It’s hard to be all things to all people. But in the tire business, you’re often asked to do just that, whether it’s offering additional vehicle services on top of tire alignments, rotations and installs or adding tires to your regularly scheduled orders that are becoming popular in your market. Tire manufacturers are feeling this, too, as many consumers are demanding tires that fit a wide variety of performance characteristics that they don’t need to change between seasons.
In studying the market and consumer trends, Hankook Tire has developed a tire solution that can be all things to all people—or rather in a tire context, one tire for any weather— with the Kinergy 4S2 X.
“The purpose of the all-weather tire is to provide an all-in-one product that saves time and money for our customers,” said Yewon Lee, consumer marketing manager for Hankook Global. “A three-peak mountain snowflake certified all-weather tire means the Kinergy 4S2 X can perform near the level of an actual winter product.”
With a cutting-edge design, the Kinergy 4S2 X is not only built for stylish driving; it also has a unique tread design that reigns supreme in snow and wet performance. Let’s take a look:
- The Kinergy 4S2 X’s unique V-Shaped Tread Design features well-connected grooves and two-in-one tread blocks that connect for enhanced biting edges and digging force. This helps the tire evacuate water and give high performance in wet conditions.
- The Serrated-Edge Grooves connected to the tire’s shoulder blocks maximize the block’s grip and enhance winter driving performance.
- A unique Slush Edge located in grooves between shoulder blocks enhances cornering performance in snow, which aids in ride stability for drivers confronted with snowy or icy roads.
- 3-D Winter Sipes are serrated at the end of the tread to provide greater breaking performance in winter driving.
In addition to tread design, compounding plays a major role in tires, especially as a compound’s properties begin to change at temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The Kingery 4S2 X responded to the compounding challenge for all-season tires with its Aqua Pine Compound technology that provides high grip across a range of temperatures. This new-generation compound incorporates high loading silica and novel, traction enhancing additives designed to provide higher levels of traction across a wider range of temperatures and conditions. The tire’s peak performance in snowy conditions earned it a three-peak mountain snowflake certification for severe winter weather driving.
The Kinergy 4S2 X has also stood up to competitors in third-party and media tests. In fact, it made Consumer Reports’ list of recommended performance all-season tires and has garnered praise from multiple European automotive magazines including being named the winner in Auto Bild’s all-season tire testing for 2021.
For more information, visit hankooktire.com.
