Abstract: A tire comprising a circumferential tread, a circumferential tread, at least one circumferential belt, at least one carcass ply, a pair of sidewalls, and a pair of bead portions. Each of the bead portions comprising a bead core, a bead filler, a toe region, a heel region, a ledge region, and a flange region. The ledge region is provided between the toe region and the heel region, wherein the ledge region comprises at least one circumferentially continuous groove. The flange region each extending circumferentially about the tire, the flange region provided radially above the ledge region, wherein the flange region comprises at least one circumferentially continuous groove.

Abstract: A tire design method is provided for a tire having a tire tread with a plurality of circumferential ribs separated by circumferential continuous grooves where at least two circumferential ribs are unlocked by at least one circumferential groove. The method may include modeling a lug in each of the at least two circumferential ribs to determine a circumferential shear stiffness and a circumferential shear stiffness per unit length for each rib. The tire design method may further include determining an ideal rib stiffness, an optimal rib stiffness, and a corresponding ideal number of lugs and an optimal number of lugs for each of the at least two circumferential ribs. In one embodiment, the tire design method includes modifying the tire design so the number of lugs in each rib is equal to the optimal number of lugs determined in the tire design method.

Abstract: A tire includes bead insulation compound that is formed by combining a rubber component, a bituminous hydrocarbon resin, and a processing oil that includes naphthenic oil.