Yokohama's orange-infused tires hit the market

Jan. 1, 2020
Tire dealers across the U.S. this month will start selling the world?s first orange oil-infused passenger car tire, Yokohama Tire Corporation?s dB Super E-spec, which is composed of 80 percent non-petroleum based materials.

Tire dealers across the U.S. today will start selling the world’s first orange oil-infused passenger car tire, Yokohama Tire Corporation’s dB Super E-spec™, which is composed of 80 percent non-petroleum based materials.

“The eco-focused dB Super E-spec mixes sustainable orange oil and natural rubber to drastically cut the use of petroleum, without compromising performance,” says Dan King, Yokohama vice president of sales. “It also helps consumers save money at the gas pump by improving fuel efficiency via a 20 percent reduction in rolling resistance and an Advanced Inner Liner that minimizes tire weight and reduces air loss to help the tire stay properly inflated. With these innovations, the dB Super E-spec could very well be the most technologically-advanced tire ever produced.”

Mark Chung, Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning, notes that every gallon of gas saved by the tire means 20 fewer pounds of CO2 released into the atmosphere. "No other tire on the market comes close to offering these environmental benefits along with superior performance,” he adds.

“The idea of combining oil from orange peels with natural rubber was originally conceived by our racing engineers,” says Chung. “The same orange oil technology, which improves a tire’s grip, can be seen today with our ADVAN® ENV-R1TM racing tire on Porsche GT3 Cup cars. The ENV-R1 (the official spec tire of the Patrón T3 Challenge by Yokohama) is the first environmentally-sensitive race tire used in a motorsports series.”

Chung said the same basic orange oil technology is transferred from race car tires to passenger car tires. In fact, during cornering and braking, the orange oil properties generate heat quickly to give the driver superb grip.

“The dB Super E-spec combines orange oil with silica and natural rubber to form a new compound called “Super Nano-Power Rubber™”. It delivers excellent traction and demonstrates improvement in rolling resistance. This lower rolling resistance, in turn, improves fuel efficiency by minimizing the energy wasted (as heat) as the tire rolls down the road.”

The dB Super E-spec will initially be available in four sizes: 185/65R15 88H, 195/65R15 91H, 195/55R16 86V and 215/60R16 95V, which fit popular hybrids and other vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid/Civic GX NGV, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid, Nissan Versa and VW Golf.

For more information, visit www.yokohamatire.com.

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