Although only one-quarter of road tyres are specified and bought by the carmakers, this segment of the market is significant as it drives technical development and has a major influence over the aftermarket. Matthew Beecham reviews some market and technical trends in the tyre sector.
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The main drivers of innovation in the tyre market include continued focus on run-flat tyres, reduction of rolling resistance, RFID and intelligent tyres, and suspension/wheel/tyre/brake packages.
The increasing sophistication in the global car parc has also led to a marked changed in the type and size of tyre that now dominates the market place. The trends are towards larger rims, wider tyres and higher speed ratings. Increasingly heavy platforms and powerful engines are pushing tyre speed indices upwards.
“There is a clear trend toward larger wheel rim sizes as well as higher speed ratings for tyres,” said James Bailey, corporate communications manager for Goodyear in the UK. “In the past, the market for tyres was predominantly S and T rated tyres which are up to 118mph and H rated tyres which are up to 130 mph. The V, W and Z rated tyres were really the domain of super cars. Nowadays, with virtually any family saloon capable of speeds over 130mph, the type of tyres that are being fitted to those cars in terms of material and construction fall into the V, W and Z speed rating categories. There is also a definite trend toward larger wheels, leading to more ultra-low profile tyres.”
Wim Haentjens, manager product planning, Bridgestone Europe, added: “In 1999 1% of cars were equipped with rim diameters bigger than 16 inch. In 2003 this had already increased to 5%. These trends in OE fitment are being felt in the aftermarket although there is a time lag of 2-3 years for the effect to kick-in fully. Also, UHP [ultra-high performance] tyres have been growing sharply. This trend is forecasted to further continue.”
The run-flat tyre market is also blossoming. Run-flat tyres are specially constructed enabling them to be driven on in the event of loss of air pressure. It means the driver can either drive home or to a garage to fix the tyre. For carmakers, equipping their vehicles with run-flat tyres enables them to offer security and safety benefits as well as reduce the overall weight of the car by eliminating the need for a spare tyre. The extra space also opens up further possibilities for hybrid and LPG fuelled cars.
The fact that run-flats are available for the BMW 1 Series has meant that the concept need no longer be seen as the preserve of the luxury or specialist sector.
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By GlobalDataGoodyear and Dunlop collectively claim pole position in the run-flat sector. “Last year two out of three cars fitted with run-flat tyres actually had our products on them in Europe,” said Bailey. “Today, run-flat tyres are high on the list of extras people want in their next car. That is why we have pursued it so vigorously in the past decade. Last year, we saw a 200% growth in the run-on-flat market. We expect that same level of growth this year. That is because up until now it has been an option tyre but the BMW 3 Series and 1 Series in particular are in the top 15 sellers list in the UK. We are also seeing many more new models offering run on flat tyres fitted.”
Bridgestone also expects run-flat tyre sales to surge as carmakers start to fit them on higher-volume cars. “The run-flat tyre market is growing sharply and there is no indication that it will plateau yet,” said Haentjens. “Between 2005 and 2010 the European market for run-flat tyres will grow threefold.” But more consumer education is needed. “Most consumers express interest and an intention to consider run-flat for the purchase of their new car, when they get a proper explanation on run-flat systems,” added Haentjens. “The reason for their interest and buying intention is convenience and safety.”
Executives at Bridgestone UK estimate that some 750,000 run-flat tyres are fitted to cars on UK roads. The tyre maker anticipates that this technology will soon become a standard fitment on most cars sold in the UK. “So far the majority of original equipment run-flat fitments have been low-profile, high-performance tyres, designed for powerful, executive cars,” said Andy Lane, marketing manager at Bridgestone UK. “We are working to develop the technology and, together with the car manufacturers, make run-flat tyres available to all motorists. Already we are seeing both the Potenza RE050 RFT and the Turanza ER300 RFT being fitted to cars including the BMW 1 Series and new 3 Series, with many more fitments in the pipeline.”
Amerityre Corp’s full-size non-pneumatic [no air] passenger car tyre recently passed the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 129 testing. The tyre is made from a proprietary polyurethane elastomer compound. In April 2005, the company said its temporary/spare tyre for compact to mid-size vehicles had passed the same standard. FMVSS 129 is the applicable US safety standard for new, non-pneumatic tyres that must be met before the tyres can be offered commercially. As a result, its tyres are now eligible for use as spare tyres on about 90% of all passenger cars produced. “This is a major breakthrough in tyre technology,” said Richard Steinke, Amerityre’s president and CEO. “Over the past several years, a lot of companies have attempted to make a non-pneumatic tyre for passenger vehicles. Those attempts fell short, in large part, because they didn’t have the compounds to do it. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first company to have a tyre that completely meets the standard.” Amerityre believes the newly developed tyres will provide consumers with a more reliable temporary/spare tyre. “Drivers won’t need to worry about losing air pressure in these tyres. They will always be ready in the event of a flat tyre,” added Steinke.
Michelin has gone one step further by developing a new type of tyre that could protect against punctures altogether because it has no air inside it. Michelin’s so-called Tweel technology is a fusion of tyre and wheel. The Tweel features a deceptively simple-looking hub and spoke design, but the spokes are flexible and fused with a flexible wheel that deforms to absorb shock and rebounds with ease. The company says it could be ideal for vehicles on rough roads in developing countries, though it could be 15 years before it might reach the market. Progress of the project will depend on whether Michelin can find enough interest from OEMs willing to co-develop it.
In terms of the materials used in tyre manufacture, Franco Annunziato, managing director, Bridgestone Technical Centre Europe observes a marked shift to polyester in Europe in all car applications. He said: “In Eastern European countries, where improved road conditions and model car modernisation are significant, there is a move to complete market radialisation and increase of low aspect ratio tyres. This is reflected in a shift from nylon to polyester reinforcement due to the necessity of higher modulus and lower shrinkage material. In Western European countries, due to rayon’s limited availability, cost is shifting consumption from rayon to polyester, which additionally allows some design flexibility between stiffness and material weight to compromise handling performance and rolling resistance.”
As far as steel cord is concerned, the Corus Group is the clear market leader. The main technical advances are centred on reducing tyre weight. “We are looking at higher strength, finer wires, particularly for truck applications,” said Dave Staddon, technology manager for semis and rods for Corus Group. “If you look at steel in car tyres, it is about half a kilo. In a truck tyre it is anything up to 10 kilos of steel. So you can see that the demand for taking as much steel out of truck tyres in particular with the higher strength carbon grades is where the development is going at the moment. We believe that the runflat is using some of the higher strength finer wires on the basis that the tyre compound in the runflat is a lot heavier because there is a lot more compound as opposed to air. Consequently they are looking to use as little steel as possible to offset the added weight from the run-flat tyre. The global tyre market is dominated largely by two types of cord – a 70 carbon and an 80 carbon. But what is starting to gain momentum over the last two years is the next strength level up, which is a 90 carbon. And that is starting to be used by some tyre manufacturers. It is something that Corus is developing here at Scunthorpe as well.”
Far from being round, black and boring, the tyre is actually a highly complex product packed with advanced material engineering. Tyre design and development is still compromise between various properties. There is no ideal mix — just preferred characteristics for certain applications.
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medium and heavy duty truck applications accounted for nearly 1.2 billion tyres sold in 2004, of which 857 million (72%) were replacement tyres. Although the world tyre market is essentially a replacement market in terms of volume and value, and the vehicle makers buy only one-quarter of road tyres, this segment of the market is significant as it drives technical development and significantly influences the aftermarket.
