A pneumatic tire, includes: an annular-shape tread portion; a sidewall portions; and bead portions. JIS hardness of tread rubber is within a range of 40 to 60 and snow traction index is 180 or higher. A rib positioned between circumferential grooves is demarcated in a center region of the tread portion. Closed grooves are formed in the rib. The closed grooves are inclined with regard to a tire axial direction such that a closed end faces a leading side. A groove wall of the closed groove on the leading side protrudes more outward in the tire axial direction than a groove wall on a trailing side. A difference between angles θ1 and θ2 of the groove walls on the leading and trailing sides of the closed grooves, respectively, with regard to the tire axial direction is within a range of 0°≤θ1-θ2≤5°.

The present invention includes tire treads (10) and a method for forming tire treads (10) having a sipe (18) with a length extending between opposing terminal ends of the sipe and having a height and a thickness which is variable across the length and height of the sipe. The thickness of the sipe (18) includes a sipe portion arranged between the opposing terminal ends defining the sipe length and having a thick portion extending at least partially around a perimeter of a thin portion. The thin portion is substantially 0.2 millimeters or less thick and forms at least 40% of the surface area along each of the opposing sides of the sipe, the opposing sides being arranged on opposing sides of the sipe thickness.

A pneumatic tire includes circumferential grooves aligned in a lateral direction and extending in a circumferential direction, lateral grooves aligned in the circumferential direction and extending to cross the circumferential direction, communicating at ends with the circumferential grooves and defining a block-shaped land portion between the circumferential grooves, two narrow grooves aligned in the lateral direction and extending in the circumferential direction, communicating at ends with a lateral groove and dividing the land portion defined by each of the circumferential grooves and each of the lateral grooves into small land portions, the narrow grooves having a smaller groove width than the circumferential grooves and being formed with a bent portion in an intermediate portion, the bent portion being disposed inward in the lateral direction, and bend points of the bent portions being disposed at positions offset from one another in the circumferential direction.

A tread surface of a pneumatic tire is configured so that, given an inner region inward from shoulder circumferential main grooves in a tire lateral direction, and outer regions outward from the shoulder circumferential main grooves in the tire lateral direction, blocks positioned in the inner region are defined into three or more small blocks by narrow grooves, and blocks positioned in the outer regions are defined into a number of small blocks by the narrow grooves, the number being at least one less than the number of small blocks defined in the blocks positioned in the inner region. The small blocks including frontmost portions of the blocks in a tire rotation direction are leading-side blocks, and the small blocks including backmost portions of the blocks in the tire rotation direction are trailing-side blocks. The leading-side blocks have a surface area that is less than that of the trailing-side blocks.

A tire has a lug that forms a contact patch surface, and a recessed region that extends along a prescribed direction and that is recessed relative to the contact patch surface. The recessed region has a first vertical face that that forms a first edge between the first vertical face and the contact patch surface, and a planar base that extends in a width direction of the recessed region which is perpendicular to the prescribed direction. The planar base has at least two planar regions having mutually different heights and arrayed along the prescribed direction. The recessed region further has a second vertical face that connects the two planar regions and that forms a third edge between the second vertical face and a higher one of the planar regions. The third edge is inclined with respect to both a tire width direction and a tire circumferential direction.

A tire includes a circumferential direction main groove on a tread surface, first and second circumferential supplemental grooves located on both sides of the circumferential direction main groove, and first and second central land portions formed between the circumferential direction main groove and the first and second circumferential direction supplemental grooves. The first and second central land portions have plural width direction sipes, respectively, and each of the width direction sipes extends to the circumferential main groove, the circumferential main groove has shallow grooved portions and deep grooved portions. The deep grooved portions are deeper than the shallow grooved portions, and the shallow grooved portions are shallower than the circumferential supplemental grooves.

A pneumatic tire is provided in the tread portion with a central land portion between two crown main grooves. The central land portion is provided with notches each having a depth of 55% to 65% of the depth of the crown main groove and having a closed end and an open end opening to the crown main groove. The maximum axial length of the central notch is 10% to 15% of the maximum axial length of the central land portion, and the circumferential length of the opening is 10% to 15% of one circumferential pitch of the shoulder block row 7R. The circumferential length of the opening is 15% to 25% of one circumferential pitch of the central notches.

A tire is provided having a tread region that includes continuous ribs which extend diagonally across the transverse direction of the tire. Partial sipes are provided at the trailing edges of the ribs. Full sipes can also be provided with the partial sipes. The ribs may form various patterns such as e.g., an S-shaped pattern, chevron pattern, and others. The tire provides improved traction performance over non-diagonal ribs while still providing desirable rolling resistance performance and control of irregular wear.

A bias-ply motorcycle tire comprises a tread portion provided with main grooves and sipes. The main grooves extend from a tread crown region into tread shoulder regions. The sipes are provided only within the tread shoulder regions.

A pneumatic tire includes, on a tread surface, a plurality of circumferential main grooves extending in the tread circumferential direction, and a plurality of land portions each defined between circumferential main grooves adjacent in the tread width direction among the plurality of circumferential main grooves, or by a circumferential main groove and a tread edge. A widthwise groove (widthwise sipe) (circumferential sipe) includes a widened portion, on the groove bottom side (sipe bottom side), at which the groove width (sipe width) is larger than on the tread surface side.

The storage modulus of tread rubber located in a tire radial direction region including at least a reference depth position is larger than a storage modulus of tread rubber located in regions inward and outward in the tire radial direction from the tire radial direction region.