The use of studded tires has been discussed controversially from the time they came into market. While studded tires contribute to traffic safety under severe winter conditions by increasing the tire friction on icy roads they also cause damage of the road surface when running on bare roads. Consequently one of the main challenges in studded tire development is to reduce road wear while still providing good grip on ice.

Therefore a research project has been initiated to gain understanding about the mechanisms and influencing parameters involved in road wear by studded tires.

A test method using the institute’s internal drum test bench was developed. Furthermore mechanisms causing road wear by studded tires were derived based on basic analytical models. The mechanisms were used to identify the main influencing parameters of road wear by studded tires. Using experimental results obtained with the developed test method the expected influences were verified.

The vehicle driving speed and the stud mass were found to be the major influencing factors concerning road wear. This can be explained by the stud impact as a dominant mechanism.

The presented test method offers the possibility to get quantified and comparable data about road wear caused by studded tires under controllable conditions. The mechanisms allow to predict the influence of tire construction and operating condition variation on road wear.