Bridgestone field engineers will be happy to visit your facilities to help you with your tire-related questions.

What kinds of services can these field engineers provide?

The biggest single thing is their experience. They’ve been given extensive training in analyzing tire-related problems, and have access to an incredible database of accumulated experience.

What sort of experience?

Our engineers are constantly in touch with one another and with fleets across the country.

With numerous field engineers, located throughout America, they know what’s going on in your area and what’s going on in other parts of the country too.

They share reports on problems found and solved, and discuss trends and ideas at quarterly engineering meetings.

And, they also share information with industry associations like the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (RMA) and the Tire & Rim Association (TRA), among others.

You get the benefit of what they’ve learned and the latest information from the industry.

The Bridgestone Engineering Staff Is Active In:

And many other trucking and rubber industry professional associations.

Can other fleets find out about our questions?

Fleet names are always kept confidential. Topics and solutions might be discussed, but never your identity.

What kinds of help can we get?

Custom evaluations of things like irregular wear, tire damage, scrap analysis, casing durability and retreadability. Your TM and field engineer can help you analyze your current and future tire needs, suggesting the best alternatives for you.

And, we go beyond just the tires. We want to provide “real answers.” If you have, say, a ride disturbance problem – that may not have anything to do with the tire itself – we’ll help you track down what’s causing the trouble, then help you fix it.

For an example, see the article Ask The Doctor, in this issue.

Can you help train our people?

You bet! We’ll put on seminars and educational programs for your drivers, maintenance technicians – even your purchasing people. Each regional office keeps its own supply of scrap and irregularly worn tires so they can let your people see and feel a variety of conditions, probably more than you can find in your own operation.

And, Bridgestone engineers also help train your local tire suppliers as well, through Commercial Tire Consultant Seminars that have given thousands of tire dealers basic training in tire technology.

How about training for our management?

We’ve found that management and purchasing people can benefit from understanding topics like total tire life cycle cost, fuel economy management and even irregular wear and scrap analysis.

We also offer Texas Proving Grounds (TPG) seminars for your “component decision-makers.” We take your people to west Texas, where they have the opportunity to spend time in the classroom – and on the test track.

At Bridgestone’s Texas Proving Grounds, fleet executives watch as a single encounter with a curb creates severe shoulder damage to a new tire.

What kinds of topics do you cover?

We try to provide a basic grounding in tire technology, and in how to select the best tire for your particular operation.

We also include demonstrations of some of the testing procedures performed at the proving grounds, including fuel economy, wet and dry traction.

TPG “students” even get a chance to drive the trucks during tests for wet lateral traction, and wet braking.

It’s a great opportunity for them to learn and experience real world tire testing.

Wet stopping distance tests are a regular feature of Texas Proving Grounds seminars.

Are there ways for us to train ourselves?

Absolutely. We offer the Longer Mileage Program kits, which contain a wealth of print and video information on all sorts of tire-related topics.

They include seven videos on subjects from tire mounting to driver effects on fuel economy, and all are available in the kits.

In addition, we’ve added these same videos to our web site so you can view them there, or even download them, to watch anytime. You’ll find these, and much more, at our Internet site, www.trucktires.com.

What’s the “much more”? Besides videos, we’ve posted our complete data books, along with a tire selector system, plus latest information on new products – and technical bulletins. You’ll even find this magazine at www.trucktires.com. Type in a keyword or two regarding the topic that interests you and the system will show you all the articles related to your request. You can read the articles online, and print them, so you don’t have to root through piles of back issues of Real Answers to find the information you want. The tire selector program at www.trucktires.com can help you determine the best tire to use in your operation.

Is there a way to e-mail our questions?

There certainly is. Just go to “Ask the Tire Doctor” on the web site, or e-mail them directly to tiredoctor@trucktires.com. And as the menu says, if you don’t see what you want, please feel free to ask your TM.