Michelin focuses on understanding worn tire performance at NAIAS 2018

Scott Clark, chairman and president of Michelin North America introduced Michelin’s global initiative to improve understanding among dealers, drivers and others about worn tire performance.

Currently, the industry standard is to test performances (especially braking distances) only for new tires. However, those attributes change as tires wear over time and some worn tires deliver braking performance that’s about the same or better than other new tires. Michelin supports testing of worn tires for wet-braking performance to make this insight about “long-lasting performance” more visible to consumers.

"We should help consumers understand worn tires perform differently than new ones. Consumers should have reliable info about worn tires before they make purchase," Clark explained during the press event.

Michelin swept the industry’s top honors for original quality in the Luxury, Passenger Car, Truck/Utility and Performance Sport segments of the 2017 J.D. Power Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study. Michelin has received an all-time total of 84 quality awards since the J.D. Power tire study began in 1989.