Goodyear OE for New Toyota and Mercedes

Goodyear has added another two feathers to its OE cap following the selection of its Excellence tyre range as standard equipment on two new UK vehicle launches. Toyota and Mercedes have both approved the tyre on their respective highest-volume models, the Auris and the C-Class.

The Toyota Auris replaces the Corolla, for many years the world’s best selling car, and Goodyear Excellence will be fitted as standard on models delivered with 15-inch wheels. The latest Mercedes C-Class, new for Summer 2007, will wear Goodyear Excellence in 225/45R17 and 245/40R17 sizes on those cars fitted with its popular 17-inch alloy wheel option.

The Goodyear Excellence was launched two years ago, and its asymmetric tread design combines sure footed wet weather grip with high levels of comfort. Goodyear says that the Excellence is particularly popular with OEMs seeking to reduce vehicle road noise, a reported strong point for the tyre.

The Excellence has two features to reduce noise: first, a central zone with continuous solid ribs, and ribs of steeply slanted blocks and second, it incorporates a patented technology called Dual-Block Shifting. Dual-Block Shifting means that the tread blocks in the shoulder area are varied in size in one sequence while the size of the blocks in the inner ribs is varied in a different sequence. This arrangement reduced the tyre noise considerably, because the slanted blocks enter into road contact gradually while the Dual-Block Shifting technology ensures that tread block edges meet the road one at a time.

The Goodyear Excellence is available in 28 sizes, and has previously been selected as OE for the new Ford Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy.