Driven By Research, Advanced Technology and AI
Major tire brands do heavy marketing and advertising—you can’t avoid it. If your mind immediately goes to one of them, this may be limiting your research into a tire brand that places an emphasis on branding over technology and competes only on price and warranty. One company that may not be on your radar, Nexen Tire, offers a variety of tires ranging from high-mileage all-season ones to performance summer tires or rugged off-road tires. The company places more emphasis on research and technology than advertising campaigns.
Nexen Tire, established in 1942 in Seoul, South Korea, began selling tires in the U.S. in 2005 and increased its presence in 2017 by opening a technology center in Richfield, Ohio. The latter is important as Nexen has built its brand on research, innovation and technology.
Nexen held a technology status program with a ride and drive element at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. This private, members-only, purpose-built motorsports club was the perfect place to invite automotive and tire trade journalists, as-well-as key distributors and retailers. The ride-and-drive was limited to a couple low-speed laps on the South Circuit and then two attempts to not knock over any cones on an autocross course. The limited seat time meant more opportunities to speak with Nexen executives to get a feel for the company’s tire development direction and growth plans.
Building Trust Behind the Wheel
Aaron Neumann, head of the North American technical center, said Nexen is “building trust behind the wheel, including having no recalls with more than 600,000,000 tires being built.” The company told us there is “complete transparency with their tires” and “making mobility life safer” is what they want to be known for. While laudable, we were more interested in the aim to fulfill a credo of making tires that deliver “comfort, convenience and control.”
This all begins at the technology center where research into tire compounds, tread design, reliability, increasing mileage, grip, a quieter ride and traction provide the pathway for tire improvement.
While Nexen makes many tires, these were featured:
N’Priz AH5 and AH8
80,000-mile tread warranty; 90-day free trial; road hazard warranty; roadside assistance
Grand Touring
All-season traction and handling in snow, rain and dry conditions
EV Compatible
AH5 available in 72 sizes, 14” to 20”; AH8 58 sizes, 14” to 19”
Original Equipment on Toyota Prius, Tesla Model Y and Model 3, Hyundai IONOQ 6, Santa Fe and Palisade, and Kia EV6
N’ Fera SU1
Ultra-high-performance Summer tire
Designed for Audi, Porsche and BMW
30,000-mile tread warranty; 90-day free trial; road hazard warranty; roadside assistance
Available in 56 sizes, 16” to 24”
Technology and Design
Nexen is technology and design focused to make tires for anyone that drives a car, SUV, van or truck. Its product line covers drivers that spend most of their seat time logging highway miles, going off-roading, drag racing or mountain carving.
Aaron Neumann, head of the technical center, sat down for a few minutes for an overview of their technology.
Clean Fleet Report: What is important to your team when designing a tire?
Neumann: It depends of course on what the tire will be asked to do and on what type of vehicle. The N’Fera SU1 is a summer tire where handling and performance are enhanced through finite analysis to reinforce handling, braking performance and durability. We use the Slant Shoulder Block design to improve braking performance by reinforcing the shoulder block harness. For wet performance we have improved the water drainage by optimizing the four-channel-groove design.
The N’Prix AH5 and the N’Priz AH8 are our most popular all-season tires where we have balanced improved mileage and grip, all-season traction and reduced road noise by using a variable pitch on the shoulder blocks.
CFR: Most people only look at the tire tread but the sidewall is equally as important.
Neumann: For most consumer tires, we will never expect that tire to be used to the point where it would roll onto the sidewall. For our mass market tire, we design a light weight sidewall that improves fuel economy and has lower rolling resistance. We have a whole range with our passenger on-road and touring tires that will never be used on a track as they have lightweight sidewalls. Our off-road tires have 3-ply heavy gauge sidewalls and on our track day tires are where we really want to build stiffness with as much reinforcement as possible. We do this for gasoline and electric vehicles. For a very descriptive look at sidewall technology check out the video below.
CFR: You mentioned AI and VI. How do you use them?
Neumann: We do utilize AI and VI technology. We use artificial intelligence based tools during the design process as the computer can run through variables in a speed we never could do before. VI is virtual intelligence simulation of how the tire will perform.
CFR: Can you explain how Nexen uses AI?
Neumann: We take the tire specifications, analysis data and test data and link them together, storing it in the cloud. We then run this through the AI software posing different use-case scenarios that can predict tire performance through simulations. With Nexen’s propriety system we share this with all Nexen R&D global design staff.
CFR: So AI is becoming an important tool in the design of Nexen tires?
Neumann: At this point it is on an advisory level. As engineers, we have to take everything we learn and evaluate it with what we know. We are using it in product planning, tire design, compound performance prediction, virtual tire generation, mold manufacturing, prototype production, indoor and driving testing and then in mass production. We also use AI in our X-Ray imaging to detect build quality and possible defects.
The end result of tire performance is impacted by so many different things, such as the shape of the tire, the tread pattern, how it stretches, the construction and the compound. It is important to always compare apples-to-apples data because if you change this little bit or this little bit there are many variables affecting the final tire design. AI predictions are only as good as the input data set. An example is if we have a brand new tire size, such as a 195/80R/24, this tire has never been designed before so AI will not be good at predicting it.
Clean Fleet Report: Some tire brands offer an EV specific tire, while Nexen has an EV compatible tire. What is your strategy with this growing segment of the auto industry?
Neumann: The Nexen N’Priz S is EV compatible as it has been designed to offer better wear, has a wider footprint, better tread depth, lower abrasion for longer life, smooth and quiet and is more flexible in all temperatures than an EV specific tire. The N’Priz S has a balanced performance for both electric and gasoline cars.
Going Off-Road?
Nexen sponsors Chris Ven Den Elzen, a two-time Pro World Champion in the AMSOIL Off-Road Championship series. The rules for the Pro Spec division are pretty straightforward, placing an emphasis on the driver and the tires. The tube frame, custom-built 2-wheel drive compact pickup trucks have mandated engines, transmissions and other components, including the tire size.
When Chris first started in the Pro Spec class, in 2021, he ran the Nexen MTX and AT Pro before switching to the newly developed ATX. Chris said: “Consistency is everything as I know what that tire will do at any given point in time and any conditions. It is always going to be the same. So to the success we are having, that is one item I don’t have to think about. We always know the tire will be there. I give so much credit to the reliability and consistency of the ATX.” Chris also added: “They have never had a tire failure in a race.”
“The ATX has all around grip in both wet, snowy or dirt/mud conditions. The staggered edge allows for more grip and tire on the ground when under load or crawling over uneven terrain. The siping (Ed: small slits in the tread to improve traction that help the tire maintain better road surface contact) is huge; allowing the tire to open up and grip the terrain in dry conditions is very important. In snow, especially on my Toyota 4Runner at home, it’s very predictable for acceleration and stopping. The tires overall do everything you need. They last long. They are very quiet and, if you need traction, you have it. Overall, the ATX is frankly the perfect tire for a weekend off-roader.”
So if you like to get dirty the Nexen ATX and AT Pro all-terrain or the MTX and MT mud terrain tires have been thoroughly tested and race-proven for their off-road performance ability.
What’s Next for Nexen
There are two indisputable facts about tires. First, at some point, we rely on our tires when making an evasive or emergency maneuver, slamming on the brakes on dry or wet, or hoping our tires will last a bit longer just before taking off on that 2,000-mile road trip. Secondly, no one thinks of tires until they absolutely have to, as in sitting on the side of the highway with a blowout. Tires, for most motorists, are taken for granted, but they shouldn’t be.
John Hagen, executive vice president of sales for Nexen Tire America, told us: “Nexen wants to grow the company by taking care of their customers through a strong dealer network with wide distribution, excellent products and warranties and wanting not to win for one day, but for a long time.
Name awareness is crucial in the tire business, and Nexen in the past few years has ventured into sports marketing. Nexen worldwide sponsors a snowboarding team and several soccer (football) stadiums in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Australia and the Czech Republic. In America their presence in the National Hockey League (NHL) includes partner status with the Anaheim Ducks and the New York Rangers; the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Diego Padres.
While it is good to get the Nexen name on consumers’ lips, it is even more important to have them saying good things about their tires. Nexen can tout its design awards from several International organizations, its continued research and development and competitive prices.
When asked what message Nexen wanted to get to Clean Fleet Report readers Hagen said: “We work from the consumer standpoint with everything we do in the factory to be eco-friendly and are dedicated to EV and PHEV owners. Nexen has all the bases covered for a household with both an electric and gasoline-propelled cars.”
Shopping for tires can be confusing as pricing, styles, sizes and features occupy the message as if a consumer knows what any of them means. A recent report said 61% of drivers replaced their tires when they appeared worn, and 31% only did so when they experienced a problem. Nexen offers a wide range of tires and hopes you will give them a try next time.
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Story by John Faulkner. Photos by John Faulkner and Nexen Tire.
Disclosure
Clean Fleet Report is loaned free test vehicles from automakers to evaluate, typically for a week at a time. Our road tests are based on this one-week drive of a new vehicle. Because of this we don’t address issues such as long-term reliability or total cost of ownership. In addition, we are often invited to manufacturer events highlighting new vehicles or technology. As part of these events we may be offered free transportation, lodging or meals. We do our best to present our unvarnished evaluations of vehicles and news irrespective of these inducements.
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