Hankook has instituted a tire labeling system to provide valuable information to customers, including important data on performance, energy efficiency and eco-friendliness. Our goal at Hankook is to raise customer satisfaction and improve environmental management.
The Tire Labeling Regulation is an EU standard which offers helpful information for customers look to purchase our tires enabling them to check the tires characteristics before making a purchase. With eco-friendly products that are energy efficient and boast outstanding performance, Hankook is achieving its goal of satisfying customers and protecting the environment.
Aside from information on the label customers can also evaluate our excellent performance results by consulting charts and graphs which detail the running performance and numerous tests conducted by automobile magazines.
* You can also reduce fuel costs by using our eco-friendly tires. Please note that fuel expenses may differ depending on the make of vehicle, road condition and driving habits.
Hankook is working hard to provide useful information to customers in adopting the tire labeling regulation.
Regulations require tire manufacturers to declare fuel efficiency, wet grip rating and external rolling noise performance for C1, C2 and C3 tires (i.e. tires mainly fitted on passenger cars, and on light and heavy duty vehicles).
Lack of reliable and comparable information on the performance of tires currently makes it difficult for consumers to take these elements into account in their purchasing decision, especially when replacing a used set of tires. From 1st November 2012 tire performances data will be displayed at the point of sale and on all technical promotional literature such as catalogues, leaflets and web-based marketing.
The aim is to lead a market transformation towards a more fuel-efficient, safe and low-noise tire, beyond the standards already achieved. It will also pave the way for competition to run on tire performance and price, which will in turn stimulate investment in research and development.
(Source: European Commission)
Fuel efficiency is measured by the rolling resistance (RR) of tires.
Rolling resistance is the resistance that occurs when a round object such as a ball or tire rolls on a flat surface in a steady velocity straight-line motion. It is caused mainly by the deformation of the object, the deformation of the surface, or both.
Additional contributing factors include wheel radius, forward speed, surface adhesion, and relative micro-sliding between the surfaces of contact. It depends very much on the material of the wheel or tire and the sort of ground.
Class | PCR (C1) | LTR (C2) | TBR (C3) |
---|---|---|---|
A | RRC ≤ 6.5 | RRC ≤ 5.5 | RRC ≤ 4.0 |
B | 6.6 ≤ RRC ≤ 7.7 | 5.6 ≤ RRC ≤ 6.7 | 4.1 ≤ RRC ≤ 5.0 |
C | 7.8 ≤ RRC ≤ 9.0 | 6.8 ≤ RRC ≤ 8.0 | 5.1 ≤ RRC ≤ 6.0 |
D | Empty | Empty | 6.1 ≤ RRC ≤ 7.0 |
E | 9.1 ≤ RRC ≤ 10.5 | 8.1 ≤ RRC ≤ 9.2 | 7.1 ≤ RRC ≤ 8.0 |
F | 10.6 ≤ RRC ≤ 12.0 | 9.3 ≤ RRC ≤ 10.5 | 8.1 ≤ RRC |
G | 12.1 ≤ RRC | 10.6 ≤ RRC | Empty |
Seven classes from G (least efficient) to A (most efficient)
Effects may vary among vehicles and driving conditions, but the difference between a G and an A class for a complete set of tires could reduce fuel consumption by up to 7.5% and even more in the case of trucks.
Wet grip indicates the braking performance of tires on wet road surfaces and is related to the safety performance of vehicles. Tires with low rolling resistance have high fuel efficiency, but can have safety problems. This is because tires with low rolling resistance have low adherence to roads when the roads are wet. Accordingly, the European Council requires tire companies to provide information about their tires adherence (or grip) when applying the brakes on wet roads.
Class | PCR (C1) | LTR (C2) | TBR (C3) |
---|---|---|---|
A | 1.55 ≤ G | 1.40 ≤ G | 1.25 ≤ G |
B | 1.40 ≤ G ≤ 1.54 | 1.25 ≤ G ≤ 1.39 | 1.10 ≤ G ≤ 1.24 |
C | 1.25 ≤ G ≤ 1.39 | 1.10 ≤ G ≤ 1.24 | 0.95 ≤ G ≤ 1.09 |
D | Empty | Empty | 0.80 ≤ G ≤ 0.94 |
E | 1.10 ≤ G ≤ 1.24 | 0.95 ≤ G ≤ 1.09 | 0.65 ≤ G ≤ 0.79 |
F | G ≤ 1.09 | G ≤ 0.94 | G ≤ 0.64 |
G | Empty | Empty | Empty |
Seven classes from G (longest braking distances) to A (shortest braking distances)
Effects may vary among vehicles and driving conditions, but in the case of full braking, the difference between a G and an A class for a set of four identical tires could be up to 30% shorter braking distance (e.g. for a typical passenger car driving at 80 km/h speed this could be up to 18m shorter braking distance).
Exterior noise levels are measured in decibel (dB) and are indicated in three categories (refer to the black bars on the left). The more black bars present, the more road noise is created from the tires.
In addition to the specification of noise level in Decibels (dB(A)) a pictogram displays whether the tire external rolling noise performance is above the future European mandatory limit value (three black bars = noisier tire), up to 3 dB below the future limit value (two black bars = average noise level) or more than 3 dB below the future limit value (one black bar = low noise tire).