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Michelin: New X Line Grip D 'A Leap Forward' in Drive Tires

Michelin said its innovative new X Line Grip D drive tire provides exceptional mileage, lasting traction, and a durable casing designed to reach up to 1 million miles with up to four retreads.

July 8, 2025
Michelin drive tire

The new drive tire offers excellent traction performance in wet and snowy conditions thanks to the unique chevron tread design, according to Michelin.

Image: HDT Graphic using Michelin photos

2 min to read


Michelin announced the new X Line Grip D tire, which it calls a “revolutionary leap forward in drive tire innovation.”

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The new commercial truck tire provides exceptional mileage, lasting traction, and features a durable casing designed to reach up to 1 million miles with up to four retreads, according to a news release.

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This new SmartWay-verified drive tire helps fleets control their operational costs, providing 20% more mileage and 20% better rolling resistance than the Michelin XDN2 tire. 

The new drive tire offers excellent traction performance in wet and snowy conditions thanks to the unique chevron tread design, according to Michelin. It meets U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association snow traction performance requirements.

Based on testing of worn tires, the Michelin X Line Grip D tire provides more than 90% better snow starting traction than the Michelin XDN2 tire. This was calculated based on an internal snow starting test at 10/32” remaining tread, using a Michelin XLine Grip D 295/75R22.5 tire vs. Michelin XDN2 275/80R22.5 (equivalent sizes) tire.

Testing also showed the new tire offered more than 25% better wet starting traction, calculated based on an internal wet starting test.

Durable Tire Casing 

The Michelin X Line Grip D tire is built on the Michelin Duracore casing, featuring Infinicoil and Powercoil technologies.

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Infinicoil: A continuous steel wire – up to 1/4 mile – is wrapped around the tire circumference to make it more stable and durable throughout its service life. This gives the tire enhanced durability at a higher load index or in harsher usage conditions.

Powercoil: A new generation of lighter yet more robust steel cables is used in the casing to deliver improved resistance to distortion and damage, reducing rolling resistance and fuel consumption for better durability.

“This tire has the potential to redefine the drive tire standard in fleets for years to come,” said Pierluigi Cumo, VP of B2B Marketing at Michelin North America, in a news release. “It is not an evolution to existing products, but something entirely different the fleet world has not seen before.”

The Michelin X Line Grip D tire will be available in sizes 295/75R22.5 and 11R22.5.

Recently, Michelin partnered with television host and MythBusters legend Adam Savage and his team, providing an opportunity to witness testing demonstrations on the new Michelin X Line Grip D tire and learn about this tire on his show Tested.

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