LOW ROLLING RESISTANCE TREAD FOR CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS

摘要

Tires, especially tires for passenger and light track vehicles, that have treads constructed of a silica reinforced material that is based upon a cross-linkable rubber composition that includes, per hundred parts by weight of rubber (phr), between 50 phr and 90 phr of natural rubber and between 10 phr and 50 phr of a silanol end-functionalized styrene-butadiene rubber and may include between 5 phr and 40 phr of a plasticizing resin. The plasticizing resin may be characterized as having a glass transition temperature Tg of between 30 °C and 120 °C or alternatively, between 45 °C and 85 °C. The plasticizing resin may be a polylimonene resin. Tires manufactured with such treads may be characterized as having improved rolling resistance with no loss in wet or dry grip properties.