Michelin upends the circle of life for tires with its new Premier A/S line. These new tires feature technology that increases their tread openings for better wet-weather performance, the exact opposite of all other tires on the market.
Some things in life are universal. Death and taxes come to mind. Then there is the long-standing truth that as a tire ages it loses its tread depth. That means that its ability to evacuate water is reduced over time. Hydroplaning and wet-road stopping distances are directly affected. Make that “were-affected.” Michelin has just launched a new tire technology that adds more tread gaps as the tire wears.
Michelin calls this its “EverGrip” technology. As the tread wears the gaps between the rows of tread widen. This provides more area for water to evacuate as the tire rolls. Understanding the concept is not rocket science, but the technology to make a tire this way is darn close. Michelin had to find a way to mold its tires so that the newer tread was smaller than the tread would be when older.
In order to promote the new tires, Michelin is partnering with Lexus. The new, 2016 Lexus RX 350 will come with the Michelin Premier A/S tires standard. The Lexus RX created the premium crossover segment and now defines it, often outselling all rivals in any given month. That is not the RX 350s most pertinent fact here though. The Lexus RX is also one of the very few vehicles that saw zero driver deaths over the most recent period studied by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. That means that in real-world driving the RX is perhaps the safest vehicle anyone can own. The pairing of the new tire safety technology and Lexus continued safety advances means this is likely to continue.
