Brison said to create the tire, the company used its offerings in the all-weather segment from different parts of the globe to design the tire’s tread pattern, including the first iteration of the Kinergy 4S2 that was launched in Europe in May 2018.
But since the U.S. market requires higher mileage than other parts of the world, Hankook engineers altered the tread compound to meet those needs. Brison said the company spent about a year and a half executing performance and durability tests. Wet and dry performance tests took place at Hankook’s America Technical Center in Akron, Ohio; snow performance tests at Technotrac in Ivalo, Finland; and durability and wear tests at TTF (Texas Test Fleet).