Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd. first introduced its Green-Max passenger car tyre range in 2011, and said the new line-up met with wide acclaim. During 2012, the company has continued to expand the range, and at present a total of 69 Green-Max dimensions are available for 13 to 20-inch diameters. Recent additions include more high performance dimensions, including the increasingly popular 245/45WR17.
The range now comprises three product lines. Green-Max Eco Touring covers 13 to 15-inch T-speed rated tyres for city and compact cars, whilst its sister range (Green-Max HP010) is aimed squarely at the compact/saloon market, with a H/V speed offering from 14 to 16-inches. Finally, the Green-Max UHP range targets the growing number of higher performance vehicles in V, W and Y speed ratings in rim diameters from from 16 to 20-inches.
Introducing Green-Max to the European tyre market has been a long-planned strategic move for the Linglong brand. In response to new legislation, including REACH and tyre labelling, Shandong Linglong took the initiative early on to throw its technological resources behind the Green-Max. All Green-Max tyres are thus REACH compliant and the company says they also exhibit impressive label credentials, with wet grip measured in the B and C grades and the majority of sizes displaying a rolling resistance grade of C and with a noise rating of 2.
In addition to Shandong Linglong’s in-house testing, a recent Scandinavian independent magazine tyre test concluded that Linglong’s new Green-Max tyre range performed superbly when compared against better-known European tyre manufacturers. The Green-Max tyre was praised for having excellent lateral grip and being easy to control in avoidance manoeuvres. Comfort, noise and rolling resistance levels were also deemed to be good and in conclusion the report stated: “It is possible to find affordable summer tyres with good capabilities – and Linglong surprised us the most”.
Fifteen different tyre models were tested over ten tyre performance criteria (including wet and dry braking, wet and dry handling as well as comfort, rolling resistance and noise) and the results were converted into points (ranging from 10 for ‘very good’ to 4, which corresponded as ‘bad’. The end result was an average value of the points scored in each test discipline. The Linglong Green-Max tyre averaged a score of 7.4 out of 10 – in line with (or even ahead of) other well-known ‘Tier 1’ tyre manufacturers. Green-Max also scored well ahead of the other Chinese tyre brand on test.
The Green-Max’s capabilities were especially noted in subjective wet handling, where the tyre was equal to other major tyre brands with a score of 8/10. Another test measured performance on wet asphalt and in this test Green-Max performed better than the majority of competitors.
Most vehicle accidents occur in dry conditions and therefore the dry braking test is a critical tyre performance measure. In this regard, Green-Max performed well – coming in third position out of fifteen. Not only did Linglong perform strongly in wet and dry handling and performance criteria, the Green-Max was also noted as a comfortable tyre to drive, scoring a respectable 8/10.
“We are very pleased with the development of Green-Max,” commented Nigel Hampson, business development manager, LL Tyres (part of the Al Dobowi Group and UK distributor of Linglong tyres). “Even though those involved with this tyre test were surprised by the results, we were not at all surprised considering the level of technical capabilities and investment in evidence at Linglong. The technical team has delivered a tyre fully capable of holding its own in the European tyre market. As the test concluded – this is the best Chinese tyre ever and is also evidence that not all tyres made in China can be judged the same. Green-Max is now the choice for drivers seeking the optimum combination of value for money and performance when looking to replace their tyres. We really look forward to introducing the complete Green-Max range at Brityrex 2012.”
