The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced Thursday an important step in its global journey to fully replace petroleum-derived oils by 2040.
For the first time in its commercial truck tires, Goodyear is replacing a portion of the petroleum-based materials used in production of some of its most popular Metro Miler city transit tires with a bio-based soybean oil compound.
"The use of soybean oil in the majority of the Metro Miler G152 and G652 tires in production today is a significant Goodyear innovation that reduces the amount of petroleum-based materials needed for production," says Dustin Lancy, commercial product marketing manager, Goodyear North America. "In these tires, soybean oil replaces about 11 liquid oz., of free-flowing petroleum oil per tire almost as much as a traditional soda can. Multiply that by a bus fleet of 1,600 buses, about the size used by some major metropolitan cities in the U.S., and that could mean the use of around 20 fewer barrels of oil."
According to Goodyear, this change underscores the company's commitment to using more sustainable bio-based raw materials while continuing to deliver quality and performance in its products. The new formulation in production today uses a readily available surplus of soybean oil that is left over from food applications in the marketplace.
Goodyear says the Metro Miler G152 and G652 also feature technology designed to resist sidewall damage, enhance toughness and provide long tread life. Reinforced shoulders and steel sidewalls help deliver long casing life, and the integrated sidewall wear indicators make it easier to spot wear due to excessive scuffing. These tires also include a multi-compound, scrub resistant tread that can stand up to the rigors of transit applications and extend tread life by resisting excessive wear, chunking, cracking and chipping.
The Metro Miler G152 and G652 tire models made with soybean oil are currently in production and available now for ordering among customers looking for tires made with more sustainable materials, the company says.
