Bridgestone Americas recently debuted its new Turanza EV grand touring tyre, the company’s first-ever replacement tyre designed specifically for premium electric vehicles (EVs) and the first to feature Bridgestone Enliten technology. Launching immediately at tyre retailers nationally, the new Bridgestone Turanza EV grand touring tyre was purposefully designed to account for the unique vehicle dynamics of EVs, providing tread life, minimal ride noise and confident wet handling to complement the electric vehicle experience. Designed, developed and manufactured in North America, the initial five sizes include fitments for Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, with 13 additional sizes launching in early 2024.
This revolutionary core technology focuses on:
. Next-generation tread compound designed with wear life and all-season performance, including wet performance, in mind.
. New structural components that help provide balanced ride comfort, excellent steering feel and controlled noise.
. Increased efficiency for both ICE and EV platforms through rolling resistance and wear optimisation.
. Supporting an increased use of renewable and recycled materials such as:
. Recycled carbon black from end-of-life tyres
. Synthetic rubber derived from recycled plastic bags and bottles
. Renewable soybean oil
. Rice Husk Silica derived from rice husks, which gives a meaningful purpose to a typically discarded byproduct of rice harvesting
Bridgestone plans to grow and evolve the Enliten technology and design features to deploy across its entire product line in the future. A new Enliten technology debuting on the Bridgestone Turanza EV is PeakLife, a next-generation polymer technology that enhances tread resistance to wear, aiding in enabling extended tyre life.
Developed by Bridgestone engineers and scientists at the company’s Americas Technology Centre in Akron, Ohio, the PeakLife polymer proceeded from the R&D phase to in-market product application in less than two years to prioritise significantly improving the Turanza EV’s wear capabilities.
By creating an extensive network of unique bonds between the innovative polymer and reinforcing particles, the tread on tyres with PeakLife technology can last longer, helping to reduce the need for new tyres and easing the mobility ecosystem’s consumption of raw materials. Bridgestone PeakLife technology focuses on improved wear resistance, which can help extend tread life, and is engineered to deliver lower levels of rolling resistance4 to help increase vehicle fuel efficiency.
Additional key engineering features of the tyre include:
. Maintain Long Mileage Range per charge without sacrificing tread life or premium performance. It extends energy efficient performance with low rolling resistance made possible by Bridgestone’s Enliten technology.
. Sustainable Longevity that delivers a 50,000-mile limited warranty5 thanks to its next-generation tread compound featuring new PeakLife polymer technology that enhances tread wear to overcome the load and torque challenges that historically lead to premature wear out in EVs.
. Whisper-Quiet Ride: With QuietTrack technology embedded in the tread design, the tyre reduces road noise for a quiet, comfortable ride.
. Wet Road Ready: With wet braking and handling that’s on par with selected leading OE touring tyres, drivers of EVs can enjoy confident control on wet roads, adds Bridgestone.
Consistent with Bridgestone’s sustainability goals, which include the use of 100% renewable and recycled materials by 2050, the Turanza EV tyre incorporates 50% renewable and recycled materials. It is manufactured using synthetic rubber associated with recycled plastic, helping keep more used plastics out of landfills and the environment.
The new Turanza EV tyre is manufactured at Bridgestone’s passenger car tyre production facilities in Wilson, North Carolina, and Monterrey, Mexico, where significant new investments were made to accommodate the use of Enliten technology, including new rubber mixing and tyre construction tools and technologies.