Due to toughest testing green winter tyre Nokian WR G2 offers the shortest braking distance in the wet, very good dry qualities, and is the best on ice

Winter tyres must offer sufficient safety both in the wet and on ice, winter tyres manufacturer Nokian Tyres recommends. These are common and very dangerous road conditions. Furthermore winter tyres should use little fuel.

Being the most northern tyre manufacturer, Nokian Tyres from Finland is winter tyres expert for all weather conditions with experience for more than 75 years. „Unique testing in extreme winter conditions with chilly frostiness on our own proving ground in the Finnish part of Lapland and on slippery wet, slush and in the dry makes Nokian tyres reliably meet toughest demands,“ Teppo Huovila explains, Vice President R & D of Nokian Tyres. „Our winter tyre Nokian WR G2 is a top product for mild Central European winters, but also for cold winter conditions. It offers not only high safety in extreme weather, but excellent wet and dry qualities as well.“

Shortest braking distance in the wet with strong grip provides high driving safety

Its good braking abilities are proven by independent testing results of automobile associations and car magazines. Nokian WR G2 shows the shortest braking distance in the wet of all tyres tested by German automobile association ADAC, 22 metres less than the tyre with the poorest wet braking scores. This so much shorter braking distance out of a speed of 100 km/h can save lives. The German consumer protection organisation Stiftung Warentest rates its braking in the wet „good“. „Very good driving behaviour and a short wet braking distance“, German car magazine “auto motor und sport” judges. The best overall wet performance of all tested tyres was achieved by Nokian WR G2 in this test with 98 of 100 possible points. At their own proving ground, the Finns test the braking abilities of their winter tyres.

Wet grip is tested on a circle track and side grip in the curve is identified in this way. For its good quality, Nokian WR G2 receives the ADAC judgement 2,0 for circle / cornering grip. In the German school mark system, mark 2 means “good”. Cornering grip is rated „good“ by Stiftung Warentest as well. In the “auto motor sport test”, Nokian WR G2 is the best of all tyres concerning “wet cornering grip” with the best possible score.

Regarding wet handling, the driver judges the reactions of the winter tyres. Additionally, the taken lap times give information about quality. „Handling“ is rated „good“ by ADAC and Stiftung Warentest. Regarding handling the Finnish tyre is the best in “auto motor sport”, too with the best possible score in both disciplines „lap time“ and „driving behaviour“.

„Nokian is sensational in the dry“

In the dry tests, the Finnish winter tyre is praised again and again. „Very good on dry roads“ ADAC judges Nokian WR G2, „good properties in the dry“, “auto motor und sport” says. „Nokian is sensational in the dry“, the German car magazine “Auto Zeitung” reports. The high-performance winter tyre is rated “good” by ADAC for its low fuel consumption and its low wearing, which is also leading to a long mileage. Regarding rolling resistance, Nokian WR G2 is second best in the “Auto Zeitung” test and third best in the “auto motor und sport” test. „Car drivers can cut their fuel consumption even by half a litre on 100 kilometres with the environmentally friendly low rolling resistance tyre Nokian WR G2 and maintaining correct tyre pressures“, expert Huovila advises. „A rolling resistance lowered by 40 per cent saves six per cent fuel. This is 300 Euros less on a normal driving distance of 40,000 kilometres. Furthermore these tyres produce less CO2 emissions.“

In the dry tests of the Nordic brand, driving behaviour is assessed subjectively by the test driver on the handling lane. Fast changes of the lanes and elk tests show the limits and correspond to overtaking and avoiding.

On ice, Nokian WR G2 takes the top spot of all winter tyres in the ADAC test

Icy roads are very dangerous. Ice not only shows up with very low temperatures. In Central Europe, ice can come up surprisingly on bridges. Often side roads are icy which have not been gritted at all yet or not so often.

The Nordic specialist Nokian has a lot of experience in developing winter tyres which are safe on icy grounds. North of the Polar circle in the 700 hectare big own testing center in Ivalo, the tough ice and snow tests take place - for six months long. The very high effort of the ice tests in the North of Finland pays off. Nokian WR G2 takes the top spot on ice in the ADAC test, and is rated “good”.

The Finns identify the grip of the winter tyres on ice with braking and accelerating on a huge frozen lake. The result of the ADAC test in the assessment “ice braking”: best mark for Nokian WR G2 ahead of all the other test candidates.

The handling test on ice measures the maximum grip of the tyres in curves and on a long straight. The test results and the test driver’s perception are crucial for the judgement of the winter tyres.

Side grip on ice is tested on a circle track. Nokian WR G2 achieves the best score of all in the ADAC test in the assessment “ice cornering grip”. Directional stability on ice is tested on a 2300 metres long handling lane.

Nokian’s slush planing tests optimize the grip of the winter tyres

On slush winter tyres must provide safety, as slush is a common risk and more often on the roads than snow in the mild Central European climate.
Slush planing is most dangerous– even more dangerous than aquaplaning.

Slush planing makes tyres lose contact with the ground with much lower speeds than aquaplaning: Already at speeds below 50 km/h tyres may lose contact with the ground on slush whereas aquaplaning typically occurs with speeds up from 80 km/h on standard test arrangements at Nokian’s tests track. This is alarming. Without tyre contact to the ground the car can not be steered any more and the braking distance becomes much too long.

On slush the risk of fatal accidents is 4.9 times higher than on dry roads, a study of Tampere University of Technology from 2008 proves. Due to intensive testing, environmentally friendly premium winter tyre Nokian WR G2 was optimized for strong slush planing protection in the mild Central European winters, according to the Finnish experts. Furthermore the slush specialist significantly saves fuel, too, because of its lower rolling resistance.

For 15 years Nokian Tyres as the pioneer in this discipline has carried out slush planing tests and nowadays disposes of exact testing methods for repeatable measures to compare different tyre models. As the only tyre manufacturer the specialist owns a unique proving ground for slush planing tests longitudinal as well as lateral. Nokian’s engineers have developed a patented testing method which is acknowledged by international tyre experts.

Slush planing is more dangerous than aquaplaning for the following
reasons: On ordinary roads the depths of the layer of water is rarely more than 10 millimetres but slush can be much thicker – namely up to 40 millimetres on the driving lanes and up to 100 millimetres between the driving lanes. Slush has got a higher viscosity than water, therefore is pastier, and can not be led off in the tyre tread channels as easily as water.
Slush means danger. You have to change lanes to overtake others and you have to cross the slush barrier between the lanes. Then the driver turns right again and again crosses the slush barrier. Here the car loses side grip and can easily skid.

This year several German car magazines have included slush planing tests in their winter tyre test programs for the first time.

Winter tyres should be safe and environmentally friendly

Car drivers should decide for winter tyres, that are safe but environmentally friendly at the same time, like Nokian WR G2. Its rubber compound is produced without cancer-causing high-aromatic oils but with canola oil and silica. The Driving Safety Indicator (DSI) indicates groove depth in clear numbers. The Winter Wear Indicator is a small snowflake symbol in the bottom of the groove. When the snowflake wears off, groove depth is less than 4 millimetres and the tyre is no longer safe for demanding winter use. This eco winter tyre is the ideal combination of high safety and economical environmental friendliness, the Northern winter specialist claims.

Nokian Tyres s.r.o
Phone +420 222 507 761
Fax +420 241 940 635
dieter.koppner(at)nokiantyres.com
V Parku 2336/22
148 00 Praha 4
Czech Republic

Photo download:
www.nokiantyres.com/NokianWRG2
www.nokiantyres.com/NokianWRG2SUV

Video download:
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Sources:

ADAC winter tyres test 2010: ADAC Motorwelt, issue 10, October 2010
test Stiftung Warentest, issue 10, 2010
auto motor und sport, issue 21, 23rd September 2010
Auto Zeitung, No 20, 15th September 2010


Press contact:
Dr. Falk Köhler PR
Dr. Falk Köhler
Phone: +49 40 54 73 12 12
Fax: +49 40 54 73 12 22
E-mail: Dr.Falk.Koehler(at)Dr-Falk-Koehler.de
Ödenweg 59
22397 Hamburg
Germany

Further information:

Nokian Tyres s.r.o
Business Director Central Europe Dieter Köppner, Phone: +420 222 507 761 dieter.koppner(at)nokiantyres.com

Product Development Manager Central Europe Sven Dittmann Dipl.-Ing., Phone: +49 8143 / 444 850
sven.dittmann(at)nokiantyres.com

Nokian Tyres plc
Vice President R & D Teppo Huovila, Phone: +358 10 401 7701
Teppo.Huovila(at)nokiantyres.com