Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 24. May 2017 – “Aspects such as fuel efficiency and the sparing handling of resources are becoming increasingly important for tyre buyers, too,” explains Tony Lee, Hankook’s Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Europe. “Our current winter tread shows that these days modern, high-performance winter tyres can also meet customers’ requirements in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. We are extremely pleased with the independent test results and the related evaluations for our Hankook Winter i*cept RS²“
Developed to deliver balanced performance in all wintery driving conditions, the Hankook Winter i*cept RS² comes equipped with a special nano-sized, high dispersible silica compound, resistant to hardening in low temperatures, and a new solution-styrene butadiene rubber. The compound ensures the tread stays elastic even at very low temperatures, thus providing excellent traction and braking power by increasing the tyre’s contact area, in particular in the cool temperatures and wet roads typical during the colder seasons. The increased void volume of the tyre tread, designed using Hankook Aqua-Slant technology, is achieved through the highly effective interaction between two longitudinal wide grooves on the tread. This offers especially efficient water and slush displacement.
The directional V-shaped tread design of Hankook's Winter i*cept RS² features 28% more pitches as well as increased groove and block edge length. Enhanced traction on snow covered surfaces is the result of the tread design which effectively bites into the snow. Moreover, the corrugated 3D sipes applied throughout the tyre tread increase traction and braking performance on all smooth surfaces. In addition they improve driving stability in wintery conditions by minimising block movement, abrasion and enhancing the overall handling performance through maximised edge effects. Special ice slits and grip claw 3D edges make for further improved cornering performance and snow traction.
Further improvements to the structure of the i*cept RS² have resulted in an even load distribution and a footprint increase of up to 5% compared to conventional products which has further enhanced the braking performance on both wet and dry roads. The stiffer sidewall and bead area of the tyre ensures more direct steering reactions and improved steering feedback and a more precise lateral stability on dry roads as well.