Patent ID: 8544511

Claim:
A tire having a pair of shoulders and defining axial, radial, and circumferential directions, the tire comprising: a circumferential groove of radial depth H o ; a plurality of axial grooves of radial depth H and circumferential width W; a plurality of shoulder blocks located circumferentially about at least one shoulder of the tire and having a height equal to radial depth H o , said shoulder blocks defined by said circumferential groove and said axial grooves, wherein said axial grooves separate adjacent said shoulder blocks, each said shoulder block having a circumferential length B, and a plurality of apertures positioned in said plurality of shoulder blocks, wherein at least one aperture is located within each said shoulder block, each said aperture having a bottom positioned at a radial depth H B relative to said shoulder block and extending completely through said shoulder block along the axial direction, each said aperture having a radial overlap H L with said axial grooves; the ratio H L /H o is about 0.15 or less and the ratio of H B /H is in the range of about 1.0 to about 1.1; and each said aperture defines a cross-sectional area A L each said shoulder block defines a cross-sectional area of B* H o , and the ratio of A L /(B* H o ) is in the range of about 0.007 to about 0.05.