Tyres are not really all the same. For choosing the best one, you have to consider the vehicle and the daily application. A wrong purchasing choice can be really costly.
Black, round, rubber: all tyres look alike a lot. So, the price can count as the only discriminating factor in the purchase choice, cannot it? Actually, no. More than one feature must be taken into account for a better good purchasing choice. Like shoes, tyres must be chosen according to the occasion of use. As you would never climb a mountain wearing evening shoes or go to the Summer sea with moon boots, in the same way, you should choose the tyres to equip your trucks considering the average distance and the types of roads you are used to traveling.
A wrong choice can make all the difference.
The tyres can weigh up to 40% of the fleet running costs: only 10% is the purchase price, while the rest affects indirectly in terms of maintenance, fuel consumption, emissions, and so on.
The right recipe for a perfect tyre? It depends.
In their continuous research and development activity, the main tyre makers are strongly committed to finding out the right balance between the two main values, rolling resistance and mileage, while giving more prominence to the one each time having the greatest impact on the performance sought by the user in the daily. Particularly, rolling resistance has a direct impact on fuel efficiency: lower is the first, better is the second. Instead, mileage concerns the long life of the product. Both these two variables are critical. But the main difficulty for manufacturers is that they are also antithetical. A higher tread and a harder compound assure better mileage and so slower tread wear and a long way run. However, these features also contribute to increased rolling resistance value and which means less grip, lower handling, more fuel consumption.
In the development of tyres for long-haul applications, the most relevance is given to the rolling resistance value: the target is to reach the maximum level for satisfying ideal road behavior and mostly fuel efficiency. Then, secondly, the products must present good mileage values, of course, and also minimum acceptable levels of other specific variables such as noise, handling, wet grip, etc. These products are specifically meant for trucks traveling on long, straight, and smoothly paved motorways.
On the other hand, for regional applications, you need a different balance. Here roads are fast quite enough, but curvy and asphalt is not so regular. So, driving is often less smooth than in the long-haul application and needs more acceleration and braking. Therefore, rolling resistance impact is less perceived while the best mileage always promises a good resistance and a long life.
Aeolus solution: the NEO technology
Making the wrong choice of tyre and therefore equipping your truck with one that is not suitable for everyday use not only penalizes the behaviour of the vehicle but also increases the costs of fleet management. And just because this is a fundamental variable, Aeolus has structured a very wide offer of different tyres, each one developed with its specific application in mind. The NEO Series has been designed by carefully studying the right balance between different and sometimes antithetical tradeoffs to give the best mix of parameters according to the use.
Each tyre in NEO Series joins the most advanced developed technology and the wide know-how in the design and manufacture by Aeolus and Pirelli. Aeolus NEO is fully designed in Italy using 3D simulation tools and software. The new tread's compound satisfies the demand for safety and high performance in each use condition. The Dual-Layer Tread Compound with High Siliceous Composite Compound (DLT/HSCC) confers better performances. The innovative structure with 3-sandwich belts combined with a Spiral 0° Belt (SATT – Spiral Advanced Technology for Truck) provides even wear, major resilience, and the possibility to retread it more than once. The strong “Full Penetration” structure of belt layers prevents tyre casing fatigue and protects against punctures.
TAGS: Products, Aeolus perspectives, Technology, Innovation, Tyre industry