Bridgestone's New Greatec Wide Base Drive Radial

Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions (BBTS), a division of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, has revealed the new Bridgestone-brand Greatec M825 wide base drive radial with extended tire life and low cost per mile

, the company says.

"Building on the success of the Greatec Drive, the new Greatec M825 wide base drive radial is deeper and wider for longer tire life," said Chris Hoffman, manager, TBR and retread product marketing, BBTS. "It's ideal for weight-conscious fleets, like bulk haulers, where the vehicle reaches its gross weight limit while there's still cargo room left over."

The wider tread and 29/32-inch tread depth of the M825 distributes weight and torque over a wider area, while a stabilizing solid shoulder design combats side forces that can lead to irregular wear. The tire's staggered tread block design resists "heel-and-toe" wear, the company claims.

The M825's tread compound resists squirm while its aggressive tread pattern, which resembles the legendary Bridgestone M726 EL drive pattern, uses buttressed blocks to fight block tearing.

To enhance retreadability, straight shoulder grooves and an optimized groove design reduce stone retention and groove bottom cracking. In the central tread grooves, casing-saving stone rejector platforms prevent trapped stones from pushing deeper and piercing the belt layer, damaging the belts and exposing them to rust. Thick shoulder ribs on both sides fight curbing damage, protecting the casing.

The new M825 wide base drive radial is built with the Waved Belt design that balances stiffness and resiliency to provide a very strong, stable casing. In addition, Greatec's exclusive T.I.P. (Turn-In Ply) design wraps the body ply around the bead bundle for a stronger, more resilient bead, the company says.

More info: BridgestoneTrucktires.com