A pneumatic tire has a tread portion 2 provided with: an outboard shoulder main groove 4 and an outboard crown main groove 6 extending circumferentially of the tire; first outboard shoulder axial grooves 12a extending from an outboard tread edge Teo to the outboard shoulder main groove 4; second outboard shoulder axial grooves 12b extending from the outboard tread edge Teo and terminating without reaching to the outboard shoulder main groove 4; first outboard middle axial grooves 16 extending from the outboard shoulder main groove 4 and terminating without reaching to the outboard crown main groove 6; and second outboard middle axial groove 22 extending from the outboard crown main groove 6 and terminating without reaching to the outboard shoulder main groove 4. The first outboard middle axial grooves 16 are aligned with the first outboard shoulder axial grooves 12a, respectively, so as to smoothly continue to the first outboard shoulder axial grooves 12a through the outboard shoulder main groove 4.

A tire having a tread with a novel groove structure for enhanced wet and snow traction is provided. The groove includes an upper portion and a lower portion that can provide enhanced wet and snow traction over various stages of tread wear without unnecessary compromise to the tread rigidity. The lower portion includes one more voids for the accumulation and/or evacuation of fluids.

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°.

A pneumatic tire includes a tread having a center main groove and a pair of shoulder main grooves. A pair of middle land sections in the tread is positioned between the shoulder and center grooves. Each of the shoulder and center grooves has a groove width set in range of 7 to 9% of width of the tread footprint. An outer middle land portion is divided into first and second middle land portions by a middle narrow groove. The first land portion forms rib. The second land portion has outer middle lateral grooves connected to the center groove and the narrow groove. Each lateral groove includes first portion, second portion having the opposite inclination to the first portion and connection portion between the first and second portions. The connection portion is positioned on the center groove side from the center of the outer land portion in the axial direction.

A pneumatic tire includes at least four circumferential main grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction; and at least five rows of land portions including a center land portion, a pair of second land portions, and a pair of shoulder land portions, which are defined by the circumferential main grooves. Additionally, at least one row of the second land portions is provided with a plurality of lug grooves penetrating through the second land portion in the tire width direction, and a plurality of blocks defined by the plurality of lug grooves. Moreover, the plurality of blocks include one of the circumferential narrow grooves, respectively, which penetrates through the blocks in the tire circumferential direction.

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 pneumatic tire includes a tread portion provided with at least one circumferentially extending main groove, and at least one lateral groove extending from the main groove. The at least one lateral groove comprises a bottom, and at least one stepwise groove wall that includes at least one level part, wherein the number of level part is not more than three. In a cross-sectional view of the lateral groove, a depth Da from a ground contacting surface of the tread portion to a radially innermost level part is in a range of from 50% to 80% a maximum groove depth D4 of the lateral groove, and a width Wa from the radially innermost level part to a groove edge of the stepwise groove wall measured along in a groove width direction is in a range of from 50% to 150% the depth Da.

A tread pattern is provided with: shoulder lug grooves open at ground contact ends; center lug grooves each having opposite ends; circumferential primary grooves each formed in a wavy shape by connecting ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends of the shoulder lug grooves in the width direction of the tire; and center blocks defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves. The width of the circumferential primary grooves is smaller than the width of the shoulder lug grooves. The center lug grooves are tilted relative to both the circumferential direction and the width direction of the tire and each have a third groove turning portion and a fourth groove turning portion which protrude in the different directions in the circumferential direction of the tire.

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.