Volvo to Offer Goodyear Self-Repair Tyres

Volvo is set to become the first truck manufacturer in Europe to fit self-repairing tyres to its products after the company entered into a supply deal with Goodyear. The deal will see tyres using Goodyear’s Duraseal become an option on the Volvo range.

The innovative design feature behind Duraseal is an extra-soft layer of rubber – a sealing layer. This sealing layer is inserted between the tread and the belted layer, and in the event of a puncture, the elastic, jelly-like material immediately plugs and seals the hole and retains the tyre’s air pressure. The tyre can seal holes up to 6 mm in diameter. The repair is permanent and the truck does not need to be withdrawn from traffic. It can continue to be used until the next scheduled service, which is highly beneficial in terms of productivity. Furthermore, major repairs involving vulcanisation of the tread layer do not damage the sealing layer.

“A tyre that can handle punctures is a breakthrough in terms of higher operating reliability and greater uptime. Every standstill, short or long, costs money and for our customers this makes a huge difference to the construction truck’s overall economy,” said Gunnar Eliasson, business area manager for construction trucks at Volvo Trucks.

The Swedish vehicle manufacturer will offer tyres employing Goodyear’s Duraseal technology as an OE option on its range as of July 2007. The tyres that will be available are the MSD for the driven axle in 12R22.5 size and the MSS 13R22.5 for the steering and tag axles. A 385/65R22.5 size will be made available at a later date.