Successful tyre development is not a simple matter of just building a tyre.

A tyre is an amalgam of several different technologies, rubber compounding is a science unto itself, design schools have various different philosophies, tread design is only one facet yet is the main one the end users judge a tyre by.

COBA Tyre have committed to extensive use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or Finite Element Modelling (FEM) in conjunction with field-testing to improve the current designs and so tyre performance.

The use of top end modelling software requires the use of high power computers running multiple cores and large banks of memory. With some segments of the tyre having tens of thousands of elements computing time runs into days not hours even with the high powered machines.

Models are created on screen and then subjected to deformation testing to reveal the inner workings of the tyre, where heat is generated, how heat is dissipated, what area of the tyre is in actual contact with the ground are some of the more simple concerns. This data is correlated with field observations to confirm the modelling parameters. Any deviations from projected parameters are identified and so used to improve the models specifications. The model is then re-run to confirm field observations.

This modelling assist COBA Tyre to telescope development time from months or years to days. Changing parameters of say the rubber compound used in the tyre structure can be modelled easily to determine the effects of such as change rather than having to wait for a test tyre to be produced, shipped & then trialled.

Computer modelling is no substitute for real life testing, there is no doubt about this, the FEA process simply alerts designers and constructors to what is possible.

COBA Tyre have engaged engineers who lead the pack in using the advanced software to model tyres in active form. This detail cannot be physically observed until the tyre is sectioned, usually at the end of the tyres life, this could be 3000 hours or could be up to 10,000 hours.