Hankook has introduced two new truck tire products for long haulage applications in its e-cube Blue product line, which is said to improve fuel efficiency by 8% and provide up to 55% more durability compared with competing products. This includes the e-cube Blue AL20 steer tire and, for the drive axle, the e-cube Blue DL20 tread.
Both central rib tread blocks of the e-cube Blue AL20 steer axle tire support each other through their interlocking design, which increases tread block rigidity and helps to reduce rolling resistance. The stepped main tread groove design gives extra support for each tread block side. The largely closed tread design in the shoulder rib area ensures uniform tire wear.
The tread of the e-cube Blue DL20 steer axle tires features a central four-block design. The offset arrangement of the individual tread blocks guarantees interlocking action on both sides and results in mutual support for very good traction performance while reducing rolling resistance at the same time.
In addition, the horizontally arranged semi-deep extra sipes in combination with tie bars in the open shoulder block area further promote traction.
All three e-cube Blue products are made with a newly developed tread compound with highly structured carbon black molecules for high levels of fuel efficiency.
