Yokohama Rubber to Begin Overseas Sales of iceGUARD iG60

Yokohama has announced that it would begin sales of “iceGUARD iG60”, the latest tire in its “iceGUARD” series of studless tires for passenger cars, in overseas markets from this autumn onwards. The tire will be launched at the retail level in different stages, making its debut first in Northern Europe and Russia, which are the key markets for the “iceGUARD iG60” and then gradually being introduced in other markets in Asia and Europe.

The “iceGUARD iG60” will be available in as many as 102 sizes, ranging from 265/35R19 94Q to 135/80R13 70Q. Yokohama is planning to gradually increase the range of available tire sizes. The “iceGUARD iG60” was launched in the Japanese market as “iceGUARD 6” in September 2017.

While the iceGUARD iG60 has the core “iceGUARD” features of “ice efficacy”, “long-term efficacy” and “fuel efficiency,” it also has a fourth feature that Yokohama calls “wet efficacy”. It exhibits demonstrably high levels of wet performance and the braking on ice, the most important performance feature of a studless tire is also a lot better in this tire.

The iceGUARD iG60’s sports a tread design having an asymmetrical pattern. The inside is meant to improve performance on ice while the outside tread pattern is such that it has optimal performance on snow. The inside tread pattern enhances the grip of the tire on icy surfaces by increasing the edge effect and increasing its contact patch with the road surface. The new double micro grooves deliver optimum ice performance and the Quattro 3-D Dimple Sipes contribute to the rigidity of the tire and enhance its steering stability.

The tread compound incorporates a newly developed premium absorptive compound. Absorptive micro balloons are dispersed evenly throughout the rubber, thus improving its ability to absorb water on icy patches of road. This contributes immensely to safety as the main reason for slippage and thus accidents on ice is the presence of wet patches on roads.
The amount of silica used in the tire has been increased and for the first time, the silica has been supplemented by the use of a highly reactive white polymer, which promotes uniform dispersion of the silica and thus raises the tire’s ability to adhere to the surface. This makes the tire perform better on icy and wet surfaces.
When it comes to durability, Orange Oil-S, which was developed specifically for use on studless tires has been used as part of the tire compound to keep the tires soft and pliant even when the rubber begins to deteriorate with use and age. This extends the useful life of the tire’s performance on ice.
The incorporation of these new techniques and compounds increases the tire’s ice performance by 15 per cent over that of the previous product (iceGUARD iG50 PLUS) and its wet performance by 5 per cent. It also secures higher levels of performance sustainability and fuel efficiency when compared to its predecessor. Pattern noise and road noise have also been sharply reduced in order to deliver a quieter ride