A tire for vehicles offering low
rolling resistance wherein the ground-contact surface area is variable as a portion of the
tread part can be retracted and / or extended using pneumatic, mechanical or hydraulic force to withdraw from, or come into contact with the
road surface before, during or after operation permitting more efficient operation wherein the material used within the
tread part that retains contact with the road may generally have a smaller
internal friction loss than the material used in conventional tires and the
rolling resistance is thereby reduced when the retractable portion of the
tread is selectively withdrawn from contact with the
road surface furthermore achieving a smaller ground-
contact patch footprint. The achieved object of a tire with a lower
rolling resistance yields improved fuel consumption efficiency. Improvements in exterior and
interior noise levels and a reduced tendency to exhibit hydroplaning action are also attained with a variable groove volume to tread surface-contact ratio. Within one embodiment of the present invention, an automated
microcomputer-based tire
control system is disclosed useable to command the motion of the moveable tread portion of the said tire in response to various operational scenarios.