Tire with minimal-marking tread and skid steering, fixed axle, tire/wheel or vehicular track assembly where said tire or track has a minimal-marking tread

A skid steering, fixed axle, assembly selected from a tire/wheel assembly and a drive wheel/vehicular track assembly wherein said tire and track has the tread of a rubber composition prepared by a sequential mixing process in at least one internal rubber mixer, which comprises, based upon parts by weight per 100 parts by weight rubber (phr)

• (A) mixing in at least two sequential preparatory blending steps in at least one internal rubber mixer to a temperature in a range of about 100° C. to about 180° C. a blend of ingredients comprised of, based on 100 parts by weight rubber (phr)
• (1) 100 parts by weight of at least one conjugated diene-based elastomer,
• (2) about 35 to about 100 phr of particulate filler comprised of aggregates of synthetic amorphous silica having hydroxyl groups on its surface and from 1 to about 5 phr of carbon black,
• (3) about 5 to about 15 phr of a paraffinic rubber processing oil which contains less than about 14 weight percent aromatic compound(s) to the exclusion of rubber processing oil contain greater than 15 weight percent of aromatic compounds and
• (4) a bis-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) polysulfide having from 2 to 6, with an average of from 2 to 2.6, connecting sulfur atoms in its polysulfidic bridge, and
• (B) mixing the product of said at least two preparatory mixing steps with a conjugated diene-based rubber vulcanizing amount of sulfur and vulcanization accelerator and from about 5 to about 15 phr of bis-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) polysulfide having from 2 to 6, with an average of from 3.5 to 4 connecting sulfur atoms in its polysulfidic bridge, to a temperature in a range of about 110° C. to about 120° C.;
• wherein a total of from about 1 to about 5 phr of at least one phenolic antidegradant to the exclusion of an amine-containing antidegradant is mixed with said elastomer(s) in at least one of said mixing steps;
• and
• wherein said rubber composition is removed from said internal rubber mixer at the conclusion of each mixing stage and cooled to a temperature below 40° C.;
• and
• followed by shaping and sulfur vulcanizing said tread rubber composition.