These tyres offer economy and performance in equal measure

Tried and tested in the outback at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, Bridgestone’s ENLITEN technology promises a more sustainable tyre designed to handle harsh Australian conditions.

Sponsored by Bridgestone

In the current climate, reducing both fuel costs and our impact on the environment are front-of-mind for Australian drivers – so what if your choice of tyre could help you do both?

Reducing rolling resistance to improve energy efficiency, Bridgestone’s ENLITEN equipped ensures you’ll get further on a single tank or a single charge.

Whether a vehicle runs on fossil fuels or electricity, choosing the right tyres makes a big difference when it comes to performance and environmental footprint. Coming to Bridgestone’s entire range of tyres over the coming years, ENLITEN technology reduces a tyre’s environmental impact throughout its entire lifecycle.

ENLITEN tyres recently made their competitive debut in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, where university students designed and built solar-powered cars before driving them 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide.

The outback trek saw some impressive results and served as a teaser ahead of Bridgestone bringing ENLITEN technology to the Australian market next year, for both passenger and commercial vehicles.

ENLITEN isn’t a new product addition to the Bridgestone tyre range, says Garth Middleton, Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand’s group product and technical field service manager.

Instead, it is a “sustainable design philosophy” that will be applied to all the Bridgestone tyres that people already know and trust.

“From the Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin performance tyre to the Turanza touring range, every new product we develop will incorporate the benefits of ENLITEN technology,” he says.

“While the goal is to be energy efficient and lower our impact on the environment, we don’t want to compromise on the expectations for performance and safety that Australians have when it comes to a great set of Bridgestone tyres.”

The benefits of ENLITEN begin with using recycled and renewable materials to minimise each tyre’s environmental impact. This includes using recovered carbon black from recycled tyres, as well as other recycled and renewable materials for reinforcement such as organic fibre, rubber chemical, oil and steel.

As a result, Bridgestone requires up to two kilograms fewer raw materials to produce every tyre. At the same time, a new mixing process has enhanced the ENLITEN compound’s wear performance.

The result is a considerably lighter tyre, addressing one of the key challenges when it comes to improving the energy efficiency and extending the range of both traditional and electric vehicles.

These improvements do not impact tyre durability, ensuring that ENLITEN technology does not come at the expense of the reliability and lifespan that drivers have come to expect from Bridgestone.

Likewise, ENLITEN’s reduced rolling resistance does not come at the expense of road contact or stopping distance. Instead, ENLITEN tyres are engineered to maximise wet and wear performance, while taking advantage of an innovative tyre compound and tread design to reduce heat generation and the effort required to move the vehicle.

“We’re not reducing rolling resistance by compromising the tyre’s footprint on the road or reducing the depth of the tread, we’re actually optimizing the footprint to maximise braking and handling,” Mr Middleton says.

“Instead, we’re  designing the tread pattern and the tyre compound to ensure the motor doesn’t need to work as hard to propel the car along the road, which naturally ensures you can get further before you need to refuel or recharge.”

Tyres made with ENLITEN technology are lighter than a conventional tyre, while demonstrating a significantly lower rolling resistance.. In terms of real-world performance, this delivers up to five or even 10 per cent reduction in fuel consumption, as the tyres help conserve energy and tackle rising fuel costs.

While traditional petrol and diesel vehicles benefit from improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, EV drivers benefit from increased battery range to ensure they can drive further between charges.

“ENLITEN technology isn’t just targeted at electric vehicles, but it was very much created with EVs in mind as the future of motoring,” Mr Middleton says.

“This includes addressing the unique requirements of EVs when it comes to weight, traction, noise and rolling resistance, in order to extend an EVs range while ensuring it doesn’t churn through tyres too quickly.”

The ENLITEN design philosophy extends all the way through to maximising the likelihood that some tyres – like those used on high-mileage truck – will be retreaded multiple times to ensure a long life.

“Rather than addressing sustainability as an afterthought, ENLITEN has made it central to every stage of a Bridgestone tyre’s lifecycle – going right back to ensuring that the organic rice husk silica in the tyres is sourced using sustainable farming practices,” Middleton says.

“With ENLITEN technology, every set of Bridgestone tyres is designed to meet the performance and reliability needs of today, as well as the sustainability needs of tomorrow.”

This content is sponsored by Bridgestone.

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