What Tire Dealers Should Know
- Nexen's N’Blue 4Season 2 tire features enhanced snow traction, an advanced directional tread pattern and increased performance across weather conditions.
- Advanced resin technology in the tread compound improves durability and all-weather performance.
- Highlighting the tire's 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification, Nexen is positioned for growth in the all-weather category.
Nexen Tire America Inc. showcased the durability and year-round performance of its latest all-weather tire through an All-Weather Adventure ride-and-drive.
The company brought media members, influencers and customers to Big SNOW American Dream in East Rutherford, N.J., to experience the versatile driving capabilities of the N’Blue 4Season 2.
Nexen chose North America’s first and only year-round indoor ski and snowboarding resort to highlight the engineering technology behind the product through an indoor snow course and an outdoor dry track.
“We wanted to show that Nexen technology is equal to or better than the top-tier competitors with no compromises,” says Aaron Neumann, head of Nexen Tire America Tech Center.
“The snow performance is great and the tire is still quiet and comfortable in summer conditions. Events like the All-Weather Adventure allow people to experience that first-hand and gives us the opportunity to present test data that shows Nexen’s superior wet grip and treadwear and backs up what they felt behind the wheel.”
A year-round choice
The N’Blue 4Season 2, the company’s newest all-weather touring tire for SUVs, CUVs, small trucks and sports cars, is known for providing “winter weather safety combined with all-season durability,” say Nexen officials.
Featuring a V-shaped directional pattern design for optimal traction across weather conditions with 3D sipes and 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification, the tire is available in 60 sizes ranging from 15 to 21-inch rim diameters with H, V, W and Y speed ratings.
Boasting 20% shorter stopping distance in snow and ice compared to its all-season tire, the N’Blue 4Season 2 is created with enhanced snow traction through improved shoulder blocks. It also offers increased handling through angled wave-shaped and micro-thin sipes that channel away rain and snow and a “redefined all-weather compound formula” that improves durability through advanced resin technology.
The tire was soft-launched for the U.S. in 2024 and is manufactured at one of Nexen’s production plants in South Korea, say officials.
Meeting diverse driving needs across North America was essential to the development process behind the N’Blue 4Season 2, which was designed by the engineering team at the tiremakers’ Richfield, Ohio-based America Tech Center.
“On average, our engineers have 25 years of experience developing tires for the North American market, and we combine that engineering knowledge with feedback from our regional sales teams, who understand how customer needs and driving conditions differ across the country,” says Neumann.
In addition to the year-round performance value, the tire’s 70,000-mile treadwear warranty with roadside assistance and road hazard warranty can also offer dealers strong selling points at the counter, say Nexen officials.
Behind the design
A specially-created tread pattern and an all-weather-capable compound are elements infused into the N’Blue 4Season 2 that are intended to give the tire a competitive edge in North America, according to Neumann.
The leading elements of the tire are located in the tread pattern, which encompasses 80 pitches for increased biting edges, 2D interlocking center blocks for stability and 3D interlocking sipes for improved braking.
A distinct V-shaped directional tread pattern is an intentional design choice that allows for accelerated traction compared to a straight tread design, letting the tire channel through snowy roads and rain, says Neumann.
“The footprint has the same shape across different vehicle load ranges, and that’s by design. It’s very square, so that gives us excellent treadwear. Each of the ribs are wearing at the same rate, and the entire tread pattern is generating traction.”
Another focal point behind the N’Blue 4Season 2 is a new advanced resin technology incorporated in the tread compound. Through extensive research, the engineering team has increased the amount of resin that works well with the other chemicals to create a balanced formula for all weather environments.
“We can molecularly modify these chemicals and compounds and make them work together well,” says Neumann. “That’s what this tread compound has managed to achieve. We’re not the only ones in the industry with this technology, but it’s definitely an advancement that’s expanded the envelope.”
When creating a passenger tire intended to encompass a variety of technical features for different driving conditions, tiremakers undergo an extensive prototyping process while designing products.
As MTD has previously reported, Nexen leverages digital tools such as finite element analysis (FEA) during the engineering process that “use computing power to predict performance” to help discover the correct balance of stiffness, footprint shape, handling and other capabilities.
For the N’Blue 4 Season 2, that technology became essential for perfecting the tire’s contact patch and shape.
“We can now design the tire and its cavity and profile shape, including the belt construction and angles, and even inflate the tire virtually,” says Neumann. “We can also load it virtually, get a prediction of the footprint shape and tweak and modify it until we get it correct.”
Meeting the standard
To ensure its winter-ready products meet the added stability and performance necessary to receive the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification, Nexen collaborates with an independent tire testing company called Mobility Research.
The company, which has been operating at Keweenaw Research Center in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan since 1996, conducts the ASTM F1805 standard test for snow traction on a specially-controlled surface during the winter months.
With a uniquely-designed truck specifically for testing, the company measures traction forces on the right rear wheel while adjusting the vertical load and monitoring the tire speeds. While using a controlled reference tire for comparison, the data is processed in real time as the company conducts numerous spin trials per tire on fresh surfaces, typically lasting around three days.
“There’s only a couple companies in the United States that do this, and (Mobility Research) has essentially written a standard on this,” says Neumann. “They are integral for 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake testing in general.”
An expanding market
As the all-weather tire segment continues to grow as a convenient, versatile choice across the U.S., Nexen officials say more advanced technologies and increased size availability are in the near future.
While engineering the N’Blue 4Season 2 and Nexen’s other latest tire lines, the company has continued investing in features that meet modern vehicle dynamics, including low-noise tread patterns and longer tread life.
In MTD’s upcoming feature story on the emerging trends of all-weather tires, John Hagan, Nexen’s executive vice president of sales, says the category’s accelerated growth is fueled by consumers who value dependability and all-year performance.
Those trends are examples of why the tiremaker is promoting the on-road confidence and flexibility behind the N’Blue 4Season 2.
“The all-weather segment represents one of our highest-growth opportunities, driven by consumers who demand true four-season capability without the expense and storage hassle of semi-annual tire swaps,” says Hagan.
About the Author
Aden GravesAden Graves
Associate editor
Aden Graves is MTD's associate editor. A graduate of Kent State (Ohio) University's award-winning School of Media and Journalism, Graves holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and another bachelor's degree in communication studies.