEY A number of independent tire dealers were surveyed concerning current business trends. The results of the December 2018 survey are compared with those of December 2017. See the report on www.moderntiredealer.com.

CONTACTS STILL EXPECT HEALTHY REPLACEMENT TRENDS DESPITE HIGHER PRICES Dealer commentary suggests consumer demand for passenger and light truck replacement rose in December compared to the same period last year. The net number of respondents indicating they saw an increase in demand year-over-year was 12.1% of contacts. Contacts conveyed that price actions have not adversely affected demand and volumes were stable through December despite the vast majority of price increases having worked their way through the supply chain all the way to the retail level. We note a 4-6 month lag time for many input costs to truly impact tire producers, which is why price increases have been introduced to the industry more recently. Given that, the research we conduct monitoring the pricing trends of over 10,000 consumer replacement tire SKUs has revealed that the average tire price increased 1.2% in October, 1.6% in November and 4.2% in December (all y/y).

A LOOK AT MIX TRENDS IN THE MARKET In response to best and worst performers, our recent survey surprisingly revealed that Tier 3 brands showed the best performance among our surveyed contacts last month for the first time in eight months. We surmise that consumers have keenly noticed how tires have become more expensive within the last couple months and opted to shop for replacement units based on price. Despite the rebound in value tires, however, we note that Tier 2 brands have been the segment of most significant growth. ■ John Healy is a managing director and research analyst with Northcoast Research Holdings LLC based in Cleveland, Ohio. Healy covers a variety of subsectors of the automotive industry.

MTD February 2019

NumbersThatCount

Relevant statistics from an industry in constant motion PHOTO COURTESY OF NISSAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERCULES TIRE & RUBBER CO.

Percent of Americans (50 million) who will likely go electric for their next vehicle purchase, up from 15% in 2017. SOURCE: AAA.COM/GREENCAR

17,600 Average number of minutes Americans spend driving each year (about 293 hours).

©GETTYIMAGES.COM/3DAN3

214.3 million The number of domestically produced and imported passenger tires shipped in the U.S. in 2018 — a record! And that’s nearly 30 million more than 10 years ago. SOURCE: MODERN TIRE DEALER’S 2019 FACTS ISSUE

SOURCE: AAA.COM

©GETTYIMAGES.COM/RASTUDIO

©GETTYIMAGES.COM/OLEGERIN

©GETTYIMAGES.COM/GRIMGRAM

30 million

$15.4 billion

40%

Number of U.S. drivers who experienced pothole damage significant enough to require repair in 2016. Repair bills ranged from under $250 to more than $1,000.

Amount U.S. drivers paid in rust repairs caused by de-icing methods over the last five years, or approximately $3 billion annually. Brake lines, fuel tanks and exhaust systems often took the hits.

Percent depreciation plays in the cost of owning a new vehicle — more than $3,000 per year. Depreciation is influenced by a number of factors, including shifting consumer preferences, market trends and length of ownership.

SOURCE: AAA.COM/GREENCAR

SOURCE: AAA.COM/GREENCAR COURTESY OF AAA.COM

54% Percent of Americans who want an electric vehicle for the cutting edge technology. SOURCE: AAA.COM/GREENCAR

20%

89% vs. 52%

47% vs. 50%

Percent of men vs. women who feel they can definitely change a tire confidently.

Percent of men vs. women who can’t live without a global positioning system in their car.

SOURCE: WWW.CLICK4REG.CO.UK

MTD February 2019

APPROVED

F RATED

LINE OF TIRES

12 PLY CONSTRUCTION

CLX9 mudblazer m/t MUD-TERRAIN TIRE

PUNCTURE GUARD TOUGHNESS SUPER STABLE SHOULDER WETLAND OPTIMIZED GROOVES

CLX10 rangeblazer a/t ALL-TERRAIN TIRE

HIGH STABILITY TREAD CORNERS ZIG-ZAG MIDDLE BLOCK SPECIAL SHOULDER SHAPE

CLX12 rogueblazer r/t TOP-NOTCH PUNCTURE RESISTANCE AND WEAR RESISTANCE ELITE OFF ROAD PERFORMANCE AGGRESSIVE PATTERN DESIGN TERRIFIC WET HANDLING PERFORMANCE

HIGHER

CARRYING CAPACITY INFLATION PRESSURE

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Past, Present, Future: Performance Tires

Defining

Bob Ulrich

performance tires SPEED RATINGS ARE NO LONGER THE EMPHASIS. STILL…

t is time to officially re-think the definitions for high and ultra-high performance tires. Speed ratings are not enough anymore. Neither is aspect ratio. Quite frankly, they haven’t been enough for many years. Evolution in tire development continues to make those factors less relevant. Original equipment fitments, designated use and marketing also have to be taken

into consideration. So do size and profile as they relate to performance. “When the term ‘high performance tire’ is mentioned, it often stimulates visions of high speed, horsepower and racing,” says Bob Toth, director of industry relations for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. “But technically, high performance is all about improving vehicle maneuverability.”

Speed ratings and domestic market share P-metric and metric tires with H and above speed ratings made up 55.6% of the 214.3 million replacement passenger tires shipped in the U.S. in 2018. They totaled 119.3 million units, which included high and ultra-high performance tires. The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association says the primary design features of high performance and UHP tires are “response, handling and cornering power.”

H-RATED TIRE MARKET SHARE BY BRAND

V-RATED AND ABOVE TIRE MARKET SHARE BY BRAND

(based on 61.3 million units, including imports)

(based on 58 million units, including imports)

Michelin.......................... 11.0% Goodyear ........................ 11.0% Yokohama ......................... 6.5% Bridgestone...................... 6.0% Hankook............................ 5.0% Continental ....................... 4.5% Falken................................ 4.5% Toyo ................................... 4.5% BFGoodrich ...................... 4.0% Firestone........................... 3.5% Kumho ............................... 3.5% Nexen................................ 3.5% Pirelli ................................. 2.5% Cooper............................... 2.0% Dunlop............................... 2.0% General ............................. 2.0% Nitto................................... 2.0% Sumitomo.......................... 2.0% Primewell.......................... 2.0% GT Radial .......................... 1.5% Sailun ................................ 1.0% Others.............................. 15.5%

Goodyear ........................ 13.0% Michelin.......................... 12.5% Bridgestone...................... 8.0% Continental ....................... 6.5% Falken................................ 6.5% Hankook............................ 5.5% Pirelli ................................. 5.5% Yokohama ......................... 4.5% Nexen................................ 4.0% Toyo ................................... 3.5% BFGoodrich ...................... 3.0% Kumho ............................... 3.0% Firestone........................... 2.0% Delinte............................... 2.0% Nitto................................... 2.0% Dunlop............................... 1.5% Cooper............................... 1.5% General ............................. 1.5% Sumitomo.......................... 1.5% GT Radial .......................... 1.0% Landsail............................. 1.0% Others.............................. 11.0%

Brands must have at least 1% of the market to be listed at 1%. SOURCE: MODERN TIRE DEALER ESTIMATES

Toth helped develop Goodyear’s Eagle line in 1981. “As always, optimizing tire performance involves a complicated puzzle of performance attribute tradeoffs assembled to give consumers the specific performance balance desired,” he says.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PERFORMANCE Ironically, there is no speed rating symbol requirement in the U.S. They were first established in Europe, where they are mandatory. In the U.S., a tire only has to meet U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and their high speed performance test procedures. In order to communicate the tire’s speed capabilities to tire dealers and tire buyers, however, U.S. manufacturers began using the European speed rating symbols in the 1980s. The forerunner of today’s high and ultrahigh performance tires may have been the Pirelli P7 radial tire, which was fitted as original equipment on the 1975 Porsche 930 Turbo. “Car and Driver” considered the tire, with its 50- and 55-series sizes, as the first ultra-low-profile tire. “Road & Track” also gave the P7 props, writing it “broke the race/street tire caste system.” The high performance market, however, arguably began with the creation and marketing of the Goodyear Eagle VR. Also referred to as the Eagle Gatorback because of its tread design, the P255/50VR16 tire was OE on the 1983 Corvette. In 1985, there were four performance tire definitions: cosmetic, performance, high performance and ultra-high performance. They were defined as follows:

1. Cosmetic tires had no speed markings, but had the look of performance-enhanced tires, despite construction and tread design features to the contrary. The El Dorado Custom Stock 60- and 70-series bias brand (remember that tire?) was an example of a cosmetic performance tire; a 75-series, white sidewall, all-season radial was not. MTD February 2019

Evolution of Speed Ratings and the Performance Tire Market

Goodyear is marketing its new Eagle Exhilarate as a UHP all-season tire. It will be available in 36 W- or Y-rated sizes. SOURCE: MODERN TIRE DEALER AND BOB TOTH/GOODYEAR

2. Performance tires generally encompassed 60-, 65- and 70-series tires with S, T and H speed ratings (a few tires in this category were non-speed rated.) The Dunlop GT Qualifier and BFG Radial T/A were two examples. 3. High performance tires were generally defined as 60- and 65-series, H- and V-rated tires. Examples included the Armstrong Formula Road & Trac H, Continental CV51, Firestone Firehawk GT, Goodyear Eagle GT HR, Michelin MXV and Nitto NT-255. 4. Ultra-high performance tires were the smallest niche in the overall performance segment. If a tire was at least V-rated (at the time designed for vehicles that could travel more than 130 mph) with a 55-series aspect ratio or lower, it fell into this segment. Examples of UHP tires included the Bridgestone RE71 Potenza, General XP 2000V, BFGoodrich Comp T/A, Goodyear Eagle VR, Pirelli 700 and Yokohama A008G.

At least in the 1980s and 1990s, speed ratings became synonymous with high and ultra-high performance tires. As the performance capabilities of vehicles increased, tire technology improved and the maximum Z rating — for speeds over 149 mph — had to be more narrowly defined. Today, V-rated tires have a maximum speed of 149 mph, while W-rated tires have a maximum speed of 168 mph. There are two Y-rated designations: Y, which indicates a tire has a maximum speed of 186 mph; and (Y), which represents speed in excess of 186 mph. w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

“Today, even long-wearing, soft-riding passenger car tires have H- and V-speed ratings, meaning speed rating only indicates the tire’s high speed capability, and does not directly relate to any other performance attribute,” says Goodyear’s Bob Toth. “However, it is still true that most high and ultra-high performance tires do have H- or higher speed ratings.”

NEW CATEGORIES Sometimes UHP tires are referred to as summer tires, but the two are not interchangeable. Woody Rogers, product information specialist at The Tire Rack Inc., says any tire without an M&S rating is considered a dedicated summer tire. For example, a long-wearing touring tire without an M&S rating is a summer tire, but may not be a UHP tire. Rogers says Tire Rack breaks down “performance-oriented” summer tires into four categories: extreme performance, max performance, ultra-high performance and high performance. “We look at its intended purpose, but also other factors. How long does it last? How important is ride quality? How does it scale handling and ultimate traction in wet or dry?” Speed ratings help with the definition, but as Rogers says, a speed rating is not a performance rating. “It merely indicates how fast it can go in an endurance test, which is in a laboratory.” Does an M&S designation keep a tire from being a high or ultra-high performance tire? No. Tire Rack also has categories for UHP all-season and high performance all-season tires.

HIGH PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES Here’s an example of how a high or ultrahigh performance tire sale might have gone down in 1962.

A couple of guys riding around in a Corvette stop at a tire dealership and tell the dealer they need new tires. When asked what kind, the driver says, “Nylon premiums, the best.” The dealer replies, “That’ll run you $45 apiece.” Unconcerned, the driver agrees to the sales price.

More than 50 years later, the definition of “performance tire” continues to evolve. “More than ever before, new cars today, even mainstream four-door sedans, come in trim levels requiring tires leaning more toward the high performance end of the performance attribute continuum and emphasizing handling capabilities that surpass ‘high performance’ vehicles from the past,” says Toth. “Generally, high performance tires continue to get better, standard passenger car tires continue to get better — with more performance-oriented attributes — and the capabilities of entry-level performance/touring tires from yesterday have slowly evolved to become today’s standard passenger car tires. “High performance tires are still those tires that are specifically designed to emphasize high performance attributes like steering precision, cornering power, dry traction and responsive handling, often at the expense of things like long wear, cold weather traction, soft ride and/or low noise.” ■

F i n d i n g Te c h n i c i a n s

THE HUNT FOR

TECHNICIANS By

e have 21 locations and we could probably use 21 more technicians.” Tire dealers all over the country can feel Matt Jensen’s pain. As the second-generation owner and president of Jensen Tire & Auto Inc. in Nebraska, the search for technicians is an everyday, every location problem. This year, Jensen Tire is doing something about it. His company is partnering with local trade schools, working with them to identify top students. At the halfway point of the two-year program, students with at least a 3.0 GPA earn an interview with Jensen Tire. The Omaha, Neb.-based tire dealer will pick one student in each trade school and reward the student with a starter set of tools and a Snap-on toolbox worth about $9,000. It’s a good thing for the student, Jensen says, because he or she doesn’t have to scrape together the money to buy tools to finish the automotive program. And once the student graduates, there’s no need to search for a job. The student has already signed a contract to work for Jensen Tire for a minimum of three years. “The whole idea is to get the best technicians to come and work for Jensen Tire & Auto,” he says. It was Jensen’s district managers who came up with the idea, and Jensen says it has taken about a year to get approval from the school

THE SHORTAGE CONTINUES, AND TIRE DEALERS NEED TO TAKE ACTION

Joy Kopcha

administrators. “It took that long because it’s something new. The administration has signed off. They think it’s a great idea, and at the same time we’re promoting Jensen, too.” The toolbox features Jensen Tire’s colors — orange and black — as well as the company’s logo. Jensen Tire will award its first three tool boxes in 2020, and hopes to expand to more trade schools in the future. “This will help start filling the pipeline. We think we can bring four to five technicians on each year,” Jensen says. The company also is working from within to build up its roster of automotive technicians. Jensen Tire built a new corporate headquarters and warehouse in the Omaha suburb of Papillion in 2017, and there’s about an acre-and-a-half of land left on the plot. This summer the company will build a two-bay training center and classroom on the site.

Technician demand New positions

2019

2020

2021

2022

4,759

-2,819 -3,837

-3,799

Replacements (retirements, 73,127 72,868 72,515 72,165 deaths, career changes) Total demand

77,886 70,049 68,678 68,366

SOURCE: TECH FORCE FOUNDATION

MTD February 2019

“We plan on growing our own technicians from within our own company, from entry-level positions already on the payroll who want to become technicians,” Jensen says. “We’ll put them through our schooling and hopefully build a pipeline that way. We’ll have our own curriculum. Students will be trained with our trainer and will move from training to stores where they can become technicians.” Jensen calls it “a large investment,” and says this is the first time the company will employ a full-time trainer. But he also considers these steps a necessity. He’s competing against new car dealers and every other automotive shop for employees. “We’re all fighting for the same technicians.”

2. Image problem. Blame it on the grease monkey. Parents still imagine old shops and messy mechanics, even though the modern industry revolves around technology and a good retail experience. “You go into modern shops, and it’s so different from even 10 years ago. I wouldn’t say it’s a laboratory white coat job, but it’s much cleaner and more high tech than it

used to be. Parents and students are still seeing it in that old image.” 3. Hidden potential. The transportation and automotive industries combined have done a poor job of highlighting the opportunities in the field. Mix in a huge demand for technicians, and there’s plenty of room to grow. “I have a friend who says we don’t have

HOW DID WE GET HERE? Greg Settle knows more owners need to take initiative like Jensen. Settle started working as a technician in the 1970s and spent 20 years working for Mercedes-Benz dealerships before joining the corporate ranks. In 1991 he drafted a proposal for a technician training program. Why? “Because we had a technician shortage. As a service manager I couldn’t find good young applicants. That was decades ago. Fast forward to today and we still have a technician shortage.” And Settle is still working to address the issue as director of national initiatives for the Tech Force Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to educate students on the possibilities of life as a professional technician. The U.S. didn’t wake up one day with thousands of fewer technicians on the job than the day before. Settle points to five contributors to the cause.

1. College for all. For generations parents, wanting their children to be more successful than they were, helped spread the message that a college education was the best path to a successful career. A college degree isn’t the only option, however. “If you talk to people in other skilled trades, all of those trades have exactly the same issue. Nobody is going into those fields anymore, and why not? Because they’ve been told and their parents have been told you’ve got to go to college.” Settle says only half of the nation’s jobs need that degree. (A study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce says through 2020, about one-third of jobs (35%) will require at least a bachelor’s degree.) w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

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F i n d i n g Te c h n i c i a n s

The one thing every tire dealer must do In building a pipeline for local technicians, Greg Settle says there’s one place every tire dealer should go: back to high school. “The biggest thing is relationships with your local high schools. Meet the high school shop instructor. See if you can serve on their advisory council. Get involved with them.” Settle says the classroom might need a tire machine, and a dealer might have an older one to donate after upgrading to a newer model. “Get to know the instructor. Show them the opportunities at your business.” That one relationship can make a difference. Plus, it shouldn’t be that much of a stretch since tire dealers often are already connected to their local schools, supporting fundraisers and sponsoring sports teams and other school activities. Settle says it won’t take much for the instructor to start talking about your business, exposing students to you. “Homegrown is the easiest, the best way to get kids in. Maybe you could set up an apprenticeship program or a mentoring program. There are so many advantages to connecting to your local school.”

Historical employment data Automotive technicians

a career ladder, we have a career lattice. You can go in so many different directions. And if you love turning wrenches, you can make a good career of that.” The problem is, the general public doesn’t know any of that. 4. Changes in the classroom. As the college-for-all mentality set in, schools focused on college-prep and the basics needed for white-collar jobs, and the shop classes of old have been replaced by computer labs. “There’s no focus on getting men and women into the skilled trades, and there’s no focus on getting teachers for those skilled trades. There’s nobody in the wings qualified to take over. If you have a class where the instructor retires, no one thinks it’s important. That’s what happened thousands and thousands of times across the country.” 5. A chance to experiment. For students who are hands-on learners, there’s power in learning how to dismantle and then successfully reassemble something. “That’s an amazing feeling of accomplishment, and there are a lot of people who learn best that way.” But with no exposure to automotive, there’s no opportunity for

763,700

2008

723,400

2010

701,100

2012

739,900

749,900

2014

2016

SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS AND TECH FORCE FOUNDATION NOTE: 2018 DATA HAS YET TO BE RELEASED.

students to learn they have a natural inclination toward the work. “That’s a huge loss for getting kids interested.” The entire industry has to focus on righting the wrongs, but Settle says when it comes to school, focusing on high school students won’t fix the problem. “We have to start much younger if we’re going to get kids interested,” he says. “We find that kids are thinking of careers in eighth and ninth grade, and locking it in by 10th grade. If we don’t expose kids to automotive by sixth grade, then the opportunity is lost.”

THE NEED The Tech Force Foundation serves as the home base for all efforts related to developing the next generation of technicians. It is working to bring together partners in industry and education with potential students to create a unified effort to address the talent shortage.

As part of that, the foundation compiles and analyzes data to track the shortage. Its latest report shows the shortage not only exists, but also is getting worse. Technician demand is on the rise, while the potential supply of workers graduating from postsecondary institutions is decreasing. Not every technician enters the workforce from a post-secondary school, of course, but the decline in completions is worsening the existing shortage. For this article, technicians are those performing undercar and underhood service, the work performed in typical U.S. tire dealerships, as well as new car dealerships and other businesses that provide automotive services. It doesn’t include those doing body and collision work, or diesel mechanics. It also doesn’t include tire changers. The Great Recession had a huge impact on the talent shortage, and according to the latest figures available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry still hasn’t

Maliyah Ramsey is a high school junior in Akron, Ohio, studying automotive technology at East Community Learning Center. Akron Public Schools is creating specific career-minded academies at each of its high schools, and it’s received a boost from Bridgestone Americas Inc. The tire maker sponsors the Bridgestone Academy of Applied Engineering and Technology, which includes an automotive curriculum, as well as electrical engineering, interactive media and welding classes.

MTD February 2019

F i n d i n g Te c h n i c i a n s recovered to 2008 employment levels. From 2008 to 2012, the number of new positions for technicians dropped by 62,600. By 2016 48,800 of those jobs, or about three out of four, had been recovered. And these numbers don’t take into account the need to replace technicians who retired, were promoted, or left the occupation for an entirely new career. It also doesn’t account for technicians who leave one employer for another and continue to do the same work. The Tech Force Foundation has worked to account for all of those variables, as well as the trends of what’s happening in service bays (technicians needed per vehicle, service hours), the overall health of the economy, and vehicles in use and miles driven. Its goal is to create a true picture of technician demand (see chart on page 22). In 2019, it adds up to 77,886 technicians. Settle says the government has maintained its employment projection models based on old employment patterns. The government has assumed when an 18-year-old entered the workforce, that person joined a company and never left until it was time to retire. “They’d show very few churns. We hear all the time now how kids are going to have seven-to-nine careers in their lifetime. We’ve already seen the effect of that. It was a factor of about three that (the old models) were off. For every one person needed, it was basically three.” Kevin Rohlwing isn’t surprised by those figures. The son of a tire dealer, Rohlwing is senior vice president of training for the Tire Industry Association. He’s 52, and says

A salary comparison of four trades Occupation Automotive service technician

$39,550

Plumber, pipefitter, steamfitter

$52,590

Electrician

$54,110

Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration installer

$47,080

Median wage for all workers

$37,690

SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

many of his Generation X cohorts have left the industry. They were working for baby boomers and grew impatient waiting for their turn to move up and lead. Other industries offered them that chance. The result? “We’ve got a huge talent gap. We’ve got the boomers and then the millennials, and we’ve got nothing in between.” Tire dealers need to start cultivating younger talent and recruit people into the industry, Rohlwing says. But they have to show potential for growth down the road. “Dealers are starting to understand that this younger generation is not just going to come in, get a job and work for money. They want to know ‘What’s the path? What’s the endgame?’” He says new entrants have some understanding that they’ll have to work their way up, but they also want to know what’s in it for them. “Just getting a paycheck isn’t enough anymore.” Tire dealers used to think of health insurance as the differentiator, but that’s not enough anymore, either. Rohlwing says health insurance is expected, and your competitors are offering it. “It’s a competition for talent. Who’s

Cardeyair’e Trammell is learning hands-on skills, including how to mount tires, as a junior in high school. Bridgestone has outfitted a portion of the automotive classroom at East Community Learning Center in Akron with a small showroom and customer waiting area, and later this year students will open the doors to their own Firestone Complete Auto Care store to the public.

2017 median annual wage

going to get the best talent? It’s about money. It’s about benefits. It’s about equipment.” Owners and managers also need to take an honest look at their business’ curb appeal. Nice-looking building, clean trucks and new tools versus unattractive building, old trucks and rusty tools. Training is another key, Rohlwing says. “Am I going to provide you training, or am I just going to let you shadow somebody and learn a bunch of bad habits and hope you don’t get hurt? “This younger generation is not fooled. They ask, ‘What can you offer me? Why should I work for you instead of him?’”

INSPIRE THEM TO COME, AND STAY Chris Blanchette is director of technical operations and innovation for Bridgestone Retail Operations LLC. On any given day Bridgestone employs 15,000 technicians at its Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus and Wheel Works stores. “We need these individuals to be interested, engaged, educated, and we’re willing to do a lot of that ourselves,” he says. “We feel an obligation to provide that to our teams.”

Zaveon Carter operates a lift inside the East Community Learning Center’s automotive classroom. Trammell is a junior, and in the first year of a two-year program.

MTD February 2019

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F i n d i n g Te c h n i c i a n s Blanchette says there’s more to it than having “a funnel and inspiring young people to get into the industry.” For example, the company realized that the constant search for good help can be exasperated by a bad boss. Employers have to provide a good place to work supported by “the latest and greatest” equipment and with leaders who know how to help technicians succeed and thrive.

“We want to inspire people to come into the industry, but also stay in the industry.” John Marshall is doing his part in Dayton, Ohio, to entice young people into the automotive field. Marshall, the corporate secretary of Grismer Tire Co., has been in the tire industry for 50 years, and says hiring has “always been a challenge. Everybody’s always looking for good help. I’d say it’s

become more critical in the last three or four years.” And it was about three years ago Marshall had his first conversation with a local school board member about the need for automotive technicians. The school board member was intrigued, and introduced Marshall to the school’s high school automotive teacher. He’s since gone to many more schools. He meets school board members and principals, and groups of teachers when he can. Most are unaware of the demand for technicians, and Marshall talks about “the fantastic opportunities in the trades, not just in automotive. These fields can be lucrative, and there’s tremendous demand.”

Ty’aire “Tiggy” Solomon is among the students learning hands-on skills as part of a two-year automotive technology curriculum in Akron.

When it comes to automotive services, he shows his technicians earn more than some who pursue a college degree. He also points out “you’re not going to send your car to China to be repaired.” Marshall is doing more than lip service. He’s hired high school students to work part-time at the company’s 24 Grismer Tire & Auto Service locations, and he’s set up a program to sponsor interested students who choose to move on to the automotive program at Sinclair Community College in Dayton. Students pay for their classes upfront, but can earn a refund from Grismer Tire when the term is over. The reimbursement amount is dependent on the grades they earn. Typically, the company has two or three students enrolled at Sinclair every year. The nation’s low unemployment rate has compounded the problem of finding technicians. In Dayton, it was 4.6% at the end of 2018, slightly higher than the national rate of 3.9%. Marshall says it makes sense to try to recruit younger people to the trade. “We’re thinking of going into maternity wards.” ■

MTD February 2019

Nominate your choice for Modern Tire Dealer’s

2019 TIRE DEALER OF THE YEAR WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING nominations for our 27th annual Tire Dealer of the

THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS TIRE INDUSTRY AWARD!

Year award. We are looking for an exceptional tire dealer to join the ranks of other industry greats in receiving this high honor. In addition to industry recognition, the winning dealer’s favorite charity will receive a minimum contribution of $1,000 from MTD. The dealer also will be featured in the September issue of Modern Tire Dealer and online.

In selecting MTD’s 27th annual Tire Dealer of the Year, judges will consider five elements: 1 Business Success 2 Marketing Skills 3 Management Skills 4 Industry Knowledge 5 Community Involvement Any independent tire dealer, except our previous winners, is eligible for the competition. Content of nominations, not entry embellishments, will determine the winner, so keep entries factual and simple. Support material may be included, but is not mandatory.

To immediately nominate a dealer, log onto: http://www.moderntiredealer.com/tiredealeroftheyear and fill out our online nomination form by May 24, 2019.

MTD01-0337.19

For more information, contact MTD Editor Bob Ulrich at: bob.ulrich@bobit.com. Go directly to the Tire Dealer of the Year page on our website: www.moderntiredealer.com/tiredealeroftheyear

Brake Service

SERVICE BRAKES, RIDE CONTROL AND TIRES TOGETHER TO REDUCE COMEBACKS

Ann Neal

hen it comes to diagnosing brake, ride control and tire wear issues, a new approach to the tried-and-true steps for inspecting vehicles can help boost service sales and reduce comebacks. For details, Modern Tire Dealer turned to Joe Bacarella from Tenneco Inc., manufacturer of Monroe shocks and other aftermarket products, and Dann Ingebritson from Brake Parts Inc LLC (BPI), maker of Raybestos brand brakes.

THINK DYNAMICALLY Since most inspections are performed when a vehicle is on a hoist or alignment rack, technicians fall into a pattern of thinking statically when performing inspections or alignments, according to Bacarella, who is Tenneco’s manager of training. The tendency is to think statically when diagnosing a ride, tire or braking concern, too. “The most accurate brake, tire wear and ride control diagnosis comes from technicians who think dynamically. In other words, they are thinking about what’s happening when the vehicle, and specifically the suspension, is in motion,” says Bacarella. “If they are looking at brakes statically, and not thinking about what’s happening to the suspension when they are applying the brakes, they are not going to resolve the brake issue.” For example, technicians who think statically will recommend front brake service only for a vehicle with worn front brake

pads and good rear pads. But technicians who think dynamically look at the vehicle’s repair history. They might find the customer has gone through front brake pads every 10,000 or 15,000 miles on a vehicle with 60,000 miles and the original rear brake pads. Technicians who think dynamically consider what might cause brake pads to wear when the vehicle is in motion. “For example, if there’s a lot of weight transfer to the front wheels, it could cause more loading on the front brakes and cause them to wear out prematurely,” says Bacarella. “If a technician inspects both front and rear ride control, he or she may discover the ride control components are worn, allowing the weight to transfer very quickly when the brakes are applied.” Approaching the inspection with a dynamic mind-set also can prevent misdiagnosing the source of a customer’s complaint. “Sometimes a customer will come in after a brake service and say the brakes feel grabby,” says Bacarella. “A tech may service the brakes again and try to resolve issues that could lead to grabby brakes. But when the tech drives the vehicle he or she may find it’s actually a weight transfer issue.” “Every time they brake the front end might dive very quickly. The consumer thinks it’s caused by grabby brakes when worn ride control is causing the weight to shift very quickly.”

TIRE CUPPING ISSUES Thinking dynamically helps determine the source of tire cupping issues, too. “Techs can

align a vehicle and get everything perfect with the vehicle sitting statically, but if they are still experiencing an odd tire wear pattern, they need to think about what could cause that same type of wear even though all the alignment adjustments are fine,” says Bacarella. In order to resolve the customer’s concern with the first repair, technicians need to focus on what is happening as the suspension moves through its travel. “Not just vertically, but as the steering turns left to right. That not only means dynamic toe changes, but also other dynamic alignment changes and how the ride control slows all those different things down.”

RIDE CONTROL AND TIRE VIBRATION Bacarella notes that worn ride control components can be a source of vibration issues with low-profile tires. “If technicians do not have success eliminating a vibration through road force variation balancing, they might assume it’s coming from elsewhere in the vehicle, like the engine or the drivetrain. In reality the resolution could be to replace worn or low-cost replacement shocks and struts with premium units designed for the challenges presented by low-profile tires.” The Monroe OE-Spectrum line of shocks and struts is engineered with the latest original equipment valving to help eliminate repetitive vibrations that are difficult to balance out of low-profile tires, according to Bacarella. The vibrations in properly balanced lowprofile tires are due to the combination of MTD February 2019

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Brake Service lightweight suspension components made from materials like aluminum (instead of forged steel) and stiff sidewalls. In older vehicles, tire cupping suggests worn ride control components. However, low-profile tires and lightweight suspension materials are reducing instances of tire cupping. “You don’t see tire cupping as often as you used to on older vehicles that had heavier suspension components. Issues with ride control wear are showing themselves as accelerated tire wear,” says Bacarella. “The tire may not have the large cupped areas but may be wearing more quickly. Even more evidence would be vibrations in the vehicle that aren’t resolved even after the tires are balanced properly.”

does the customer have new tires, but when the conversion kit is installed in place of worn units, the vehicle is more comfortable and stable, plus components will last longer since the suspension is restored to the proper height.”

OE VERSUS REPLACEMENT PADS Ingebritson, who is a senior trainer at Brake Parts, says an old saying used by tire dealers is easy for consumers to understand: “The brakes stop the tires from turning but the tires stop the car.” What customers don’t understand is why the replacement brakes don’t last as long as the original ones. “In some cases, the aftermarket brake parts were not good quality and even under

The example of a loaded truck with lack of lubrication, worn tires, worn bushings, and worn shocks and struts pulling a trailer helps illustrate his point. “Not only would the rear shocks allow the rear of the truck to lift, the trailer would make it worse. Now the driver is trying to stop with 80% front brakes and the tires keep locking up — remember they are almost bald — so the ABS keeps cycling. This all adds up to a bad experience trying to stop this truck quickly.” Ingebritson says he would love to replace the pads and rotors on a brand new vehicle with Raybestos brakes. “Drive the vehicle until the pads wear down to sensors and record time and mileage. Now put on the pads and rotors that came with the vehicle and check time and mileage. I’d bet the tables would be turned and the OE parts would not last as long.”

3 SYSTEMS WORKING TOGETHER

Approaching brakes, ride control and tires as systems to be serviced together, not separately, helps service advisors and automotive technicians make more accurate service recommendations to their customers, say industry experts.

CONVERSION KITS Bacarella says kits that convert high-tech ride control components on later-model vehicles to standard shocks and springs are becoming popular as vehicles age. Technologies such as electronic adjustable suspensions, air leveling systems and self-leveling mechanical shocks are expensive to replace. “Sometimes tires are worn because the OE ride control components have failed and the customer doesn’t want to spend the money to replace the OE-style, high-end units. Monroe offers OE-style electronic replacement options as well as kits to convert the suspension to standard springs and premium aftermarket replacement units based on the customer’s needs.” The conversion kits are easy to install, he says, and complete instructions for swapping the units are available at the Monroe website and YouTube channel. “Not only

the perfect conditions, would not last or stop as well as the original equipment. But many times the replacement brake parts are the same or better quality than the OE,” he says. If the replacement parts are better quality than the original, why don’t they last as long? “The answer is usually a combination of caliper operation, worn bushings, lack of lubrication and worn out shocks and struts. The nose dive and rear lift combine to put too much pressure on the front brakes.” Most vehicles have dynamic rear proportioning (DRP), which uses the ABS (anti-lock braking system) and wheel speed sensors to control pressure to the rear wheels, says Ingebritson. A heavily loaded vehicle will have full brake pressure going to the rear calipers, if needed. Empty vehicles will have the pressure reduced using the isolation valve in the ABS unit.

Electronic stability control (ESC), roll-over stability control (RSC) and auto emergency braking (AEB) all depend on the operation and condition of the brakes, tires and ride control. “ESC actually applies one single brake to keep the vehicle on the road, without the driver touching the brake pedal,” says Ingebritson. “If the tire is bouncing off the road due to a pothole, the braking action will have no effect. It’s just like building a bridge. If the weakest support fails, they all fail and the bridge collapses.” Ingebritson suggests service advisors and technicians think about how the brakes, tires and ride control work together and should be serviced together. For example, most vehicles go to the scrap yard with the OE shocks. “People don’t notice the poor ride control because it creeps up over the years. They really notice when you replace ride control parts.” Another example is a driver who runs tires down to the wear indicator, and the calipers are used over and over because they aren’t leaking. “Calipers rely on the flex of the square cut seal to retract the piston,” says Ingebritson. “That seal starts to deteriorate around 50,000 miles. The caliper may not leak, but it can’t retract the piston, so the brakes wear out early. “Educate your customer on these issues. You want them to have that ‘like new’ car feeling again and be safe while enjoying it.” ■ MTD February 2019

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Mounting/Balancing

How mounting and balancing will change in 2019 EQUIPMENT IS DESIGNED FOR DIFFICULT TIRE AND WHEEL FITMENTS By

Ann Neal

onsumer preference for everlarger, even more stylized wheels continues to trigger changes that are redefining how profits are realized in a tire store’s service bays. MTD asked equipment manufacturers for trends in consumer tire mounting and balancing that will influence tire dealers’ business strategies and equipment purchases. We also asked how tire dealers can respond to the trends impacting the marketplace. Answering on behalf of BendPak Inc. was Max Glassburg, creative content editor. Dave Scribner, product development manager, responded for CEMB USA/BL Systems Inc. Speaking for Hennessy Industries Inc. was Don Vanderheyden, director of marketing. Hunter Engineering Co. answered through two people: Pete Liebetreu, vice president of marketing, and Greg Meyer, product manager of wheel balancers and lathes. Snap-on Equipment Inc. shared perspective via Kyle Harris, product manager.

handle a wider variety of wheel sizes. The second trend we’re noticing is that flashier rims are no longer exclusive to custom and luxury markets. OEMs are differentiating their wheels for uniqueness and identification purposes. More and more, style matters to owners of vehicles that were once considered purely practical daily drivers. This change, which is being driven by OEMs and their response to market demands, means there is a bigger market for larger, more stylized wheels. This is even true for economy vehicle wheels. To meet these new consumer demands, car makers are now offering aluminum and alloy wheels as standard options. This means less use of clip-on weights and more tape weights. It also requires an increased awareness of how to handle these specialized varieties.

The third trend we’re seeing, which we won’t spend as much time discussing here, is that both the off-road and plus-size markets are growing. Be ready to see more large tire-and-wheel combinations rolling into your shop. CEMB, Scribner: Heavy wheel lifting can hurt your shop and balancing accuracy. There are young tire guys and bold tire guys but never old and bold tire guys. It’s tough work bending over and lifting all day long. The young and bold tire guys will someday be older and need to look at the guys who made it and the guys who didn’t and ended up disabled. To prevent injuries and reduce shop liabilities, enforce the use of employee personal safety equipment and teach lifting precautions when assemblies approach 50

Growth of Difficult Tire and Wheel Fitments

TOP TRENDS MTD began by asking each respondent to identify the top three trends their companies are seeing in consumer tire mounting and balancing. BendPak, Glassburg: If you’ve been in this business for a while, you know that the wheel balancing game looks different today compared to what it looked like just a few years ago. We can definitely point to three industry trends that account for this change. The first trend we’re seeing is the proliferation of larger-diameter rims and tires on smaller passenger cars. Dealers need to be ready with tire machines that can safely

Hunter Engineer Co.’s Pete Liebetreu notes dealers have been experiencing today’s trends for some time now: the growth of larger, heavier wheels driven by the move to SUVs and trucks; the growth of low-profile and run-flat tires as sedans and performance vehicles increasingly adopt these styles; and the ever-present decline in traditional assemblies. Hunter defines tires as follows: low-profile – fitments 45 series or lower; run-flat – any type of run-on flat tire; large diameter – wheel size in excess of 20 inches; heavy assembly – assemblies whose overall diameter exceeds 30 inches.

MTD February 2019

Mounting/Balancing pounds and over. Most tire changers and wheel balancers are now available with tire lifts to aid in lifting from the floor to work height; it’s a good investment for your shop and your employees’ “wheel-being.” Wheel lifts on balancers also allow the operator to greatly improve centering on heavy wheels by negating the effects of gravity combined with tapered centering cones and spacers. Shop managers should train all operators to understand the importance of how to simply validate a wheel is centered before balancing. Hennessy, Vanderheyden: Computer balancers on the market today will dynamically balance a wheel. However, due to weight round-offs and slight weight replacement errors, they oftentimes leave an excessive residual static imbalance. The ongoing pursuit of increased fuel economy will continue to increase vehicle sensitivity to vibration and drive the need for tighter balancing tolerances in aftermarket wheel service. Tire innovations driven by the need for reduced rolling resistance will compound the ride quality challenges already faced in the aftermarket. Hunter, Meyer: The first trend is comeback reduction. Many customers are beginning to understand the value in customer retention. When dealing with tires, this means the tires must be vibration-free the first time. Customers are investing in equipment that makes this easy. Tire changers

like the Revolution that can automatically perform a bead massage ensure that tires are seated properly on rims and reduce road force and therefore vibrations. Having equipment like Hunter’s Road Force balancer that can “test drive” these and fix problem assemblies before giving the vehicle back to the customer is critical. The second trend is ease of use. Technician turnover is a real issue. Tire dealers are looking for equipment that is easy to use and allows technicians to start working with little to no training. They are increasingly looking for equipment that is simple to use and provides on the job training with videos, animations, and simple instructions. The third trend is technician safety. Preventing technician injuries is a key concern. This is becoming increasingly difficult with the larger tire assemblies that are now standard on vehicles. Leverless tire changers are much more popular than years past to reduce injuries. Wheel lifts are very popular on both tire changers and balancers to reduce technician strain. Snap-on Equipment, Harris: Consumers are moving from traditional cars to SUVs and trucks. This will require tire dealers to stock and sell larger, more expensive tires. Trucks wear tires faster than traditional passenger cars and require replacement more often. Wheels continue to grow in size; for example, 22-inch wheels are now standard on many SUVs. This requires greater skill and attention to detail when changing as not to damage raised spokes or crack plastic cladding. Custom wheels are a $1.21 billion industry and custom wheels are getting larger in diameter, wider and also offer more extreme offset. Many aftermarket wheel and tire packages are dealer installed.

UPDATE ON EQUIPMENT

The new CEMB ER75TD HubMatch RFV Wheel Balancer combines dynamic AutoAdaptive One Plane Balancing and other new time-saving features with an on-car eccentricity cancellation process.

Modern Tire Dealer also asked manufacturers the best ways for tire dealers to leverage these trends. BendPak, Glassburg: As we know, tire dealers need to have the ability to safely and accurately accommodate larger wheels built with custom materials and varying paint finishes. The types of metals and finishes, such as the popular powder coat finish, can make handling these tires a delicate activity. If handling is not precisely performed, well, that can be a very costly lesson. Proper handling requires tire changers with larger

Bendpak says the LS43B wheel balancer by Ranger optimizes outboard and inboard wheel weight placements with exclusive Laser-Spot technology for balances within hundredths of an ounce.

wheel handling capacities and clamping systems that will accommodate exotic wheels without damaging them. It used to be that unique wheel types were primarily found on luxury cars, but the market is becoming increasingly diverse. Traditional tire changers, if not properly equipped, can mar softer alloy and clad wheels. Such changers can also scuff or scratch powder coated finishes, which are expensive to re-finish. Powder coating is becoming a popular trend among custom car builders, so expect to see many of these color-rich wheels rolling in your shop soon, if you haven’t already. In order to stay competitive in their markets and safely handle these wheels, savvy tire dealers are supplementing their wheel service offerings with a “touchless” tire changer. Touchless tire changer designs typically mount the wheel at the center hub rather than the outside diameter of the wheel. This means there is reduced chance of damage to visible surfaces. In addition, a touchless changer utilizes mounting and demounting tools that make no contact with the wheel, further reducing the chance of costly damage. If nothing else, the major takeaway here is that the market demand is for larger wheels and more unique wheel stylings. Is your shop prepared for the future? CEMB, Scribner: Better quality wheels allow more profitable wheel balancing. Major brand name tires and wheels are built with much better uniformity. They balance with less weight and are more uniform (i.e., have MTD February 2019

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Mounting/Balancing

less eccentricity). As a result, the wheels today are primarily balanced to correct static force. Wheel balancers place two weights to perform a dynamic balance, but actually a single weight can now suffice to provide the same dynamic balance if it is placed in the exact correct location; all because the wheels are better quality. This can be proven. When balancing you’ll notice that the two correction weights are often located in the same quadrants of the wheel. Shifting over to a static mode you can see that most of the imbalance is also reflected in the static mode. The fact is that most wheel balancers are outdated and need to catch up with the better-quality wheels we are now balancing. Newer wheel balancers are able to scan the wheel and allow the operator to place a single weight over 70% of the time in a single computer-chosen position to perfectly dynamic balance the wheel. This can save over 33% in labor costs on every wheel that is balanced. That’s enough labor savings in an average tire shop to make the lease payment on that new machine every month. Hennessy, Vanderheyden: Improper mounting results in 60% of vibration-related comebacks. Excessive residual static results

in 10% of vibration-related comebacks. Improper wheel weight usage results in 7% of vibration-related comebacks. Modern tire changers and balancers are designed to accommodate the challenges of modern tire and wheel assemblies with adjustable pin plates, balancing algorithms and laser-guided wheel weight placement capabilities. The latest tire changers, such as the Coats 80X Rim Clamp tire changer, speed bay turns, which leads to increased profits for shops. Coats offers an online video series that explains the tools and technologies to increase tire changing speed and efficiencies. The Coats buyer’s guide steps a dealer through the process of selecting mounting and balancing equipment. Hunter, Liebetreu: Low-profile and run- flat tires challenge the ease of use and effort of traditional equipment. Thus new equipment offers aids and power tools like leverless, etc. The larger assemblies are physically hard to manage, thus wheel lifts, etc. New assemblies demand accuracy as well. They can be sensitive to vibration and damage during service. New vehicle suspensions are more highly tuned, driving the demand for perfection in service even higher. The best equipment and best equipped

Patented technology in the John Bean T5745T Tilt-Back Tire Changer from Snapon Equipment automatically minimizes risk of damage to tires and optimizes the torque applied to the wheel.

Features of the Coats 80X Rim Clamp tire changer from Hennessy include a patented Robo-Arm helper device to assist in efficiently changing low-profile and run-flat tires.

Hunter’s Revolution tire changer with WalkAway capability allows the operator to “walk away,” freeing him to perform balancing or other tasks during the longest portion of the tire changing action.

shops are better able to handle these additional requirements with easy mounting, damage-free tire changers and accurate, weight efficient, and road force capable balancers. The successful tire dealers can separate themselves from what is perceived as a commodity market. Those who are able to set themselves apart as vibration experts and tire specialists will be more successful than those who do not. Having the right equipment and trained personnel is critical, but expressing this to customers is equally important. Snap-on Equipment, Harris: Customers can leverage the SUV trend by stocking larger sizes for trucks and SUVs and by being sure their equipment is up-to-date and well maintained to handle these larger, heavier assemblies. Adding additional equipment such as wheel lifts to existing tire changers and balancers is a great way for a business to equip itself to take advantage of this trend. As OEM wheels grow in size and complexity, having proper mounting and balancing tooling is critical. Being able to balance these large and heavy wheels without damage while avoiding customer comebacks is virtually a requirement in today’s tire industry. Equipping your shop to service customers with expensive aftermarket wheels and tires can create new revenue streams and also create new challenges. Having the very best and latest in leverless tire machines can make the difference between buying a customer a new wheel or making a happy customer. ■ MTD February 2019

C o m m e r c i a l T i r e D e a l e r TM

SYLVESTER TRUCK AND TIRE SERVICE INC. IS A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR LOCAL AND OUT-OF-TOWN FLEETS By

Shana O’Malley-Smith

t’s hard to miss the sprawling 20,000-square-foot Sylvester Truck and Tire Service Inc. building when traveling along I-90 in the Cleveland suburb of Avon, Ohio. Interstate 90 is the longest interstate highway in the United States, stretching from Boston all the way to Seattle, with millions of vehicles traveling along the thoroughfare each year. When a piece of land nestled alongside the highway came up for sale more than 20 years ago, Dave Sylvester jumped on the opportunity. “The visibility and location is what drew me here,” says Sylvester, owner of Sylvester’s. “I have an excellent location in the state of Ohio.” Sylvester Truck and Tire Service Inc. is both a full service commercial truck tire and repair shop as well as a car and light truck tire and auto repair shop all under one roof. About eight years ago Sylvester also became a certified Mitsubishi Fuso truck sales and service specialist. “We’ve been doing very well with them,” he says. Sylvester, a G3X Goodyear dealer, sources his Goodyear, Kelly and Dunlop brands from Capital Tire Inc. while sourcing his other major tire brands, including Continental, Firestone, Hankook, Toyo, Michelin, BFGoodrich, Cooper and Roadmaster, from K&M Tire Inc. He also is a member of K&M’s Big 3 marketing program. Sylvester keeps about $1 million worth of inventory at the shop with twice-a-day w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

Dave Sylvester is owner of Sylvester Truck and Tire Service Inc. in Avon, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb.

deliveries from both of his key suppliers. His inventory includes some 2,000 truck, light truck and passenger tires. The commercial truck work makes up about 70% of business, while the retail side makes up about 30%, according to Sylvester. The retail side features six bays capable of working on all aspects of tires as well as everything underneath the vehicle and engine work. “Diagnostics, brake work, muffler work, tune-up work and that kind of stuff,” he says. Sylvester’s employs about 16 technicians, some of whom are cross-trained to work on both sides of the shop.

“If the retail side is quiet and they need some work, we have it set up where they can take some of our lighter truck business and vice versa. If the truck side is very busy, I have a few cross-trained technicians who can come over to the truck side and help us out,” he says. The truck side features eight large bays that can hold up to four trucks per bay or

Also in CTD Plenty of optimism: Panelists predict the OTR tire market will continue to grow ............................... 46

S y l v e s t e r Tr u c k a n d T i r e S e r v i c e trucks with trailers attached. The shop can perform work on everything from tires to brakes to welding on trucks and trailers. “From morning until night there’s never an empty bay,” he says. Over the years Sylvester has grown his commercial truck customer base to roughly 800 fleet accounts, many of which are from out of state. “We have a good, strong local customer base, but my stronger base is out of town,” he says. “For example, let’s say there’s a fleet out of New Jersey and they have 400 trucks and they’re servicing an account in the Columbus area and I-90 is on their route. They’ll stop here and we handle whatever their needs are.” Typically, the out-of-town fleet’s maintenance manager will email Sylvester’s and let them know what work needs to be done as well as what their turnaround time is. That customer goes to the top of the shop’s to-do list. “On the truck side we’re focused on fleets and the local business accounts,” Sylvester says. “Yes, we have some independent operators that we’ve had long-standing relationships with, and on the retail side we have a lot of walk-in business and a lot of fleet business.” In order to handle its heavy volume of business, Sylvester’s is equipped with the latest tools and technology to get the job done quickly and correctly the first time so busy trucks can get back on the road. “Between the Fuso trucks and the heavy truck repair and heavy truck alignment, we have two different alignment racks. We have a full pit for heavy trucks and a medium area for medium trucks. We also have a frame rack for frame straightening, and a fabricating area for truck-related fabrication. We do everything bumper-to-bumper on the trucks. That’s what the fleets like.” The tire techs are Tire Industry Association (TIA) trained, and some techs are factory trained to work on the Fuso line. He

David Peters handles things on the retail tire side of the business. Retail makes up about 30% of sales.

also has truck technicians who can handle just about anything that rolls through the garage doors. “It’s all about giving them the right tools to perform truck repair,” Sylvester says. “Nowadays it doesn’t change monthly, it changes daily and we spend the money to keep up with the technology. That is very important. I utilize state-of-the-art equipment, computers and diagnostic equipment and my people are all trained.” Whether it’s a long-haul, regional or mixed service truck, Sylvester’s has the right tire. If for some reason a truck can’t get to the shop, Sylvester’s will come to them. “If that truck is in Toledo (95 miles away) or Akron or Canton and they have issues, we’ll send a service truck out and do the repair or tire service,” he says. “We go out and perform roadside service for tires, offroad and we do mechanical truck service.” They also have towing capabilities. “We have heavy towing trucks and light trucks for the auto side. We don’t advertise the towing, but we utilize it for the customer base that we have,” he says.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS There’s a humble sense of pride that emanates from Sylvester when he talks about his early days in the truck tire industry.

In addition to running a tire dealership, Sylvester became a certified Mitsubishi Fuso truck dealer eight years ago.

“My junior and senior year of high school, I played sports, and on the weekends I washed trucks and greased trucks for Leaseway Transportation,” he says. “That was my initial insight on the trucking business.” He worked his way up from truck washer to tire changer to diesel technician for Leaseway. At the time, Leaseway was one of the largest transportation logistics companies in the world. Sylvester knew he wanted to work in the transportation industry and took a full-time job with Leaseway after high school. “I was doing some night school at Cleveland State University, and Leaseway asked me to come on board full-time and I did that,” he says. “I worked out of their corporate headquarters in Beachwood, Ohio. I was involved in operations so wherever they needed us, they would send us.” Sylvester provided assistance for whatever fleets needed from mechanical issues to tire issues to union issues. “It taught me all of the fundamentals of transportation and logistics and trucks,” he says. While things were going well for Sylvester’s career, Leaseway was heading into financial trouble in the late 1980s. “One day they came in and fired the whole department. They fired the whole company,” Sylvester says. Sylvester had several other job offers on the table, but his wife and two teenage daughters were not fans of moving away from home. “They said, ‘We’re not moving,’ because they were in high school,” he says. “So I had one option and that was to start my own business, and that’s what I did.” Sylvester’s first day working for himself entailed a call from a national breakdown system out of the South who dispatched him to put on a truck tire. “And it was the wrong-sized tire,” he jokes. “I started off as the only person in the business. I did the tire service, I did

Although not a large part of the business, Sylvester also sells and services OTR tires based on customer requests.

MTD February 2019

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S y l v e s t e r Tr u c k a n d T i r e S e r v i c e He uses a mix of platforms to attract new employees, including online ads, wordof-mouth and occasionally contacting the local tech schools. “I’ve utilized all of the tech schools in the past, but they’re not my favorite place to go,” he explains. “My issue with tech schools is that the students are taught that they’re going to make $37 an hour to start and that’s not reality, and they have a hard time with that.” When he does find a good employee, Sylvester says he does what he can to keep them around. “It’s hard to find people, let alone qualified people,” he says. “That’s an expense that we pick up every day in training... hoping they stay with us. I let them know that I’m here and if they need to exit for something else, then we need to talk. We stress that.”

Clockwise from top left: Sylvester Truck and Tire Service technician Joe Bury finishes an oil change; Dale Hassel does metal fabrication work on a truck’s service bed; Mike McMath concentrates while performing engine diagnostic work; and Carson Hancock balances a light truck tire.

BUILDING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

That was part of the vision and the design,” he explains. “I used to sketch the building when I worked at Leaseway.”

TOP-NOTCH TECHS

the truck service, I did the tire repair, I did the truck repair. I kept my sales clothes in my vehicle and sometimes I didn’t make it home for three days.” Sylvester initially worked out of his service vehicle and had his inventory delivered to a farm field in neighboring Avon Lake. “I rented a spot from a farmer, and I parked my vehicles there and I had my inventory delivered to me there. They rolled the tires out into the mud and snow and that’s where they landed.” He eventually rented a building, grew some large accounts and saved enough money to purchase a building in a nearby industrial park. “Then we grew out of that and I purchased the property here where we are now,” he says. The building took three years to construct and is separated into two wings — the trucking side and the auto tire and service side. The middle of the building houses his office as well as the sales and accounting staff. “From my office I can see both shops.

Sylvester has nearly 30 employees including himself and his wife, Rhea, who has been with him from day one. She now runs the front office. Sylvester’s son-in-law, Jason, also works in the office part-time. Whether it’s a new technician, salesperson or someone in the front office, Sylvester says he looks for a positive attitude and good attendance when hiring someone. “I know their qualifications when I interview them. That’s why they’re here. But when they’re sitting in the seat and I interview them, it’s all about attitude. When we bring them in we put them through a six-month training program before we let them go on their own.” Sylvester has a mix of younger employees as well as employees who have been with him for more than 20 years. He tends to have a harder time training and retaining the younger generation. “The younger generation has a hard time taking direction and taking constructive criticism,” he says. “Their attendance stinks, but once we work through that, it’s all about building responsibility. Their pay reflects their responsibility. Within a year we usually have a decent employee.”

Building a successful business doesn’t happen overnight. One of the ways Sylvester has built his success is by building strong relationships with customers. Whether it’s someone with a single truck or a corporation with a fleet of trucks, Sylvester values every account. “It’s all about relationships and good quality service and a fair price,” he says. On the truck side, Sylvester’s top salesman, Mark Carpenter, has been with him for 20 years and handles fleet accounts. “He not only sells the tire brands that we sell, but he also sells our service and that, of course, helps him in his sales because they utilize the tire service and everything else that we offer,” Sylvester says. About three-and-a-half years ago, John Bishop joined the business to handle commercial tire sales and Fuso truck sales. “He was with Continental General for years out in the Dakotas,” Sylvester says. “He’s doing a good job for us.” Sylvester’s has built a reputation of providing quick, reliable service, and a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make sure customers are 100% satisfied. Sylvester says having a one-on-one relationship is key to keeping customers from seeking out your competitors. “This building has been here 21 years, and we counted not too long ago that there’s 36 competitors who have moved into my immediate area, within a four-mile radius, that do some type of my business — retail, truck, off-road, leasing, rental business or towing.” MTD February 2019

S y l v e s t e r Tr u c k a n d T i r e S e r v i c e STAYING RELEVANT Although Sylvester’s has a strong reputation in the local community, he still advertises in the local paper and sends out coupons for the retail side. On the commercial truck tire side of the business, he’ll run a few local billboard ads. “And we’re out there on systems through the major tire brands, and then our truck marketing is through the manufacturer themselves.” Another way he gets customers in the door is through online shopping. “You’d be surprised at the business that comes through e-commerce,” he says. “It doubles every year.” Many customers will purchase a set of tires through a third party website and have them shipped to the store for installation. “We have a set price for the install,” he says. Once the customer is in the door, it gives his retail staff a chance to build a relationship with the customer, hear additional concerns that the customer might have about the vehicle, and recommend further service. If a customer buys a set of tires directly from Sylvester’s, they offer one-hour installation and free lifetime rotations.

Greg Smith, left, publisher of MTD, presented Sylvester with the K&M Mr. Tire and Big 3 Tire 2019 Commercial Tire Dealer of the Year Award at the recent K&M dealer meeting.

SELF-MADE SUCCESS Dave Sylvester has come a long way in the 32 years since he made the decision to go out on his own. Thanks to his hard work, ambition and best practices, his days renting space in a farm field for his tire inventory are almost

forgotten. His impressive facility, top tier technicians and a willingness to go above and beyond for his customers have set up the business for future success. And with a lifetime of experience under his belt, Sylvester shows no signs of slowing down. The business owner still goes out and personally meets with customers on a weekly basis. “I go out a few days a week and keep in touch with our fleet customers,” Sylvester says. “If there’s any issues we discuss it. If we haven’t done any business in a while I like to get out and meet with them. “If there’s a problem I hear about it. If they have to fix a customer’s tire twice, I hear about it.” All of this is in keeping with his business philosophy of perseverance, having good employees and providing strong customer service. ■ Shana O’Malley Smith is a freelance writer living in northeast Ohio. She specializes in the automotive aftermarket.

Advanced Agriculture Tires by

Tel: +1 737 231 0670 www.gritires.com

MTD February 2019

OTR Tires

Maxam’s McDonnell describes the size of the OTR tire market in the U.S. as “significant, one of the top five markets in the world today.”

BKT’s Pompo’s says demand for 25-inch OTR tire sizes was strong in 2018, while midsize (1800-33 through 2700-49) tire demand was “very strong.”

PLENTY OF OPTIMISM PANELISTS PREDICT THE OTR TIRE MARKET WILL CONTINUE TO GROW

very year, the Tire Industry Association (TIA) hosts a tire manufacturers’ panel discussion at the TIA OTR Tire Conference. In preparation for this year’s upcoming event in Tampa, Fla., Modern Tire Dealer asked the participants on last year’s annual panel discussion one question: How do you think the U.S. replacement OTR tire market will fare in 2019 and why? One manufacturer said he already has faced many challengers this year, but “all were positive.” Shawn Rasey, director of global earthmover business development for Continental Tire the Americas LLC, said there was a lot of unit growth in 2018. “OE market demand continued to dramatically expand year over year, particularly in sizes for larger equipment which was consistent with OE equipment orders. The replacement market grew again in 2018 for the U.S. and Canada by a more modest level.” Rasey, who also will be a panelist at this year’s conference, said future replacement demand “should be buoyed by the larger volume of new OE machines going into the market in 2017 and 2018.” Here’s what each of the other panelists from last year had to say about the domestic OTR tire market in 2019. Gary Pompo, regional sales manager, BKT USA Inc.: We feel that 2019 will be another good year -- as long as Washington gets it together. If the federal government doesn’t get the shutdown resolved it will hurt the national projects that are going

and scheduled to start. But the economy is strong — everywhere you go there is construction, expansion going on. With that said, equipment orders are up, rentals are booked, so it’s great for us here at BKT. Jimmy McDonnell, vice president of sales and marketing, Maxam Tire North America Inc.: We expect the U.S. Replacement OTR Market to grow at a moderate pace in 2019, somewhere in the neighborhood of 3%. We are expecting good growth in OEM sales as construction and mining segments continue the positive performance and companies are investing in new equipment. Of course there are still many question marks about the general state of business in the U.S. (e.g., trade war with China, the instability of the stock markets). If the U.S. government can continue and increase spending in infrastructure we think the results could be significantly stronger. Bruce Besancon, vice president of off the road Sales, Yokohama Tire Corp.: The U.S. replacement OTR market should be on an excellent path for 2019 with moderate growth. There is growth seen in construction markets — obviously highly geographic, but Texas/western U.S. and southeast U.S. are showing significant gains year-over-year — and given the “relatively” calm winter thus far… we have actually seen several areas that have been able to work more in the November-December time frame than they had in previous years. The industrial tire sector — ports, terminals, rail yards, heavy manufacturing — continues to grow. It is estimated

that port traffic in many areas in growing at 5% per year. Steel mills are putting out more product than in previous years and continue to give upward forecast. Our rail yards, somewhat forgotten in the not too distant past, are seeing new signs of life as more and more “in-land ports” are springing up across the country to off-set the space requirements of the onwater ports… our rail system is still one of the most economically viable sources of transportation from coast to coast. Sand and gravel operations are showing upward trends as demand for road work and building supplies/concrete spur this along. And mining, both underground and surface, are “making hay while the sun shines” under the current administration, which appears to be more favorable to this business. While we are not seeing any significant “greenfield” mines, we are seeing increased tire demands from many of the mines that had been slowed in past years, with the most significant increases in eastern coal. Rob Seibert, executive director, sales, off-the-road tires, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (BATO): 2018 ended on a positive note and we anticipate the OTR replacement tire segment overall to remain healthy in 2019. We are particularly optimistic about the construction and aggregates segments. Infrastructure demand continues to grow and many construction companies are operating at capacity, creating pressure to maximize uptime and increase the amount of earth moved each day. ■ MTD February 2019

Business Insight

What employees get right BECOME BETTER AT POINTING OUT THE POSITIVES By

Dennis McCarron

w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

t’s easy writing articles about what’s wrong with the tire and service industry. It comes naturally to most folks — picking out what others are doing wrong. We are all guilty of it. You walk out into the shop and what are you looking for? Rags or parts boxes on the floor, the car that isn’t pulled in yet, the tech without his safety glasses. Interestingly, we are preconditioned from about age six to look for the wrong. It all starts in first grade. You take a test, and what is pointed out to you? All the questions you answered wrong. This goes on for 12 years! It’s a subconscious process, so we don’t even think about it. Negative comments just come out of our mouths as naturally as breathing. However, the consequences of being a nag to your employees is great. When you walk out into the shop, they tend to tense up, waiting for the list of things they should or shouldn’t be doing. We all need to get better at pointing out the positives. Making a big deal about when an employee does something right, or even better goes “above and beyond” to take care of a customer or help a fellow employee. The science behind pointing out the positive is pretty solid as it’s been studied for over a century. The findings are fairly universal: Negative comments by a boss have two times the impact of positive ones. This means that an employee feels the pain of being reprimanded twice as hard as when you applaud their efforts. So even if you offer 50% positive comments and 50% negative comments, your employees will still feel you are more negative than positive (they will feel you are 75% negative and 25% positive). And let’s face it, usually that’s our starting point, which makes matters worse. I want to challenge the industry to take this year and point out what gets done right. Say it out loud and be specific. My

challenge to you is to take a whole week and only point out the positive things your employees do, and keep the negative to yourself. The only exception would be something safety related. I double dog dare everyone reading this to take the one-week challenge. If you accept the challenge, it won’t take but a half day for an employee to say something along the lines of, “You OK, boss?” or, “Who are you, what have you done with our boss?” It’s a remarkable thing, positivity. If you give it a chance, I promise you, you will feel a difference in the shop, in the mood, and in the behaviors of your employees. People naturally respond to positive reinforcement and when it’s given to them, they are very likely to repeat that exact same behavior over again, seeking out the good feelings they felt when given the applause. People also naturally avoid negative comments, so if you have employees who don’t tell the truth or sometimes hide things like making mistakes, that’s a telltale sign there is too much nagging going on in the shop. So, make a brief list of all the things you see day-in and day-out that you could reinforce with your employees. Some are heroic, and some are simple gestures. I’m not advocating you reward an employee for a simple kind gesture (like getting a customer a cup of coffee) with a $200 gift

certificate. No, the action doesn’t warrant it. But immediately after they do that, couldn’t you say, “Hey, I saw you go over and give that customer a cup of coffee on this cold day. Thank you for doing that.”? That’s all it takes. So on to the list: Employees get cars done on time. They fill out inspections correctly. They say please and thank you to customers and each other. They recognize a customer in distress and leap into action to take that pain away (like getting a flat repair in quickly because that customer is late for work). Employees teach other employees how to do other jobs without you asking them to do it. They stay late to finish four tires and an alignment for an out-of-town customer. They successfully diffuse some pretty tense situations on a regular basis. They juggle multiple customers, the phone and emails from you about yesterday’s GP all in the span of five minutes and don’t break a sweat. There are a million things our employees do right every day, and we don’t always take the extra step to point it out and say thank you. And we should. I triple dog dare you to take the challenge. ■ Dennis McCarron is executive director of Dealer Strategic Planning Inc., a company that manages multiple tire dealer 20 Groups in the U.S. (www.dsp-20group.com). To contact McCarron, email him at dennis@dsp-20group.com.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Acquiring controlled distribution aids brand share growth By

Michael McGregor

ere’s a little history lesson for the young people. Bridgestone Corp. was not always the largest tire company in the world. The acquisition of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. in 1988 helped make it the largest. Initially, the deal did not include the Firestone stores, but to outbid a combined offer from Pirelli & Cie SpA and Groupe Michelin, Bridgestone upped its offer and had to take the stores as well as the factories. Once viewed as an afterthought, the stores would eventually help make Bridgestone the market share leader. I’m a big believer in acquiring controlled distribution as a business strategy. Controlled distribution allows a manufacturer to push what it wants both where it wants and when it wants. And it allows that manufacturer to capture the extra margin that exists between 1) the manufacturer to the distributor, 2) the distributor to the store and 3) the store to the consumer. Business is tough today. It’s nice to have multiple reasons to be in any industry. Controlled distribution offers manufacturers multiple, profitable reasons, and Bridgestone is the best example of how well this can work. In looking at the U.S. replacement passenger tire market share in 1988, industry leader Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. held a 16% share with its Goodyear brand alone, versus 10.5% for a combined Bridgestone brand (2%) and Firestone brand (8.5%). Thirty years later that has flipped. The chart below illustrates the change in each company’s store count over the same time period. I believe it’s no coincidence Bridgestone’s market share went up as its company-owned store count — aka controlled distribution — increased, while Goodyear’s brand share decreased as its store count dropped significantly. Goodyear’ share is now 12%, while Bridgestone and Firestone are a combined 14% with 7% each. Bridgestone/Firestone’s profit also improved over time as the mix shifted in the stores to higher ticket, higher margin Bridgestone product.

Company-Owned Store Count 2,250

2,000 1,500 1,000

1,500 1,000

500 0

580 1988 Goodyear

SOURCE: MICHAEL MCGREGOR

2,500

Undertaking this is not for the lighthearted. Bridgestone had to learn how to manage channel conflict, and the key person they chose to do this was tire industry legend John Gamauf, who got his start in those Firestone stores. Gamauf created the Affiliated Dealer program, which became part of the “family channel” in which certain “fighting products” like Dayton, Road King and Peerless were dedicated to the dealers and Triumph and Lemans went to the stores. Next, he created area-marketing rules that applied in metro and rural markets for existing and new locations and a conflict resolution methodology for when problems arose. Additionally, greater support was given to dealers who committed to a greater in-house share of Bridgestone/Firestone product and followed the rules he laid out. All these programs evolved over time, but Gamauf showed how a manufacturer could grow its dealer base and volume while also expanding its company-owned store count. Icahn Automotive Group LLC appears to be trying to do the same thing with parts. It sold Federal-Mogul LLC to parts manufacturer Tenneco Inc. for money and stock in Tenneco. The group also owns the Auto Plus and Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack parts distribution chains, and serves the end consumer through the various service outlets it has acquired, including Pep Boys, Just Brakes, AAMCO, Cottman and Precision Tune outlets and other tire dealers it has acquired. Icahn’s mix of retail brands looks to me like a hodgepodge. I can’t imagine that Just Brakes, Precision Tune or AAMCO/ Cottman do any sort of meaningful sales volume at retail. I think Icahn Automotive is better off acquiring the eight to 10 bay tire dealers and larger auto service facilities like its acquisitions of Advanced Auto & Tire in Phoenix and Mathis Tire in Memphis. I would not be surprised to see some of those other brands spun out again at some point. Like Icahn Automotive, TBC Corp. has a collection of companyowned outlets and franchise operations. I’m not privy to its financials, but I’ll bet you the company-owned outlets like NTB sell more tires, but the franchising operations make more money. If controlled distribution is part of the plan, it has to be a long-term play. Having experienced, high-volume tire and service operators running the stores is one key to success. Keeping that experienced team in place over many years is the next key toward continuous improvement. And investing in the business and new opportunities as they arise will help increase brand market share. ■

2018 Bridgestone/Firestone

Michael McGregor is a veteran of the tire and service industry and a partner at Focus Investment Banking LLC (focusbankers.com/tire-and-service). He advises and assists multi-location tire dealers on mergers and acquisitions in the auto aftermarket. For more information contact him at michael.mcgregor@focusbankers.com.

MTD February 2019

THANKYOU! The California Tire Dealers Association thanks those who contribute to our success!

For future membership, sponsorship and meeting host opportunities, please contact CTDA Executive Director Marc Connerly (916) 214-6495 mconnerly@connerlyandassociates.com

MTD01-0357.19

Thanks also go out to our speakers, meeting hosts, meeting sponsors, including Bolton & Co., Continental Tire, Freedom Tire Distributing, Giti Tire, Independent Tire Dealers Group, KYB Americas Corporation, Michelin Commercial Truck, Oâ€™Reilly Auto Parts, SEMA Wheel & Tire Council (WTC), Streamline Dynamics, Tiremetrix, Tire Industry Association (TIA), and annual sponsors Cintas Corporation as well as Flyers Energy.

TPMS

Nissan Titan 2004-2018

he tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) in the 2004 to 2018 Nissan Titan may also be referred to as the low tire pressure warning system. The instrument cluster may also be referred to as combination meter. During driving at speeds above 25 mph (40 km/h), the low tire pressure warning system receives the signal transmitted from the transmitter installed in each wheel, and gives alarms when the tire

COURTESY OF NISSAN MOTOR CO. USA

SUBJECT VEHICLES: 2004 â€“ 2018 Nissan Titan. RELEARN PROCEDURE? No. SPECIAL TOOLS NEEDED? A Nissan Signal Tech II scan tool (J-50190) or CONSULT scan tool can be used. A transmitter activation tool (J-45295) is used in the wakeup procedure and can aid in the registration procedure if using the CONSULT tool system.

pressure becomes low. A sensor-transmitter integrated with a valve (installed on each wheel) transmits a detected air pressure signal in the form of a radio wave. An antenna located in the passenger-side front pillar receives the air pressure signal transmitted by the transmitter in each wheel. The low tire pressure warning control unit reads the air

pressure signal received by the antenna, and controls the warning light and the buzzer operations. It also has a judgement function to detect a system malfunction.

TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT NOTE: Tire pressure rises and falls depending on heat caused by vehicleâ€™s operation and the

MTD February 2019

outside temperature. If the outside temperature is low, the air inside the tire may cool, causing a lower tire inflation pressure. This may cause the low tire pressure warning light to illuminate. When the low tire pressure warning system detects low inflation pressure or another unusual symptom, the warning light in the instrument cluster comes on. If the system detects that air pressure is less than 27 psi (190 kPa), it will also sound a buzzer for 10 seconds and a “FLAT TIRE” or “CHECK TIRE PRESSURE” warning message will appear in instrument cluster display (if equipped). The instrument cluster display unit displays the air pressure of each tire (except the spare tire). After the ignition switch is turned on, the pressure values will not be displayed until the data of each wheel is received. NOTE: Pressure indication in “** psi” on the screen indicates that the pressure is being measured. After a few driving trips, the pressure for all four tires will be displayed. The order of tire pressure figures displayed does not correspond with the actual order of tire position. When the tire pressure warning light comes on, immediately check the air pressure of all tires and adjust to the specified pressure. Make sure the warning light goes off. The warning light does not automatically turn off when the tire pressure is adjusted. After the tire is inflated to the recommended pressure, the vehicle must be driven at speeds above 25 mph (40 km/h) to activate the TPMS and turn off the low tire pressure warning light. If the warning light stays on or flashes, there is a malfunction in the TPMS. See the appropriate manufacturer service information.

TPMS RESET PROCEDURES NOTE: When a spare tire is mounted, or a wheel, tire pressure sensor or BCM is replaced, the tire pressure sensor must be registered. The low tire pressure warning light does not automatically turn off when the tire pressure is adjusted. After the tire is inflated to the recommended pressure, the vehicle must be driven at speeds above 25 mph (40 km/h) to activate the TPMS and turn off the low tire pressure warning light.

TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR REGISTRATION NOTE: If the tire pressure sensor was replaced, the new sensor will be in an “asleep” mode. To wake up the sensor, see “Transmitter wake-up operation.” NOTE: To register a new tire pressure sensor, a Nissan Signal Tech II scan tool or CONSULT scan tool can be used. A transmitter activation tool (J-45295) is used in the wake-up procedure and can aid in the registration procedure if using the CONSULT tool system. Sensor registration and wake-up methods in this article reference CONSULT type scan tool procedures. NOTE: If a CONSULT-II is used without also using the CONSULT-II CONVERTER, a malfunction might be detected during self-diagnosis, depending on which control unit carries-out CAN communication.

Torque specifications Component Wheel nut

Ft.-lbs. 98

(N.m) (133)

Tire pressure sensor nut

In.-lbs. 60

(N.m) (6.8)

w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

TPMS

Figure 2: Positioning the tire on the turntable. Figure 1: Identifying the transmitter activation tool (J-45295).

NOTE: The Signal Tech II Tool (J-50190) can be used to perform the following:

• Activate the TPMS transmitters. • Display the TPMS transmitter IDs. • Display the tire pressure reported by the TPMS transmitter. • Read the TPMS DTCs. • Register the TPMS transmitter IDs.

ID registration with the transmitter activation tool 1) With the ignition switch in the OFF position, connect the CONSULT scan tool to the data link connector (DLC). Turn the ignition switch to the ON position. 2) Select “START (NISSAN BASED VHCL).” 3) Touch “BCM” on the “SELECT SYSTEM” screen. 4) Select “AIR PRESSURE MONITOR” on the “SELECT WORK ITEM” screen. 5) Select “WORK SUPPORT” on the “SELECT DIAG MODE” screen, and select “ID REGIST.” 6) With the transmitter activation tool (J-45295) pushed against the front left transmitter tire air valve, press the button for five seconds (see Figure. 1). NOTE: Be sure to register the IDs in the specified order, or the self-diagnostic results display will not function properly. 7) Register the IDs in the order specified in the tire registration order table. When the registration of each wheel has been completed, a buzzer sounds as indicated in the table, the hazard warning lights or turn signal indicators flash twice, and the indictor light on the activation tool goes from red to green. Tire registration order,* buzzer will sound: • Front left once • Front right 2 times • Rear right 3 times • Rear left 4 times

(*2004-07 models only. From 2008 onwards, the buzzer is eliminated.) 8) After completing all ID registrations, press “END” to complete the procedure. ID registration without the transmitter activation tool 1) With the ignition switch in the OFF position, connect the CONSULT scan tool to the data link connector (DLC). Turn the ignition switch to the ON position. 2) Select “START (NISSAN BASED VHCL).” 3) Touch “BCM” on the “SELECT SYSTEM” screen. 4) Select “AIR PRESSURE MONITOR” on the “SELECT WORK ITEM” screen. 5) Select “WORK SUPPORT” on the “SELECT DIAG MODE” screen, and select “ID REGIST.” 6) Adjust the tire pressure to the values specified in the sensor ID registration tire pressure specifications table below, and drive the vehicle at 25 mph (40 km/h) or more for a few minutes. Sensor ID registration tire pressure specifications (2004-13) Tire position Tire pressure - psi (kPa) Front left 36 (250) Front right 33 (230) Rear right 30 (210) Rear left 27 (190) Sensor ID registration tire pressure specifications (2014-) Tire position Tire pressure - psi (kPa) Front left 35 (240) Front right 32 (220) Rear right 29 (200) Rear left 26 (180) 7) After completing all ID registrations, press “END” to complete the procedure. 8) Inflate all tires to specification.

TRANSMITTER WAKE-UP OPERATION NOTE: New replacement transmitters are provided “asleep” and must first be “woken up” using transmitter activation tool J-45295 MTD February 2019

Figure 3: Removing and installing the tire pressure transmitter.

or Signal Tech II Tool J-50190 before ID registration can be performed. Use the following procedure when using the transmitter activation tool J-45295. 1) With the ignition switch in the OFF position, connect the scan tool to the data link connector (DLC). Turn the ignition switch to the ON position. 2) Display the “WORK SUPPORT” screen, and select “ID REGIST.” 3) With the transmitter activation tool (J-45295) pushed against the left front tire air-valve, press the button for five seconds (see Figure 1). Sensor activation must be performed in this order: left front, right front, right rear and then left rear. As each sensor ID is activated, the hazard warning lights and the TPMS warning light will flash four times, and the scan tool indicator light changes from red to green. 5) Check that the transmitter wake-up procedure for all wheels is completed using the scan tool. 6) After completing the wake up of all transmitters, make sure the TPMS warning light goes out.

Ensure that the transmitter remains at the bottom of the tire while breaking the bead. 3) Turn the tire so that valve hole is at the bottom, and gently bounce the tire to ensure the transmitter is near the valve hole. Carefully lift the tire onto the turntable, and position the valve hole (and transmitter) 270 degrees from the mounting/demounting head (see Figure 2). 4) Lubricate the tire well, and remove the top side of the tire. Reach inside the tire and remove the transmitter (see Figure 3). 5) Remove the second side of the tire as normal.

CAUTION: Do not inject any tire liquid or aerosol tire sealant into the tires, as this may cause a malfunction of the sensors.

Installation 1) Place the first side of the tire onto the rim. 2) Mount the transmitter on the rim and tighten the nut to 49 in.-lbs. (5.5 N.m). See Figure 3. NOTE: Do not touch the transmitter with the mounting head. 3) Place the wheel on the turntable of the tire machine. Ensure that the transmitter is 270 degrees from mounting/demounting head (see Figure 2). 4) Lubricate the tire well, and install second side of tire as normal. Ensure that tire does not rotate relative to rim. 5) Inflate the tire. Balance the wheel and tire assembly. 6) Install the wheel and tire assembly in the appropriate wheel position on the vehicle. 7) Ensure the front wheel alignment is correct. To adjust the neutral position of the steering angle sensor, turn the tires straight ahead and ensure that the steering wheel is in the neutral position. If it is not in the neutral position, go to the next step. 8) Remove the steering wheel and reinstall it correctly. If the neutral position cannot be attained by repositioning the steering wheel two teeth or less on the steering stem, loosen the tie-rod lock nuts of the steering outer sockets, and then adjust the tie-rods by the same amount in the opposite direction. 9) Register the tire pressure sensor. See “TPMS reset procedures.” ■

Removal 1) Deflate the tire. Unscrew the transmitter retaining nut, and allow the transmitter to fall into the tire. 2) Gently bounce the tire so that the transmitter falls to the bottom of the tire. Place the wheel and tire assembly on the tire changing machine and break both tire beads.

Information for this column comes from the tire pressure monitoring systems data in ProDemand®, Mitchell 1’s auto repair information software for domestic and import vehicles. Headquartered in Poway, Calif., Mitchell 1 has provided quality repair information solutions to the automotive industry since 1918. For more information, visit www.mitchell1.com. To read archived TPMS articles, visit www.moderntiredealer.com.

DEMOUNTING/MOUNTING PROCEDURES CAUTION: The tire should be demounted from the wheel using the tire changer manufacturer’s instructions. Use the following information to avoid damage during the demounting/mounting procedures.

TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR

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Products Tireco introduces Milestar Patagonia XT Tireco has added an extreme all-terrain tire to the Milestar Patagonia family of light truck tires. All sizes of the new Patagonia X/T feature a 3-ply sidewall for added strength and durability and a silica-infused cut- and chip-resistant tread compound. The initial launch will feature 20 popular original equipment replacement and aftermarket sizes for the light truck and off-road enthusiast market. Select sizes are offered with an F load rating to allow for higher load carrying capacity ideal for ¾-ton and 1-ton truck applications. TIRECO INC. www.tireco.com

Lift operates by remote or column control Rotary Lift’s new wireless mobile column lift can be operated by an exclusive remote control or via controls located on every column. The company says the Rotary Flex Max enables technicians to work in the most personally comfortable, productive and efficient way possible. Available in configurations of two, four, six or eight columns, Rotary Flex Max offers lifting capacities of 14,000 or 18,800 pounds per column. It can be used to lift most cars, trucks, buses, RVs and other vehicles. Rotary Lift is a Vehicle Service Group (VSG) brand. ROTARY LIFT www.rotarylift.com

Dill 5001 sensor covers more than 30 million vehicles The 433 MHz 5001 TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) sensor from Dill Air Controls Products covers more than 30 million vehicles. The Dill 5001 TPMS sensor has the ability to replace 35 OEM (original equipment manufacturer) sensors, including 9398, 9214, 6815, 9012 and 5523. The sensor comes ready to use for one-third of the coverage and is configurable for the other 433 MHz applications. The company says the sensor works best with Bartec R58.0 or newer and Ateq DA1-26-20/CA2-24-05 or newer tools. DILL AIR CONTROLS PRODUCTS LLC www.dillaircontrols.com

New Pentospeed motor oils are designed for European makes CRP Automotive has three new Pentospeed application-specific synthetic motor oils for BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen vehicles. The new 0W-20 Pentospeed motor oils cover over 3 million vehicles in operation and feature the following OE approvals: Pentospeed LL-14 — BMW approved for Spec. LL-14; Pentospeed VCC — Volvo approved for Spec. VCC RBSO-2AE; and Pentospeed SP IV — Volkswagen approved for Spec. 508.00/509.00. The formulations have been developed for highly stressed engines, down-sized aggregates, and engines with stop-start systems. CRP Automotive is part of CRP Industries Inc. CRP AUTOMOTIVE www.crpautomotive.com

Continental has new line of engine cooling fan assemblies Continental Commercial Vehicles & Aftermarket’s new engine cooling fan assemblies are an exact match for fit and performance to the original equipment part. Engineered to restore original engine cooling performance, Continental Engine Cooling Fan Assemblies are 100% tested for fit, vibration and amperage draw. The company says OE-style electrical connections mean there are no “flying leads” that require wire splicing. All mounting points are the same as the original fan. CONTINENTAL COMMERCIAL VEHICLES & AFTERMARKET www.usa.vdo.com

NGK unveils high ignitability spark plug line The new NGK Ruthenium HX spark plug line from NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) consists of 25 part numbers covering over 200 million vehicles currently in operation. Using patented precious metal Ruthenium technology, the new NGK Ruthenium HX offers higher ignitability, enhanced oxidation resistance and increased durability for today’s modern engines, according to the company. NGK SPARK PLUGS (U.S.A.) INC. www.ngksparkplugs.com

MTD February 2019

Get in on the ground oor. We are now accepting applications for a brand new 20 Group. DSP 20 Groups oﬀer tire and automotive dealers the opportunity to share best practices, benchmark against the industry and improve nancial performance. DSP facilitators are seasoned professionals with vast tire and auto service industry experience. We already have six groups, with 120 members benetting from the experience, and this is your chance to get in on the action — don’t miss out!

Increase cash ow. Improve net prot. Reduce payroll. Inuence employee behavior. Recruit and retain employees.

MTD-.

Call 310 533-2428, or email: George@DSP.com www.DSP.com

Ad Index WHEN YOU CONTACT ONE OF OUR ADVERTISERS PLEASE BE SURE TO MENTION YOU SAW THEIR AD IN MODERN TIRE DEALER

ADVERTISER

PAGE

WEBSITE

Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Inc.

www.alliance1.com

American Omni Trading Company

www.american-omni.com

AUTEL

31, 52

www.autel.com

Bartec USA

www.bartecusa.com

BendPak Inc. Ranger Products

www.bendpak.com/laser

BKT USA Inc.

www.bkt-tires.com

California Tire Dealers Association

www.catiredealers.com

CEAT Specialty Tyres Limited

www.ceatspecialty.com

CEMB USA

www.cemb-usa.com

Continental Tire

www.continentaltire.com

DSP 20 Group

www.dsp-20group.com

Falken Tires

www.falkentire.com

Giti Commercial Truck Tires

www.gititrucktires.com

GRI Tires

www.gritires.com

Hunter Engineering Company

www.hunter.com

K & M Tire Inc.

www.kmtire.com

Kenda Tire USA

IBC

www.kendatraction.com

Marangoni Tread N.A.

www.na-marangoni.com

Maxxis Tires

www.maxxisaccelerate.com

Nexen Tire America Inc.

IFC

www.nexentireusa.com

Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc.

OBC

www.nittotire.com

Omnicraft Auto Parts

www.omnicraftautoparts.com

Sailun Tires

www.gosailun.com

Schrader Performance Sensors

www.schradersensors.com

Sentury Tire Americas

www.landsailtires.com

Synchrony Car Care

www.synchronybusiness.com

TechForce Foundation

www.techforcefoundation.org

Travelstar Tires

www.travelstartires.com

MTD February 2019

Advertising information (330) 899-2200 ext. 2217

MTD Classifieds USED TIRES FOR SALE

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w w w . M o d e r n T i r e D e a l e r. c o m

Advertising information (330) 899-2200 ext. 2217

MTD Classifieds TOOLS & EQUIPMENT Tire Dealer Tools & Equipment

www.ezliftconveyors.com

Air Tools • Battery Chargers Compressors • Hose Reels Impact Sockets • Jacks Lube Equip • Tire Equip

For FREE Catalog Call 800-772-0863 www.wesbrooksinc.com

2019 ADVERTISING DEADLINES

April Issue closes March 12th

May Issue closes April 10th

2012 Sheppard Access Rd. Wichita Falls, TX 76306

June Issue closes May 10th

July Issue closes June 11th

August Issue closes July 10th

September Issue closes August 12th

Floor to Floor tire storage made safe, fast, and reliable with this conveyor! E-ZLIFT has been serving major tire retailers for over 30 years! Length selection guide and prices: Floor to Floor Distance

Conveyor One Length Req. Start/Stop at 55˚ Incline Control

8 ft. 10 ft. 12 ft. 14 ft.

12 ft. long 15 ft. long 18 ft. long 21 ft. long

$ 5,256.00* $ 5,582.00* $ 5,924.00* $ 6,482.00*

October Issue closes September 3rd

Two Start/ Emergency Stop/ Down Controls**

$ 6,065.00* $ 6,370.00* $ 6,690.00* $ 7,196.00*

* USD prices good thru 12/31/2018, FOB factory ** Conveyor system is Underwriters Laboratories Listed

Call Toll Free For More Details! 1-800-821-9966 Local: 303-733-5533 Fax: 303-733-5642

Denver, CO USA

November Issue closes September 27th

MTP, INC. Phone: 1-800-645-1123 Supplying Suppliers Since 1975 www.movittire.com Email: sales@mottire.com

December Issue closes November 12th

BUY AND SELL USING THE INDUSTRY’S LEADING PUBLICATION

MODERN TIRE DEALER 58

MTD February 2019

Earn monetary rewards quarterly on a Kenda Traction Black Card.

CO-OP Rewards/Point-Of-Sale Support Gain co-op rewards that you can use for in-store advertising or promotional giveaways via the online Kenda Store.

Marketing Portal Receive access to Kenda branding tools such as product images, logos and our digital catalog.

Dealer Locator Customers using the dealer locator on KendaTire.com will be guided to your store.

Global Brand with Local Support New products are being designed for North America in our state-of-theart technical center located in Akron, OH. We also have a full team of experienced support staff to help you with any product questions at Kenda USA headquarters in Columbus, OH.

In-Demand Products Our passenger and light truck tires are designed to give your customers solid performance at a great price. Associate Dealers also have access to branded specialty products with many O.E. ďŹ tments such as trailer tires, ATV, golf, and lawn and garden tires.

Enroll today at KendaTraction.com

Earn More in 2019!

Black Card Rewards

Traction dealers earn Double Rewards on select purchases each quarter.

Associate Dealer Program