Photo: John Mahler

We at PumpTalk really enjoy hearing from experts and passing their knowledge on to our readers – especially when it comes to driving! Our Ultra 94 team (Ultra 94 is our premium gasoline brand) has resident experts on their Facebook page who post to the page and offer performance driving advice.

There are two posts which caught our eye here at PumpTalk:  The Contact Patch post series by John Mahler.

If you’ve ever been curious about how the “rubber meets the road”… literally… you’ll probably appreciate these two posts by John Mahler on the “Contact Patch”. They explain specifically how your tires react with the pavement and create traction, along with how that traction changes under wet conditions.   

John Mahler certainly has a seasoned history in the driving world. In 1986, Mahler entered the motorsport world and has been actively driving or instructing at 41 tracks in Canada, the U.S.A., and Europe since then. John Mahler began writing for the Toronto Star Wheels section about tires from inception - 25 years ago. This grew into the Tire Guy column over 15 years ago, fondly known as "Tire Talk", which continues today. John Mahler also teaches advanced driver training courses. With over 27 years of experience, the chief instructor for Apex Driver Training runs a program as well as corporate driving events on track.

Head on over to the Ultra 94 Facebook page where you can read his posts:

• Contact Patch Series: How Traction Works
• Contact Patch Series: Contact Patch in Wet/Slush 

You can also visit our Ultra 94 Facebook fan page for more performance driving tips. Let us know what you think of the posts!

- Julie S.