CALLING ALL VINTAGE CAR ENTHUSIASTS!

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CALLING ALL VINTAGE CAR ENTHUSIASTS!
17 January 2005 - Bayer MaterialScience AG

As any vintage car enthusiast will tell you, original tires with whitewall strips are very rare and fetch a high price – if you are lucky enough to find any. An elegant and cheaper alternative is plastic facings which can be fixed onto the steel rim of today's tubeless tires as swiftly as a hubcap and give the tire an authentic nostalgic look.

One manufacturer of these types of facing is the Gronau, Germany-based company Ravus which uses the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) Desmopan® from Bayer MaterialScience AG for this application. "This material is highly abrasion-resistant, which makes the facings much more resistant to wear than their rubber counterparts. Moreover, due to the high stiffness and resilience of the plastic, they sit very firmly on the wheel," says Reinhard Vorrink, the owner of Ravus. The long lifespan of the facings is a result of the good chemical resistance, UV stability, impact strength, tear resistance and tear-propagation resistance of the TPU material.

Fitting the facings could not be easier – the vehicle does not have to be lifted and there is no need for special tools or a gluing or vulcanization step. First of all, the whitewall facing is inserted with a base ring into the rim flange from outside. A steel rim facing is then fitted which fixes the whitewall facing in place. The base ring prevents plasticizers and carbon black from the tire from dirtying the whitewall facing. This also ensures that the side of the tire does not fray.

The resilience they demonstrated when tested over a distance of 5,500 kilometers is clear proof of the fact that the facings stay firmly in place and are able to handle a significant amount of rough treatment. When fitted on a Volvo Amazon, they survived a grueling journey from the Netherlands through the Moroccan desert along the Kasbah route to Erg Chebbi, the largest sand dune in Morocco – and then back again. In "normal" use on the road, they are designed for a maximum speed of 120 kilometers an hour. These facings are now sold to customers in Europe, the USA and Australia.

The facings can also be pigmented in colors other than white. This is due to the fact that the aliphatic grade of Desmopan® used in their production is lightfast and therefore does not yellow under the influence of sunlight. They can also be printed. "This means that our tire facings are an ideal advertising medium for cars and trucks. For example, they could carry a company logo, an advertising slogan or the logo of a football team," says Vorrink.

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About: Bayer MaterialScience AG
Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is part of the worldwide Bayer Group, an international health care, nutrition and innovative materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. Bayer employs 23,300 in North America with net North American sales of 8.8 billion euros in 2003. Bayer’s three operating business areas – HealthCare, CropScience and MaterialScience, improve people’s lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose and treat diseases, protect crops and advance automobile safety and durability.

Bayer MaterialScience AG is one of the world's largest producers of polymers and high-performance plastics. The main customers for Its innovative developments in coatings, adhesives, insulating materials and sealants, polycarbonates and polyurethanes are the automotive and construction industries, the electrical/electronics segment and manufacturers of sports and leisure goods, packaging, and medical devices.

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