Product News

VancoWinter 2 Launched in the UK
Yokohama Develops New Wet Weather Race Tyre

VancoWinter 2 Launched in the UK

Continental Tyre Group is pleased to announce the launch of their new cold weather van tyre - VancoWinter 2.

Available from October, VancoWinter 2 features an advanced sipe concept meaning the sipes spread when braking. This creates an ice scraper effect on the road surface allowing shorter braking distances on winter roads. Open shoulders on the tyre with wide lateral grooves give excellent water drainage leading to a high level of protection against aquaplaning on wet roads.

The VancoWinter 2 has an optimum tyre footprint to give even wear. This coupled with a unique cold weather compound gives the VancoWinter 2 as much as 30% extra mileage potential in the winter months compared to a conventional van tyre.

The winter tyre market is becoming increasingly important for van drivers and fleets who realise the safety benefits of fitting cold weather tyres to work vehicles. As soon as temperatures drop to just 7°C, standard van tyres start to lose their grip which makes driving more difficult; this is when the VancoWinter 2 starts performing at its best. With average monthly temperatures in the UK below 7°C between October and April, it is important for van users to think about switching to cold weather tyres to keep drivers and passengers safe.

Yokohama Develops New Wet Weather Race Tyre

Following the announcement that Yokohama ADVAN will be used as control tyres for the 2008 and 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship seasons, the manufacturer recently undertook initial testing of its new specification wet racing tyre for the two seasons.

The existing product has drawn critical acclaim in its first two seasons as control tyre but the new version, designed to pre-empt changes in manufacturing legislation, has already shown improvements in its first trials.

New regulations for materials used in the production of tyres worldwide are expected to be introduced in the near future. However, as part of its on-going program to improve its products as well as lessen their impact on the environment, Yokohama has committed to developing the new ADVAN A006 wet weather tyre in advance of the introduction of the regulations. This will provide the manufacturers and teams competing in the 2008 WTCC and beyond with early, and instant, benefits.

The new specification ADVAN A006 builds on the excellent feedback received from the existing product, which has impressed drivers and teams alike, both for front and rear wheel-drive cars. Durability and consistency of grip are two of the most important criteria for any motorsport tyre and the new version has improved on both qualities.

The construction of the new tyre is significantly different from the previous version but the biggest advances have been made in the compound itself. The Yokohama engineers have spent considerable time working with the new material specification, which is intended to have less impact on the environment, to maximise grip and performance for wet weather conditions.

Yokohama's WTCC Technical Consultant, Ian Beveridge, explains; "We have begun testing the new specification of tyre to get ahead of the game, before the new regulations come into force. And we are very pleased with the results of this first test. The new tyre's behaviour is very similar to that of the previous version but offers more outright grip and according to the drivers, better response.

"One of the crucial factors when developing a tyre for a series such as the World Touring Cars is to ensure that the benefits are equal for front and rear-wheel drive cars."