Michelin North America rolls out self-regenerating truck tyre

Dallas, Texas ? Michelin North America Inc. has unveiled the XDA5 commercial truck drive tyre, which it claims delivers 30 percent more tread life through regeneration. The product was launched at last week's Great American Truck Show in Dallas. It employs some of the technologies known in Europe as Michelin Durable Technologies or MDT.

The Greenville, South Carolina-based tyre maker said it used patented design and manufacturing techniques to mould the tread of the new tyre in three dimensions. As the tyre wears, the tread reveals new grooves and tread blocks, giving the tyre a second life?self-regenerating to improve wet, worn traction, Michelin claimed. This development was launched in Europe in October 2005.

The XDA5 is designed with double-wave matrix sipes that give its 24-mm deep tread blocks the ability to lock together in all directions, improving resistance to scrub and minimising irregular wear normally associated with deep tread lock designs, Michelin said.

At the base of the Matrix siping is a raindrop groove moulded into the tread block that reveals a new groove when the tread has 8mm tread remaining, according to Michelin. The tyre also is designed with a footprint 10 percent wider than the tyre it ultimately will replace within Michelin's line, the XDA HT, a company spokesman said.

The tyre will be available soon in four sizes: 275/80R22.5, 11R22.5, 275/80R24.5 and 11R24.5, with a 305/75R24.5 size to come next year.