Tire maker Michelin North America, Greenville, S.C., has introduced the eTire System, a comprehensive tire-maintenance solution.

The eTire System includes the InTire Sensor, sidewall-mounted SensorDock, hand-held or drive-by reader and BIB TRACK software to capture tire pressure, wheel position and maintenance information. InTire Sensors can be attached to any brand of truck tire, allowing fleets to track all tires.
According to Michelin, drive-by readers differentiate between inner and outer dual tires, relaying accurate information in real-time. Hand-Held Readers read both inner and outer duals as well.
The eTire system can read the operating temperature inside a tire and correct the pressure reading for "cold equivalent pressure" instead of the expanded pressure occurring after a tire has traveled for a distance and heated up. This allows precise readings and accurate pressure adjustments, as if the tire were cold.
Tire data is reported via an Internet server enabling maintenance managers to track tire costs and monitor inventories.
All data is on a secure server in the BIB TRACK software, not in the InTire Sensor itself. This assures that if a tire is lost, stolen or somehow damaged, the information on the tire up to that point is maintained in the database. The system allows immediate access and tracking of the information via the Internet, with instant updates as the sensor in each tire is read.
The BIB TRACK software can even account for retread costs by exchanging information with BIB TREAD, Michelin's retread management software. BIB TREAD software provides complete management of the re-treading and repair process, tracking each tire through its receiving, inspection repair and final invoicing. Detailed fleet specifications for allowable age, number of retreads, number of repairs and tread type are maintained for each tire. The unique internal integration of BIB TREAD and BIB TRACK traces fleet tires through repeated repairs and re-treading cycles.