Hankook gains OE fitment on '18 Honda Accord

SEOUL, South Korea — Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has designated a 17-inch version of Hankook Tire Co. Ltd.'s Kinergy GT ultra-high-performance tire as an OE fitment on the 2018 Accord.

Hankook said Honda has designated it as the "main" OE supplier for the 10th-generation Accord sedan but didn't quantify what "main" means.

Hankook said it will be supplying Honda with tires in 225/50R17 V, which Honda documents show as the car's standard size. Honda also specs a 235/40R19 size tire as the optional fitment.

This deal expands Hankook's existing relationship with Honda; the Korean tire maker already supplies Honda with OE tires for the Civic and CR-V.

According to Honda, the 2018 Accord is built on a new platform with a lower, wider stance, a lighter and more rigid unibody structure; a lighter chassis; three new power units — including the Accord's first-ever turbocharged engines — a 10-speed automatic transmission and a third-generation two-motor hybrid system.

The Accord was the fourth-best-selling car in the U.S. last year, with more than 345,000 units sold.

Honda is offering six trim levels with the 1.5-liter turbocharged engine — LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, EX-L Navi and Touring — and four with the 2-liter VTEC turbo — Sport, EX-L, EX-L Navi and Touring. The new Accord Hybrid has five trims: Hybrid, EX, EX-L, EX-L Navi and Touring.

Hankook's 17-inch fitment applies to the Accord LX, EX, EX-L and Hybrid trims, mounted on 17 x 7.5-inch aluminum alloy wheels. The Sport and Touring trims are equipped with lower-profile 235/40R19 A/S tires on 19 x 8.5-inch, five-spoke aluminum alloy wheels.

Among the Kinergy GT's features are wide circumferential and lateral grooves for effective water evacuation and grip on wet and snowy surfaces, Hankook said, and a wide contact area for steering response and stability.

Honda produces the Accord at its plant in Marysville, Ohio.

Honda is using a noise-reducing wheel for the Accord EX and higher trim levels that it claims lowers noise levels by 6dB. The wheels have a resonator and a resin molding applied in a band on the inside of the rim.

The new Honda uses an indirect tire-pressure-monitoring system (TPMS), which uses the ABS wheel-speed sensors to monitor the rotational speed of each wheel.