Michelin Introduces Tires That Regenerate DALLAS (Aug. 23, 2007) - Imagine a tire with a tread that regenerates itself as it wears. It's not science fiction or a scene from the Transformers movie; it's now reality at Michelin. The company just unveiled this latest innovation - the new XDA5 drive tire for Class 8 rigs - at the Great American Truck Show (GATS) in Dallas.
Photos: Michelin
Michelin uses patented design and manufacturing techniques to mold the tread of the XDA5 in three dimensions. As the tire wears, the tread reveals new grooves and tread blocks, effectively giving the tire a second life - self-regenerating to improve wet, worn traction. This regenerating tread design enables an impressive 30 percent improvement in tread life over other drive tires that are commercially available, thereby keeping tires in service longer before retreading. That translates into improved safety and lower costs for fleets and owner-operators across North America.
Through innovative design and manufacturing, double-wave Matrix(tm) sipes give the Michelin XDA5 tire's 30/32 deep tread blocks the ability to lock together in all directions, delivering rigidity, resistance to scrub, and minimizing irregular wear normally associated with deep tread block designs. At the base of the Matrix siping, a raindrop groove is molded into the tread block that reveals a new groove when the tread has 10/32 remaining, a feature of self-regenerating tread. Because of this self-regenerating mechanism, the XDA5 tire offers renewed grip, enhanced worn traction and more usable tread, which ultimately results in longer life.
In addition to outlasting other tires, the Michelin XDA5 tire also boasts a footprint that is more than 10 percent wider than its predecessor, delivering a larger contact patch and, in turn, superior stability and handling throughout the life of the tire. Michelin says the XDA5 tire will soon be available in four sizes: 275/80R22.5, 11R22.5, 275/80R24.5 and 11R24.5.
"Incorporating three-dimensional features into the tire tread that must interact with each other as the tire rolls down the highway required Michelin to develop additional innovations in our manufacturing processes," explains Jean-Michel Guillon, chief operating officer, Michelin Americas Truck Tires. "The result is a sophisticated tread design that works to preserve itself as it performs. We are very excited to bring this technology to the marketplace, as it dramatically raises the bar for high-mileage tires."
(Source: Michelin Durable
Technologies)
