tires

I figured since I'm acting like your grumpy old driver's ed instructor this week regarding how to pioneer your vehicle safely in rough winter weather, today I will present the second installment of the Michelin Tires' series on this subject. Whereas yesterday's video concerned braking techniques when driving in winter weather, today's clip is all about accelerating safely and efficiently on snowy and icy roadways.

Yes, I know a lot of what's covered here may seem like common knowledge to most viewers, the main reason I wanted to post this video is because of its … Read more

In yesterday's video blog, we all got a brief glimpse into the impact good winter-specific tires can make when driving on snow and ice. Today's video from Michelin goes into deeper detail on how good winter tires and proper braking techniques can keep you safer when driving on winter weathered roads.

This demonstration video covers comparisons of braking distance between different tire types, emergency or threshold braking techniques, the difference in braking with ABS, cornering, and everything in between. Once again, even if you think you know everything about how to drive your car in the snow, there … Read more

Yesterday's video blog touched upon many available features for automobiles that can aid driving in hazardous winter weather conditions, so since we were on the subject, I thought I'd present this video that demonstrates the difference in performance between a car with a complete set of winter tires and another one that has a mix of tires installed. As you probably guessed, there is, indeed, a noticeable difference.

Tire retailer TireRack.com pits a red car with mixed tires (two regular all-season, two winter weather tires) against a blue car that has four winter tires, and evaluates the … Read more

Although the worst seems to be over, many of us across the country are still digging out of "Snowmageddon" and having to deal with nasty winter driving conditions. And although showing this video to you kinda makes me feel like an old-fart driver's ed instructor, I feel it is my social responsibility to present this Web clip from Cars.com for those of us not fortunate enough to know about and/or possess an automobile with these features. So here we go with today's vid, which will tell us all about winter driving safety technology for … Read more

We've spent the last couple of days checking out how the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor kicks up off-road dust. Sure, it looks cool. But what is it really like to navigate and race this Baja-ready pickup truck on the desert sand? "The Smoking Tire" put host Matt Farah up to the challenge in the nether regions of California's Borrego Springs to get a first hand look at how the 2010 Ford Raptor can be used in an off-road driving scenario--boy, does it look like fun!

You can probably already tell that at the minimum this … Read more

Apps are the next big thing in car tech; New York wants to crack down on how truckers use GPS; why run-flat tires suck so damned much; the search for the perfect iPod Touch rig in your car; and a ride in the BMW 650i Convertible.

• CNET drives the BMW 650i Convertible in a rather bemused way

• Consumer Reports takes on the stuck throttle floor mat thing

• Why an FM modulator makes a monkey out of your hissy FM transmitter… Read more

I'm sure you've heard of a rubber tree plant, but have you also heard about the new rubber tree tire?

Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have developed a tire made from plant materials combined with rubber that offers several benefits over conventionally manufactured tires.

The rubber composite contains microcrystalline cellulose as an additive, a material that can be made from a wide variety of plant materials, instead of the usual carbon black or silica typically used.

Manufacturing tires from a renewable plant source could be less expensive to produce than tires using carbon black, which is made from oil, … Read more

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Wausau, Wis., company have come up with a 37-inch, bullet and bomb-proof Humvee tire based on a polymeric web so cool looking there's no need for hub caps.

Resilient Technologies and Wisconsin-Madison's Polymer Engineering Center are creating a "non-pneumatic tire" (no air required) that will support the weight of add-on armor, survive an IED attack, and still make a 50 mph getaway. It's basically a round honeycomb wrapped with a thick, black tread.

The military wants an alternative to the current Humvee "run flat" tires, which despite … Read more

The handling characteristics of the average car are primarily determined by the tires and the few square inches that are their contact patch. Up until now, tires have been decidedly low tech, at least to the untrained eye. Pirelli is aiming to change this, while giving us more information about what happens where the rubber meets the road, with its upcoming Cyber Tyre technology.

Essentially, the Cyber Tyre is an intelligent tire with an RFID microchip embedded that communicates with the car's electronic systems, such as ABS and traction control, relaying information about the state of the tire. This … Read more