Run-flat Tyres
What are Run-flat Tyres? They are specially designed tyres that enable you to continue driving when you have a punctured tyre on your vehicle.

What are the advantages of Run-flat Tyres? The driver is warned that they have a puncture via a Tyre Pressure Monitoring device installed on the vehicle. There is no longer the need for you to stop driving straight away and replace the wheel, as you are able to continue driving at a reduced speed on the tyre, even though it may be deflated.

Other advantages are:

•Reduced risk of accident as no sudden loss of tyre pressure.
•Eliminates the need to stop immediately in dangerous roadside locations such as motorways, on a bend or whilst in unpleasant surroundings.
•Important meetings or appointments can still be attended on time, as you haven’t needed to stop and replace the punctured wheel.
•Increased customer safety for night driving or women driving alone.
•Weight saving benefit, as no spare wheel or vehicle jack is needed.
How long can I drive on a deflated Run-flat Tyre? This depends on the amount of people travelling in the vehicle and if the boot is fully loaded:

•With low loads, one or two persons without luggage:
Approximately 150 miles at a maximum speed of 50mph
•With moderate loads, two persons with full luggage or four persons without luggage:
Approximately 90 miles at a maximum speed of 50mph
•With a full load, while towing a trailer or four persons or more with full luggage:
Approximately 30 miles at a maximum speed of 50mph
How do I know if I have Run-flat Tyres fitted onto my car? You will see a marker on the side wall of your tyres which is a circle containing the letters RSC which stand for ‘Run System Component’

What happens next? Once you have determined a punctured tyre on your vehicle, you should, dependent upon your location, contact PHELPS&WILLIAMS and arrange for the tyre to be replaced.

Punctured tyres

Can I repair the punctured tyre? Manufactureres recommends that a Run-flat Tyre is not repaired as additional forces and wear have been incurred within the tyre whilst being driven deflated.

Could I repair a non Run-flat Tyre? Manufactureres also recommends that non Run-flat Tyres are also replaced and not repaired, as it is difficult to know exactly what damage has been caused to the tyre once deflated or when the damage was caused.

BMW recommended tyres

Certain makes of tyre are recommended by BMW for each tyre size. They are marked with a clearly visible BMW designation star ‘*’ on the sidewall of the tyre.

When properly used, these tyres meet the highest standards in terms of safety and handling characteristics. BMW only recommends the fitment of approved wheel and tyre combinations, as non-approved wheels or tyres may make contact with the vehicle body due to impermissible tolerances, even though they are the same size. For further details on approved wheel and tyre combinations, please contact 01792701961.

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HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD BY YOUR BMW DEALER THAT YOU REQUIRE NEW RUNFLAT TYRES? DO NOT PURCHASE AT THEIR HIGH PRICES,PLEASE PHONE 01792701961 NOW FOR LOW QUOTES

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PHELPS AND WILLIAMS ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNER
SOCIAL MEDIA COACH
NATALIE REYNOLDS
www.natreynolds.co.uk

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A bad case of the shakes
Judder is one the most annoying faults that can occur with braking systems, and if a customer comes in complaining about it, you can be sure they definitely want a cure!

They’ll probably describe pulsing through the brake pedal or shaking through the steering wheel, whenever they brake. The cause is almost always that the brakes are suffering from DTV: Disc Thickness Variation.

DTV means the outside and inside disc surfaces are no longer parallel, so the pads are pushed into the thinner areas and kicked back out by the thicker areas. This violent movement is transmitted back through the caliper pistons and brake fluid to the pedal, where it soon annoys the driver…

Why does it happen?
There are three main reasons for DTV: poor quality manufacturing, incorrect fitting, sticking calipers and bad driving.

You might expect us to say this, but in the case of Apec discs, you can virtually ignore any possibility of poor quality manufacturing. Our discs are made to exceptionally high standards with very close tolerances, so the disc faces will be perfectly parallel when you get them out of the red box.

Keep it clean
This means incorrect fitting could be the culprit. Make sure the hub is completely clean before you fit a new disc. Even the tiniest spec of dirt or rust causes an inboard-outboard movement that increases towards the outer edge of the disc. It probably won’t be apparent when the owner drives away, but with repeated brake applications either the disc wears unevenly, or brake pad material is deposited unevenly. Both have the same effect: judder.

A sliding fit
So we come to sticking calipers. This tends to be a less common source of judder, but it’s worth checking for. If the caliper slide pin or guidepost pin is rusted, dirty or bent, the caliper won’t ease back from the disc when the brake pedal is released, causing the pads to rub against the disc. This leads to an uneven build-up of pad material and hot spots on the disc, both resulting in judder.

Driving lesson
So what about bad driving? No customer will want to admit it, but if they’ve been careless about bedding-in new pads or discs, they’ve laid the foundations for future judder.

Apec pads make bedding-in easier than almost all other makes, because the High Pressure Treatment (HPT) process used during their manufacture reduces the time required for bedding-in. However, it’s still necessary to treat the brakes gently for the first few hundred miles, and here’s why.

Bedding-in transfers an even layer of pad material to the discs, providing a consistently smooth surface that means the whole pad will contact the disc on each application, without creating high spots on the pad or variations in disc thickness. That’s the ideal scenario.

Braking hard before this ‘protective’ layer has built-up means the transfer of material will be patchy and uneven, again leading to the dreaded DTV.

Apec advice
So to recap: make sure the disc and the hub are both scrupulously clean before you fit them. Make sure the caliper slides freely on its pin. And try to persuade your customers that a little patience during bedding-in is well worthwhile, if they want to avoid ‘the shakes’.

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PHELPS AND WILLIAMS

 ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT LEADING BRAKE MANUFACTURER, APEC BRAKES HAVE APPROVED PHELPS AND WILLIAMS AS A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE.PLEASE PHONE 01792 701961 FOR YOU FREE BRAKE CHECK

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