AKRON, Ohio — The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company have announced the availabilty of a new medium-duty commercial drive tire, the Goodyear Unisteel G182 RSD.

Available in six sizes and load ranges, the G182 RSD tire is designed with a deep (28/32nd-inch) open lug pattern to assist handling in wet or snowy conditions. The tire also has a graduated tie-bar on the shoulder which was designed to provide added strength and improved traction as well as reduced irregular wear.

“The graduated tie-bar is an outstanding feature on this new tire,” said Steve McClellan, Goodyear’s vice president of commercial tire systems. “It allows the tire to achieve the long tread life of a closed-shoulder design and the increased traction of an open-shoulder design. The graduated tie-bar also helps the tire retain its ‘like-new’ appearance throughout the life of the tire.”

Company officials say these features mean added mileage for Goodyear customers.

“In city and regional fleet testing, we’ve found the G182 RSD delivers 12 per cent more miles to removal, compared to its predecessor,” McClellan said. “And, thanks to G182’s staggered lug design, the new tire is 10 per cent quieter.”

McCellan said the G182 RSD is perfectly suited for demanding regional work where tires take a beating from constant scrubbing and curbing.

“Regional trucking is a very tough application for tires. We’ve used the latest compounds and tread-design analysis to create a tire that we feel leads the industry. In addition, a robust casing allows the tire to be retreaded multiple times to lower costs for our customers.”

As part of Goodyear’s introduction, the company is offering G182 pre-cure retreads — available in early 2006 — so customers can use this innovative tread pattern as a first retread.

For more information on Goodyear’s line of commercial tires, go to www.goodyear.com/truck.