Hankook Tire has successfully completed ride and handling tests for its latest non-pneumatic tire (NPT), the Hankook iFlex, which is made using eco-friendly materials. The iFlex was subjected to a series of rigorous tests designed to push the tire to its limits in five disciplines including durability, hardness, stability, slalom and speed. The tire is said to have delivered impressive results and in the speed test, the electric car equipped with iFlex tires reached 130km/h.
Construction of the iFlex is centered on a new type of uni-material designed to maximize the tire’s eco-friendly potential. From a manufacturing standpoint, the material used in the product’s construction greatly enhances production energy efficiency, and it also enables the iFlex to be recycled with greater ease. Hankook has also integrated new construction techniques to simplify the manufacturing process from eight stages to just four.
The tire maker has been conducting research into NPT technologies since 2011 and now believes it has succeeded in achieving all of the practical benefits of conventional pneumatic tires while simultaneously enhancing their high-speed tire characteristics.
July 16, 2015
