Hankook Tire, a leading global tire design and manufacturing company based in Seoul, South Korea but with manufacturing in the US, has added the SmartFlex DL15+ tire.
Now for the US market, the DL15+ is a new addition to the company’s Truck, Bus & Radial (TBR) product line. This SmartWay-approved tire features several new tread design features to enhance overall traction performance and increase fuel efficiency for regional and long-haul fitments.
The enhanced SmartFlex DL15+ product comes equipped with an optimized bead profile along with a carcass structure to minimize tire deformation and improve overall energy dispersion when under heavy loads. Combined with a newly formulated belt structure, the tire reduces heat generation for greater durability and extended casing life for retreading.
“At Hankook, we’re always looking for new and innovative ways to better support truckers with products that have proven to go the distance and outperform industry standards, especially regarding fuel efficiency,” stated Rob Williams, the President of Hankook Tire America Corp. The company invested $1.6 billion in a truck tire plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, last summer. “In today’s landscape, having products engineered to improve rolling resistance and lower overall cost-per-mile for owners and independent operators is especially important in helping that next fill-up go further.”
The tire is developed using Hankook’s Smartec TBR technology, which is based on five main performance features: safety, mileage, anti-chip-cut, retreadability, and traction.
The tire’s 3D and self-regeneration sipes that turn out at mid- and latter-stages improve traction performance and reinforce interlocking components between blocks until the end of wear.
Design elements such as a combined rib and semi-block pattern provide added stability and handling, along with fuel efficiency, which is enhanced via a wide, closed shoulder pattern at the tire’s edges that allows for smoother wear throughout its lifecycle.
As a result, the SmartFlex DL15+ touts a 12-point increase in its rolling resistance coefficient compared to its predecessor, as well as securing SmartWay certification. Such approval represents a significant commitment to provide products that are sustainably developed and support the freight industry in the cleanest, most energy-efficient ways possible.
For more information on Hankook Tire’s TBR products, visit www.hankooktire.com/us.