Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has announced a new-material inner liner developed as next-generation technology to further improve the fuel-saving performance of its ECO tires. It is called the "AIRTEX advanced liner" and will be brought out.

The "AIRTEX advanced liner," controlling air leakage, is a new material adhered to the inside the tire. It is an original technology developed by adding special resin to conventional inner-liner rubber, and Yokohama Rubber has obtained a patent for it. The material is both highly impermeable (airtight) and flexible, and can substantially reduce the volume of air naturally leaking from a tire. In addition, it is only one-fifth as thick as conventional products, which contributes to making the tires lighter and, overall, more fuel efficient. Products employing AIRTEX have already been marketed in Japan, North America and some countries in Europe - the technology to be applied to other products hereafter.

Over the ten years, Yokohama Rubber has marketed ECO tires, which can contribute to improved fuel efficiency by reducing rolling resistance. Under-inflation, however, limits the performance of tires - even ECO tires - and can also be a safety concern. Yokohama Rubber worked hard to develop an inner liner with superior resistance to air permeation - the "AIRTEX" - and is already developing a "next-generation AIRTEX," seeking to cut air leakage to nearly zero in the future.

Recently, the quest has accelerated to improve automobile fuel efficiency as part of the measures against the global warming, and this has promoted various activities focusing on tire-pressure related issues. According to an investigation by the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association (JATMA), maintaining proper tire pressure ranks high on the list of neglected maintenance items among users. As a tire manufacturer, Yokohama Rubber has a duty to increase user awareness of the importance of proper tire air pressure, and it makes efforts to do so by conducting campaigns and through other means.