GRI Makes Eco-friendly Solid Rubber Tires

Leading specialty tire maker GRI has developed an eco-friendly version of its high-performance Ultimate XT solid tire. The company’s R&D team worked closely with a team of scientists belonging to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka to develop the tire. It was a process that took two-and-a-half years and it involved replacing petroleum-based oil with a natural oil that is carbon neutral and renewable.

One challenge that the team faced was the unsaturation of natural oils. However, they overcame this admirably, with test results indicating that the environment friendly oil that they used instead of petroleum oil led to superior tire performance. According to GRI, the replacement oil improves the heat aging properties of the tire.

GRI developed the Ultimate XT tire to perform on all surfaces and in harsh working conditions. The tire performs equally well on all surfaces including indoors and outdoors irrespective of whether it is used at low temperature, high temperature, or on wet or dry surfaces.

The success of the new tire has motivated GRI to enhance its strategy of manufacturing high-performance ‘green’ solid rubber tires that are more efficient and will cause less environmental pollution. The company has revealed plans to use the natural oil in pneumatic tires as well.

The Ultimate XT solid tire is made from top-grade rubber that is sourced from Sri Lanka and is made in conformance to exacting standards. It features a modern tread design that offers low rolling resistance and high run time, with the desired outcomes of longer tire life and conservation of energy.