Michelin reports ‘unrivalled performance balance’ in MultiWay 3D regional range

Regional transport, according to one study, accounts for 62 per cent of total truck traffic in Western Europe, and companies involved in the sector face the challenge of meeting customer expectations for greater loads and speed while simultaneously dealing with increasing operating costs. Michelin states it has heavily invested in research and development with the goal of providing innovative solutions to this challenge for a long time now, and one product to arise out of the almost 500 million euros its allocates its Technology Center each year is the Michelin X MultiWay 3D. The tyre maker describes this new product as a “tangible example of such a solution,” one that delivers unrivalled performance balance,” and considers it an important product due to its ability to combine “seemingly irreconcilable performance features” – an achievement, it adds, that would be “impossible without the right technologies.”

The MultiWay 3D is above all, reports Michelin, a multi-purpose tyre that can be driven on all types of road and in all types of weather conditions, delivering time savings and fuel economy as well as reliability and safety. What makes it a multi-purpose tyre, Michelin adds, is the use of the tyre maker’s ‘Michelin Durable Technologies’ in its design, such as ‘TowerPump’ sipes in the drive axle tyres and ‘Delta’ sipes in those intended for steer axle fitment. “In short, it provides truckers with the guarantee of optimal driving conditions on all roads,” the manufacturer states, adding that the tyre’s new name sums up its mission…or rather its missions: “The term ‘multiway’ should be interpreted as broadly as possible since the tyre delivers superior traction regardless of the road surface, was designed for driving on main and secondary roads as well as on motorways and can be driven in all seasons.”

A quality Michelin says the new tyre possesses is the ability to adapt  to all types of roads and to all climate conditions regardless of whether roads are dry, damp, wet or even lightly snow-covered. The M&S marked MultiWay 3D XZE, for example, has been designed with deep-cut sipes that Michelin reports provide excellent grip and traction on slick surfaces. Furthermore, these deep-cut directional sipes are said to improve braking and transversal grip on low adherence roads.

In regards to savings, Michelin reports the MultiWay 3D delivers through fuel efficiency, longevity and retreadability. Reporting the experience of Spanish regional transport operator Palomo, the tyre maker says “cost per kilometre will be improved by approximately 20 per cent compared with the Michelin XZE2+.” It adds that mileage is increased by up to 15 per cent for a front axle tyre with a directional tread and up to 30 per cent for a drive axle tyre (in comparison with the XZE2+ and XDE2+, based upon in-house testing using size 315/70 R 22.5 tyres). Another Spanish operator, Reunidos El Cuervo S.C., reported similar results: “We estimate a 25 per cent increase in total mileage compared with the tyre we previously used, the XZE2+.” Rolling resistance is said to have been reduced by up to a quarter in comparison to the Michelin’s E2+, XDN2 Grip and MultiWay XD ranges.

As would be expected, the MultiWay 3D was designed with Michelin’s “four lives” retreading principle in mind. The manufacturer reports that by utilising its retreading and regrooving solutions the life of a tyre can potentially be increased by a factory of 2.5 while raw material consumption in reduced by 70 to 75 per cent.

The first product in the new range to enter the market is the Michelin X MultiWay 3D XZE 80, launched in April. This will be followed by the XZE 70 and XDE 70 will be launched in May and the XDE 80 in July.