HGV tyres for the year 2000
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• By the year 2000 the twinned tyres currently used on truck drive-axles will have been largely replaced by wide singles, according to the head of Semperit's research and development department.
Speaking at the Austrian company's main manufacturing plant at Traiskirchen, where a £70 million modernisation programme is underway, Ernst Petraschek last week made several other surprising predictions about the way CV tyre design will change over the next 15 years: "By the turn of the century the typical CV tyre will probably have an aspect ratio of 60 to 70%; it will be built according to the EOT (energy optimised tyre) principle (Continental introduced its low-rolling resistance EOT tyres last year); it will be capable of running deflated within limits, and while the standard wheel rim size of 22.5in will still e]dst, 19.5in rims will be much more popular."
Petraschek says that the main results of these changes for vehicle operators will be: Tread life improvement of 30-40% on front axles and 515% on drive axles compared with current tyres; o Rolling resistance reduction of 35-40% which should lead to a fuel consumption improvement of 12-15% solely as a result of tyre design changes; o Better tyre casing quality which will mean a 15-25% better chance of worn tyres being accepted for retreading.
Petraschek accepts that the main disadvantage of conventional wide single tyres is that tyre damage can lead to immobilisation of the vehicle in awkward situations. This, he says, is why the Continental group is working hard on development of a commercial vehicle version of its CTS (Conti Tyre System) run-flat tyre and rim.
"There are hundreds of problems, including finding a suitable wheel mounting system and convincing vehicle manufacturers to change, before this wheel and tyre will be in production, but I am confident that we will solve them before the year 2000," says Petraschek.