Bridgestone improves on the R168 trailer tyre

Bridgestone has launched the new generation R168II trailer tyre in the primary 11R22.5 size. The tyre is said to offer even greater wear life and reliability than the current R168 achieved.

Bridgestone said that the R168II was engineered and developed specifically for a wide range of Australian applications and followed a decade of R168 success.

The R168II incorporates developments introduced to Bridgestone’s range of truck and bus tyres in recent years, including the R154 Eco steer tyre; wear-life champion M866 drive tyre and low-rolling-resistance Ecopia M749II drive tyre.

Bridgestone Australia’s Sales Director, Claudio Sodano, said the launch of the R168II highlights how Bridgestone is continually resetting the benchmark for the industry.

“There’s no denying how popular and successful the R168 has been over the past decade,” Mr Sodano said.

“But we identified ways to build on its success and make it an even better tyre in the R168II.

“We take customer feedback seriously and the R168II was developed following feedback from the industry about how the already leading tyre could be even better – specifically around prolonging the removal point.”

R168II leverages on the strength and reputation of R168’s compound, construction and pattern design. Its development focused on three key areas: improvements to irregular wear and worn appearance, increased wear resistance and increased life.

The footprint of the R168II was optimised through a revised mould design, leading to better worn appearance and increased irregular wear and shoulder edge wear, compared with the R168. Bridgestone claimed that the enhancements to irregular wear resistance and wear balance have seen an improvement of up to 10 percent in removal life, compared with the first-generation tyre and up to 15 percent better than its nearest competitor.

The R168II’s outstanding service life was proved by an extensive evaluation program, involving nearly nine million kilometres of testing, conducted over five years, Bridgestone said.

Bridgestone tested the R168II with 12 fleet customers across the full array of applications: linehaul, regional, urban and metropolitan use and mild to medium on/off-road use, to ensure its versatility and durability.

The final product was approved only after it exceeded the ambitious development targets set in the rigorous R&D process and after extensive input from Bridgestone’s local Technical Field Services team.

Three cycles of prototype enhancements were made before the final iteration was endorsed.

“Customers can take confidence in Bridgestone’s R&D process, with the R168II having proven itself as a step-up across all conditions, against the already market leading, first generation R168,” Mr Sodano said.

"Due to its rugged construction, the R168II casing can have multiple tread lives through the Bandag retreading process.

“The construction of the R168II case features a top-body ply insert for improved casing durability and a wider fourth belt for greater protection and more uniform contact pressure.

“The dual-compound tread also provides greater heat resistance for the R168II, protecting the case even further and allowing it to be retreaded multiple times."

The R168II is the first of several new truck and bus products to be released in 2024 and is available now through Bridgestone’s national network of truck tyre providers.