Michelin X-Coach HL Z aimed at Euro 6 coach market
Michelin says it is setting its sights on the pan-European Euro 6 coach market with the launch of a new 7.5-tonne load capacity X-Coach HL Z tyre, a product that incorporates the company’s patented InfiniCoil technology. The new tyre is available solely as a 295/80 R22.5 fitment, a size Michelin expects will become the dominant tyre on the majority of Euro 6 coaches sold across Europe.
Load capacity on the Michelin X-Coach HL Z is higher than that of the current X-Coach range. The new tyre incorporates a new tread design featuring four wide longitudinal grooves for improved distribution of pressure across the width of the contact patch. Michelin says the X Coach HL Z’s improved load carrying capacity offers “excellent mileage performance on a variety of road surfaces,” whilst wider shoulder ribs and asymmetric tread patterns “improve resistance to accidental damage and abnormal tread wear.”
As mentioned above, the tyre contains what Michelin calls ‘InfiniCoil architecture’, which consists of a steel cord, several hundred metres long, wrapped continuously around the crown. This feature, the tyre maker explains, delivers “unrivalled robustness, greater longevity and more even wear.”
Commenting on its launch, Brian Porteous, UK technical manager at Michelin, said: “By incorporating Michelin’s InfiniCoil technology we’ve improved load carrying capacity by 400 kilogrammes on a single front axle, for example, compared with the previous X-Coach XZ tyre. We are always innovating and working closely with manufacturers to ensure our tyres are appropriate for the latest generation of vehicles, and we expect this tyre to play a key role in supporting the roll-out of Euro 6 vehicles into the market.”
The size 295/80 R 22.5 Michelin X-Coach HL Z is available immediately and is designed as an all-round fitment for coaches. The near-completion of a £20 million investment programme in Michelin’s Remix plant in Stoke-on-Trent will enable the tyres to be remoulded locally, in line with Michelin’s Four Lives policy. Previously, tyres incorporating Michelin Durable Technologies were sent to Michelin factories in mainland Europe for remoulding.
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