Michelin Americas Truck Tires has unveiled the latest tire in its X One wide single tire line — the Michelin X One XDN2 tire. It is the first X One tire in North America to utilize multiple Michelin Durable Technologies (MDT). The maker said the tire will be available to end-users in November 2008.
“This tire takes the traditional compromise between traction, long-life and fuel efficiency, and throws it out the window,” said Marc Laferriere, vice president of marketing, Michelin Americas Truck Tires. “By utilizing two different Michelin Durable Technologies, the X One XDN2 tire delivers significantly increased tire life and exceptional, uncompromised traction, complementing the significant fuel efficiency gains of a Michelin X One wide single tire.”
According to Michelin, the X One XDN2 tire makes no compromises in traction or mileage, and also delivers fuel efficiency levels approaching Michelin’s most fuel-efficient truck tire — the X One XDA tire. Through MDT, the X One XDN2 tire is able to reduce the number of flexing sidewalls from four to two, when replacing dual tires, which significantly lowers rolling resistance —15 percent lower than its dual XDN2 tire counterpart, the company said. The Michelin wide single tire is made possible by the Infini-Coil Technology—more than a quarter-of-a-mile of steel cord wrapped circumferentially around every X One tire from sidewall to sidewall. The Infini-Coil reduces casing growth and stabilizes the contact patch, reducing irregular wear, the tire maker said.
The XDN2 tread pattern incorporates Matrix Siping Technology — corrugated grooves in the tread block that provide a zigzag appearance. These wavy grooves lock the tread block as it moves through the contact patch, providing what the company described as both tread block rigidity and exceptional traction while resisting tread scrubbing — normally a challenge with deep-treaded, heavily-siped tires. Also a first for an X One tire is the X One XDN2 tire’s open-shoulder tread design for additional traction.
The Michelin X One XDN2 tire will be available to end-users in November 2008 in a 445/50R22.5 size (equivalent to a 275/80R22.5 size), with a 455/55R22.5 size (equivalent to an 11R22.5 size) becoming available in December. The X One XDN2 tire will replace the Michelin X One XDA-HT Plus tire.
Michelin offers X One tires for various applications such as on-highway, off-highway, urban, waste hauling and recreational vehicles. For more information, visit Michelin North America at http://www.michelintruck.com.
