Yokohama Includes Orange Peel Oil into Its Tires
Such notion as eco-friendliness has already won a firm position in minds of automotive manufacturers as well as tire-making companies. Moreover, the race for eco-friendliness includes not only the development of hybrid car engines, but the improvement of all car parts to reduce harm inflicted on the environment.
Yokohama does its best to advance in this field and launches the dB Super E-spec tire to include oil derived from orange peels into the structure of its rubber compound. Now it is considered the most eco-friendly tire available on the market.
The new tire is made of natural rubber coupled with orange peel oil and features only 20 per cent of petrochemical products. Such reduction of oil products necessary for tire production helps minimize oil use without compromising on tire technical and operational features.
Dan King, Yokohama vice-president, maintains that the new tire helps save on fuel as well thanks to its low rolling resistance that was reduced by 20 per cent in comparison with similar tire. It is ensured by the Advanced Inner Liner technology that minimizes tire weight while ensuring stable air pressure for a long time.
Yokohama specialists point to the fact that each unused liter of oil cuts CO2 emissions by 2 kilograms. At the same time, natural materials the dB Super E-spec tire is made from means that the tire can be recycled after use. Meanwhile, orange peel oil makes the tire get warm quicker during cornering and braking operations, which enhances traction and adds to your safety on the road.
Yokohama is Going to Make a Contribution to Environmental Protection
Yokohama Rubber Co. tire-producing company has worked out and approved several corporative principles in accordance with the UNO decision to declare the year of 2010 an International Year of Biodiversity.
New concept conforms to previously accepted ones that were aimed at wider use of recycled materials in new tire production and directed towards the prevention of global warming. The new philosophy will be applied to all the company’s departments and its suppliers.
The company highlighted the following six points and attributed greatest importance to them:
1.For the Yokohama Rubber directly depends on natural resources and its activities affect biodiversity it understands all the importance of its preservation and the level of threat. Therefore, the company will do its utmost to preserve biodiversity on a long-term basis.
2.Another necessary task is to spread the idea that humankind depends on natural resources, so all the company’s employees will work in its field including local communities.
3.The company will make efforts to eliminate of at least minimize the negative impact on the environment caused by its activities.
4.It will also combat threat in the areas where raw materials are produced.
5.The company will make use of innovative technologies and production processes to achieve stable use of eco-friendly resources.
6.The company will work with mass media in this field, will stay open to cooperation with all the interested parties.
New Grand Performance Tire By Yokohama
New Yokohama AVID ENVigor tire will appear on the market already on March, 1 in 69 sizes what makes the premiere one of the most significant in the history of the corporation.
“Yokohama AVID ENVigor is a tire that suits nearly anyone, - announced Mark Chung, head of the Yokohama’s corporate strategy and planning department. – They suit for a wide range of cars – from low-end to premium coupes and sedans. They are also quite good for such true performance cars as Ford Mustang or Nissan 370Z as well as for high class cars – Audi A3 or Lexus GS. Besides this, we will also present versions for different SUVs and crossovers from Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda etc”
According to Mr. Chung, the new tire (that will replace popular models Yokohama AVID H4s/V4s and W4) is distinguished not only by an extremely wide range of sizes but also by unprecedented performance. “These are the first tires that ensure excellent hauling capacity and steering control, high level of comfort, long service life and reduced fuel consumption level. That’s why a new Grand Performance segment was created, - noted Mr. Chung. – The tire is a real technical wonder.”
Yokohama AVID ENVigor will be manufactured at the works in Salem (Virginia) with H, V and W speed rating letters. The tire is distinguished by patented adaptive 3D-sipes (that allow to maintain pressure on wet surface in winter conditions); angled walls of grooves; circumferential grooves that allow to increase hydroplaning resistance level; central ribs with the original pattern and monoblock shoulders for additional rigidness; variable tread step for the reduction of noise level; groove-into-groove technology for more uniform treadwear; and absolutely new rubber compound on the base of silica for more efficient fuel consumption.
“The tire is an evidence of our aspiration to provide the consumers with the latest technological innovations. It’s quite possible that Yokohama AVID ENVigor is the most perfect tire on Earth”, - added Mr. Chung.
Yokohama Eco-tires Showed Excellent Performance During Thunderhill 25 Hours Race
Pilots who took the first two places in Thunderhill 25 Hours racing were using “orange” Yokohama ADVAN ENV-R1 tires. Both winners piloted Porsche GT3 Cup. The Mercer Motorsports team won with 24:50.29 (761 laps, 2432 miles), the Ehret Winery team was the second with the result 24:51.53 (739 laps).
“Yokohama tires are just fantastic, - said Johannes van Overbeek, one of the five Mercer pilots. – They are extremely solid and durable. We had no punctures what is vital for the endurance race. But what impressed us most of all was their adaptability for operation at a wide temperature range. The night temperature was +68, in the day it rose up to +145,4. Yokohama’s performance was ideal what cannot be said about other tires”.
The Yokohama company is famous for its high-class road and racing tires. It developed a process of mixing orange oil with natural rubber what resulted in the creation of Super Nano-Power Rubber. Yokohama ADVAN ENV-R1 tire became the first tire in the history of motor racing developed with the use of this technology. It was already approved for use in 2009 Patron GT3 Challenge. The technology reduces the use of oil products by 10% and increases the tire’s utilization capability without sacrificing the features that are necessary for the racing of the highest class.
Yokohama began the development of the new compound in the 1980ies. Now ordinary consumers can also use the advantages of the technology within the framework of the company’s strategy aimed at the decrease of the damage to the environment. “Orange” tires Yokohama dB Super E-spec are already used for the original equipment of Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid and other models.
