Focused on mileage improvement, and overall wet and dry handling these new tires feature new profiles, structure, tread pattern and compounds. New Compound technology offers improvement in two important areas: material and process. The compounds offer better abrasion resistance, thus providing more mileage, but at the same time the choice of new resins improve the level of chemical grip on wet surfaces. Tread design not only gives increased mileage vs. ME 880, it also has better water drainage, resulting in more resistance to aquaplaning. Tire’s profile modifies the shape and dimensions of the footprint. The contact patch is 5% shorter and 15% wider vs. ME 880. This profile has been chosen to improve the wear of the compound under footprint. A shorter and wider profile helps by better distributing the force necessary to transfer the engine torque to the ground. The focus is on uncompromised mileage, but without sacrificing the key Metzeler philosophy of stability, handling and wet and dry traction. All sizes in the ME 888 range benefited from mileage increase and wear regularity upgrades, placing ME 888 on the top of the category in mileage and handling, stability, and comfort - until the end of its life. This is a black wall tire.