Fillers for balancing passenger tire tread properties

Strong demands for lower rolling resistance tires in Europe led to the introduction of a new filler system for auto tire treads in the early 1990s. Silica, in combination with a silane coupling agent, was used as the primary filler system despite the increased costs compared to carbon black. The adoption of silica/silane treads has been slower outside of Europe, but some conversion to silica/silane or alternative filler blends has taken place in North America and Japan. This paper is a review of the many reports related to the silica/silane filler system, as well as alternative approaches - including new carbon blacks - to lower rolling resistance, that have been generated since the introduction of the "green tire" concept in the early 1990s.