Hankook Tire is revolutionising the long-haul tyre industry with its new SmartLine AL50 and DL50 tyres. In a competitive market where cost and sustainability are major concerns, Hankook has developed tyres that deliver improved performance, greater safety, and less rolling resistance, resulting in lower fuel usage.
The SmartLine AL50 and DL50 are designed specifically for long haul vehicles and feature significantly less rolling resistance than their predecessors, the AL20w and DL20w. This is thanks to a comprehensive technology package that includes 3D printed tread patterns that maintain tyre performance from the first to last mm of tread wear. This delivers no compromise performance during the whole tyre life, which is a genuine step forward in Hankook's aim to maximize the value for their fleet partners in Europe.
Hankook's Vice President Marketing Strategy Truck and Bus, Guy Heywood, said that the company aims to deliver the best performance using all available materials, processing, and computer technologies. The new SmartLine tyres use advanced compounding technology, a carbon-silica dual filler system, and Stiffness Control Contour Technology (SCCT), which ensures uniform tread deformation and counteracts uneven wear through targeted load distribution. The tyres also generate less heat thanks to Hankook's innovative mixing system (IMS) and the tread block rigidity from the 3D interlocking sipes.
For the new SmartLine AL50 for steering axle and all-position use, Hankook's design engineers have managed to reduce rolling resistance by up to 12 per cent compared with the AL20W. Despite its outstanding efficiency, the SmartLine AL50 also contributes to greater safety on the roads, since wet grip braking performance is now 15 per cent more effective compared to earlier generations of tyre models.
The SmartLine AL50 has a striking design featuring three parallel tread grooves, stepped tread groove walls, and 3D interlocking tread blocks that give rigidity to the tread contact patch, improving grip, reducing wear, and heat and so increasing mileage and reducing rolling resistance. The 3D printed tread allows for hidden grooves and sipes to be revealed as the tread depth is worn, which means the tyre retains its safety, traction, and wet grip performance throughout its life cycle.
Similarly, the SmartLine DL50 brings together multiple innovations for the drive axle. Rolling resistance is reduced by up to 15 per cent compared with its predecessor, the DL20w, while wet grip is improved by 10 per cent. The tyre has wider tread blocks that give a solid on-road contact, rigidity of the tyre tread, and reduce heat. The tread features 3D printed sipes, hidden grooves, and self-regenerating sipes that deliver a cooler running tread with improved wet grip and traction, and so improved mileage and reduced rolling resistance.
The new SmartLine family is also advanced in its compounding technology, which includes a carbon-silica dual filler system that improves the homogeneity of the rubber compound mix, increasing fuel efficiency. The tyres display the 3PMSF symbol to indicate unlimited use all year round, and they are suitable for regrooving, while the high-quality carcass means they can be retreaded.
