The Yokohama Ice Guard IG50 winter passenger tire is one of the latest developments from one of the leaders of the Japanese tire industry. This model is produced in more than 40 different sizes with rim diameters ranging from 14 to 17 inches.
Tread pattern design
The tire is equipped with a tread featuring a modern asymmetric directional pattern design. Depending on the tread width, the tire's tread is equipped with a different pattern. If the tread width exceeds 235 mm, its pattern is additionally equipped with one extra longitudinal rib located in the center of the tread. In both cases, the asymmetric tread pattern provides excellent traction on both snow and ice.
The inner side of the tread pattern is designed to provide the best possible traction on icy surfaces. Its dimensions are significantly larger than the area of the outer side of the tread. Additionally, the outer side of the tread is equipped with less massive blocks and an increased number of lamellas. Thanks to this solution, it was possible to ensure that the contact patch has a significant number of sharp cutting edges.
The inner side of the Yokohama IG50 tread pattern features three longitudinal ribs, including the shoulder area. The two longitudinal ribs located in the center of the tread represent two rows of rectangular blocks arranged longitudinally relative to the direction of movement. This structure of the inner side of the tread pattern made it possible to achieve high longitudinal stiffness, which led to an improvement in traction characteristics on snow.
The shoulder areas on both sides of the tread represent two rows of rectangular blocks, the transverse arrangement of which provides high braking efficiency, especially on snowy surfaces. Additionally, the shoulder areas have a very rigid design, which not only improved the handling characteristics but also contributed to a more even distribution of pressure across the contact patch.
Confident and reliable ice traction
This model, despite the absence of studs, has excellent operating characteristics, especially on icy roads, providing a high level of safety. The tire gained these capabilities thanks to a number of design solutions, the most notable of which are 3D lamellas and an innovative rubber compound.
This tire is one of the first to feature two types of three-dimensional lamellas - triple-volume lamellas located in the central part of the tread and triple three-dimensional lamellas in the shoulder areas. In both cases, the multifaceted surface of the lamella walls allows for the creation of a strong connection between them when in contact with the road surface, which significantly increases the stiffness of the tread blocks, forming a multitude of additional traction edges. As a result, the tire demonstrates not only excellent handling on dry asphalt but also stable and reliable traction on icy surfaces.
Another component that provided the Yokohama Ice Guard IG50 tire with excellent characteristics on ice is the innovative rubber compound of the tread. As is known, one of the main reasons for poor tire traction on icy surfaces is the water film that forms as a result of friction. The tread of this model is made from a rubber compound that has excellent absorbent properties, allowing the tread to grip the ice surface by absorbing the water film. Such properties of the rubber compound were achieved thanks to the presence of special absorbing micropores in its structure, the hollow shape of which effectively removes moisture from the contact patch. At the same time, the shell of the micropores has increased rigidity, which creates a micro-notch effect that, in turn, increases the resistance of the tread blocks to deformation. In addition to micropores, the rubber compound contains a special absorbing component - White Gel. This substance made the rubber compound more elastic, which ensures more effective removal of the water film from the icy surface.
Main features of the Yokohama Ice Guard IG50 winter tire
- Asymmetric directional tread pattern design provides excellent characteristics on both snow and ice;
- Reduced rolling resistance due to the tire's high resistance to deformation;
- Combination of two types of three-dimensional lamellas, which provides the tire with excellent traction on snow and ice;
- Multi-row tread blocks in the central part provide high acceleration efficiency and excellent traction on snowy and icy surfaces;
- Innovative rubber compound with micropores and "white gel" has excellent absorbent properties.
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