Smithers Implements Snow-Traction Test System
28 January 2000
Smithers Implements Snow-Traction Test System In Response to New Snow Tire StandardRACO, Mich., Jan. 28 -- Smithers Winter Test Center, a cold-weather automotive proving ground operated here by Akron, Ohio-based Smithers Scientific Services Inc., is implementing a new snow-traction test system for passenger and light-truck tires used in severe snow conditions. Last February, the North American tire manufacturers, who are members of the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) and/or the Rubber Association of Canada, announced a new standard for passenger and light-truck tires used in severe snow conditions. "In response to this standard, we are implementing a new snow-traction test system," said J. Michael Hochschwender, Smithers' president and chief executive officer. "This computerized system was built from the ground up, using the latest technologies in instrumentation, data acquisition and data analysis." The new standard requires that candidate tires be physically tested in snow conditions against an all-season control tire to determine their snow-traction performance. The test procedure involves spinning the tire in the snow under certain precise conditions, and measuring the tire's performance, Mr. Hochschwender explained. "Tires that pass the new standard test requirements can then be designated for use under severe snow conditions." During the next two years, tire manufacturers will test their winter-tire lines to determine which tires will meet the new industry-developed, voluntary standard. Tires that meet the new severe snow condition criteria will be marked on at least one sidewall with the letters "M" and "S" and a pictograph of a mountain with a snowflake inside it. Smithers Winter Test Center is located 340 miles north of Detroit on Michigan's Upper Peninsula near Sault Ste. Marie. The cold-weather proving ground provides evaluations of the performance of vehicles, tires and components under extreme cold and hazardous road conditions. Smithers Scientific Services is a leading independent testing, research and consulting firm, serving designers and manufacturers of automotive, aerospace, tire, elastomeric, plastic, steel, chemical and medical products worldwide.