Car Tyre Tread Zoning for Wet Grip and Dry Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
All-season tires face a design challenge in balancing performance features between summer and winter tires, as high traction and grip on wet or snowy surfaces compromise handling and noise on dry roads, and vice versa.
Innovation Solution
A tire design with a central tread portion optimized for winter performance and shoulder portions optimized for summer handling, featuring a specific arrangement of circumferential grooves, transversal grooves, and sipe density to achieve balanced performance, traction, and reduced noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tread band is characterized by a high number of grooves or carvings and by a deeper tread to provide good winter performance, then traction on wet or snowy surfaces is improved, but handling on dry roads deteriorates and noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tread band is divided into different zones with different groove densities: a first portion (shoulder area) with higher groove density for winter traction, and a second portion (central area) with lower groove density for dry road handling. This local differentiation allows each zone to optimize its function for the prevailing road conditions.
2Reliability
If the tread band is characterized by a high number of grooves or carvings and by a deeper tread to provide good winter performance, then grip on snowy roads is improved, but rolling resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The groove density is localized to the shoulder portions of the tread band, while the central portion maintains lower groove density. This reduces the overall number of grooves contacting the road during straight-line rolling, thereby reducing rolling resistance and energy loss while preserving snow grip capability when needed.
3Reliability
If the tread band is characterized by a high number of grooves or carvings and by a deeper tread to provide good winter performance, then traction on wet surfaces is improved, but noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first portion of the tread band (shoulder area) with higher groove density is positioned where it contacts the road primarily during turning or wet condition operations, while the second portion (central area) with lower groove density reduces noise during straight-line rolling. This spatial differentiation minimizes noise generation while preserving wet surface traction.
Data Source
AI summary
A car tyre having a tread that extends in axial direction for a width the tread including a central portion arranged across an equatorial plane, and two lateral portions opposed with respect to the central portion. The central portion is separated from the lateral portions of the tread by two circumferential grooves. The circumferential grooves have a width greater than about 6 mm. The central portion extends in axial direction for a width less than 20% of the width of the tread and includes a plurality of first sipes. Each lateral portion has a width greater than 30% of the width of the tread, and each lateral portion includes, furthermore, a plurality of transversal grooves. The transversal grooves of a lateral portion include at least a first inclined length that extends from a zone proximal to the respective circumferential grooves, moving away from the equatorial plane. The first inclined length has an inclination α≤60° with respect to equatorial plane. Each lateral portion includes a plurality of sipes. The density of the sipes decreases moving away from the equatorial plane.