Having sold 18.5 million tyres last year and with revenues approaching £1 billion, Prinx Chengshan is well established as a tyre maker. The company is already present in the UK with its Austone and Fortune brands and in 2023 is launching its flagship Prinx range here. The first three tyre lines to arrive include two products for electric vehicles as well as an all-season tyre.
The EV-specific lines are XNEX Sport and XLAB Comfort. Prinx Chengshan Tire Europe shares that both these summer tyres “have been developed from scratch specifically with the European market in mind.” This development benefitted from Prinx Chengshan’s experience with EVs at home: “We are able to draw on many years of experience in research and practice through our parent company Prinx Chengshan. The fact that the Chinese market has a big head start in the field of e-mobility is a real advantage for us in this case.”
Made for heavy & torquey cars
As you’d expect in tyres developed with EVs in mind, the construction and tread pattern of Prinx XNEX Sport and XLAB Comfort accommodate the additional weight of batteries and the effects this has on braking behaviour, wear pattern and rolling resistance. Prinx Chengshan also addressed the high acceleration of EVs and the demands placed upon tyres.
The lack of engine noise in electric vehicles means drivers are more sensitive to the driving and rolling sounds that have previously been drowned out. Prinx Chengshan comments that “EV tyres should compensate for this,” and XNEX Sport and XLAB Comfort both have an EU label B rating for external rolling noise.
The rolling resistance of both tyres is optimised for more range per charge; XLAB Comfort has an EU label A rating and XNEX Sport a B rating for this criterion. Both tyres are B-rated for wet grip.
Awards, safety & comfort features
Prinx Chengshan Tire Europe tells us that XNEX Sport has “won several international awards for its look,” including the Muse Design Award in the USA. The tyre gained a silver accolade at the Italian A’Design Award & Competition and was a product design category winner at the Paris Design Awards. Elaborating, Prinx says that “the 3D style of the sidewall and its smooth, velvet-effect surface impressed, as did the technical features Silenteck and Healteck.”
Silenteck boasts cavity noise reduction of up to 12.6 dB in the passenger area and up to 2 dB in overall noise. Healteck is a permanent silicone tyre sealant that closes a hole withing seconds should a puncture occur, enabling the tyre’s continued use without compromising the car’s handling characteristics or controllability.
Prinx XNEX Sport is available in a range of 35 articles that encompasses 18 sizes. The XLAB Comfort line-up includes 34 articles, with 27 sizes.
Prinx Quattura 4S
The Prinx launch range also includes a product for the increasingly popular all-season tyre segment. Prinx Chengshan Tire Europe calls Prinx Quattura 4S a “high-performance all-season tyre for petrol and diesel vehicles” that has “earned its snowflake.” The snowflake it refers to is the marking that denotes a tyre’s suitability for use in snowy conditions, the 3PMSF (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake) symbol. Quattura 4S “delivers excellent safety performance even in difficult weather conditions,” elaborates the tyre maker.
According to Prinx Chengshan Tire Europe, internal testing shows that the tyre “performs equally well when compared to models from the market leaders,” and while Quattura 4S “excelled on snow and ice” its braking values on wet roads were “particularly impressive.”
The emphasis is upon comfort and year-round safety rather than sportiness, says Prinx Chengshan. In summer, the Quattura gains its traction from V-shaped tread blocks while a bevelled tread pattern and 3D interlocking sipes look after handling characteristics, even when braking hard on dry roads. Grip on wet roads is provided by specially developed polymers in the tread compound and the V-shaped pattern drains water from the contact patch, preventing aquaplaning and supporting braking performance. In winter, the Quattura 4S benefits from a low-temperature rubber compound. Along with V-grooves and 3D Interlock sipes, this enables the tyre to tackle icy roads
Prinx Quattura 4S is available in 29 sizes and 31 articles for 14- to 20-inch rims and speed ratings T to Y. All dimensions are 3PMSF certified.
Quattura 4S (Image: Prinx Chengshan)
