Michelin, the French tire manufacturer is revolutionizing the Philippines’ local tire market with the recent launch of its latest generation tire in the Primacy range: Michelin Primacy 4. As the concept ‘Safe When New, Safe When Worn’ suggests, the tire provides lasting safety and excellent performance in both new and worn states, throughout its entire lifecycle. Moreover, it also serves as a reference for silent tires that provide the ultimate driving comfort and experience.
“A tire’s grip and braking performance – especially on wet roads – is critical to road safety in our country. Filipino consumers today choose their tires based on their characteristics when they are new. But what happens to grip and braking performance after 50,000 kilometers, or after a few years of use? In the tire industry, performance tests are typically conducted on new products. Michelin is a step ahead. We want to demonstrate that our performance is maintained with mileage and time,” said Michael Nunag, Chief Representative of Michelin Philippines.
Michelin commissioned TÜV Rheinland Thailand Limited to test new and worn Michelin Primacy 4 tires on wet roads, comparing its performance with other premium brands under the same parameters. Michelin claims that on wet roads, Michelin Primacy 4 tires brake 2.5 meters shorter when new, and 5.1 meters shorter when worn, versus the other premium brands. They also claim that worn Primacy 4 tires brake 1.8 meters shorter than brand new tires of some other premium brands.
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The new Michelin Primacy 4 comes with two innovative technologies – EverGrip Technology and 2nd-generation Silent Rib Technology.
- EverGrip Technology consists of two features that have to do with how the tire grips the road. The first is the new shape of the tire grooves that provide increased water evacuation space by 50% for wet grip as the tire wears with usage and allows the tire to still safely grip wet roads even when worn. The second feature is a new-generation rubber compound, which – by bonding rubber and silica more strongly and evenly together – provides uniform energy dissipation upon contact with the road, resulting in better grip on wet roads, even when worn. The Primacy 4 tires available in Asia are made in Thailand and were designed for the tropical conditions and has a different composition as the ones sold in Europe.
- The 2nd-Generation Silent Rib Technology features inter-locking bands to minimize the deformation of tread blocks as the tire is rolling. This reduces air pumping sound effects for a more silent ride, and provides better shock absorption in response to road obstacles for a more comfortable ride.
“The new Michelin Primacy 4 addresses two major pain points of consumers in our country: safety journey after journey, due to unfavorable road conditions and rain-related accidents; and on comfort, due to challenging road and traffic conditions,” Nunag said. “Sustainability of our products is Michelin’s key corporate strategy. Instead of producing tires that are easily depleted, we strive to provide tires that provide safety and true value to consumers, while respecting the environment, throughout its full lifecycle,” he added
In the Philippines, the new Michelin Primacy 4 is available in 64 sizes, from 15- to 18-inch diameter, for medium to full-sized sedans and MPVs. Michelin Primacy 4 can be purchased at Michelin’s authorized dealers across the nation. For more information, please visit www.michelin.com.ph.