A tire optimal slip ratio estimation system and method is disclosed. The system comprises: a vehicle (10) supported by at least one vehicle tire (12) mounted to a hub, the vehicle tire having a tire cavity (20) and a ground-engaging tread (16), and the tire (12) having a plurality of tire-specific measureable parameters; a tire-affixed tire-identification device (24) for providing a tire-specific identification; a plurality of tire-affixed sensors mounted to the tire for operably measuring the tire-specific parameters and generating tire-specific parameter information; and a model-based optimal tire slip ratio estimator operable to generate a model-derived optimal tire slip ratio estimation from an assessment of the tire-specific parameter information relative to the tire-specific identification.
