Fulda unveils EcoControl HP

Fulda has announced the upcoming launch of its new high performance summer tyre, the EcoControl HP. The range will be introduced in time for the 2012 season and be available in 22 dimensions for 15 and 16-inch rim diameters. The tyre maker says the EcoControl HP is designed to take “meet both dry and wet conditions in its stride”; in September-October 2011 the new tyre was extensively tested against three competitor tyres by the independent testing and certification organisation TÜV SÜD Automotive, and was found to be a “well balanced performance tyre.”

The Goodyear Dunlop-owned brand says the EcoControl HP does exactly what the name says – provides “cost-conscious drivers with solid control on the road.” The TÜV SÜD tests showed the new tyre, which is built on an elliptic cavity with decoupled shoulder ribs, offers increased road contact when braking on dry surfaces, delivering up to five per cent shorter braking distance on dry roads compared to the tested competitors’ average. On wet surfaces, EcoControl HP’s full silica tread compound is designed to provide solid traction while multiple AquaFlow grooves are there to disperse water in an efficient manner. The tyre’s extended biting edges cut the water layer in the contact patch, improving the tyre’s overall grip on the road surface; Fulda reports a nine per cent shorter braking distance in the wet was demonstrated in the TÜV SÜD Automotive tests.

In addition, Fulda claims the new tyre’s construction – the manufacturer refers to a combination of ‘Engineered Compound Technology’ and ‘EcoTread’ design – helped the EcoControl HP achieve nine per cent lower rolling resistance than its competitors in the TÜV tests. The compound used is also said to contain a “specially improved nano-intricate polymer blend” that “weaves the tyre’s key components together in a tight net-like structure at a microscopic level.” The resultant blend, Fulda explains, produces a solidly manufactured tyre structure designed to deliver high mileage, while a full silica filler offers “strong grip for cost conscious drivers seeking a balanced performance tyre.” A harmonised poly-rib distribution ensures the tyre wears evenly across its surface, Fulda adds.

“The launch of the new EcoControl HP from Fulda is yet another indication that we continue to stick to our promise of delivering a high quality and solidly reliable tyre at affordable prices,” commented Alain Klepper, Fulda consumer brand director, Europe Middle East and Africa. “The tyre has been developed with a clear understanding of ever changing realities on the road and taking into account the strong potential of wet summer periods in much of Europe, we have built a summer tyre that reflects those realities. We have also stuck to understanding another reality that a cost effective tyre does not have to compromise on quality, which makes EcoControl HP the German engineering answer to our driver’s peace of mind on the road.”