Rain tyre for the SUV sector:

Rollout of the Uniroyal rallye 4x4 street

Hanover, March 2004. Uniroyal is launching a new product line for spring 2004. The rain tyre manufacturer wants to use the new Uniroyal rallye 4x4 street to secure a share of the rapidly growing SUV/off-road vehicle sector. Sixteen sizes are therefore initially planned for 2004, with 15" to 18" T-, H- and V-rated tyres available in widths from 205 to 275 millimetres and 75% to 55% aspect ratios.

Here you can download the press release as a doc-file (4,2 MB).

The off-road/SUV (Sport Utility Vehicles) sector shows above-average growth, with registration figures in Europe increasing by around 40 per cent between 2000 and 2003. In future, drivers of these vehicles will also have the option of rain tyres. The Uniroyal rallye 4x4 street was developed for mainly road use and is optically similar to the successful Uniroyal RainSport 1, although it is a completely new development. The tread pattern looks familiar, but there are more tread blocks. The addition of a second casing layer makes the tyre design more sturdy and the higher Load Index thereby achieved takes account of the greater vehicle weight in the SUV class. 

The tread pattern of the rallye 4x4 street has also been modified in the shoulder section to enhance traction, also in off-road use. To allow for the wider range of applications versus the RS 1, the tread on the rallye 4x4 street has been made more resistant to mechanical damage, so that off-road sorties are not terminated by tyre failure. Sturdy tread blocks in the tyre shoulder and a greater number of sipes ensure traction. Uniroyal's new 4x4 tyre is nevertheless a rain tyre - thanks to a specially designed tyre  contour and an innovative double arrow tread pattern, the water is dispersed rapidly from the contact patch, thereby ensuring excellent aquaplaning prevention. The new contour means the rallye 4x4 street provides a rounder ground contact patch, which offers benefits in terms of aquaplaning. Last but not least, the high-filled silica compound specifically developed for SUV tyres ensures short braking distances on wet and dry roads.

So far the rain tyre manufacturer has not been active in the off-road leisure vehicle sector, which in Europe is headed by the Toyota RAV4. The Uniroyal rallye 4x4 street is the first SUV tyre in the brand's product range and is designed for mainly road use, but is also suitable for off-road applications. The spectrum of sizes means the tyre can be fitted to a large number of different vehicles from the SUV medium and luxury range. The important size 215/65 R 16 H is suitable for the Toyota RAV4, the Land Rover Freelander and the Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun Pinin. As a 235/75 R 15 T XL size, it can be fitted to the Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler Cherokee, Ford Maverick, Hyundai Terracan, Nissan Terrano II and Opel/Vauxhall Frontera. The size 235/65 R 17 V XL fits the Toyota Land Cruiser and VW Touareg, whilst the 255/55 R 18 H XL format is suitable for the Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne and Volvo XC 90.

The size range of the Uniroyal rallye 4x4 street:

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235/75 R 15 109T XL

205/70 R 15 96H

255/70 R 15 108T

265/70 R 15 112H

215/70 R 16 100H

225/70 R 16 102H

235/70 R 16 106H

245/70 R 16 107H

265/70 R 16 112H

275/70 R 16 114T*

215/65 R 16 98H

255/65 R 16 109H

235/65 R 17 108V XL*

235/60 R 16 100H

225/55 R 17 97H*

255/55 R 18 109H XL*

* with flange rib

The Belgian rubber goods manufacturer Englebert began producing tyres in 1895 and customers included Continental AG. From 1958, when the company merged with US Rubber, it became known as Uniroyal Englebert. In 1979 Uniroyal, the inventor of the rain tyre, became a European brand of Continental AG in Hanover, Germany.

 The Continental Group is a leading supplier of tyres, braking systems, suspension components and technical elastomers. In 2003 the company achieved a turnover of 11.5 billion euros and currently employs some 69,000 staff worldwide.