Tire Performance
Tires, as the sole contact point with the road, play an essential role in terms of safety. They must provide enough grip during turns or braking, especially on wet roads.
If you have ever wondered what makes the tires grip on the road, please look here for more details:
By definition, grip means contact between two elements: the tire rubber and the road surface.
Two phenomena result from the rubber’s properties: grip and indentation.
Road surfaces differ in their ability to generate grip during contact with the tire.
Grip is mostly determined by the road pavement’s ability to drain the water in order to dry the surface. In order for indentation to take place, the road surface must have a certain roughness. Different types of road surfaces can be distinguished using this criterion.
Grip is a direct factor of the road surface condition. On wet roads, grip is neutralized by the presence of water molecules and, in addition, indentation is reduced when the surface’s micro cracks fill up with water.
We all like our tires to run for more kilometers. But not all tires are equal in terms of wear! Some wear much faster than others. It depends a lot not only on the design and quality of the tires, but also on the way we use them -- our driving style, the road surface, and the weather conditions.
If you have ever wondered why not all the tires last the same, please look here for more details:
The tread, which is the part in contact with the ground, is incised with grooves which separate the various “rubber blocks”. These tread patterns molded in the tire play a significant role in the way it wears.
Tread wear resistance of rubbers depends directly on their composition.
Reinforcing agents, such as carbon blacks and silica are mixed into the compounds: Without those, tires would only last a few hundred miles.
Every tire is designed to roll at a given pressure. Rapid wear occurs when the tire is improperly inflated.
Did you know that your tires are responsible for 20% of fuel consumption? Unbelievable, right? This is due to the Rolling Resistance phenomenon.
If you want to understand what Rolling Resistance is, please look here for more details:
With each turn of the wheel, the tire distorts under the load. During these distortions, the materials which make up the tyie heat up and release energy.
This is called the rolling resistance phenomenon.
Reducing rolling resistance means reducing fuel consumption and thus, CO2 emissions.
Reducing rolling resistance applies to every part of a tyre.
If you want to know how Michelin tires help you save fuel, click here.
