Tag Archives: central
Slush planing, tyres and Central European winters
Nokian Tyres is known for its reliable and safe winter tyres (in Swedish: vinterdäck) for the Northern climate, but they do know more mild Central European winters well as well.
In Central Europe, the speeds are higher and temperature warmer than in North, but during the winter time, the weather may change rapidly. High safety is needed on slush, snow and ice, both wet and dry conditions.
The most problematic weather condition in Central Europe is slush. Slush planing a high risk because the tyre loses contact with the road and there is no possibility to steer the car anymore if the contact is lost. According to a study of Tampere University of Technology made in 2008, the risk of fatal accidents is 4.9 times higher on slush than on dry roads. If the temperature rises above zero degree Celsius, slush us even more dangerous. A car will start skidding because of slush planing and slid off the road or could not break in time.
As the slush is more than common in Northern roads of Europe during autumn and spring times, Nokian Tyres has carried out slush planing tests for 15 years and is one of the pioneers on it. The company owns testing ground for tests where both longitudinal and lateral slush planning is measured and researched. The engineers of Nokian Tyres have developed exact test methods for slush planing testing and the development is an ongoing process.
Nokian Tyres have developed special tyres like the Nokian WR G2 and Nokian WR G2 SUV for Central European winters. These tyre (in Swedish: däck) models provide especially high safety on slush and are optimised better performances in the local, milder weather. Extra care has been seen that the tyres are not only safe, but they consume only little fuel and are environmentally friendly also. Due to its lower rolling resistance, Nokian WR G2 saves fuel half a litre per 100 kilometres. The tyre is made from natural product like canola oil and silica, which replace high aromatic oils that more harmful to nature.
When released to market, Nokian WR G2 was recommended based on the test judgements of the German automobile association ADAC, and the German car magazines “auto motor und sport”, “Auto” and “sport auto”. This is to prove that the engineers of Nokian Tyres have been able to design the safe tyre for moments of slush.