In recent years, global warming has led to more extreme weather conditions, including intense heat, torrential rain, and heavy snowfall. Indeed, even daily weather forecasts can be a source of anxiety, and particularly so for motorists who are naturally concerned about driving conditions. For instance, have you ever found yourself wondering whether to switch to winter tires when the weather forecast is uncertain about the likelihood of snow, or felt it was a hassle to change tires at all?
A solution to these challenges is DUNLOP’s SYNCHRO WEATHER, developed by Sumitomo Rubber and launched in October 2024 ahead of competitors. It is an innovative all-season, all-weather, all-purpose tire.
SYNCHRO WEATHER features Sumitomo Rubber’s proprietary ACTIVE TREAD Technology, which adjusts the rubber’s properties in response to water and temperature, adapting to the road surface conditions. The technology allows the rubber’s softness to vary with the environment, ensuring safe driving in diverse weather conditions, whether its raining, snowing or dry.
ACTIVE TREAD Technology includes two adaptive “switches” within the rubber, designed to respond to changing road conditions. The first one is the Water Switch: When tires encounter water on rainy days, Water Switch activates, softening the tire surface to enhance grip on wet roads. The effect is achieved by converting some of the rubber’s chemical bonds from “covalent bonds” to “ionic bonds,” which can be dissolved by water.
The second feature is the Temperature Switch: At low temperatures, Temperature Switch activates to keep the rubber soft, maintaining grip on icy surfaces. Typically, rubber hardens as it cools, making it difficult to retain softness in cold conditions. To address this challenge, Sumitomo Rubber collaborated with a university researcher specializing in polymer materials, that make the materials become softer at low temperatures than at high ones. This partnership led to a breakthrough in materials science and enabled the development of the Temperature Switch—an innovative technology made possible by a fresh perspective reflecting a collaborative approach.
As a result, Sumitomo Rubber developed an all-season, all-purpose tire that adjusts its grip to suit rainy, snowy or dry conditions by adapting the rubber’s properties to the environment.
More than a century has passed since Ford Motor Company began mass-producing cars in 1908. Today, as we enter the era of electric vehicles and even autonomous driving, the remarkable technological evolution of cars has led to significant advances in the design and production of tires.
In fact, the term “ACTIVE TREAD” was introduced in the “SMART TYRE CONCEPT” launched by Sumitomo Rubber in 2017. This concept was developed to address the need for tires that ensure safety in rain and snow, particularly in the context of autonomous driving and the electrification of vehicles.
While the concept was established, the specifics of its realization was still uncertain, leading to ongoing trial and error in the development process. After extensive discussion, the company ultimately adopted the aforementioned changes in perspective.
SYNCHRO WEATHER, which incorporates ACTIVE TREAD Technology, offers customers three key benefits. The first one is safety: As previously mentioned, the rubber firmly grips the road surface even in rainy or snowy conditions, ensuring safety regardless of the weather.
The second benefit is convenience. As noted at the outset, changing tires to match weather conditions can be cumbersome and may discourage people from driving. Eliminating the need for tire changes means drivers feel more at ease, leading to a shift in their behavior.
The third benefit is improved time efficiency. In addition to elimination of the need to allocate time for replacing tires yourself, you also save the time spent scheduling an appointment with a specialist and traveling to the service location. As a result, you can make better use of your time.
In addition to these benefits, SYNCHRO WEATHER is environmentally friendly. By utilizing a single all-purpose tire instead of multiple tires with different properties, it reduces tire waste and contributes to a lower environmental impact.
The development of ACTIVE TREAD Technology aligns with Sumitomo Rubber’s [Our Philosophy], a corporate philosophy established in 2020. The company has embraced the ambitious goal of achieving “the same grip everywhere” in its pursuit of safety, creating value that exceeds expectations through its concept of switch technology.
Technical challenges were addressed through open innovation, fostered through relationships grounded in trust with universities, research institutes, and suppliers. The benefits of ensuring safety and reducing tire waste are the practical expression of Sumitomo’s business philosophy: “Benefit self and benefit others, private and public interests are one and the same”—a principle that emphasizes the importance of benefitting society and maintaining a management stance in harmony with the public interest.
In the future, the company plans to further enhance ACTIVE TREAD Technology. The current switch technology, which responds to water and temperature, will be improved by controlling the speed and degree of response. Additionally, the company is developing third and fourth switches to complement the Water and Temperature Switches. Guided by Sumitomo’s business philosophy, Sumitomo Rubber will continue to develop tires that creates a future of joy and well-being for all.
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