01/22/2025
National retailer make investments in 900-acre tire testing center
Source: aftermarket MATTERS
Discount Tire pulled back the curtain on a multiyear effort to develop and upgrade Treadwell Research Park, the company’s tire testing and research and development center located in Pearsall, Texas, an hour south of San Antonio.
Independent testing data collected at Treadwell Research Park helps power Treadwell, an objective tire guide that Discount Tire makes available to consumers online and company employees to use in the national retailer’s more than 1,200 stores.
Recommendations are based on a few inputs:
- What vehicle an individual drives.
- Where they drive (ZIP code).
- Their typical driving habits (highway, city streets, performance, etc.).
The algorithm uses millions of data points from tire safety checks, historical weather records, and testing data gathered at Treadwell Research Park on new and worn tires to recommend the best tire option for a driver based on their preferences with price not weighed as a factor.
Discount Tire, which does not manufacture any of the tires it sells, independently tests hundreds of new makes of tires each year.
The company purchased the facility in 2022 and regularly tests more than 100 days a year at Treadwell Research Park. The retailer also rents Treadwell Research Park to tire manufacturers and to groups interested in holding events.
Recent enhancements at the 900-acre campus include:
- Upgrades to all 15 testing surfaces to exceed industry standards for texture and control variable consistency in tire testing. Testing is done on a variety of surfaces to help evaluate the tires’ performance across multiple driving conditions, including on-road, off-road, noise, bumps, wet, and dry.
- Implementation of an automated reverse osmosis water filtration system to deliver standardized water quality and accurate readings for wet handling tire testing and improved wet and mud off-road testing capabilities.
- Level 3 EV charging stations to power Discount Tire’s increased investments in tire testing for EV and hybrid vehicles.
- Construction of three new buildings ranging from 4,500 to 6,000 square feet to be occupied or rented by automotive brands seeking regular access to testing at Treadwell Research Park.
- Expert equipment, machinery, and tools, including an electric road sweeper, rolling resistance testing machine, and a tire buffer machine, which allows Discount Tire to shave tires down to standard worn conditions to compare functionality and safety across the life of a tire.