Nokian's new all-weather tire designed for North America

DAYTON, Tenn. — A quarter of a century after introducing the world's first all-weather tire, Nokian Tyres P.L.C. has unveiled its sixth generation product in the segment.

The Nokia,Finland-based tire maker is releasing the Remedy WRG5, an all-weather product that has been designed specifically for the North American market and built at Nokian's factory in Dayton.

The Remedy WRG5 will be available in over 70 sizes, covering 15- to 20-inch rim diameters, and has a treadwear warranty of 60,000 miles (or 100,000 kilometers)

The tire replaces the WRG4 and WRG4 SUV line in the tire maker's portfolio, merging two existing product lines into one.

Nokian Tyres, which produced the first dedicated winter tire in 1934, also introduced the industry's first all-weather offering, the Hakkapeliitta NRW, in October 1999.

Fittingly, Nokian claims this version improves an important attribute important to motorists in the rainy U.S. Northwest, as well for other motorists across North America: wet grip.

Leo Hillman, product development manager for Nokian Tyres, said making a substantial leap in wet grip — while focusing on safety — was one of the primary goals of the latest all-season iteration.

"That's been the main performance standard for us, from the point of view that we've been aiming for," Hillman told Tire Business.

"We needed to maintain and improve our performance on snow, but after that, wet was the clear performance characteristic that we want to improve on."

Nokian said the tire features "lightning" and venturi grooves that provide "turbo-boosted" water and slush evacuation. The entire tread face has wider, more aggressive sipes that offer longer grip in snow, rain and slush.

"Many customers and consumers use the tire throughout the year, so they see a lot more wet," Hillman said. "So we were kind of looking at it from the consumer and end-user point of view: Wet becomes more important."

Hillman, who is responsible for the development of all-season, all-weather and light truck products for North America, said the challenge in engineering this tire was creating the optimal balance between strong performance both in snowy and wet conditions.

"It's easy to make a tire that's exceptionally good on snow if you forget the wet. And you can easily build performance on wet surfaces, but it might not perform on snow," he said. "We need to keep them in balance and work from there. Our team did a great job with this."

The tire is made with a rubber compound that Nokian said delivers durability, mileage and low rolling resistance across a wide temperature range.

As an all-weather product, the Remedy WRG5 carries the tie industry's Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, designating that it has passed ASTM testing standards for snowy conditions.

Hillman said the product not only passed that test but also performed well in other tests, including snow handling, hill climbing, control and maneuvering. The product was tested on Nokian test tracks in Finland, Texas and Spain.

"We go far beyond the regular test it takes to achieve the (3PM)Snowflake," Hillman said.

Nokian said the Remedy WRG5 has a more aggressive, open tread pattern than its predecessor, featuring an asymmetrical design that allows for snow grip, thanks to snow claw blocks, snow boosters and dual performance siping in the traction area.

The Remedy WRG5 also has shoulder blocks on the outside of the tire and an all-weather stability band that the tire maker said delivers crisp steering regardless of conditions.

The Remedy WRG5 also was designed and built with electric vehicles (EVs) in mind, and is marked with Nokian Tyres' "Electric Fit" symbol that indicates it is suitable for EVs.

This marks Nokian's first all-weather product made with puncture-resistant aramid fiber, providing sidewall durability against potholes and other road hazards, a first for an all-weather product. Nokian offers a Pothole Protection warranty; if a tire is damaged beyond repair by a pothole or other road hazard, Nokian Tyres will replace it at no charge.

"This is a great all-arounder, tailored for North American use," Hillman said. "We have decades of experience in all-weather segment. We know the segment pretty well and are proud of the approach we are taking."