Winter driving tips

When winter comes, it can cause chaos on the road. This is true even in areas where people are used to driving in winter conditions like snow and ice. It is not surprising, as driving on snow and ice can be intimidating even for the most experienced of drivers. One thing to keep in mind when driving in these conditions is that braking distance becomes longer, so it is important to increase following distance. Probably the most important thing to ensure safe driving is to equip your vehicle with high-quality winter tires which are available either as studded tires or non-studded tires. Some brands of winter tires, like the Nokian Nordman 7, are available factory-studded or without studs, giving the consumer the option.

It is also important that winter tires are in good condition before winter arrives and that they have adequate tread, no less than 4mm. Proper tread helps protect against hydroplaning due to either rain or slush, as deeper channels are needed to move the water or slush away effectively. Hydroplaning occurs when water pressure in front of the tire forces a layer of water underneath the tire, reducing friction and causing the driver to lose control of the car. If your car starts to hydroplane, don’t slam on the brakes, maintain steering in the direction you want to go and take your foot off the accelerator. Most of the time hydroplaning skids only last for a split second, so try not to panic and make use of the above-mentioned advice to regain control of your vehicle.

Another safety tip is to keep your tires properly inflated, which lowers rolling resistance, decreases fuel consumption and reduces fuel costs and unhealthy emissions. Other things to keep in mind when driving in snow: slow down, don’t stop abruptly, keep the heel of your foot on the floor, and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal. Make sure to accelerate and decelerate slowly while remembering to keep a longer following distance. Never power up hills, as this can cause the tires to spin on snow-covered roads. Even if you aren’t experienced driving on snow, following this advice and equipping your car with high-quality tires will help you stay safe while driving in winter.

For more information on winter tires, visit us: Nokian Tires

Avoid or limit your problems in underground mines

When working in underground mines, you will need to make sure that have very good equipment and match them with good quality mining tires. Mining tires should be designed for the harsh conditions that you will find in the mines. Sharp rocks that can easily damage your tires surround you. This is why there is a need for very durable and reinforced tires. Since you want to avoid any tire related problems by having a punctured tire due to badly reinforced tires. A tire related problems down in the narrow mines could be challenging. It is also costly to do unscheduled repairs down in the mines versus scheduled maintenance. This is why making sure that you have high quality tires that will provide you with long trouble free service life is important.

The technical tire manual that will help you with your tire selection and ensure that the tires you are looking at can handle the heavy loads and that they are available in right dimensions. You can also find the full range of tires that are available for all the different equipment with the correct load requirements. Once you have the tires you can also see the tire pressure that you will need for the specific tires, regardless if it is loader tires or drill tires.

The challenge in the mines is the minimum amount of space and the harsh conditions, where the tires suffer daily abuse by the sharp rocky surface. With the limited space in the tunnels, which does require precise steering. In addition to precise steering you will need very durable tires that can handle very heavy loads without cracking and they have to be very cut and impact resistant.

In the mines you don’t want end up with breakdowns or tire failures, that will be both costly to repair and also cause delays. Deep in the mine is probably the last place that you want to end up with problems due to the already limited space and all the machine work together to achieve the results; so one machine down can delay the whole project. This is where preventive maintenance comes in, where you do need to make sure that the tires are checked regularly both in terms of wear, tire pressure and tire conditions to see if they are ok before the next shift.

For more information regarding mining tires, visit: https://www.nokianheavytyres.com/tyres/

Tires for SUVs for occasional off-road use

When owning an SUV, you probably have considered taking it off road or at the very least on some rocky mountain roads. Of course, your SUV is made to allow for this kind of terrain but are your tires? When driving off the main road it is important to have tires that can handle these conditions. All-season tires are set to handle road conditions in 3 seasons of the year so depending on where you reside, if your area has winters, all-weather tires should be considered. Whether choosing SUV all-season or SUV all-weather tires make sure that your tires are able to handle off-road conditions.

SUV all season tires like the Nokian Rotiiva HT SUV has one of the most advanced highway tread designs with industry-leading technology. This is ultra-quiet and study tire provides both comfort and safety. It handles well on asphalt and gravel alike and especially made to handle light off-road conditions. It makes use of many new innovations that keep the main grooves clean thereby improving aquaplaning properties while extending the tire life by preventing “stone drilling”.

Other innovations used in these tires are the all new high modulus tread compound, stone ejectors, silent groove design, silent sidewall technology, polished grooves as well as low rolling resistance making it an environmentally friendly tire. With its staggered lateral grooves, it can handle any weather as it removes water with ease and maintains a good grip on the road thereby ensuring good handling of the SUV. The Aramid sidewall technology is one of the strongest sidewall compounds on the market and allows this tire to be incredible durable and able to resist both cuts and impact due the strong aramid fibers. In fact, this same material is used in the aerospace and defense industries. The Groove lifts that are shaped between the tread blocks on the outer shoulder area improves precision and steering feel, especially when driving fast around corners. The “Circumferential Grooves” that are located on the tire’s shoulders, allows for improved lateral grip while reducing rolling resistance.

No matter if choosing all-season or all-weather tires, if the intention is to drive off-road or on gravel and rocky road, it is important to have a high-quality tire which features some of the new technologies like stone ejectors and the aramid sidewall technologies. Both made to make off-road driving safer.

For more tips regarding SUV all-season tires, visit: nokiantires.com

The art of road maintenance regardless of weather

Building roads and the maintenance of them is of key importance if you consider how many cars drive on some of our most trafficked roads. Building roads is a science in itself. Once of the key properties of the road is that it is level, so that you can safely drive on it and the second is that it is stable and the third is that the drainage works, so that water runs off without causing problems. Failure to achieve this can cause a lot of accidents. Aquaplaning is the major cause of accidents when it rains.

When building and maintaining roads, you will use the normal range of heavy equipment like an excavator, a wheel loader and then a road grader. You might also have an occasional backhoe loader. The road grader is important in compacting and making the road level, so when the top level is applied you will have a level road for comfortable and safe driving. The road grader will need special grader tires that have the superb grip so that you can make the surface perfectly level. If you work during the winter you will need grader tires that also have good winter grip.

The excavator tires will need to have good stability and shock absorption so that they can reduce swings and shocks. The backhoe tires will need a combination of stability and superior grip, while handling heavy loads. The wheel loader will need to have excellent grip to reduce any tire slippage while filling the bucket with material. This is not always needed when you do road maintenance, where you might use only a backhoe loader if the project is more limited in terms of size.

Durability of tires is always essential when it comes to heavy tyres for heavy equipment as any unscheduled downtime and repairs are more costly than for normal passenger cars. So proper maintenance of the equipment and their tires is essential and can save a lot of money in the long run. It can also ensure that projects can be finished on time without costly delays. A tire related problem would often have all the other machines waiting for the repair to be handled as all machines work together and are depending on the other machines output. So if one fails all have to wait.

For more information regarding road maintenance tires, visit us: Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd.

What makes an all-weather tire able to handle winter conditions?

If you are looking to keep one set of tires on your vehicle all year long – even in winter – then you should consider all-weather tires. This is because all-weather tires, like winter tires, comes with the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol signifying their approved use in severe winter conditions. Whether it is winter, fall, summer or spring, this tire will not let you down. It offers excellent traction even when weather gets cold thanks to its specially formulated rubber compound that is crafted to handle temperatures well below freezing. The all-weather tire is actually a hybrid between an all-season tire and a winter tire, making it well-equipped to handle both snow and ice.  You will be able to drive on snow-packed roads comfortably without compromising on safety – and without having to change to and from winter tires every year.

Compared to all-season tires, all-weather tires have much better traction, especially on cold winter roads. It is for this reason that you will not be required to switch to dedicated winter tires when winter approaches. Provided that the all-weather tires are well-maintained, they will continue providing exceptional service throughout the year. Even when temperatures fall below freezing, all-weather tires will still be able to have excellent grip on frigid, snowy or icy surfaces.

The rubber compounds that they are designed with are very similar to the rubber compounds of winter tires. If you take a close look at an all-weather tire, you will find that it is somewhat different from a winter tire. All-weather tires have features that allow them to work well in other seasons, as well, whereas winter tires are only made for use in winter.

The best all-weather tires usually feature strong construction that makes them quite durable. You will also notice that most of them have an open tread pattern and tend to be stiffer.  All-weather tires may be slightly noisier on the road compared to their all-season counterparts, but the added safety and convenience make the tradeoff worthwhile for many drivers.

For more tips regarding all-weather tires, visit: nokiantires.com

Why all-season tires are only good for three seasons and not four

If you are in the market for an all-season tire to use year-round, thereby avoiding the need for another set of tires in the winter, and if you live in an area with severe winters, all-season tires are not ideal for you. Contrary to their name, all-season tires are not designed to drive in all seasons, but just three: spring through fall. This can be confusing for consumers who are looking to have one set of tires throughout the year. Fortunately, there is a tire made exactly for this, even if you live in an area with severe winters: the all-weather tire.

The main difference between all-season tires and all-weather tires is that all-weather tires hold the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol which signifies they have been tested for use in severe winter conditions. This might not be necessary if you live in an area with only three seasons. If there is no need for a tire that can handle severe winters, all-season tires are still a good choice. They perform well in warm or wet weather since they are made up of a harder rubber compound that creates better performance on dry roads with temperatures above 7 degrees Celsius. All-season tires also handle summer heat better, since they’re engineered to handle a larger temperature range without compromising performance.

There are many all-season tires on the market, like the Nokian eNTYRE 2.0 all-season tire. This product has a unique tread pattern that provides a smooth and quiet ride with excellent wet grip while remaining an environmentally friendly tire. It also has Silent Sidewall technology that reduces noise and leads to a smoother ride. The tire’s polished lateral and inside grooves allow water to evacuate, thereby protecting from hydroplaning.

All-season tires can be used year-round in warmer parts of North America; just keep in mind that an all-season tire is not rated for driving in severe winter conditions. Even though they cannot provide the best performance in all seasons like all-weather tires, all-season tires remain an excellent choice in areas with three seasons.

For more tips regarding all-season tires, visit: nokiantires.com

Road maintenance is a never ending work

Roads like tires will wear over time. This means that roads needs to be repaired and improved. Tires that are built to last and so are roads, but still the roads will wear down and need to be repaired or then they need to be widened due to increased traffic flow or even brand new roads will need to be built. This is why there is and why there will be a steady demand for both equipment and tires for road maintenance work.

The main equipment used in road maintenance are excavators, loaders and a dump truck. The special vehicle that is only used in this circumstances is the road grader. For the earthmoving work, you will need special earthmoving tires that are desgined for thos conditions when it comes to grip and traction. Road grader will need special tires with super grip to push the soil infront to make sure that the surface will be flat.  This is a key step in building and finalizing the roads.

For the excavator tires you have specific tires depending if the surface is soft or hard and for the excavator stability is important. Their ability to also handle highways is important as it makes them more agile as they can move between worksites quickly and efficently. The wheel loader tires are similar, but you also need to make sure that the tires can handle the heavy loads. The combination of load bearing and grip combined with excellent durabilty makes a very good tire. The dump truck is finally the tire that needs to be able to carry the heaviest loads.

When you ahev so many different equipment and different tires, it is always good to have the technical tire manual close at hand so that you can check which are the best tires for the various application and what tire pressure and dimensions that you will need. Combining this with proper tire maintenance,which includes proper visual inspeciotn includin checking the tread depth, tire pressure and looking for cuts and cracks. Problems should be attended to as soon as possible to ensure that you don’t have tire failure, that can become very expensive. You need to avoid unscheduled downtime as that seriously impacts both costs and productivity. Good tires is a first step to avoid uneccessary costs down the road.

For more information regarding roadmaintenance tires, visit us: Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd.