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Michelin's Newest Innovation Marvel: Tires That Regenerate Themselves
The Michelin(R) XDA(R)5 tire delivers 30 percent more tread life
DALLAS, Aug. 23 -- 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 reality at Michelin. Today at the Great American Truck Show (GATS) in Dallas, Michelin is unveiling the latest innovation from its Michelin Durable Technologies research - the new XDA5 drive tire for Class 8 rigs.
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 keeps the tire in service longer before retreading, an impressive 30 percent improvement in tread life over other drive tires that are commercially available. That translates into improved safety and lower costs for fleets and owner operators across North America.
"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," said 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."
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 amazing 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. Due to this self-regenerating mechanism, the XDA5 tire offers renewed grip, enhanced worn traction, as well as 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 Durable Technologies research has truly succeeded in delivering top performance that lasts longer.
The Michelin XDA5 tire will soon be available in four sizes, 275/80R22.5, 11R22.5, 275/80R24.5 and 11R24.5. Next year it will be offered in a 305/75R24.5 LRJ version, created expressly to accommodate Mexico's higher load-carrying demands.
Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin (www.michelin.com) designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America employs more than 22,000 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 17 locations.
CONTACT: Mark Burd, Michelin North America, Inc., +1-864-458-5115, +1-864-270-0375 - cell, mark.burd@us.michelin.com; or Ryan Fisher of +Jackson-Dawson Marketing Solutions, +1-864-272-3023, +1-864-630-6438 - cell, ryan.fisher@jdsouth.com
Contacts:
Public Relations:
Jackson-Dawson Marketing Solutions
Ryan Fisher
USA
Phone: 864-272-3023
 E-mail this person
General Information:
Mark Burd
USA
Phone: 864-458-5115
E-mail this person
Company Information:
Name: Michelin, North America, B.F. Goodrich, tire Manufacturing
Address: 5101 21st St.
City: Tuscaloosa
State: AL
ZIP: 35401
Country: USA
Phone: 205-391-6200
FAX: 205-391-6411
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