Tire Industry Policy Wide Base Tire Development Welcome Policy Dongfeng

“Wide Base Tubeless Radial Tire Carriages have been widely and successfully applied in European and American markets. However, there are few vehicles that are currently adapted for use in China, and only some imported special vehicles are used. It is really used for ordinary roads to use single tires instead of double tires. There are also very few transport vehicles.” Wang Kexian, secretary general of the National Wheel Rim Standardization Technical Committee, recently said in an interview with reporters that the recently announced “Tire Industry Policy” proposed that car companies be encouraged to assemble new types of tire products and improve domestic large- The meridianization rate of truck-mounted tires will basically achieve assembly radial tires and inner tubelessness in 2015. This will give a boost to the development of domestic wide-base tires.

Low-carbon economy requires emission reduction The auto industry is a major emitter of greenhouse gases and particulate matter. Each car consumes 1 litre of gasoline and will emit 2.25 kilograms of carbon dioxide. It is understood that although the total number of heavy-duty vehicles only accounts for 5% of the total number of motor vehicles, the emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter inhaled account for 74% and 85% of the total vehicle emissions. Therefore, from the perspective of pollution prevention and control, the control of heavy-duty vehicle emissions will be the top priority for China's future.

He Xiaomei, chief engineer of the Beijing Rubber Industry Research and Design Institute, believes that the first method of car emission reduction is the adoption of new energy vehicle technologies, and the other is the automotive lightweight technology, which is closely related to tires. Promoting the use of wide-base tires in China to replace the twin-use tires of current trucks can reduce vehicle quality, save fuel, reduce CO2 emissions, reduce costs, and ensure safety and reliability. Therefore, widening of heavy-duty tires is an important approach for the advancement of tire technology, and it is also an important measure for the tire industry to implement a low-carbon economy.

It is understood that in 2009 there were about 9 million trucks in operation in China, of which 1.6 million were heavy trucks, while over 95% of heavy trucks were loaded with twin tires and less than 1,000 special vehicles were used each year for wide-base tires. Twin tires have many disadvantages. For example, the loading and unloading process is complicated, and the tires easily rub against each other during use. The tires inflated on the same shaft have different sizes and cause uneven load and wear. Not only are the tires easily damaged in advance, but they also bring hidden dangers to the safe use of the vehicle.

The advantages of energy saving and environmental protection are apparent. Teng Jie, an engineer with Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd., introduced that the use of wide-base single tires to replace ordinary twins has significant energy saving and environmental protection effects. The first is low cost. As the quality of tires and rims is reduced, the quality of the vehicle can be reduced, and the consumption of raw materials such as rubber and steel can be reduced. Taking 445/65R22.5 as an alternative to 12R22.5 as an example, the tire weight is about 26%, and the rim weight is about 38%. The second is low energy consumption. The operating time and the cost of water, electricity, and steam for a tire factory producing a wide-base tire are equivalent to that of producing a common tire, which greatly reduces the relative energy consumption of production. The third is high production efficiency. Wide-base tires and ordinary tires have similar molding and vulcanization times, and the production of one wide-base tire is equivalent to the production of two ordinary tires, doubling the efficiency. The fourth is energy conservation and environmental protection. Wide-base tires have low rolling resistance, which can reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. Widening of the running surface, even wear of tires, and increased life expectancy can reduce the production of waste tires. It also increases the frequency of retreading and prolongs the service life of tires in line with the requirements of circular economy.

Randy Clark, vice president of Michelin Americas, said that using wide-base tires, a group of tractor heads and trailers can weigh up to 400 kg and save 6% to 10% of fuel. In addition, since the wide-base tire has a wider ground print, the degree of damage to the road surface of the vehicle can be reduced.

Professor Chen Zhihong of the Beijing Rubber Industry Research and Design Institute believes that, in addition to the above advantages, wide-base tires can also reduce tire heat generation, and have outstanding advantages for high-speed, long-distance running; tires have a high internal pressure retention rate, which is conducive to improving driving safety. The repair is convenient, does not affect the transportation efficiency; improves the vehicle handling stability; reduces the occupation space, thus increases the carriage space; The number of tires and rims decreases, the inventory reduces, reduces the maintenance cost.

The development of the domestic market is booming The current development of flat tires for tireless flat tires has become a trend in Europe and the United States, but domestic domestic tires still account for more than 70% of market share. According to Tan Yukun, deputy secretary-general of the tire division of China Rubber Industry Association, the application of broad-based tires in China is very limited. Only 10 companies can produce them. In 2009, the output of the 65-series old generation wide-base tires was 940,000, 55, and 50. The 45 series of new-generation wide-base tires produced only 45,000 pieces of tires and were basically used for export.

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of domestic highway construction and the increasingly standardized transportation market, the trend of replacing inner tubes with inner tubes has become more and more obvious. The use rate of tubeless vehicles for medium-to-long-distance freight vehicles in some regions has approached 50%. Driven by the European and American markets, the domestic market has begun to recognize wide-base tires. Domestic car manufacturers and transportation companies are also interested in the research and development of single-tire replacement twin-child transport vehicles and communicate with tire factories to discuss the possibility of product cooperation.

According to Meng Qiu, deputy researcher of the Department of Road Transportation of the Ministry of Transport, there are still some problems in the application of wide-base tires, such as: fewer births, fewer brands, higher prices, and less after-sales service coverage; current domestic overload transportation problems still exist. There is still resistance to the promotion of wide-base tires; standards and regulations are not matched. However, she also said that based on the premise of relevant standards and regulations being perfected, based on the simultaneous development of related technologies and production conditions of the vehicle, tires, and wheels, the application of wide-base tires on transport vehicles will be scientific and feasible.

Chen Zhihong suggested that the focus of promotion for wide-base tires should begin with heavy-duty tires, and the attention, attention, and support of the automotive sector are crucial. Automobile manufacturers should pay attention to the transformation of large truck chassis; rim manufacturers should accelerate the production of high-quality, low-cost wide-base rims; tire companies should speed up product structure adjustments and improve the production of wide-base tire production equipment and new materials. Chen Zhihong said that the announcement of the tire industry policy will promote the use of tubeless radial tires and wide-base tires by auto makers. As long as there is demand in the market, tire companies now have the conditions to produce wide-base tires.

Gao Gong Gan Xiaozhen of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Technology Center believes that the application of wide-base tires is currently limited by the cost and source of goods. However, with the rapid development of the domestic logistics industry, the application of wide-base tires to lightweight tractors has begun to suffer a lot. Large-scale logistics company's favor. In the next five years, the application of wide-base tires will be greatly improved.