Michelin Offers On/Off-Road Tire with Guarantee

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The name sounds something like an algebra problem, but Michelin’s new X Works Z tire has been designed to offer a solution — in the form of an all-position radial for punishing applications like construction, oil patch, and tanker operations in on/off-road environments.

It’s even coming with a six-month road hazard guarantee.

Replacing the XZY3, first launched in 2003, the new tire includes added compounds that make it possible to increase removal mileage by 5%, Michelin says. The TW6 ozone resistor has been doubled around the sidewalls.

“We just made it better,” says Eric Ireland, marketing operations manager for Michelin Americas Truck Tires. The X Works Z has been available since June 1.

Key to the tire’s durability is the cushion gum and protector ply. The protector ply is 50% wider than those offered by competing products, and runs from groove to groove, Michelin says. “The thicker that cushion gum is, the more shock-absorbing properties it will have,” Ireland adds. The casing, featuring tightly capped cables, is also designed to support retreading. The threat of stone drilling is tackled with features including a tough ridge at the bottom of the grooves, and also V-shaped channels that help to eject stones in the first place.

“Those tires are going to get beat up,” Ireland says of the punishing operating environments, and how the equipment often runs in remote locations. That makes the six-month “worry-free” road hazard guarantee particularly unusual. “This is the first time we’ve done this, especially for these types of conditions,” he says.

Michelin will credit buyers $200 for any tire that in the first six months is taken out of service and can’t be repaired or retreaded, or before 50% of its useable tread life, whichever comes first.

The North American-made tire currently comes in four sizes — an 11R22.5, 12R22.5, 315/80R22.5, and 11R24.5. A 12R24.5 will come by the fourth quarter of this year, until which time buyers can still order the XZY3.

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John G. Smith is Newcom Media's vice-president - editorial, and the editorial director of its trucking publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, and Transport Routier. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.


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