Blue – Nokian’s answer to northern summer motoring

A new addition has been made to Nokian Tyres’ Hakka summer tyre range. Called the Hakka Blue, this latest product from the Finnish tyre maker is designed with ‘northern’ roads in mind and thus is intended, in Nokian’s own words, to offer “the best possible traction and precise handling for challenging wet roads.” The Hakka Blue is aimed at high-powered cars and is produced in a total of 21 sizes in V and W speed ratings for 15 to 17-inch rim diameters. All dimensions offered will be XL marked. Retail sales of the new tyre will begin in spring 2012 in Nokian’s most important market areas: the Nordic countries, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The manufacturer reports that new innovations used in the Hakka Blue, namely its ‘Dry Touch Suction Sipe’ and ‘Swoop Grooves’, contribute towards giving the tyre excellent grip and enabling it to stop some 80cm shorter from 80 km/h (50 mph) than traditional summer tyres on a rain-soaked road. Many innovations used in Nokian’s Hakka Green tyre for small to medium-sized cars, introduced a year ago, have also made their way into the new product.

The above-mentioned Dry Touch Suction Sipe is said to ‘suck’ the water out from between the tyre and the road and route it to the tyre’s main grooves. This, says Nokian, allows the Hakka Blue to “achieve maximum contact on a rain-beaten road and establish a firm grip on the road surface.” The sipes are larger at the bottom and thus groove volume increases as the tyre wears; this, the manufacturer explains, ensures they deliver excellent wet grip even when worn. As for the Swoop Grooves, Nokian says these were shaped in the transversal main grooves on the inner shoulder in order to prevent aquaplaning.

“When optimising the road contact and developing the structure of Nokian Hakka Blue, we aimed at maximising wet grip,” commented Juha Pirhonen, development manager at Nokian Tyres. “We utilised a high-speed camera for this purpose to a great extent. The finishing touch on the exceptional wet grip and anti-aquaplaning characteristics are the new innovations that effectively remove water from between the tyre and the road or store it temporarily, as well as the tread compound adapted for the varying conditions in the north.”

Nokian has used a tread compound combining silica and pine oil in the Hakka Blue. This “carefully selected combination” is said to further improve wet grip at very low temperatures. As the Finnish manufacturer explains, adding pine oil to the compound lowers the temperature of Hakka Blue by reducing the friction caused by molecular movement: “This makes the Hakka Blue an excellent choice for varying summer weather. The end results are lower heat generation and rolling resistance.”