A rigorously applied tyre management policy is leading to high mileage from the tyres used by Ireland's leading independent coach operator.
So says JJ Kavanagh & Sons service manager Bryn Nation, who looks after a fleet of 105 luxury Setra S415 HD coaches and GTHD two- and tri-axle S416 GTHD executive models.
"On our intensive inter-city express services we can't afford to have delays caused by tyre failures," Nation. "So choosing the right tyres is vital and monitoring them closely is a key part of our maintenance inspection regime."
For him, the tyre of choice is the Continental HSR 2. "This has a stronger sidewall, which makes it less prone to damage from kerbing, and a tread pattern that makes it both good in the wet and more resistant to trapping foreign objects."
He also makes the point that it is a regional traffic tyre, so "provides a nice balance between the needs of our long distance operations and shorter distance regional commuter services".
Nation says that all tyre inspections are recorded on a spreadsheet "so we know when tyres are approaching the point of replacement and the precise mileage they achieve".
Every four weeks, each coach in the long distance fleet is subjected to a 34-point safety inspection, he explains. For the tyres, this involves recoding three tread depth measurements across the tread and checking tyre pressures.
"This also highlights any uneven wear, enabling corrective action to be taken," says Nation.
And the result: Nation's records show some tyres reaching more than 200,000km, with an average of 179,000km.
