A pneumatic tire is provided in which each of sipes has a leading-side edge and a trailing-side edge. A chamfered portion that is shorter than a sipe length of the sipe is formed on each of the leading-side edge and the trailing-side edge. The sipe includes, at sections facing the chamfered portions, non-chamfered regions in which other chamfered portions are not present. Both end portions of the sipe are terminated inside a rib. A maximum depth x (mm) of the sipe 11 and a maximum depth y (mm) of the chamfered portion 12 satisfy a relationship x×0.1≤y≤x×0.3+1.0. A sipe width of the sipe is constant in a region between an end portion of the chamfered portion positioned on an inner side in the tire radial direction and a groove bottom of the sipe.

Particular embodiments of the invention include a tire tread having a plurality of tread elements including one or more shoulder elements arranged along a first lateral side edge of the tread. The one or more shoulder elements include a recessed terminal side spaced apart from the first lateral side edge, where the recessed terminal side is offset in a direction of the tread width towards the second lateral side edge from a pair of adjacent terminal sides of the one or more shoulder elements. A sipe is arranged in connection with a submerged void within the tread thickness, where the sipe and submerged void extend in a direction of the tread width towards a second lateral side edge from the recessed terminal side such that the sipe and submerged void are recessed from the pair of adjacent terminal sides.

A pneumatic tire includes a tread portion provided with a circumferentially extending zigzag shoulder main groove arranged proximate to a tread edge, and a plurality of shoulder lateral grooves each extending axially outwardly from the shoulder main groove. Each of the shoulder lateral grooves includes a first portion and second portion. The first portion includes a first groove wall and an axially inner end connected to the shoulder main groove. The second portion is arranged axially outward of the first portion and includes a second groove wall. The second portion has a groove width and a groove depth greater than those of the first portion. The first groove wall of the first portion and the second groove wall of the second portion are smoothly continued.

A tire having an outer middle land portion demarcated between an outer shoulder circumferential groove and an outer crown circumferential groove and located at an outer side of a vehicle when the tire is mounted on the vehicle, and an inner middle land portion demarcated between an inner shoulder circumferential groove and an inner crown circumferential groove and located at an inner side of the vehicle when the tire is mounted on the vehicle formed in a tread portion. The outer middle land portion has first outer middle sipes extending from the outer crown circumferential groove toward the outer shoulder circumferential groove and terminating within the outer middle land portion. The inner middle land portion has first inner middle sipes extending from the inner shoulder circumferential groove toward the inner crown circumferential groove and terminating within the inner middle land portion. An angle θ1 of each first outer middle sipe with respect to a tire axial direction is smaller than an angle θ2 of each first inner middle sipe with respect to the tire axial direction.

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.

Tread having a maximum thickness PMU of material to be worn away during running, having: at least two grooves of circumferential overall orientation delimiting at least one intermediate row and two edge rows, a plurality of cuts of transverse overall orientation on each intermediate and edge row, representing, in the new state, a void of total volume Vco open onto the tread surface, at most equal to 13% of the total volume of the tread, channels or cavities extending under the tread surface in the new state, adapted to form new grooves after the tread has partially worn away, and having, in the initial state, a total volume Vcc at least equal to 30% of the total void volume Vco in the new state, intermediate rows of suffix (i) and edge rows of suffix (e) each provided with a plurality of cuts of transverse or oblique orientation distributed over each row evenly or near-evenly with a mean pitch of Pi and Pe respectively, having mean depths, Di and De respectively, which are at least equal to 20% of the thickness PMU and at most equal to thickness PMU, wherein: on the edge rows, Pe is such that 1.30<Pe/De<3.00, and on the intermediate rows, Pi satisfies 1.00<Pi/Di<1.70, and Pe is greater than Pi.

A pneumatic tire is provided in a tread portion 2 with shoulder main grooves 3 and 4 and a center main groove 5 and divided into shoulder land portions 6 and 7 and crown land portions 8 and 9. The total width of the shoulder main grooves 3 and 4 and the center main groove 5 is 24% to 28% of the tread width TW. The crown land portions 8 and 9 are not provided with a groove having a width of not less than 2 mm and extending across the entire width of the crown land portion, but provided with a plurality of crown sipes 10 having a width of less than 2 mm. The crown sipes 10 include first sipes 11 comprising a lateral direction part 11a extending parallel with the tire axial direction and an oblique part 11b inclined with respect to the lateral direction part 11a. The ratio ΣLy/ΣLs of the sum ΣLy of the lengths Ly of the lateral direction parts 11a and the sum ΣLs of the lengths Ls of the crown sipes 10 is not more than 0.15.

A tire comprising a tread comprising a plurality of main grooves (1) arranged on each side of a midplane X-X′, each of these main grooves (1) opening axially to the outside of the tread and extending axially towards the midplane X-X′ so that the plurality of main grooves forms a pattern in the overall shape of a V. Above and beyond a determined certain degree of wear, at least one additional groove (3) appears between two circumferentially adjacent main grooves (N−1, N), the additional groove running parallel overall to the main grooves (N−1, N).

The disclosed pneumatic tire includes a plurality of circumferential main grooves and is configured to be mounted in a specified vehicle mounting direction. On the tread surface, an inner shoulder land portion does not substantially include a groove, and has only one or more inner circumferential sipe extending in the tread circumferential direction and a plurality of inner widthwise sipes extending in the tread width direction, and an outer shoulder land portion has a plurality of widthwise grooves communicating with the circumferential main groove and the tread edge and extending in the tread width direction and an outer widthwise sipe located between the widthwise grooves adjacent in the tread circumferential direction and extending in the tread width direction.