Pneumatic tire having improved wet traction.

摘要

A directional pneumatic tire having improved wet traction is provided. The tire has an annular aqua channel (12) and curved lateral grooves (14) to direct water from the footprint to the shoulder area of the tire to help prevent hydroplaning. The pitch boundaries between the portions of the tire on either side of the aqua channel (12) may be skewed. The curved lateral grooves (14) and the skewing reduce noise properties of the tire. In addition the lugs may have rounded or radiused leading and trailing edges, and a leading groove wall angle of about 5 DEG and a trailing groove wall angle of about 1 DEG , which are believed to reduce noise and irregular wear. <IMAGE>