Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/148910
Tall, thin tires tires will become an industry trend, it is clear that vehicles are Europe where the European Union's regulations on exterior geting lighter and more fuel efcient. noise are in efect. "I think the trend toward lighter vehicle weight is grow"Energy efciency is enhanced thanks to the tire's lower ing," says Hank Hara, chief technology ofcer, Bridgestone rolling resistance and beter aerodynamics," says Knowles. Americas Inc. "Te vehicles equipped with large and narrow "Continental has been promoting the tall and narrow concept tires are the next generation in this process, following the for some time now," explains Strübel. "Tis was part of the lighter-weight vehicles." new tire line project, the Conti.eContact. Te tall and narrow Hara says he sees many concept was also shown in more lighter-weight vethe company eCar and it was hicles on U.S. roads today 'To take full advantage of the performance presented to several OEMs than several years ago. in the last several years. In the beneft of tall and narrow tires, vehicle meantime, we see a moveThose vehicles include models such as Versa, Soul, size manufacturers must adapt their designs ment to this new tire " Sonic, Accent, Fit, Fiesta, segment in the market. Mazda2, Yaris, Rio, Juke, to accommodate the larger diameter tires.' Rouge, CR-V, CX-5, RV4, Where is the tall, thin Jim Knowles, Michelin North America Forester and Escape. market heading? "Tere are two key drivers "Te market will start frst behind the trend in tall and with niche vehicles that will narrow tires — style and efciency," says Michelin's Knowles. help consumers begin to accept these new types of car and "In terms of style, automakers are looking for new ideas to help tire designs," says Michelin's Knowles. "Tat is why we will diferentiate their vehicles. Larger rims and outside tire diameters likely see them on hybrid or electric vehicles frst." have an appealing look while allowing manufacturers to revisit He says we are then going to see tall and narrow tires start how they distribute the space inside the vehicle." to appear on European city cars and then European city utility Fuel efciency and function are even more important than vehicles. In this category of European city utility vehicles, tall a vehicle's appearance. Automakers want to reduce the fuel and narrow tires are interesting because of increased vehicle consumption of their vehicles and they also want to reduce ground clearance. the external noise of their vehicles on the road, especially in "Tall and narrow tires are gaining interest among several Two very big advantages Bridgestone's tall, thin technology saves fuel and lives 1. Environmental performance: By giving tires a larger vertical diameter and increasing their internal air pressure, it is possible to limit changes in the shape of the contact patch. By optimizing the structure of tires and using the most appropriate materials, Bridgestone achieved a rolling resistance coefficient 30% lower than conventional tire sizes such as 175/65R15. Making the tread area narrower reduces air resistance, a major factor that needs to be considered when working to improve fuel efficiency. Due to these features, tires that have this new technology have levels of fuel effciency exceeding those of www.moderntiredealer.com the fuel-effcient tires Bridgestone has already put on the market. 2. Safety: The narrower size of tall, thin tires helps reduce wet road water pressure placed on the tires. In addition, the tires have been specially designed to have a longer contact patch and higher contact pressure, which helps these tires prevent water from accumulating between the tire and the road. These features combined with the benefts of the tires' newly developed, specialized patterns and compounds enable the tires to achieve an improvement in wet grip performance of 8% in comparison to conventional tires, thereby enhancing safety. 31