Michelin latest new tyre set to be a game changer

“A turning point in tyre history” is the way that Michelin described the pending arrival of their all-new tyre In May of this year. Michelin will launch their CrossClimate in Europe, and it holds the very real distinction of being the first summer tyre with winter certification.

In case you switch normally off at the mention of winter or more specifically winter tyres, the Michelin CrossClimate is clearly a summer tyre with serious credentials with regard to winter driving capability. While it might naturally drive your thinking towards all-season tyres, Michelin do not see it that way – it is a summer tyre, with all the advantages of dry braking, longevity, as well as the highest European label rating of “A” for wet braking.

At the same time it is certified for winter use, identifiable by the 3PMSF (3-Peak Mountain Snow Flake) symbol on the sidewall of the tyre. This means it can even be used in countries where fitting winter tyres is a legal requirement.

The new Michelin CrossClimate is the fusion of summer and winter tyre technology – technologies which until now were thought to be incompatible. The resulting new CrossClimate delivers safety with simplicity and economy. The motorist can drive throughout the year, regardless of weather variations, with just one set of tyres.

The CrossClimate is a truly innovative tyre as it adapts to different climatic situations. It is the only tyre which combines the advantages of summer tyres and winter tyres. The attraction for Ireland is that you get a tyre that scores better in all areas than the best all-season tyres on the market.

On average, it would be fair toe say that a premium winter tyre cost 20 per cent more than the equivalent summer tyre, with typically a premium all-season tyre slotting in the middle (10pc more than a summer tyre). And despite the undoubted technological investment and advances achieved, Michelin want the new CrossClimate to be a mainstream 15, 16 and 17″ passenger car tyre market. To this end it will be price in the 8 to 10 per cent above the equivalent premium summer tyre.

Michelin say that the CrossClimate tyre is the epitome of the Michelin Total Performance ethos: one tyre with summer performance, winter performance, energy efficiency and comfort. The CrossClimate is very significant addition to Michelin’s existing catalogue of summer and winter tyre ranges – the latter still being important in certain markets and under certain more serious seasonal wintery conditions.

For the more technically minded, the CrossClimate sets new benchmarks by combining three technologies.

First, an innovative tread compound with the tread area being extremely supple. This increases the ability of the compound to adhere to the slightest roughness of the road surface under all conditions (dry, wet, and snow). Secondly, a new material beneath the tread optimises the energy efficiency of the tyre by reducing heat generation. Michelin’s engineers have reduced this heat build-up by introducing the latest-generation silica into the rubber mix, thus improving the fuel efficiency of the all-new CrossClimate.

Next, there is the combination of a unique V tread pattern with new 3D interlocking sipes. This new V tread pattern with an evolutionary angle, optimises grip on snow in two ways. Laterally, it works due to the angle of the central area of the tread and
longitudinally, it does the job due to the angle being more flared in the shoulder areas.

Then there’s the new self-blocking 3d sipes. The V tread pattern is combined with new self-blocking 3D sipes. They are described by Michelin as ultra-wavy, varying in thickness and with complex geometry, and these full depth sipes produce a claw effect on snow and thus increase traction.

The vertical and lateral undulations provide the self-blocking function, binding together for greater rigidity in the tread block. Michelin told us that this results in improved tyre stability, whatever forces it faces: longitudinal force when braking and accelerating and lateral force when cornering. As a result, driving precision and general dry weather performance are improved. With this combination of advanced technologies, the overall rigidity of the tread is enhanced which not only improves driving precision on dry ground but also maximizes tyre life.

This blend of advanced technology, plus the presence of EverGripTM technology in the shoulder, delivers excellent performance on snow, precision in the dry, and longevity.

The innovative combination of bevel-edged tread blocks with high-performance sipes ensures optimum contact with the road surface to improve dry braking performance. The design also combines the addition of these bevelled corners with complex and full-depth sipes for excellent braking and traction on snow.

To create the CrossClimate, Michelin put its knowledge of driver behaviour at the heart of the development process. Michelin told us that its goal is to provide the most suitable tyre for every application and every type of driving. This approach is put into action in three stages.

Understand Motorists face unexpected weather changes, rain, snow and temperature drops – sometimes in the same hour. We can see that here in Ireland on a regular basis. The solutions they have available today, or the attitudes they adopt, do not address those challenges fully.

According to Michelin’s research it appears that 65 per cent of European motorists use summer tyres all year, jeopardising their safety to varying degrees in cold weather, snowy and icy conditions. These figures are 20pc in Germany, where regulations require winter tyres to be fitted in winter conditions, and 76pc in France, where there are no regulatory constraints.

Four in 10 European motorists view the seasonal tyre change as a constraint and leave it until the very last minute to change (Source Ipsos – Purchasing Behaviors Winter Tyres 2014/2015). Those who cannot or do not accept the cost and inconvenience refuse to put winter tyres on their cars at all.

3pc of drivers in Germany and 7pc of drivers in France use their winter tyres all year, compromising dry braking, particularly in warm weather, and increasing fuel consumption, as well the level tyre ware.

Innovation allows Michelin to achieve the perfect balance between advanced technology and use. And the new CrossClimate meets an ongoing need for safety, simplicity and economy. The motorist can drive throughout the year, regardless of weather variations, with just one set of tyres.

When it is launched in May 2015, the CrossClimate will be available in 23 different sizes from 15 to 17 inches, covering 70pc of the European market. Further sizes are scheduled for 2016. Popular van and SUV tyres will follow.

The CrossClimate took three years to design, from a blank sheet of paper to the press launch on Monday last. A more regular new tyre development schedule would be 4 years and 8 months, so the new CrossClimate was developed 1.5 times faster than other car tyres.

The temperature range of tests were carried out with external temperatures ranging from -30 ° C to + 40 ° C.

Some other numbers include 150 engineers and experts who have worked on the design, testing, industrialisation and manufacture of the CrossClimate; and more than 1,000 laboratory tests were carried out on materials, tread and casings. Finally, there was 5,000,000 kilometers traveled during the dynamic, wear and endurance tests. This is 125 times around the earth, at the equator.