Gearing up for action

By YAM PHUI YEE THE


heat is on for the country’s debut small formula-style race team as it preps for a big event next month. You can liken it to the Ferrari team in action, the Renault engineers in their top form, and that there are Alonsos and Schumachers in the making. The team in question does not comprise aged hands but is made up of over 40 students from the Universiti Teknologi Petronas Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (UTP FSAE) who are anticipating the adrenaline rush in the Formula SAE Australia to be held in Melbourne, Australia. Also known as Formula Student in Britain, Formula SAE provides aspiring motorsports fans a professional start. The restrictions on the car frame and engine pose a challenge to the knowledge, creativity and imagination of its makers. As such, the cars are usually built over a year and then pitted against other vehicles from other colleges and universities at the annual competition. “Our team consists of students from Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic and Civil Engineering disciplines. In addition, we also have students from Information Communication Technology programme,” said UTP FSAE management head Ng Choon Hoong, 21, who is a mechanical engineering student himself. Planning and preparation works which began two years ago are beginning to take shape and the team even visited their counterparts at the National University of Singapore. “After the visit, we came up with our initial design and the design has been modified and optimised to the final design that we have right now,” he said. Despite their hectic student lifestyle, the students are happily cocooned in a large workspace area where the car morphs from blueprint to reality. Here, minor fabrications, assembly and fine-tuning of the cars are done. “In terms of more technical preparations, a few members from the team have been chosen to undergo a two-month drivers’ training course. Drivers’ training is done using fun-karts during the preliminary stage and an 80cc go-kart for the advanced level. When the car is fully fabricated and functional, the drivers will then be trained using the FSAE car,” explained Ng. The UTP FSAE’s sleek car is called Steel Feather. Technical department head Mohd Faizan Ahmad Zuhdi, 22, explains that it is a replica of a Formula One vehicle.





Universiti Teknologi Petronas Formula SAE members beaming with pride as they pose with their first mock-up car.

Determining The Age of Tire

When it comes to determining the age of a tire, it is easy to identify when a tire was manufactured by reading its Tire Identification Code (serial number). Unlike vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and the serial numbers used on many other consumer goods (which identify one specific item), Tire Identification Codes are really batch codes that identify which week and year the tire was produced.The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that Tire Identification Code be a combination of eleven or twelve letters and numbers that identify the manufacturing location, tire size, manufacturer's code, and week and year the tire was manufactured.Today, the week and year the tire was manufactured is contained in the last four digits of the serial number, with the 2 digits used to identify the week a tire was manufactured immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year.Examples of tires manufactured since 2000 with this Tire Identification Code format:XXXXXXXX 0600XXXXXXXX 060006 - Manufactured during the 06th week of the yearXXXXXXXX 060000 - Manufactured during 2000AndXXXXXXXX 0604XXXXXXXX 060006 - Manufactured during the 06th week of the yearXXXXXXXX 060404 - Manufactured during 2004The Tire Identification Code for tires produced prior to 2000 was based on the assumption that no tire would be in service for ten years. They were required to provided the same information, with the week and year the tire was built contained in the last three digits. The 2 digits used to identify the week a tire was manufactured immediately preceded a single digit used to identify the year.For example, if the Tire Identification Code on a tire reads:XXXXXXXX 0680XXXXXXXX 060006 - Manufactured during the 06th week of the yearXXXXXXXX 06808 - Manufactured during the 8th year of the decadeWhile the previous serial number format identified that a tire was built in the 8th year of a decade, there was no universal identifier that confirmed which decade (tires produced in the 1990s may have a small triangle following the Tire Identification Code to identify the decade). The Tire Identification Code format used since 2000 accurately confirms the year.And finally, hold on to your sales receipts. Most tire manufacturer's warranties cover their tires for four years from the date of purchase, or five years from the week the tires were manufactured. So if you purchase new tires that were manufactured exactly two years ago they will be covered for a total of six years (four years from the date of purchase) as long as you have your receipt. If you lose your receipt, your tires' warranty coverage will end five years from week the tire was produced (resulting in the tire manufacturer's warranty coverage ending only three years from the date of purchase in this example).

Construction Material

The branding on the sidewall of a tire is required to list the materials and number of layers of each material used to reinforce the rubber.A typical tire's basic construction materials are usually presented as follows:
TREAD 2 POLYESTER + 2 STEEL + 1 NYLON
SIDEWALL 2 POLYESTER
The branding in this example identifies that molded into the rubber under the centerline of the tread lies two radial body plies of polyester cord, two belts of angled steel cord and one circumferential cap ply of nylon cord. It also identifies that in each sidewall at the widest points between the tire's inner and outer sidewalls (tire section width) lies two radial body plies of polyester cord (a continuation of the same two body plies that were listed under the centerline of the tread).
Many high-speed tires use circumferential reinforcements above the steel belts. These are either in the form of belt edge strips (approximately 1-inch wide bands covering only the inner and outer edges of the steel belts), full cap plies (covering the entire width of the steel belts) or a combination of both. However, because belt edge strips are not present under the centerline of the tread, they are never reflected in the basic construction material's branding for the tread area.
Many ultra high performance tires also use fabric or steel cord reinforced sidewalls to increase steering response and cornering stability. However, because sidewall-reinforcing material is not present at the widest points of the tire's sidewalls, they are never reflected in the basic construction materials branding for the sidewall area.

Width x Aspect Ratio = Section Height
Section Height x 2 = Combined Section Height
Combined Section Height + Wheel Diameter = Tire Diameter





Example: 185/60R14 85H or 185/60HR14

185mm x .60=111mm
111mm x 2=222mm
222mm + 355.6mm(14")= 577.6mm or 22.74"

The first number is the width of the tire in millimeters, measured from sidewall to sidewall. To convert to inches, divide by 25.4 In the example above, the width is 185mm or 7.28".

The second number is the aspect ratio. This is a ratio of sidewall height to width. In the example above, the tire is 7.28" wide, multiply that by the aspect ratio to find the height of one sidewall. In this case, 185x0.60=111mm or 7.28"x0.60=4.36".

The last number is the diameter of the wheel in inches.

To figure the outside diameter of a tire, take the sidewall height and multiply by 2,(remember that the diameter is made up of 2 sidewalls, the one above the wheel, and the one below the wheel) and add the diameter of the wheel to get your answer.

Today, UNI-T, UNI-T AQ and UNI-T AQII technologies are available in selected performance, touring, passenger and light truck tires. UNI-T stands for the Ultimate Network of Intelligent Tire Technology, while UNI-T AQ and AQII identifies that the tire also offers Advanced Quality. And while their names don't fully describe what they mean to tire performance...they offer technologies that you probably want your tires to have.
To many drivers, tires appear to be relatively simple rubber products. All they do is bake rubber in a mold until it forms a functional tread design and attractive sidewalls, right?
Wrong! Tires are very complex. They combine dozens of components that must be formed, assembled and cured together. And their ultimate success depends on their ability to blend all of the separate components into a cohesive product that satisfies the driver's needs.




UNI-T: Ultimate Network ofIntelligent Tire Technology
Consists of three core technologies that are the cornerstones of building advanced tires. However, the most important thing about UNI-T isn't what it is...it's what UNI-T does. UNI-T allows tires to offer tuned performance while they roll rounder and last longer.

Tuned PerformanceCOCSComputer Optimized Component System
It's advanced tire design technology. It optimizes the tire's shape, materials, construction and tread design to maximize the tire's key performance areas without accepting the traditional tradeoffs in other performance areas.

Roll RounderO-Bead
A tire's beads secure it to the wheel and inside each bead are steel cables that provide the required strength. O-Bead technology makes the bead "rounder" than traditional manufacturing methods. Rounder beads result in rounder tires that are more stable and ride better.

Last LongerL.L. Carbon
Carbon Black is the basic ingredient that gives rubber strength. L.L. (Long Link) Carbon Black is the result of lengthening the basic carbon black molecule, allowing it to strengthen the tread rubber to increase treadlife and fuel efficiency