Goodyear has today launched its riposte to the idea that tyres should be changed before the tread depth reaches the current legal low of 1.6mm. The company’s OptiGrip represents an attempt to answer the question through improving the safety of worn tyres rather than raising the recommended depth at which tyres are discarded.

Using the manufacturer’s new, patented SmartWear Technology, the tyre possesses two layers of compound, the first of which – in conjunction with three-dimensional interlocking tread blocks – offers greater stiffness and harder wearing capabilities, leading to higher mileage capabilities and better dry handling capabilities. Meanwhile the second compound layer, revealed as the upper compound is worn away, is designed for better grip in the wet. Adding to the rubber’s wet-gripping capabilities is the evolving tread design; as the first layer’s tread blocks wear down, they reveal visibly wider grooves, which work to provide more efficient water evacuation and aquaplaning resistance, even – as Goodyear notes – “after 18,000 miles”.

Goodyear’s head of tyre evaluation, Joseph Lambert, adds that: “Our tests and the results from wet braking, wet handling and aquaplaning resistance tests performed by the independent organization TÜV SÜD Automotive confirm that we have developed an extremely innovative technology, which has led to a very durable tyre that delivers excellent performance after 20,000 and even 30,000 km.”

TÜV SÜD tests bear out figures

As Lambert points out, there’s no need to take Goodyear at their word on the effects of SmartWear Technology, as the independent testing organisation TÜV SÜD pitched the OptiGrip against two leading competitors in April 2008 (tyre size: 225/45R17; car: VW Golf 2.0 FSI; report #76230122-1). Michael Staude, manager tyres and wheels at TÜV SÜD Automotive states that, “Usually only new tyres are tested for their driving performance, but tyres endure a lifetime of conditions where their performance is called upon. Therefore we aimed to find out how a tyre behaves during its life-cycle.”

The results showed that the OptiGrip was able to retain many of its performance standards throughout its life, whereas leading competitors experienced a more pronounced drop-off as their tyres age. For example, in a wet handling test conducted after the tyres were aged to 18,000 miles of usage, the OptiGrip was able to trouser a 20 per cent shorter braking distance and 6 per cent greater aquaplaning resistance – figures, on aged tyres, not to be sniffed at.

Speaking about the tests, Lambert adds, “When we tested the OptiGrip at our proving grounds, we were amazed at the tyre’s wet handling and braking abilities. But of course these tests are Goodyear-initiated, and don’t carry as much weight within the industry as tests performed by independent industry authorities. That’s why we were very pleased to have TÜV SÜD Automotive confirming that the OptiGrip delivered a 20 per cent shorter braking distance on wet after 18,000 miles than the competitors it was tested against. It also retained twice as much control on wet as its competitors after 18,000 miles.”