Hankook launches the Ultra High-Performance (UHP) all-season Ventus S1 AS tire
Nashville, TN – Hankook Tire announced it has launched the Ultra High-Performance (UHP) all-season Ventus S1 AS tire. Ideal for drivers seeking high-performance across all weather conditions year-round, the new Ventus S1 AS is optimized for sport driving on dry, wet and snow-covered roads. Available in 75 sizes, the Ventus S1 AS supports rim diameters of 16 to 22 inches and tread sections up to 305 millimeters. The UHP tire also offers a Y-speed rating on select models, making it ideal for performance cars, sports sedans and luxury cars, as well as popular CUVs and SUVs.
Engineered with a higher silica concentration and maximized material dispersion, the new four-season high-performance compound in the Ventus S1 AS tire delivers enhanced grip force on all surface conditions. Along with its flexible compound structure, new convex tread block designs provide enhanced drainage in wet conditions when compared to conventional concave designs.
“The ultra-high-performance all-season segment is becoming one of the most innovative and exciting markets in the industry,” said Curtis Brison, President, Hankook Tire America. “The Ventus S1 AS showcases the level at which Hankook can engineer a single tire to perform across a variety of seasonal road conditions and satisfy high-performance driving benchmarks. Once more, we’re extremely proud to produce this innovative tire almost exclusively at our Clarksville, Tennessee plant.”
The UHP all-season Ventus S1 AS features an asymmetric tread pattern to support driving performance in every season. The interior section features a lateral groove pattern that is 3 percent larger than conventional products, which improves both water evacuation as well as snow traction. With an increased sipe density, the inside pattern also has more biting edges, creating additional points for traction in the snow. A wider and stiffer tread block arrangement at the outside section of the tire increases dry handing performance, lateral stability, and steering response. To offset the possible deformation of block edges, applied shoulder chamber technology maintains uniform grounding in dry conditions and increases dry surface traction.
“The Ventus S1 AS was thoughtfully developed for the performance-loving consumer that wants to maximize their driving experience in any weather, year-round,” said Kijong Kil, Vice President of RE Development. “By way of new raw material applications and mixing technology, the innovative four-season high-performance compound delivers outstanding results when combined with our asymmetric tread pattern in this new Ventus product. Engineered to accommodate a variety of high-performance platforms and fitments, the Ventus S1 AS delivers an exciting new option packed with cutting-edge tire technology.”
As part of Hankook Tire’s growing performance portfolio and successor to the award-winning Ventus S1 noble 2, the Ventus S1 AS tire joins the Ventus V12 evo2 and Ventus V2 concept2 products designed with sport driving in mind. The Ventus S1 AS comes with a 50,000-mile limited warranty, a Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) of 560, and the highest available traction designation of AA. The Ventus S1 AS is now available.