ADVANCING ADHESION

THE RECENT RAPID PROGRESSION OF HIGH- PERFORMANCE TIRES.

- BY BOZI TATAREVIC

TIRES HAVE IMPROVED by leaps and bounds over the past few decades to the point where just updating them can drastically increase a car's performance. In 2024, new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires developed specifically for the Porsche Carrera GT helped the car shave more than 15 seconds off its Nürburgring lap time set in 2004. That kind of improvement warrants a deeper dive into the science behind the speed.

Tires are exceedingly more complicated than they look, with more than 100 different components involved in their construction. It's the details of these elements, sometimes down to the molecular level, that have made tires faster and more resilient across a wide range of environmental conditions.

Tire components can be separated into a handful of broad categories. The most obvious is rubber, elastomers that come from natural or synthetic sources, usually trees or petroleum byproducts. Another category is structural reinforcements—cords made of steel or textiles, for example. Then there are fillers such as carbon black and silica. Finally, additives include resins, oils, and curing agents.

Covering every facet in depth could easily fill an entire year's worth of Road & Track issues. So, this exploration sticks to the biggest contributors in the recent advancements in tires.