Patent ID: 6968881

Claim:
A pneumatic tire comprising a tread and shoulders adjacent the tread, the tread comprising a central region and a pair of opposing side regions, the tread further comprising a circumferentially extending rib in the central region, and a plurality of steeply slanted grooves inclined at an angle relative to the circumferential direction of the tire in each side region, the rib having a plurality of sipes extending across the full width of the rib, the sipes having a density of 2 to 8 sipes per inch (0.78â€“3.15 sipes per cm), and the steeply slanted grooves in each side region initiate at the junction of the central region and the side regions and terminate in the shoulders, forming circumferentially adjacent tread blocks, the blocks extending from the central region to the shoulders, and having a plurality of sipes, the spacing between adjacent sipes increasing toward the tread shoulders, wherein the tread has a greater sipe density in the central region of the tire than in the side regions.