Goodyear Develops Rice-Based Tire Lasting 500,000 Km

Goodyear Just Announced Its New Product: A Tire Made from Rice and Other Recycled Materials That Can Last More Than Double That of a Conventional Combustion Engine.

The combustion engines currently being developed are designed to last at least 240,000 km. However, for the new tires created by Goodyear, this is very little. Named Eagle Go, the rice tire almost dispenses with petroleum derivatives in its composition and has the capacity to last up to 500,000 km.

Structure of the Rice Tire Is Composed of 90% Recycled Materials

The Goodyear Eagle Go tires were showcased on a concept car, the Citröen Oli, and they are already gaining attention for dispensing with the use of petroleum. The tread is made of sunflower oil, natural rubber, pine resins, and silica from rice husk ash, ingredients that make it possible to eliminate synthetic materials.

All the natural materials used in the construction of the rice tire are sourced through responsible farming and cultivation methods.

The structure of the tire, in turn, is 90% made from recycled materials. While automakers promise to abandon combustion engines, Goodyear also has plans to stop using petroleum in its operations by 2040.

The secret to the durability of the tire’s structure is, to some extent, known by Brazilians: they are retreaded. These tires are designed to have the tread replaced twice. The first life of the tire would be 150,000 km, which is very high compared to a regular tire. 

Rice Tires Are 15% Lighter Than Steel Wheels

The tire itself has the ability to know when it is nearing the end of its life. Each tire has a sensor that monitors various parameters of tire health, part of the SightLine technology. It interprets a set of data and information that indicates tire stress, pressure, temperature, and wear.

In the case of using these Goodyear tires on the Citröen Oli, the wheels where the Eagle Go is mounted are also different. To avoid being as expensive as aluminum wheels and not as heavy as steel wheels, they are hybrid wheels made from both materials.

As a result, they are 15% lighter than steel wheels and cheaper than aluminum ones.

Brazil Will Finally Get Tires Made from Soybean Oil

Before the rice tire, Goodyear had already launched, in 2017, its tires made from soybean oil. In May, the company announced the launch of the Wrangler Workhorse AT tire, which will be produced in Americana, São Paulo, to be fitted on SUVs and pickups sold in Brazil.

This major innovation from the company is not linked to performance improvements, compared to its predecessor, the Wrangler Armortrac, or even related to mileage, wet handling, or the best traction on all types of terrain, but rather, according to what Goodyear promised, it is related to a specific element that makes up the tire’s production, which is soybean oil instead of petroleum.

Vegetable-derived soybean oil serves to replace petroleum derivatives in the chemical composition of the tire, for sustainability reasons and also for performance optimization, considering that consumers are increasingly focused on environmental issues, as the preservation of the environment has been heavily emphasized recently, according to the launch note released by Goodyear.