Tyres hold the road

摘要

Three sets of tyre standards have been developed by the tyre industry to follow the vehicle growth market inside the three major economic areas (Europe, North America, and Japan). In each area, the objective was to define the common technical performances in terms of design characteristics for each tyre category, according to the local specifications of vehicles, road designs and tyre uses in order to guarantee tyre interchangeability between different brands for the user. Today, market globalization imposes universally recognized and compatible technical solutions. ISO standards propose to progressively harmonize these professional standards relative to product characteristics. They also propose standards concerning performance in use and measurement methods, thus completing the essential elements for the construction of regulations. The experts of the tyre industry are deeply involved in the studies of TC 31, Tyres, rims and valves, and the eight technical subcommittees, which cover all domains of transport by land (passenger cars, commercial vehicles, earthmovers, industrial and lift trucks, agricultural tractors) and by air transport. The experts also participate in some subcommittees of ISO/TC 22 (road vehicles) for the standardization of wheels, but also to define new standards for innovative systems to improve the vehicle adherence with the road. To illustrate the utility of current standards, let us look the following examples of noteworthy existing standards or those under development concerning passenger car tyres.