Hankook introduced a new sports tire

Hankook Tire introduced the new sports tire Hankook Ventus evo Z, designed for supercars from brands such as Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche, and developed to withstand extreme loads on the racing track, but also suitable for everyday life. 

The tire was created using technologies developed during Hankook's participation in Formula E and Lamborghini Super Trofeo, and received an asymmetric tread pattern designed with the dynamic capabilities of supercars in mind. The design of the inner zone is designed to allow the tires to withstand increased loads and work effectively at high speeds, while the optimized tread pitch in the outer section, combined with increased block stiffness, improves cornering stability. 

The tires will be available in various size configurations, each of which, as emphasized by Hankook, has a carefully selected profile and tread pattern. Thus, the design of the front tires (will be offered with a width of 225 to 265 mm) is designed to improve steering sensitivity, maintain traction when entering a turn, and suppress the tendency to understeer, as well as to withstand the loads associated with the shift in the center of gravity when braking. At the same time, the rear tires (275–355 mm) are designed to provide maximum traction, helping to quickly accelerate, including when exiting a turn, and prevent skidding. 

The sidewalls of the grooves in the outer zone, which are subjected to the maximum loads in turns, are inclined at an angle of 30 degrees, which reduces tread deformation and stabilizes handling, and the width of the transverse grooves increases as the distance from the central zone increases, which should improve the balance between properties on dry and wet surfaces. 

Thanks to the fact that the shoulder grooves are not connected to the main ones, the contact area and stiffness of the tread are increased, and the protrusions in the part of the transverse grooves closest to the center allow the blocks to support each other, and both of these features improve handling when maneuvering.

When manufacturing rubber compounds, technologies from motorsports are used, some of which Hankook has not previously applied in the production of road tires. This has increased grip on both dry and wet surfaces, and the tires heat up quickly to the desired temperature in cool weather. 

The design of the new tires includes an armored hybrid breaker with aramid fibers, which allows the optimal stiffness of the tire to be maintained when used on powerful sports cars, increasing the level of safety and, as the company says, improving the feel of driving at high speeds. 

In-house tests by the company using the BMW M4 showed that on a dry track, the Ventus evo Z and "leading competitors" allowed for the best time on the second lap, but the Hankook figures were significantly higher. At the same time, on a wet surface, the best time on the Ventus evo Z was recorded already on the second lap, and on the tires of competing brands - only on the fifth. 

The new Hankook tires have already made their debut in motorsports, as they have been approved for the Alpine Class championship Supperrace, the largest racing series in Korea, the first stage of which took place on April 19-20.

By the second half of the year, it is planned to release 25 sizes of Ventus evo Z on the Korean market, and the company emphasizes that in combination with the already available models  Ventus evo (new UHP-tire with improved balance of characteristics), Ventus S1 evo Z and Ventus S1 evo Z AS (respectively summer and all-season tires for the primary equipment sector) the novelty will help satisfy the needs of all customers who prefer a sporty driving style.