Wide-based single tires are here to stay. The benefits they offer regional and long-haul trucking fleets are undisputed: reduced weight and increased fuel economy are a definite win-win scenario for productivity and efficiency-minded trucking companies. But despite all the tremendous advantages they offer, wide-based singles have one major drawback when compared to dual wheel assemblies: If there’s a flat, the truck is stuck.
Goodyear says that it has an answer to this concern with the debut of its G392 SSD drive and G394 SST trailer wide-base tires for long-haul and regional-haul applications. According to Donn Kramer, director of marketing for Goodyear, both new tires feature Goodyear’s proprietary Fuel Max Technology. But even more importantly, Kramer says, both tires are the first in the industry to offer flat protection with Goodyear’s exclusive DuraSeal Technology. “If a standard wide-base tire hits a nail or other debris and goes flat, there is no limp-home capability” Kramer notes. “And in about 30 percent of the time, a punctured tire deflates to a level where it ruins a $450 wheel. DuraSeal Technology can help reduce these costs.”
Goodyear developed DuraSeal tire sealant technology several years ago and has primarily marketed it to vocational applications such as construction and refuse. A DuraSeal tire features a gel-like innerliner that is layered into the design of the tire. In the event of a puncture (up to ¼-inch in diameter) this gel instantly flows into the damaged area of the tire and seals the hole. “It’s been a highly successful technology for our customers,” Kramer adds. “We’ve seen Duraseal tires with as many as 50 punctures in them by the end of their service life still holding air. So we know this technology has saved our vocational customers money and vehicle downtime. And we’re confident those benefits will translate to our wide-based singles fleet customers as well.”
Both the G392 SSD drive tire and the G394 SST trailer tire feature Goodyear’s Fuel Max Goodyear’s technology for enhanced fuel economy in day-to-day fleet operations. The G392 SSD tire has a nine-rib design, with eight wide, circumferential grooves, which Kramer says provides all-season traction in dry, wet and snowy conditions. This rib design is works in unison with the tire’s deep, 25/32-inch tread depth for long initial tire life. In fact, Kramer says Goodyear extensively tested the tires in wet and dry traction conditions at Goodyear’s test facility in San Angelo, Texas, along with snow performance testing in Minnesota. Additionally, Kramer says the design of the tread is coupled with a casing construction that restricts casing expansion to help alleviate irregular wear.
Goodyear will also help fleets and owner-operators further reduce their
tire costs by offering matching retreads for both the G392 SSD and G394 SST. “The retread looks and performs like the original tread,” Kramer notes. “Plus it also features the same tread depth on the trailer tire, and 24/32nds of tread on the drive tire to maximize miles to removal.”
