Michelin has announced the new Road 6 and Road 6 GT, the latest in a long line of sport touring tires that the French say have better wet grip and longer life than Road 5 tyres.
Up to 15% more wet grip and a 10% longer service life, according to Michelin, these are the improvements achieved by new technologies compared to the Road 5 tires: a new tread design, new rubber compounds and a new architecture.
To start with the latter. The sidewalls of the Radial X Evo technology with 90 degree cord layers are now folded in a special way for even more flexibility and comfort, without sacrificing stability, according to the French.
As far as rubber compound is concerned, Michelin has used a 100% silica compound. The Michelin 2CT+ technology must ensure that the different tread parts are optimally matched to the different driving characteristics of both the front and rear tyre.
The hard tread rubber underlay is to maintain cornering rigidity. The softer top layer, which makes contact with the road, offers very good grip and many miles in dry and wet conditions.
The most important innovations, however, are in the design of the tread. An optimized groove to tread ratio of 14% should provide better grip in wet and dry conditions. This ratio does not change when cornering and therefore offers a constant grip.
Michelin also speaks of Water EverGrip technology: a patented sipe technology for a high degree of grip on wet roads. The slats are so
designed to open wider as the tire wears, increasing grip
remains up to date.
Finally, Michelin has adjusted the angle of inclination of grooves and sipes, with longer angles to break through the water film and maintain grip on wet surfaces.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.