Abstract: A pneumatic tire tread has tread elements formed by circumferential and/or lateral grooves. At least one tread element has a sipe that devolves from a constant width sipe having a three dimensional aspect in at least a portion of the radially outer portion of the sipe to a wider width groove at the base of the tread feature.

Abstract: Both a mold blade for forming sipes and the sipe so formed in a tire tread element have three dimensional portions. In the formed sipe, the three dimensional portion creates a constant interlocking of the opposing sipe faces. The blade and the sipe have at least one row of alternating polygonal shaped recesses and protrusions. The recesses and protrusions terminate in a vertex; the vertex has a planar, or two-dimensional, configuration that is parallel to either-the blade centerline or the sipe centerline.

Abstract: A tire adapted to rotate around an axis and having an outer surface defining a circumferentially extending center line that defines a center plane perpendicular to the axis. The center plane divides the tire into first and second portions. The tire includes a first series of design cycles extending circumferentially around the tire in the first portion and a second series of design cycles extending circumferentially around a tire in the second portion. The total number of design cycles in the first and second portions are equal, and the sequences of the design cycles used in the first and second portions are different in order to spread the noise generated by the tire over a broad band of frequencies.