Michelin Track Connect app, which can receive data from Michelin’s new connected tyres.
At the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, Michelin quietly released a product that flew under the radar but is nevertheless a game-changer: a connected tyre.
Essentially, the tyre has sensors inside it, which can beam data to a smartphone via a receiver in the car.
That’s like having a engineer advising you on how you’re doing every lap!
The corresponding smartphone app, Michelin Track Connect, can helped the driver with customised, informed advice about adjusting tyre
pressures to improve performance.
Michelin Track Connect will assist the driver before, during and after each circuit run, the company said.
During the lap, Michelin Track Connect gives the driver real-time information about the pressure and temperature of each of the vehicle’s four tyres.
The sensors inside the tyre can accurately measure the pressure and temperature of the tyres and will analyse any changes as the vehicle
goes around the track.
Using this app, a driver will know whether their tyres are operating within optimal limits, and they can also see how their vehicle is behaving (oversteering or understeering) according to the analysis of changes in the balance between front and rear tyre pressures.
After the lap, the app, using data from the tyre, will suggest the adjustments needed before returning to the circuit.
Michelin says the connected technology will be coming soon to its Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre range, which will be offered in 18 dimensions.
Aside from its smart tyre, Michelin also released the high-performance Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyre, a semi-slick tyre designed to “beat lap records”.
Developed with manufacturers like Porsche and Ferrari, this ultra-high-performance tyre maximises the grip on dry circuits and delivers very high grip levels, making for high cornering speeds.
The new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyres, designed to break lap records.
According to Michelin’s tests, cars had an average increase of 0.5 sec/km using this new tyre.
Michelin claims that the Porsche GT2 RS and GT3 RS have set three new record drives on the Nordschleife, with all three cars fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyres.
The Ferrari 488 Pista uses the Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyre.
The Pilot Sport Cup2 R uses tread compounds taken from motorsport lessons.
The number of tread blocks on the outer shoulder of the tyre has been reduced, and the central grooves are now closer, which makes the tread blocks more rigid so that they can withstand the higher grip forces and improve driving precision.
The size of the tyre’s contact patch has also grown some 10 percent.
Michelin also released its Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyre, means for high performance SUVs.
Performance SUVs get shown some love with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV.
The Pilot Sport 4 SUV has ‘Premium Touch Technology’ sidewalls: high contrast sidewalls with a velvet touch.
For those who kerb their rims every chance they get, the Pilot Sport 4 SUV incorporates a rim-protector to protect the alloy wheels from kerbs and pavements during town driving.
