STL News

Tire benchmarking to save your fleet money

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 18:18:05 GMT

Tire benchmarking to save your fleet money

It is no secret that owning and operating any kind of vehicle fleet is expensive. Even after the initial purchase of the fleet vehicles, there will be never ending expenses incurred such as maintenance, replacement of wear items such as tires, and of course fuel costs. With the current economic conditions fleet operators are looking for every opportunity to save money within day-to-day expenses. One very important aspect to consider which involves one of the largest expenses, fuel consumption, is the efficiency of the tires installed on the vehicle. Believe it or not, rolling resistance impacts fuel consumption greatly. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, in passenger type vehicles approximately 4-11% of the fuel consumed is being used to overcome the tires rolling resistance. Now looking at larger vehicles such as semi-trucks, box trucks, and heavy-duty work/haul trucks, this percentage of fuel consumption can be as much as 33%. This means that for every 10% lower rolling resistance, increases the vehicles fuel economy by approximately 3%. With the average semi- truck getting 6.5 MPG and the current national average cost of diesel at $5.75 a gallon, choosing a lower rolling resistance tire could save an astounding amount of money over time.

Standards Testing Labs can test to industry standard rolling resistance tests such as ISO 28580 and SAE J1269. When selecting the tire supplier for your fleet, a benchmark study can be run on several tire options. This would require one of each tire that is in consideration for the fleet to be tested to the same specification, then reviewing and analyzing the data to compare the rolling resistance values. This is a non-destructive test that would allow the tires to be installed on a fleet vehicle. This means that the only expense incurred to the customer is the cost of testing, and the initial purchase of the tires that can still be used after testing is complete. Benchmarking tires is a process utilized by many large fleet operations to help lower incurred expenses. Endurance testing is another common benchmark test to assess the lifespan of a tire. This process requires one of each tire to be run to the DOT endurance test specifications, once it is verified the tire has met the minimum requirements, testing continues increasing the load in steps until the tires fails. This type of test is destructive, and the tires are no longer useful after testing, but allows the customer to make the most educated decision comparing the initial cost of the tires to the estimated life of the tire. Selecting a tire with a more durable construction will not only lengthen the life of the tire, but also avoid potential damage to vehicles due to premature blowouts, and costly roadside repairs.

When it comes down to analyzing fleet costs and proactively making decision to save money in day-to-day operations, the physical testing of components such as tires can be extremely beneficial to fleet operators and help to create a better overall efficiency.

If you, or your company is interested in learning more about STL and, the services we provide, do not hesitate to explore our website and/or contact us via our online submission form. You can also contact us directly at (330)-833-8548 or corporate@stllabs.com

STL Rolling Resistance Capabilities

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 20:48:13 GMT

STL Rolling Resistance Capablities

Rolling Resistance has become an integral performance requirement in the tire and automotive industry. Advancement of Electric Vehicles paired with the steady increase of the NHTSA Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements for automotive manufacturers, has made tire constructions that offer low rolling resistance values a necessity to meet these standards. Tire rolling resistance is affected by the construction, weight, tread design and compounds used in the tread and sidewalls of the tire. Low hysteresis compounds are used to decrease the amount of energy the tire absorbs as it deflects through the footprint which lowers the rolling resistance of the tire. Tire rolling resistance is measured using test specifications such as ISO 28580, SAE J1269 and SAE J2452 test procedures requiring specialized test equipment.

Standards Testing Labs (STL), has worked exclusively in tire and wheel testing for 50 years, remaining the largest private tire and wheel test facility in the United States. Here at STL we have the capability to run the following test specifications for PCR and LTR applications – ISO 28580, SAE J1269 Single point, SAE J1269 Multipoint, SAE J2452 and GM 14996. With our equipment we are able to collect data such as RPK and Dynamic loaded radius. We have successfully performed rolling resistance testing on MC, UTV and ATV tire applications. This specific rolling resistance machine can run up to a 40” tire wheel assembly, test load capability of up to 4,000lbs and test speeds up to 75mph. STL has an additional rolling resistance machine capable of running TBR test specifications SAE J1269 single point, SAE J1269 multipoint and ISO 28580 for standard and super single tire sizes requiring loads to 9500lbs with an overall diameter of up to 50”.

STL not only has the ability to run the multiple rolling resistance specifications previously mentioned, but our facility is also equipped with an entire machine fabrication division located within our site in Massillon Ohio. This enables the company to build rolling resistance machines for independent customer purchase. With accessibility of the machine fabrication division on site this allows us to build test machines to customer specifications that will fit the individual capabilities and requirements while also allowing customer interaction during the building process.

If you or your company are interested in learning more about STL and the services we provide, do not hesitate to explore our website and/or contact us via our online submission form. You can also contact us directly at (330)-833-8548 or corporate@stllabs.com

Standards Testing Laboratories & the SEMA Wheel Tire Council (WTC)

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 12:51:08 GMT

Come visit us at Booth #48107!

You can pretty much ask anyone involved with the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) & the Wheel Tire Council (WTC), “What does Standards Testing Laboratories (STL) provide for the automotive aftermarket industry?”, and they will be able to answer you as if they were giving a sales pitch for independent testing services. That is because for decades, STL and the SEMA Wheel Tire Council have gone hand in hand. You may be wondering how and why this came about.

The How. STL has been part of the SEMA general membership and the SEMA Show for decades. Every year, STL sends out a marketing team to the SEMA Show to represent all that we offer to the industry. In addition, STL has been represented on WTC for the last 20 years. Over those years, STL through WTC, has aided SAE in the development of test specs, assisted on educational seminars and even had one of our own inducted into the WTC Hall of Fame, earning the lifetime achievement award. That only scrapes the surface of STL’s involvement with SEMA/WTC.

The Why. When you represent SEMA and WTC, you take off your company’s hat. This means that an individual does not join the organizations on a volunteer basis to promote their company and what they do. You join to elevate your industry peers and to guide the aftermarket industry. If you elevate yourself and your peers, you will indirectly elevate your company in more ways than one. STL is part of SEMA/WTC to do just that. For over 50 years, STL has developed a vast knowledge in tire/wheel testing and related automotive components, so it only makes sense to share that knowledge. We have demonstrated this for over 20 years and plan to continue our involvement, devote our time and passion to the industry we all love.

STL is the world’s largest, independently owned tire and wheel testing facility. We offer laboratory testing, on-vehicle testing, and we also manufacture various testing equipment for the industry. STL has aided the industry for over 50 years in several different ways, whether it be in test spec generation, general testing or custom testing and test equipment solutions. It is no secret that we are seriously passionate about the tire and wheel industry!

STL's commitment to audits during COVID restrictions

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 13:46:46 GMT

"Tough On Testing" Quality System

As part of the longstanding industry requirements, Standards Testing Laboratories (STL) is scheduled to hold their bi-annual quality audit accreditations for its Massillon, Ohio and San Angelo, Texas facilities in October of 2021. In years past, the assessors for the ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 17025:2017 quality programs would visit the facilities and scrutinize the processes, procedures, machinery, and equipment to ensure they meet the exacting standards laid out per the requirements. When the 2020 COVID measures of shutdown and distancing hit the industry, STL didn’t skip a beat and continued to test. Because the laboratory continued to produce test data, the quality systems also needed to stay operational. The methods of auditing the lab have been modified and transitioned from an in-person audit to a remote audit using video conferencing and emails for sending evidence of compliance.

This year, Standards Testing Labs will continue to use the remote audit method due to the heavy COVID restrictions still set for business travel and out of town overnight stays. STL will also be welcoming a new auditor from SAI Global with hopes that assessor will take a good hard look at the quality system and make sure things are operating as efficient as it should. One of the internal goals that STL has is to ensure its quality standards are met or exceeded. Part of our quality statement is that we are “Tough on Testing,” meaning that we are not only tough on the testing itself, but also tough on ourselves to ensure our testing results are accurate as possible and can be trusted. That trust is a big part of our business.