America’s vehicles now have a fourth line of tires to offer performance and sustainability with U.S. soy. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company introduced the Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive on February 4, 2020.
The all-season tire offers comfort, performance and sustainability with ComfortFlex Technology, designed for smoother transitions and impact absorption. The Evolving Traction Grooves and TredLock Technology, combined with soybean oil compound, help maintain traction while providing lasting control and responsiveness.
“U.S. soybean growers are excited to welcome another Goodyear tire that our soybean checkoff helped support,” said United Soybean Board Director and Maryland farmer Belinda Burrier. “Innovation and agriculture grow together to offer more sustainable choices with products like Goodyear’s soy-biobased tires. Congratulations to Goodyear for this progress toward their sustainability plans that count on soy.”
In 2019, Goodyear’s sustainability goals outlined in their Corporate Responsibility Report included increased consumption of soybean oil by 25 percent by 2020 and to fully replace petroleum-derived oils by 2040.
USB supported Goodyear research that discovered that soybean oil could improve tire flexibility at low temperatures, helping the rubber to remain pliable in cold weather and enhancing traction in rain and snow simultaneously. Additionally, Goodyear discovered that soybean oil mixes more easily with rubber compounds and reduces energy consumption, which improves tire manufacturing efficiency. These revelations have led to increased performance in Goodyear tires containing soy as evidenced by strong third-party ratings and reviews for each line.
Goodyear will offer the Assurance ComfortDrive in 44 sizes, ranging from 16- to 20-inch rim diameters. The tire is well suited for passenger cars, minivans, CUVs and SUVs. Popular vehicles the tire will fit include Audi Q5, Buick Encore, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, GMC Acadia, Honda Accord, CR-V and Pilot, Kia Sorento, Lexus IS and RX, Nissan Maxima, Subaru Forester and Toyota Rav4 and Sienna.
Goodyear’s cooperation with USB has helped lead the way to these Goodyear tires containing soybean oil.
Eagle Enforcer All Weather™ police tire that provides year-round, responsive performance for police vehicles that handle demanding operating conditions. A soy-based rubber compound with silica helps deliver commanding traction in all weather conditions, while enhancing tread life.
Eagle Exhilarate™ line aimed at the ultra-high-performance market-drivers of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, BMW 3-Series and Porsche Cayman, for example. Introduced in 2019, the Eagle Exhilarate is designed to offer better traction and handling for faster acceleration and more precise control, especially in wet weather.
Assurance WeatherReady™ line is now available in 48 sizes. Goodyear introduced the tire in 2017. The Assurance WeatherReady is Goodyear’s Grand Touring All-Season tire designed for the drivers of family sedans, coupes, crossovers, SUVs and minivans. This breakthrough with soybean oil as a replacement for petroleum oil resulted in Goodyear receiving the prestigious Tire Technology International Award for Innovation and Excellence in the category of ‘Environmental Achievement of the Year’ at the 2018 Tire Technology Expo in Germany.