Influencing steering, power, consumption and even noise, the tire is a centrepiece on which automotive manufacturers are redoubling efforts and creativity to meet the requirements of drivers and environmental constraints.
Green tires
Even though oil only represents one of the 200 components of a tire, it is of sufficiently high proportion in synthetic rubbers that manufacturers have decided to shift to green components: soy vegetable oils for Goodyear, vegetable latex from Guayule for Pirelli and Bridgestone, wood shavings for Michelin or dandelion for Continental. From the use of these alternative solutions, more than 10 billion litres of fuel would have been saved. Some of them have very ambitious goals, such as Michelin which has announced that by 2048 it wants its tires to consist of 80% renewable and 100% recyclable materials, including its overlaid tread project to reduce truck consumption by one litre out of 100 (or about 1000 litres per year). The leader may be Continental which has built a research centre (for $50 million) for Russian dandelion milk which would also reduce the carbon footprint and can be cultivated in North America and Europe.
Connected tires
Starting from the observation that the tire is the only part of the car that is in contact with the road, it was necessary to equip it with sensors to know the roadway conditions (water, snow, ice, etc.). This was done in 2017, with Continental developing several technologies: ContiSense, which not only works with the car’s mechanics by, for example, adjusting the suspension according to the road conditions, but also informs the driver about tire condition or if a puncture occurs; ContiAdapt, which lets the tire adapt its pressure and the width of its rim according to the road’s parameters or to provide a small contact area with higher pressure, for energy efficient driving. As for Pirelli, its Cyber Car tire sensors send information mostly about driving aids, such as ABS, to the embedded electronics. For its part, Bridgestone facilitates the work of car rental companies, who collect information using their tablet computers via the RFID chip inserted in the tires.
Disconcerting tires
3D printing is all the rage, including among automotive equipment manufacturers. Michelin’s Visionary tire is a concentrate of innovation. It’s tread is not only biodegradable (a mixture of bamboo, wood, cardboard, plastic) but it can also be 3D printed. In addition, its honeycomb structure is more resistant to torsion (reducing premature ageing) and punctures are avoided, since the tire can reject any suspicious object. Another original innovation is the Eagle 360 from Goodyear, a spherical tire – no longer doughnut-shaped – which would be electromagnetically connected to the car, thereby offering the driver unbeatable handling (the car could steer in all directions and park very easily) and hold the road much better.
Contrary to what some might think, tire technology is constantly evolving. However, a major step is currently being taken with the development of the green and connected tire, popular among the millions of new Chinese and Indian drivers who are exponentially growing the automobile fleet.