The Sava Eskimo Stud is a modernized version of the popular Goodyear UltraGrip Extreme winter tire model. This is not surprising, since the Slovenian company Sava belongs to the world-renowned North American tire giant Goodyear. Such borrowing is a commonly applied practice among other manufacturers seeking to extend the life of a successful model, which this tire undoubtedly is.
The tire's tread is built using the well-proven V-TRED technology. This technology, used since 2000 and to this day, is applied to most Goodyear winter tires, which speaks to its high efficiency. This technical solution features a V-shaped tread design that is most effective in removing water, snow, and mud from the contact patch, thus increasing safety when driving in adverse conditions.
High resistance to aquaplaning is ensured by the configuration of the drainage channels, which are positioned at a large angle relative to the direction of movement. Another advantage of the V-shaped symmetrical tread pattern is the large contact patch area, which remains stable under any road conditions. The rigid longitudinal rib located in the center of the tread allows the tire to have excellent directional stability on slippery surfaces.
Another technology that can be used at a lower cost is ActiveStud. Even today, this technology has not lost its relevance, as it provides excellent performance on icy surfaces. As part of this technology, the Sava Eskimo Stud tire's tread is equipped with studs featuring a hexagonal shape. The additional edges on the studs provide greater pressure on the stud, which significantly improves braking efficiency on ice.
The 3D-BIS technology is also one of the distinctive features of the Slovenian tire. When it first appeared, the technology of the three-dimensional system of mutual block locking made a lot of noise, as it allowed the tread to be equipped with an increased number of lamellas without compromising block stiffness. This was achieved thanks to the presence of protruding bubbles on the lamella walls, which, when the block comes into contact with the road surface, are firmly fixed in the recesses on the opposite wall. As a result, the block becomes stiffer, which significantly improved the tire's performance on dry surfaces. When driving on snowy and icy surfaces, the multitude of lamellas forms numerous edges that easily penetrate through the water film, effectively gripping the smallest irregularities.
Slovenian tire engineers have made significant changes to the rubber compound composition. In particular, the new rubber compound features a special polymer with a high content of silicon-containing components. As a result, the tire demonstrates improved elasticity at low temperatures compared to its predecessor. Additionally, this polymer further improved traction on wet, snowy, and icy surfaces, while also making the tread more resistant to wear.
Key features of the Sava Eskimo Stud tire
- Optimized V-shaped design of the symmetrical directional tread pattern, created using Goodyear technologies, provides excellent traction on various surface types;
- A large number of hexagonal studs, thanks to which the tire demonstrates reliable and stable traction on ice;
- The improved rubber compound contains a polymer with a high content of silicon-containing components, which has given the tire excellent elasticity at low temperatures and high resistance to wear.
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