Photo © Yokohama Tire Corporation
I've installed a lot of tires in my time, but the tire installation I attended on Tuesday was definitely a first. Boston's Museum of Science "installed" Yokohama's BluEarth-1 tire as an addition to their long-running Transportation, Nanotechnology and Renewable Energy exhibit space. Yokohama's tire is actually an excellent fit for the Museum; as part of Yokohama's commitment to environmental responsibility in all aspects of their corporate behavior, the BluEarth-1 tire combines renewable ingredients, nanotech construction elements and fuel-saving low rolling resistance to create one of the most environmentally-friendly tires ever built. And no, it doesn't really smell like oranges...
Here's the big deal: Tires usually require around 7 gallons of petroleum-based oil during manufacturing. Mixed with carbon black, a petroleum byproduct, the oil helps all the rubber components bind together and imparts flexibility to the rubber compound. But Yokohama's engineers have found that oil derived from orange peels can work as well if not better than petroleum oil. Not all of the petroleum is replaced by orange oil, in fact Yokohama will say only that orange oil constitutes a significant fraction of the oil used in the tires; but multiply even a fraction of that 7 gallons by millions of tires, and you begin to get an idea of the potential upside of using a renewable source of oil. That's a really big deal.
Here's another big deal: Yokohama's engineers claim that their "Super Nano-Powered Rubber" (SNPR) compound provides both long wear and excellent grip. To tire people this is basically equivalent to claiming that the Sun rises in the west - it just doesn't work that way. Hard rubber compounds give long wear but less grip, while soft compounds grip well but wear faster; this is the unyielding Law Of Tires. Yokohama claims that they have broken that law, or at least found a loophole in it.
According to the engineers, the SNPR compound benefits from nanotechnology, in that the orange oil and the rubber are bound together more tightly on a molecular level than in other compounds. Under normal running conditions, the SNPR compound stays relatively hard, combining around 45,000 miles of treadwear and 18-20% less rolling resistance than comparable tires. When the heat load on the tread increases, under cornering or braking friction, for example, the compound quickly becomes both more flexible and stickier, providing grip when you need it most. That's quite impressive for a rubber compound whose name sounds like a really bad comic-book hero.
Photo © Yokohama Tire Corporation
Knowing that underinflated tires are major contributors to higher rolling resistance and consequent fuel mileage costs, Yokohama's engineers have also incorporated a new type of liner on the inside of the tire. This AirTex liner is made with the same SNPR compounding, whose densely-packed molecules significantly reduce air leakage via osmosis, helping to keep the tires properly inflated for much longer.
The Museum of Science actually became interested in Yokohama's breakthrough more than two years ago, but a period of staff turnover prevented that interest from turning into a formal exhibit until recently. "No one was championing it." noted Doug Burbo, the Senior Corporate Development Officer who eventually became the exhibit's champion, joking with me that, "We were operating on Museum Time."
Orange oil compounds first appeared in Yoko's Advan ENV-R2 racing tires, moving from there into the dB Super E-Spec fuel-efficient passenger tires, an excellent example of how racing technology still plays a huge role in moving the tire industry forward. The BluEarth-1 tire is available now in Asia and Europe, and should be available in the US in the first quarter of 2012. Initially, the US tires will be available in three sizes for the Nissan Versa, Toyota Prius, Volkswagen Jetta and Honda's Camry and Accord. I'm looking forward to trying them out!
Photo © Yokohama Tire Corporation