Ever since vulcanized rubber was invented in 1844, tires have been manufactured using mostly petroleum. With today's introduction of the all-new Yokohama dB Super E-spec - the world's first orange oil-infused passenger car tire, which is composed of 80% non-petroleum based materials - Yokohama Tire Corporation has effectively re-invented the tire. "The eco-focused dB Super E-spec mixes sustainable orange oil and natural rubber to drastically cut the use of petroleum, without compromising performance," said Dan King, Yokohama vice president of sales. "It also helps consumers save money at the gas pump by improving fuel efficiency via a 20% reduction in rolling resistance."
Mark Chung, Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning added, "Every gallon of gas saved by the tire means 20 fewer pounds of CO2 released into the atmosphere, and because the dB Super E-spec is made from natural elements, most of its material is derived from renewable resources. No other tire on the market comes close to offering these environmental benefits along with superior performance."
"The idea of combining oil from orange peels with natural rubber was originally conceived by our racing engineers," said Chung. "The same orange oil technology, which improves a tire's grip, can be seen today with our Advan ENV-R1TM racing tire on Porsche GT3 Cup cars. The official spec tire of the Patrn GT3 Challenge is the first environmentally-sensitive race tire used in a motorsports series."
The dB Super E-spec will initially be available in four sizes: 185/65R15 88H, 195/65R15 91H, 195/55R16 86V and 215/60R16 95V - which fit popular hybrids and other vehicles such as the VW Golf.