New Ultra Low Profile Wide Base Single Tires

1. 3/1/2012 New Ultra Low Profile Wide Base Single Tires …or, what we call X-One

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3. 3/1/2012 New Wide Single topics What are they all about ? What are their advantages ? What are their disadvantages ? Are they here to stay or are they just a “flash in the pan”?

4. 3/1/2012 What are they all about ? The Premise : To increase the overall productivity of the trucking industry by optimizing the vehicle / tire / wheel configuration.

5. 3/1/2012 What are they all about ? These are NOT “Super Singles” 445/50R22.5 is ~ 4” less in O/A Diam than 425/65R22.5 ~ 5.3” less than 445/65R22.5

6. 3/1/2012 Genesis Conceived in Europe Developed and tested in the US Introduced in fall of 2000 at the Great American Truck Show, Dallas, TX In the US, the X One replaces Low Profile 22.5, 11R22.5, or Low Profile 24.5 dual tires, WITHOUT requiring ANY change in vehicle configuration. In plain language, the X One is completely retrofitable with the above sizes, requiring neither truck redesign nor loss in resale value of the truck/trailer. The X One IS NOT a “wide base”or a “Super Single” tire. Traditional “wide base or super single tires” are made for low mileage, Regional applications and require significant vehicle redesign. These products are not designed for the rigors of long haul use. Traditional super singles or wide base can be anywhere from 2” to 5” greater in diameter than the X One, greatly increasing the center of gravity of the load. At time of resale, vehicles may be reverted back to duals, retaining the X One advantage for the fleet. All studs, and other hardware are 100% compatible. In the US, the X One replaces Low Profile 22.5, 11R22.5, or Low Profile 24.5 dual tires, WITHOUT requiring ANY change in vehicle configuration. In plain language, the X One is completely retrofitable with the above sizes, requiring neither truck redesign nor loss in resale value of the truck/trailer. The X One IS NOT a “wide base”or a “Super Single” tire. Traditional “wide base or super single tires” are made for low mileage, Regional applications and require significant vehicle redesign. These products are not designed for the rigors of long haul use. Traditional super singles or wide base can be anywhere from 2” to 5” greater in diameter than the X One, greatly increasing the center of gravity of the load. At time of resale, vehicles may be reverted back to duals, retaining the X One advantage for the fleet. All studs, and other hardware are 100% compatible.

7. 3/1/2012 Testing Thousands of tires over hundreds of millions of miles in both internal and fleet testing Track testing to evaluate vehicle dynamics including sudden failure conditions Ensuring retreadability

8. 3/1/2012 Market Hundreds of thousands of tires on hundreds of thousands of wheel positions Hundreds of BILLIONS of road miles since launch Later introduced in Europe New markets / vocations underway Urban Buses, Refuse Vehicles, Concrete Mixers, Military and ... ?

9. 3/1/2012 Converter Dollies Dramatically reduces effort needed to handle / turn dollies 2 pivot points instead of 4

10. 3/1/2012 New Wide Base Single Tires Are there advantages?

11. 3/1/2012 New Wide Base Single Tires There are 2 core advantages and several secondary advantages: Fuel Savings Weight Savings

12. 3/1/2012 Fuel Savings Documented, demonstrable fuel savings of 4% when converting from comparable tire types ie: fuel efficient duals to fuel efficient wide single tires ie: high mileage tires to high mileage wide single tires DON’T FORGET THE TRAILER!!! (with one exception presently)

13. 3/1/2012 Example: #1 T/A tractor trailer converted from an 18 wheeler to a 10 wheeler @ 150,000 mi/yr @ 6.0 mpg @$3.90/gal LP 22.5 energy efficient drive and trailer tires to energy efficient wide base singles

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15. 3/1/2012 Weight Savings Replacing dual assemblies with wide base single tires delivers significant reduction in unsprung weight Increased payload = increased revenue

16. 3/1/2012 Example #1 T/A tractor trailer converted from an 18 wheeler to a 10 wheeler LP 22.5 energy efficient drive and trailer tires to energy efficient wide base singles – all on aluminum wheels

17. 3/1/2012 Example #2 T/A tractor trailer converted from an 18 wheeler to a 10 wheeler LP 22.5 high mileage drive and trailer tires to high mileage wide base singles – all on aluminum wheels

18. 3/1/2012 Do they offer any other benefits Improved ride comfort The new generation of wide base singles dramatically improve spring rate relative to traditional dual fitments ~15% Improvement (validated by on-board accelerometers) Improvement in subjective ride quality similar to changing from leaf spring to air ride suspensions

19. 3/1/2012 Do they offer any other benefits  Improved Handling Higher cornering stiffness delivers improved handling response Subjective feel of improved control in curves Actually lower the center of gravity of a vehicle

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21. 3/1/2012 Easier Maintenance One tire to mount vs two Reduced inventory – tires & wheels One pressure check per axle end no more “ignored” inside duals Do they offer any other benefits 

22. 3/1/2012 Do they offer any other benefits  Reduced FET

23. 3/1/2012 What are the disadvantages? Fewer Miles Depending on the nature of the application Low scrub long haul service = +/- 10% Higher scrub regional/highway service = - 10 to 30%

24. 3/1/2012 What are the disadvantages? Flats on the Road Fleets report fewer flats with new wide base singles Easier pressure maintenance 2 extra layers of steel in crown Different mechanical reaction to penetrating objects

25. 3/1/2012 What are the disadvantages? Flats on the Road Michelin Commercial Truck dealers and many mainstream Travel Plazas like Flying J, Love’s and Pilot are stocking the tires. Michelin OnCall statistics report only an additional 10 minute average time to complete ERS calls for wide base singles compared to traditional duals.

26. 3/1/2012 Are they here to stay ? Yes ! The benefits are real and cannot be ignored in today’s competitive environment reduced fuel consumption improved ride and handling weight reduction = increased payload Michelin North America has committed + $80 Million USD to expanding X One capacity

27. 3/1/2012 What’s Next ? Optimizing vehicle design around the technology

28. 3/1/2012 What’s Next ? Developing new tire technologies that capitalize on the wide base single design