A new rubber compound and tread design helps your worn tires perform better.
(NUI) - Few things affect a vehicle's performance as much as tires, and most drivers understand that as tires start to wear their performance declines.
Now, a new technology from Bridgestone/Firestone called UNI-T AQ helps maintain wet braking and wet handling as tires wear.
In a wet-surface braking test at 50 miles per hour, a vehicle equipped with worn (50 percent of the tread remaining) tires containing UNI-T AQ technology stopped 14 feet shorter than the same vehicle fitted with worn tires (50 percent of the tread remaining) that did not have UNI-T AQ.
Bridgestone/ Firestone engineers learned that one of the results of tire wear is rubber hardening, which can impact worn tire performance in some situations. They developed a new type of rubber compound -- EPC (Extended Performance Compound) -- that reduces the rubber hardening that can result from the heat of friction caused by everyday driving.
In other words, EPC is better than conventional rubber compounds in terms of keeping rubber soft, and softer rubber means better grip.
Engineers also developed a new tread design called Dual Layer Tread that exposes high-grip rubber as wear progresses. A tire with Dual Layer Tread contains two layers with different kinds of rubber in each tread, both with EPC. A higher grip rubber, employed for the base layer under the cap, is exposed as the tire wears. This minimizes the effect of wear on tire performance and helps maintain consistent handling.
EPC and Dual Layer Tread are part of a group of technologies called UNI-T AQ, which was first introduced into the United States last year in the Bridgestone Potenza S-02 Pole Position ultra high performance tire.
UNI-T AQ is now included in three tire lines that fit a wide range of automobiles, pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles. The Bridgestone Turanza Revo touring tire and the Bridgestone Dueler H/L and Dueler H/P light truck tires are available at Bridgestone/Firestone retailers nationwide. To find the store nearest you, call 1-800-807-9555.
