New Goodyear Ice Tire to Take Winter By Storm
27 October 1998
New Goodyear Ice Tire to Take Winter By Storm AKRON, Ohio, Oct. 26 -- Committed to more than doubling the
size of the U.S. winter tire market, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
introduced today its initial salvo, a new winter tire that features a special
ice-traction tread compound and design that easily outlasts competitor ice-
snow tires.
The Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice tire, designed here for North American
winters, features a revolutionary silica tread compound for outstanding ice
and snow traction as well as excellent wet and dry handling. Six popular
sizes will be available this winter season and additional sizes will be added
in 1999.
The directional Ultra Grip Ice winter tire matched or exceeded premium
competitor tires in winter testing, while also excelling in wet handling and
treadwear. In fact, the new tire surpassed 50 percent improved treadwear
versus the competition in actual testing.
John Tomin, marketing manager for broad market tires, said Goodyear's
winter tire technological excellence is derived from its European operations,
where winter tires reign supreme. In Europe, winter tires represent up to 15
percent -- or more than 25 million tires -- of replacement tire shipments.
Tomin said the U.S. winter tire market, which could more than double in
size to 20 million tires, "presents a tremendous opportunity for Goodyear.
There's no substitute for the traction that winter tires offer."
Nearly one-third of German car owners and roughly one-half of drivers in
Austria and Switzerland switch to winter tires during the winter months. In
Scandinavia, the figure is closer to 80 percent, Tomin said.
"We want to educate consumers on the need for winter tires in North
America," Tomin said. "They have become an endangered species -- unfairly, I
think. After all, the all-season tire represents a compromise when it comes
to winter driving, particularly in the northern United States and throughout
Canada."
In 1972, before Goodyear invented the industry's first all-season tire,
the Tiempo, 19 million -- or 13.4 percent of the market -- winter tires were
sold in the United States. Today, the all-season market has whittled the
winter tire market down to 8 million, or 4.5 percent, replacement winter
tires.
Company market research in 1977 didn't foresee the demise of the winter
tire, but it nearly happened anyway. Tomin said new winter traction
technology in tires like the Ultra Grip Ice could reverse the trend.
The studless Ultra Grip Ice tire delivers 25 percent improved ice traction
compared to a conventional winter tire. For further comparison, a winter tire
provides about 25 percent better snow traction than an all-season tire. The
Ultra Grip Ice tire's excellent ice traction is achieved through advanced
compounding with silica and specialized polymers plus a directional, highly
bladed tread pattern, according to engineer J.O. Hunt.
The basic treadface for the Ultra Grip Ice tire uses proven technology
derived from Goodyear's highly rated European winter tire, the Ultra Grip 5.
Ice traction is enhanced with a wider, flatter tread, additional blading and a
specialized tread compound formulation, Hunt said.
Metal-studded tires provide up to 40 percent greater traction on hard-
packed snow and ice versus all-season tires. Studs, however, damage road
surfaces, reduce wet and dry traction and ride comfort and increase noise.
The Ultra Grip Ice is a comfortable, quiet tire that is "friendly" to the road
surface, Hunt said.
The high density blading and sipes interspersed in the tread design serve
two primary functions: they keep the treadface pliant in freezing temperatures
and also help to evacuate the film of icy water just below the snow, he said.
Many ice-snow tires are designed for foreign markets and introduced in
North America without adaptation for consumers' specific requirements here,
Tomin said. In Japan, for example, where vehicles travel an average of only
3,000 to 4,000 miles per year, straight-forward braking on snow is the top
goal.
For obvious reasons, short treadlife is acceptable to the Japanese
consumer. On the other hand, in North America, long treadwear is required,
while a small percentage of winter driving accidents is due to insufficient
braking grip. The largest group of accidents results from loss of lateral
control of the car on ice and snow, Tomin said.
In addition, as the Ultra Grip Ice wears, the ice-traction tread compound
is replaced by a winter tread compound for the remaining tire life. "We
wanted to make Ultra Grip Ice the Aquatred tire of the snow," Tomin said.
"Its silica compound, double-Z-shaped grooves and thousands of sipes and
blades communicate its function -- outstanding winter traction."
Ultra Grip Ice, available in mid-November in the United States, is
manufactured at Goodyear's tire facility in Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada. It
will be available next year in 14 sizes in the United States and Canada.
