However, the dilemma for most consumers is deciding which of those features is most important because, generally speaking, you can’t have it all. There are trade-offs between durability, wet traction and fuel efficiency, or low rolling resistance. The tire manufacturers refer to it as the “magic triangle of tire technology.”
For example, a tire that has excellent traction is made with a soft rubber compound and a tread pattern that is designed to grip, but it will not last as long as a tire that is hard; as well, a grippy tread increases rolling resistance and increases fuel consumption. What a tire gains in one area – durability, wet traction ability or low rolling resistance – it gives up in the other two areas. That is why it is important for consumers to do a little driving self analysis before selecting new tires. The tires you choose should fit your driving style and routines, as well as meet the needs of the climate in which you live.
Tire manufacturers are constantly improving the rubber compounds used in their tires and developing new tread patterns in an effort to expand the magic triangle. They may never get rid of the trade-offs entirely, but that is the ultimate goal. Since silica (or silicon dioxide – SiO2 – found in quartz) was first introduced in tires in the early 1990s, research and development in the tire industry has dramatically improved durability, wet traction and low rolling resistance.
Goodyear’s Assurance TripleTred All-Season tire is a good example of how scientific research is paying off for consumers by reducing the trade-offs inherent in the magic triangle.
As the name indicates, the TripleTred tire has three distinct treads, each intended for a different purpose: a centre section to provide traction on slippery surfaces, a water zone on either side of the centre section to shed water away from the tire on wet roads and a dry zone on the outer edges for improved handling.
To build the tread, different rubber compounds are produced for each of the three tread types. The three rubber types are then extruded through a common die to form one broad band of rubber that is wrapped around the casing and cured in a tire oven to form the three-part tread.
Consumers responded to the appeal of TripleTred technology because it met their needs for a durable tire with good traction in all kinds of weather. Since 2004, when the TripleTred first went on sale, more than 5,000,000 Assurance TripleTred tires have been sold.
But technology doesn’t sit still and Goodyear has released a new generation of the Assurance TripleTred tire.
