Hankook Tire’s ultra-high-performance tire, the ‘Ventus S1 Evo3’, achieved first place in the braking distance category during the ‘2023 Summer Tire Test’ conducted by the German automotive magazine ‘Auto Bild’.
Auto Bild is a highly esteemed automotive publication in Europe, recognized for its credible performance testing of vehicles and tires. It tests 50 tire brands worldwide, first evaluating their braking performance on both dry and wet surfaces. Only products that pass this initial test are subjected to a second round of testing, which ultimately determines the overall rankings. Hankook proved its technological prowess by clinching the top spot in Auto Bild’s test, which prioritizes safety-related braking performance over various leading brands.
This test involved fitting tires of the 225/45 R18 size from 50 tire brands, including Hankook, Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, and Pirelli, to vehicles and evaluating their braking performance on both wet and dry surfaces.
As a result of the testing, Hankook’s ‘Ventus S1 Evo3’ demonstrated outstanding braking capabilities, securing first place on both wet and dry surfaces. In tests conducted at speeds of 80 km/h and 100 km/h on wet and dry roads, it recorded braking distances of 24.8m and 33.3m respectively, totaling 58.1m, which is approximately 10% better than the test average of 65.7m.
The ‘Ventus S1 Evo3’ is characterized by excellent handling, braking power on wet roads, and grip. It features a wider shoulder area—the part of the tread that contacts the road—and has enhanced rigidity to provide agile handling. Additionally, it uses a ‘high-purity synthetic silica compound’ to improve grip and mileage.
The outer grooves of the tire are designed with an ‘interlocking’ structure to prevent hydroplaning and enhance grip and cornering performance on wet surfaces. Moreover, the ‘in-out dual pitch’ design, with varying pattern spacings on the inner and outer sides of the tire, increases braking power on wet roads while minimizing noise.
Auto Bild will conduct a secondary test on the top 20 brands, including Hankook, which achieved excellent scores in braking performance, evaluating handling, noise level, rolling resistance, aquaplaning, and more to determine the final rankings.
Meanwhile, both the ‘Ventus S1 Evo3’ and the SUV-specific version ‘Ventus S1 Evo3 SUV’ have consistently ranked highly in high-performance tire tests conducted by major automotive magazines in Europe, proving their innovative technology. Since receiving the ‘best’ rating from Auto Bild in 2019, they have dominated tests conducted by the UK’s ‘Auto Express’ and ‘Auto Bild Allrad’ in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Furthermore, they have established their reputation as leading ultra-high-performance tires by winning the ‘Honorable Mention’ in the product design category at the 2019 ‘Red Dot Design Award’, which is recognized as one of the three major design awards worldwide alongside Germany’s ‘iF Design Award’ and America’s ‘IDEA’.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr