HOKKAIDO, Japan — Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) has added an indoor ice-traction testing facility at its Hokkaido Tire Test Centre.
The site is intended to improve ice-traction testing, YRC said, since surfaces inside the facility are not influenced by external factors such as weather and temperature.
The Hokkaido test center, in Asahikawa City on Japan's Hokkaido island, was opened in late 2015 to meet the increasing demand for tire evaluations.
The covered testing site will improve the accuracy of test data, YRC said, allowing for improvements in tire technology. It can accommodate both car and truck/bus tire testing.
The new facility is nearly 395 feet long and 80 feet wide, covering 30,775 square feet. YRC did not disclose the investment for this capital improvement.