What’s Treading with Tire Review

In this episode of What’s Treading, we delve deep into one of the biggest questions facing tire dealers and auto repair shops right now: Where does AI for tire shops actually belong in the business? Clay Whitaker, founder of Auto Shop Agents, joins the show to explain why AI works best when it is used in low-risk, practical ways, instead of as a full replacement for the people who build trust with...

The Hankook Clarksville plant puts a lot of big tire industry talking points under one very large roof: domestic production, product availability, supply chain stability and proof-of-product testing. I visited Hankook’s Tennessee campus for a closer look at the company’s North American manufacturing strategy, including the Phase Two expansion that is expected to add another 4.5 million to 5 millio...

Commercial tire retreading still carries a few stubborn myths, and Shaun Uys, Head of Replacement Commercial Tires at Continental Tire, says it's time to clear them up. In this episode of What's Treading, Uys explains why drivers see “road gators” on the highway. He says failed retreads usually do not cause them. He also explains why a properly managed retread process can match a new tire’s perfor...

At this year’s Big O Tires Convention & Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky, Big O leadership and franchisees gathered to discuss the company’s growth, franchise strategy and long-term goals for the dealer network. The event featured more than 60 vendors and brought together franchisees from across Big O’s more than 470 locations. In this episode of What’s Treading, we speak with Big O Tires CO...

During the K&M Tire Dealer Conference, David Sickels moderates a roundtable with three independent operators answering a critical question dealers face: when to expand a tire shop. The panel features Austin Miller of Tire Star (4 locations), Dan Rhonda of Ronda Auto Centers (2 locations, previously scaled higher), and John Wood of Warren Tire Service Center (15 locations). When to expand a tir...

The Hankook TGL partnership is about so much more than golf. At the TGL Finals inside the SoFi Center, designers center everything around performance. The simulator, the rotating green, the broadcast presentation – every part of the experience is structured to make performance visible and easy to understand. That’s exactly why Hankook wants its brand associated with this environment. What Makes TG...

Some tires follow trends, while others bring one back. Mickey Thompson's Baja Belted II is bringing back classic style and design while updating its features and constructions to match the expectations of today's driver. In this episode of What's Treading, Mickey Thompson’s Senior Product Manager of Light Truck and Off-Road, Ben Anderson, walks through the return of the Baja Belted, a name that da...

At the Formula E race in Miami, the Formula E EV tire plays a bigger role than most fans realize. Beneath the car, Hankook’s iON Race tire must handle extreme EV torque, heavy vehicle weight and changing track conditions – all with a single tire design. Unlike many racing series, Formula E teams don’t switch between slicks and rain tires. Engineers must design one tire that performs in both wet an...

Three years ago, Point S set an ambitious goal: 500 stores in 50 states within five years. At its 2026 Annual Owners Meeting in Phoenix, AZ, leadership shared how close the group is to that goal, and what still stands in the way. In this episode of What’s Treading, Senior Editor Christian Hinton spoke with Point S leadership and dealers about distribution challenges, vendor partnerships, brand con...

A 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake tire (3PMSF tire) is a tire that meets severe snow service requirements and carries the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol to indicate enhanced winter traction. At the K&M Tire Conference and Trade Show in Kansas City, that designation came up repeatedly as manufacturers discussed new products and category expansion across commercial and light truck segments. In t...

This video reviews two new passenger tire launches from Nexen Tire, offering a detailed Nexen N’Priz S and N’Fera Sport review while also explaining how the company is using artificial intelligence in modern tire development. Nexen N'Priz S Review The Nexen N’Priz S is a grand touring all-season tire designed for modern vehicles, including electric vehicles, hybrids, and internal-combustion vehicl...

Today, we take you inside Hunter Engineering’s St. Louis headquarters for an in-depth look at the Hunter HawkEye Elite X, the company’s latest expandable alignment system designed to future-proof shops as ADAS work becomes unavoidable. Hunter’s Wheel Alignment Product Engineer, Alan Hagerty, joins Tire Review’s David Sickels to break down what the “X” really means for tire dealers: more storage, m...

What can real trail time in the Great Smoky Mountains reveal about where today’s light-truck tires truly fit? In this episode of What’s Treading , Tire Review heads to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for a hands-on ride and drive featuring three Hankook Tire Dynapro tires: the Dynapro AT2 Xtreme , Dynapro MT2 , and Dynapro XT . We got the opportunity to test and compare how each tire handled on-road driv...

This year’s What’s Treading conversations gave tire dealers a direct line to some of the industry’s most influential voices – Bridgestone, Continental, Nokian Tyres, Double Coin, Atturo, Global Air Cylinder Wheels, and Schrader – and today's show brings together the strongest tire dealer insights from those interviews. Tire Review: www.tirereview.com

The SEMA Show always offers a first look at the tools, tires, and technologies shaping the next year in the industry, and this year’s trip to Las Vegas delivered big for independent tire dealers. In this special What’s Treading episode, we walk the show floor to spotlight the products and innovations that matter most. Tire Review: www.tirereview.com

Shops want faster workflows, fewer bottlenecks, and equipment that keeps technicians moving. On this episode of What's Treading, we set out to learn how well the new Road Force WalkAway tire balancer supports those goals during a visit to Hunter Engineering’s headquarters. We wanted to see how much time a modern balancer can actually save and what that means for daily productivity inside a busy ti...

A growing number of vehicles on the road still lack tire pressure monitoring systems, and Schrader is hoping to change that with its new Aircheck BLE retrofit kit. In this episode of What’s Treading, David Sickels talks with Kelly Sadler, vice president and general manager for Sonata’s aftermarket business, about how the product works and what it means for both drivers and service shops. The Airch...

Three tires, one incredible day at the track. At the scenic Burt Brothers Motorpark in Salt Lake City, we spent the day doing a good, old-fashioned Sailun tire test, putting three of Sailun Tire Americas’ newest products – the Atrezzo SVA2 ultra-high-performance all-season tire, the Terramax AT2 all-terrain tire, and Terramax RT rugged-terrain tire – through their paces across asphalt, gravel, and...

Cosmo Tires wanted to prove its newest extreme all-terrain tire, the Gripit XT, in a place that could push it to its limits. That’s how I ended up in Peru (home to one of the driest deserts in the world) with about 100 dealers, distributors, and Cosmo Tires team members. If you want to see what a tire can do on dunes as tall as mountains, there aren’t many better options. Loose sand and steep slop...

Today's the day that we put drive tire ROI front and center. On this episode of What's Treading, Valentino Faraone, Regional Vice President & New Product Development Manager at Double Coin, explains why fleets and dealers should give more attention to this tire position to boost the bottom line. Valentino notes that while steer and trailer tires often dominate purchasing decisions, drive tires...

There’s something satisfying about hammering through a muddy trail and then cruising home comfortably on pavement. That’s exactly the kind of performance Kumho Tire targeted with the new Road Venture RT, its new rugged-terrain tire built for trucks and SUVs. The Road Venture RT sits between Kumho’s all-terrain and mud-terrain offerings, giving drivers weekday comfort and weekend capability. We hit...

The Maverick Pro tire changer is Hunter Engineering’s latest leap forward in tire service technology, and we went hands-on at their St. Louis facility to see what sets it apart. Hunter’s David Henry and Engineer Alex Greenhill to walk through its design, features, and technician-focused improvements on this episode of What's Treading. The new pick-and-pull wheel lift saves labor and improves align...

From its “ From Tennessee, For America ” production philosophy to this year's record-setting output, the Nokian Tyres Dayton Tire Factory in Tennessee is driving growth for the brand, its dealers, and drivers across North America. In this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review , Nokian Tyres Senior Communications and Content Manager Wes Boling shares how the Dayton facility has become a corne...

When you look at a tire, the tread pattern seems like a given... but that wasn’t always the case. Over a century ago, tires were just smooth rubber. That changed in the early 1900s when Continental unveiled the first-ever hand-carved tread pattern at the Frankfurt Auto Show, a move that transformed how tires deliver traction, braking, and steering. To mark 120 years since that invention, we sat do...

EVs aren’t just sedans anymore — they’re trucks. And those trucks need tires built for weight, torque, and traction. That’s where the new EV truck tire , the Hankook iON HT, comes in. We met up with Robert Nasca, Product & Marketing Training Manager at Hankook Tire , at the Electrify Expo in LA, where Hankook revealed the latest addition to their EV-specific iON lineup. Built from the ground u...