Today's tires are different
Let’s face it; trucking is a pretty conservative industry. One of the lines most often heard when spec’ing trucks is, ‘I want the same thing I had last time.’
That’s probably true for tires as well. But chances are your next tire will be better in many ways than the one you bought last time.
“Tire design and manufacturing today are almost custom,” said Tom Clauer, Yokohama Tire’s senior manager of commercial product planning. “Over the years we have been able to scrutinize the trucking-transportation industry and work with equipment OEMs and fleets to develop tires that deliver a wide variety of performance aspects.”
The digital age and the speed and accuracy with which service data can be analyzed have brought about some remarkable changes in tire design and construction. Fleets no longer need to choose between key features; they can now get enough of everything they want in a single tire.
“We have been gathering data from the field with advanced digital tools, and by leveraging this data, we can develop tires that address the pain points across various segments and regions,” says Tim Netzel, marketing director at Bridgestone Americas, commercial off the road tires. “These learnings are applied to every stage of the tire design process to ensure the final product thrives in the environment it was made for.”
