Back in 2007 Yokohama engineers discovered that it is as not dangerous to drive under cold temperatures as under that ranging between -6 to 0 degrees Centigrade. Such temperatures open the way to a dangerous slippery zone emerging between your tire and road surface, that’s why new-generation tire created by the company since then has been equipped with a technology that can eliminate the very reason of skidding in icy roads.
The engineers have found out that not the ice itself is slippery but it is made so by cars driving on it! Car weight as well as friction forces make the ice melt, which creates a thin layer of water film that in its turn causes a decrease in traction. The researches made a serious investigation into this phenomenon and claim that this layer becomes thick enough to create dangerous situation with temperatures between -6 to 0 degrees Centigrade.
Such temperature conditions significantly worsen your vehicle’s braking and cornering performance. The above-mentioned water film is 7 times thinner than a human hair. Yokohama engineers maintain that the most difficult task for your tire is to handle 10-micrometer water film while it can easily cope with a thinner layer and successfully operate under lower temperatures. A 10-micrometer water film, unlike, causes the effect of ice microplaning. (1 micrometer equals to 1/1000 millimeter)
The further step was to generate a solution how to get rid of this water film. Neither ice, nor tire surface are absolutely sleek. If examined under a microscope they both show rough edges that hold water between them. It was necessary to find out a means to remove this water. In the end, a new technology was discovered to make the tire literally absorb water in the areas of its contact with ice.
In other words, the new technology from Yokohama is its new temperature-adaptive rubber compound that absorbs water thus acting like a sponge and makes ice surface dry and rough to provide for reliable grip.
The new compound features so called “powerful absorbing bubbles” and “Absorbing carbon elements II.” They completely remove moisture from the footprint area while having solid jackets to provide for numerous biting micro edges to enhance traction. At the same time, the new compound features new polymer in its structure to make tire as if stick to ice like glue.
Made under such technology, the tire remains resistant to deformation for every bubble’s jacket is solid and helps retain stiffness of each tread block. This improves handling on dry road surfaces. As a result, bubbles became a powerful alternative to studs on winter tires. Moreover, the bubbles, unlike studs, don’t generate noise thus making your winter trips comfortable.
Bridgestone engineers have also come to the idea of bubbles. The company worked out the new Tube MultiCell Compound featuring solid microelements in its structure to cut icy surfaces and ensure stable traction on them. At the same time, it is stuffed with microbubbles to create multicellular tread surface that is constantly renewed as the tire wears.
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