Goodyear announces new Fuelmax Endurance steer and drive tire line

Brussels, Belgium – Goodyear has announced a new fuel efficient and versatile product line called FUELMAX ENDURANCE. This range of steer and drive axle tires provides an innovative solution for transportation and logistics companies operating both on highways and secondary or state roads referred to as inter-regional applications.

The new range will support thousands of European fleets and truck manufacturers to reduce the carbon footprint by combining the fuel efficiency levels known in long-haul applications with the durability, traction and mileage required to drive on secondary and state roads. The company states the new product line is the most versatile fuel-efficient it has ever produced and underlines all sizes feature a B- label in fuel efficiency¹ while offering a leading performance in inter-regional applications.

Sustainability is a key focus area across different stakeholders and industries. The European Commission presented in December 2019, the European Green Deal aiming to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050 and including an ambitious primary target to reduce net green gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.“

Goodyear’s decision to come with a new range that focuses on both fuel efficiency and endurance is anticipating the move towards more sustainable transport and evolving demand for more versatile products by both transportation companies and truck manufacturers.

As a new standard tire fitment for new trucks, the range covers a wide variety of haulage applications while supporting manufacturers to further lower emissions levels of new heavy-duty-vehicles by 2% on average in comparison to a C-label tire for fuel efficiency. In line with Europe’s overall ambition, CO2 emissions of new production commercial vehicles need to be reduced by 15% from 2025 onwards and even double, 30% as of 2030 in comparison to 2019-20 baseline.

Until now transportation operators often had to choose between durability, strong mileage performance or excellent fuel efficiency when it comes to tires. FUELMAX ENDURANCE is designed to make that choice easier for fleet managers who are seeking cost and fuel efficiency as they are no longer limited by the type of road they operate on.“

While setting new standards, Goodyear engineers focused on bridging three conflicting areas in the development spectrum to secure fuel efficiency and low emissions versus 1. mileage, 2. traction and 3. versatility.

As a starting point, the development of the new product line is based around demonstrated Goodyear technologies. On top, customized innovations for the steer and drive axle positions extend Goodyear’s established fuel efficiency capabilities to a wider range of routes, while safeguarding traction, grip and mileage trough a robust, versatile design.

The FUELMAX S ENDURANCE steer tire combines Goodyear’s proven IntelliMax Rib Technology in a 5 or 6 rib design with ingenuity in the rib distribution and groove geometry. The stiffeners in the shoulder grooves connect when the tire rolls increasing the robustness of tire and limiting wear in more demanding off-highway journeys, where stop-start driving, curb stone impact, increased turning and maneuvering and more braking put additional demands on tires.

The increased tread depth on selected steer sizes results in more wearable rubber, providing better grip later in the service life. An innovative low energy-loss tread compound offsets heat generation caused by load forces on the steer position. A number of steer tires also feature an optimized sidewall compound further contributing to lower emissions and fuel efficiency as it decreases flexion and deformation of the sidewall in off-highway operations.

In addition, to the innovative tread compound for use on the drive axle, the drive tyre benefits of a dedicated curing process to further optimize rolling resistance. The directional tread design includes a high number of deep sipes, deep centre grooves and more biting edges to improve traction and evacuate water more effectively.

By combining recognized and new technologies, the full FUELMAX ENDURANCE range provides high fuel efficiency (B-label), with enhanced robustness, late life grip and traction. Both steer and drive tires are featuring the 3PMSF certification and are equipped with RFID enabling connected tire management.

Underlining Goodyear’s commitment to the circular economy the new FUELMAX ENDURANCE is fully compatible with Goodyear’s Retreading program. The drive tire will be available as a premium TreadMax mold cure retread adding extra mileage while providing the same features and benefits as the new innovative tread and reducing tire costs up to 30%.

In combination with Goodyear’s smart tire monitoring solutions including Goodyear TPMS, Drive-Over-Reader and most recently launched DrivePoint, the service life and fuel efficiency can be significantly enhanced. Further supporting transportation companies in their move towards a more sustainable future.