Toyo Tires’ new e-balance technology for commercial truck tires improves fundamental performance characteristics and their compatibility with one another. These characteristics are tire life, irregular wear resistance, endurance and fuel consumption. All of these improvements help to lower fleet operating costs and make e-balance tires more environmentally friendly.
The new technologies of e-balance incorporate improvements in the areas of Tread Profile Retention, Bead Profile Retention, and overall Simulation for optimum tire design.
Tread Profile Retention
Tires that utilize e-balance exhibit improved tread profile retention, meaning less service growth compared to conventional tires. The flatter tread radius provides an optimized footprint shape resulting in even wear, less irregular wear and longer life. Strain at the belt edge is reduced by approximately 30%, which also helps to improve tread profile retention.
Simulation of Vehicle Behavior
Blue Truck: e-balance
Red Truck: without e-balance
Results: The e-balance tire has better handling performance than the tire without e-balance.
V: 40km/h Steering Angle 90°
Bead Profile Retention
Tires that utilize e-balance have higher bead stiffness to achieve improvements in bead profile retention. This leads to a reduction in irregular wear and an improvement in endurance. The bead area profile is retained even after service. Increased bead stiffness is achieved through the use of a high stiffness bead core, which is then surrounded by high stiffness rubber. A low heat build-up rubber is also used in the bead filler area. Strain at the ply turn-up edge is reduced by approximately 20% over conventional tires.
Simulation
There are four simulation technologies utilized in e-balance. Tire irregular wear, tire profile change, tread pattern noise and vehicle handling behavior. All of these areas are analyzed with careful consideration to how they affect one another. This new simulation technology allows for optimization of tire design with much higher accuracy than what was possible before.
