RUBBER COMPOSITIONS AND ARTICLES THEREOF

In one aspect, the disclosure relates to compositions comprising: an elastomer; about 10 phr to about 150 phr of a silica, selected from a conventional silica and a pretreated silica; about 0.5 phr to about 15 phr of a reinforcing agent, wherein the reinforcing agent is a bismaleimide compound or a derivative thereof; and about 0.5 phr to about 25 phr of a coupling agent, wherein the coupling agent comprises an organosilane compound or a derivative thereof. The disclosure also relates to vulcanized rubber compositions and articles, such as tires or components of tires, comprising said vulcanized rubber compositions. Also disclosed herein is a method for mixing rubber, comprising a nonproductive stage and a productive stage. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.