Tyre changer and wheel balancer specialists, ISN Garage Assist, have recently introduced a new standard for tyre fitting technology, to ensure that anybody investing in a piece of equipment really does get what they pay for. ARC (Absolute Run-Flat Compatibility) is a test for performance and capability based on what are commonly regarded as the toughest tyres to handle for tyre technicians. The company acquired a sample of run-flat tyres from a selection of leading tyre manufacturers, and put their machines to test to ensure that all models that claim total run-flat compatibility, can actually live up to the claim.
"There are obviously a huge number of budget tyre changers coming out of the Far East now, and many include accessories which are purely low-cost copies of something an Italian manufacturer has developed", comments ISN Garage Assists MD, James Boon. "We know that some of these fail to handle some of the tougher tyre technology, and so we wanted to ensure that, when somebody buys a tyre machine from us, they can feel confident it is going to stand up to the task".
The tests, which are fully traceable through videos and documentation, resulted in a 2-Tier standard, namely ARC, and ARC+.
"ARC depicts that the machine will handle every run-flat tyre thrown at it", continues James, "whilst ARC +, which applies to some of our more automated or higher-spec models, comes with an even higher degree of ease and speed, effectively the Gold Standard for anyone wanting to own a high performance tyre changer".
ISN Garage Assist are arguably the UK's leading garage equipment supplier, and certainly a market leader through their ubiquitous Hofmann Megaplan and Balco brands.