How much tire keeps your Car or Truck on the Road! Think about it, in reality it is not that
much between your car and the road, about the size of four palm prints, one for
each tire. Look at the palm of your
hand, and that is your cars footprint in four places. In essence those four
patches of rubber is all that keeps your car on the road. That small amount of
space is what keeps a couple of tons of moving machine with you and your family
inside, safe and on the road.
How those tires are engineered and made is the difference of
how those four patches of rubber keep you on the road. What is the first thing
you think of when you drive over that pothole on the highway? “Ouch!” Is my first
response, as the car jumps and bounds out of the pothole and on its way, then again
as the back tire hits the same spot, yep I am sure that I will have two flats
within a few miles. How does that black doughnut withstand that and still come
out round and full of air?
We found out that there is more to tires than just looking
good on your car when – BFGoodrich® Tires, invited us to one of their dealer
training events designed to educate tire dealers on their main products. BFG
has been making tires since the end of the 19th Century, while its
hardworking history may not be as fancy as some of the designer brands of
tires, the BFG brand is a part of the Michelin family, keeping its American
tough guy heritage.
Known to the Off-Road 4X4 Community for their All-Terrain
T/A® KO2 tire, – BFGoodrich® Tires, http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/ they
also offer street as well as competition tires.
Aggressive traction be it in snow, mud, on road or off road,
is key to moving as well as stopping, better grip in mud and snow, Side-Biter
lugs in the sidewall improve traction in mud, snow and rocks. Raised bars in
the shoulder help release compacted mud for better traction in soft soil. 3-D
sipes create biting edges for better snow traction. With 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake
symbol, indicating the Rubber Manufacturer Association’s severe snow traction
requirements. The BFG KO2 tire has 10 percent greater traction in the mud and
19 percent greater traction in the snow4 compared to the previous-generation
tire.
Durability is equally important with the KO2 lasting twice
as long on gravel roads and 15 percent longer on asphalt, (think of a gravel
road is very rough sandpaper, and asphalt is finishing sandpaper, both scrub
off the tread.) The KO2 has a new tread design and rubber formulation that gives
it better tread life, helping it to last twice as long on gravel and 15 percent
longer on asphalt than the previous tire. The tread rubber has been optimally
blended to reduce chips and tears on gravel. The footprint shape and interlocking
tread design provide more uniform wear over the long haul. Special stone
ejectors push objects out of the tread to reduce drilling into the tire.
The BFGoodrich® All-Terrain T/A® KO2 tire incorporates
race-proven and race-winning CoreGard™ technology for split and
bruise-resistant sidewall rubber, and a thicker, extended shoulder to prevent
sidewall failures, giving it unmatched toughness. Twenty percent stronger sidewalls
are critical in off-road performance. The BFG KO2 sidewalls are designed to
deflect protruding objects, reducing the chances of splits and snags.
Off Road Tires are not the only products BFGoodrich has to
offer. The same is engineered into their high performance tire, the gForce™
COMP-2™ A/S. Incorporating a Performance Racing Core (PRC) that delivers crisp
responsive control while cornering hard, on wet, dry or light snow covered
roads. Delivering wet and dry traction, stopping up to 15 feet shorter on wet
roads and up to 5 feet shorter on dry roads, with better snow traction. Technology
directly derived from track tires and optimizes the contact patch (that spot
the size of your palm,) for enhanced traction at speed for increased
acceleration, while adding sidewall stiffness to resist deflection for immediate
turning response, while still maintaining ride comfort.
UltiGrip™ Technology: The g-Force™ COMP- 2™ A/S is made with
a high-silica, cold-weather flexing compound designed for the best wet and dry
grip, with all-season traction. This combined with Directional Tread Design and
V-shaped angled lateral and longitudinal grooves optimize rubber-to-road
contact for ultimate dry grip while efficiently evacuating water for better wet
traction.
G-Force™ Tread: With advanced mold design and a performance
tread profile evenly distributes stresses across the tire footprint improving
long-term wear, as well as resisting irregular wear typically associated with
directional tread designs.
Performance Racing Core (PRC): ETEC System™ (Equal Tension
Containment System), Dynamic Suspension System (DSS), and g-Control™ Sidewall
Inserts provide a reinforced internal structure that increases control while
maintaining ride comfort and added sidewall stiffness to resist deflection for
immediate turning response.
BFGoodrich® Tires now boasts two of the highest performing
all-seasons tires in their respective tire categories. Engineered from
BFGoodrich’s rich heritage of pavement racing and motorsports technology, BFG
knows that performance seeking drivers demand the same attributes in a tire on
the street in all seasons. BFGoodrich Tires’ UltiGrip™ Technology and g-Force™
Tread provide enhanced wet and dry traction, optimized rubber-to-road contact
and the ultimate grip in hard cornering for control all year long.
For more information about the BFGoodrich® Tires g-Force™
COMP-2™ A/S tire, please visit http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com.
