Icon Tire’s new I/Q LT7 line features what the company calls “Visual Tire Performance Indicators” (VTPI), stud-like devises designed to help drivers see when a tire has worn to its removal mileage.
Icon said the new tires and system will be available to dealers and retailers by the end of this year. Initially there will be 12 sizes, Icon said, focused on minivans and SUVs.
Icon said the new line was “developed through a non-exclusive license of Smart Tread LLC’s patented performance testing and identification method, and Icon’s patent pending stud design.”
VTPIs are inserted like a standard winter tire stud, and can be inserted to any tread depth that a tiremaker establishes as appropriate for that tire model, Icon said.
With its I/Q LT7 line, the installed VTPIs will show a yellow color when the tread has worn to 5/32-inch, warning drivers that the tire’s “wet weather traction and performance has been diminished.” When the tread depth hits 3/32-inch, the VTPIs will show white, “signaling that tires should be replaced immediately,” Icon said.
Portland-based Icon has its tires produced by unnamed tiremakers in China.
Icon said it would provide retailers with education materials for salespeople and consumers, as well as point-of-sale signage. For more information, go to www.icontire.com or call 503-293-3515. (Tire Review/Akron)
