It might be July, but Goodyear has just released its newest winter tire built specifically for SUVs and crossovers. It’s called the UltraGrip Ice SUV and it promises to offer better extreme cold weather traction than other dedicated winter tires. Yep, it’s supposed to outperform other winter tires when the mercury drops to arctic-type conditions.
Goodyear says the secret is in the rubber compound and complex tread sipping. The compound, called the IceGrip compound, maintains a greater degree of flexibility at extremely low temperatures. This gives the tire a better chance at keeping traction beyond temperatures that most winter tires begin to harden up – and well beyond the point all-season tires become blocks of hardened rubber.
Second only to the compound, tread sipping is the most important aspect of a winter tire. The UltraGrip Ice tire uses angled and interlocking sipes that both grip the road and resist squirming. On top of that, the tire is designed with heavier vehicles in mind. The tread pattern is wider than most winter tires, giving the UltraGrip Ice a larger contact patch for better grip. Goodyear calls this its ActiveGrip Technology.
All this leads to better cornering stability and shorter braking distances – two things critical when driving in snow and ice.
Further helping owners get the most from their tires is Goodyear’s TOP indicator. Small snowflakes are seen in the tread pattern when the tires are new. As they age with mileage, the snowflakes become shallower. When the snowflakes are gone, it’s time to replace the tire. This occurs at roughly 25 percent tread depth. That might sound premature, but tread depth is extremely important at whisking away snow, ice, and water.
Continue reading for more information.
from Top Speed http://ift.tt/2aicbHb
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment