The tire industry is constantly facing more demanding challenges. In addition to the increasingly astringent safety and environmental requirements, new technical challenges arise. Efforts to further reduce Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are putting new constraints on Tire Pressure Management. Formulating better performing tire innerliners is thus becoming a priority target for the industry.
The ever increasing need to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions has led to major advances in tire technology. The development of silica type reinforcement to reduce rolling resistance is maybe the most striking achievement. To go further down the road of CO2 emission reduction, due to the strong incentive of European regulations, tire companies are now turning their attention to the innerliner part of the tire.It is indeed well known that inappropriately inflated tires lead to higher fuel consumption. Safety is another major driver. Due to the new legislation, every new car sold in the US in 2008 will be equipped with Tire Monitoring Pressure system.