Hankook improves wet grip

Designed and patented by Hankook's technical centre in Ohio, the Ventus V2 Concept features a Twister System _ the central channel 'twists' or 'waves' down the middle of the tread rather than running in a straight line.

Designer Dean Rogers says using a central groove and directional tread to help expel water reduces tyre stability and creates extra wear in the centre.

The Korean-based Hankook claim back-to-back tests show a six per cent improvement in wet handling performance and three per cent improvement in wet braking distances.

And Hankook used computers to help design the V2 Concept's tread for a quieter, softer ride.

In Australia Hankook, sitting at seventh on the sales charts, is aiming for fourth spot by 2015, lifting its focus on ultra high performance rubber and improving its sales network.

Among its new rubber is the Ventus ME01, a high performance tyre said to better stand up to hot road running.

It uses a specially formulated tread compound, with smaller molecules of carbon black, for a lighter tyre that does not heat up as quickly and has a reduced rolling resistance, around 30 per cent lower than rivals according to Hankook.

The Korean company saw global sales jump 16.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2011; ultra high performance tyres were up 42.5 percent on the same period last year.

China, where Hankook holds 20 per cent of the market, continues to grow. Hankook took a gamble on business there in 1996 and now sells 17.5 million tyres a year to manufacturers and motorists with a third tyre plant to be built there by 2015.