Kenda adding 'rough terrain' LT, grand touring passenger tires

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — American Kenda Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd. is renewing and expanding its product range with the launch of the Vezda Touring A/S KR205 grand touring passenger and Klever R/T KR601 "rough terrain" light truck/SUV tires.

Kenda is launching both product lines as "premium quality at a value price," according to Brandon Stotsenburg, vice president of automotive.

The company, the Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based subsidiary of Taiwan's Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd., demonstrated the new tires to a select group of dealers and distributors at the Vegas Off Road Experience facility near Boulder City about 25 miles southwest of Las Vegas.

Both new tires were designed primarily by the engineering team at Kenda's North American Technology Center in Green, Ohio, and will be manufactured at the parent company's newest factory, in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, which is scheduled to begin commercial-scale production in early 2018.

The KR205, considered the successor of the KR30, is designed as a first and subsequent replacement tire for owners of coupes, sedans and luxury touring cars, Kenda said, which benchmarked the tire against the Pirelli P7 and Kumho Solus TA71.

The KR205 features an asymmetric tread design with proprietary pitch sequencing for reduced noise and four circumferential grooves engineered to reduce the risk of hydroplaning.

Kenda's design priorities in designing the KR205 included comfort, solid handling and long tread life. Kenda's backing the tire with a 65,000-mile limited treadwear warranty for both H- and V-rated SKUs. It will launch in early 2018 with 32 sizes in 15- through 19-inch rim diameters, ranging from 195/55R15 to 255/45R19.

The tire will be priced roughly 20 to 25 percent below Tier 1 competitors in this sector, Mr. Stotsenburg said, while offering comparable performance in most attributes and superior in others, especially in wet handling and braking.

Kenda said it achieved the performance gains through proprietary compounding technology that didn't require the use of silica as a reinforcing agent and the tuned tread pattern.

Kenda's other new tire is the Klever R/T KR601, where R/T stands for "rough" or "rugged" terrain. Kenda said the tire fits into the fast-growing "extreme all-terrain" segment, one that Kenda described as offering more traditional off-road aggressiveness and winter performance while remaining "relatively" quiet on the road.

Owners of vehicles in this emerging category are those to whom the look and on-road performance of their tires is equally if not more important than actual off-rod performance, Mr. Stotsenburg said.

These "aspirants," as Kenda calls them, have the resources to spend considerable money on lifted vehicles, wheels, tires and suspension to achieve the desired overall appearance of their vehicle.

Some of the tire's features are a "T3 Triple Threat" sidewall and a flexible tread design, according to Dan Shavers, chief design engineer for Kenda USA, which allow the tire to operate in rough terrain without sacrificing the ride and comfort of an A/T tire.

The new Klever slots in between the existing Klever A/T KR28 and Klever M/T KR 29 in Kenda's light truck lineup. The tire also offers an all-weather tread compound and is studdable for winter traction in areas where those characteristics are critical.

The tires upper sidewall tread blocks assist with typically difficult mud, sand and gravel environments, Mr. Shavers said, for off-road traction for those times when the aspirant drivers does go off-road.

Kenda benchmarked the KR601 against the BFGoodrich T/A KO2, which is perceived to the segment's standard bearer, Toyo Open Country R/T and Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx.

The Klever R/T will be available in 19 initial sizes in 17- to 22-inch rim diameters and in R speed ratings. Availability will start in the third quarter of next year.