A Compound to Suit Your Winter

Since its inception in 1972 Interstate Tires has expanded rapidly and now represents a group of five companies, selling tyres under its own ‘Interstate’ brand name. Headquartered in Delft, the Netherlands, Interstate offers worldwide distribution and operates warehouses both in Europe and China, simplifying the delivery process for their customers as much as possible. Tyres can be shipped to every major port, with from the port truck or train transport also arranged by Interstate if required. A sign of the company’s popularity as a tyre supplier can be witnessed by the company’s positive sales figures, growth Interstate claims consistently outpaces that of the tyre market.

Interstate’s range of exclusive brand winter tyres for the 2007 season is called the Interstate Winter IWT-2. Produced in China to a European design and intended for European conditions, each tyre in the Winter IWT-2 line-up is E-marked, ISO certified, ETRTO, TüV and DOT approved. To maximise the range’s Europe-wide appeal Interstate will release the Winter IWT-2 in two silica compound variations, a softer compound for Nordic regions and a firmer ‘West European’ compound more suited to UK driving.

Three-dimensional sipes are embedded into the tyre’s inner and outer shoulders in an interlocking format that prevent them from sticking to each other when subjected to lateral forces, thus increasing dry road stability and handling while providing grip in snow and ice conditions. The centre tread is laid out in a directional v-shaped pattern, a design Interstate claims will effectively direct water from the tread area into the wide circumferential grooves positioned on either side of the centre tread.

According to Interstate the reactive silica mixing process used during manufacture of the IWT-2 is one of the keys to the tyre’s dependable grip in cold weather driving conditions; this new process is said to produce a compound that provides high elasticity at low temperatures, a necessary quality for good traction on cold, wet and slush covered roads. A further benefit to be gained from the compound used in the IWT-2 is an environmental one; no high aromatic oils have gone into the production of the IWT-2 range.

An added safety feature is included standard with the IWT-2 – a user friendly double tread wear indicator allows motorists to clearly see when tyre tread first reaches a depth of 4.0 millimetres, and then, for those with a more casual attitude towards tyre safety, the second tread wear indicator will reveal when tread depth reaches the legal minimum of 1.8 millimetres.

The Interstate winter tyre line-up complements the company’s summer tyre range, the Touring IST-1 and the Sport IXT-1. Eight sizes between and 14 and 17-inches will be included in the initial Interstate Winter IWT-2 line-up.