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Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP
RFT |
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The Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT with
UNI-T AQ is Firestone's Ultra High Performance Summer
run-flat tire developed exclusively for the drivers of
Chevrolet C5 Corvettes. The Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT is designed
to provide temporary mobility in the event of complete air
loss due to a puncture, along with responsive handling and
traction in dry and wet conditions. The Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT
is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures,
through snow or on ice.
The Firestone technologies used for the Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT
with UNI-T AQ include EP (Extended Performance), RFT
(Run-Flat Technology) and UNI-T AQ (Ultimate Tire
Technology, Advanced Quality). While UNI-T incorporates
innovative beads, unique carcass shapes and tread designs
tuned for performance and comfort, the AQ technology that
enhances worn tire wet traction is actually inside the
tread. A unique Dual-Layer Tread that has two rubber
compounds (one layered on top of the other) is molded into a
racing rain tire-inspired, V-shaped, directional tread
design. As the top layer wears to about half tread depth, it
begins to expose an underlayer that offers even more wet
grip. This helps reduce the natural tendency for a tire's
wet traction to decline as the tread wears away. The
Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT keeps wet traction up, even as its
tread wears down. The tire's internal structure includes
twin steel belts reinforced with spirally wrapped nylon ply
to provide strength, stability and high-speed capability, as
well as run-flat sidewall reinforcements that allow
temporary mobility (up to 50 miles at 55 mph) in the event
of air loss or a flat tire.
Note: While other tires feature dual layer treads, they have
a cap (top) compound that provides wear and traction and a
base (bottom) compound that is exposed only after the tire
wears down (usually with less than 2/32 of an inch of tread
depth remaining). The base compound's traditional function
is to improve tire durability by cushioning, supporting and
isolating the cap compound from impacts and heat. Both of
the Firehawk SZ50 EP Dual-Layer Tread compounds are an
Extended Performance Compound (EPC). When a tire is in
motion, internal friction generates heat that hardens rubber
and causes it to lose flexibility. Introducing the EPC
chemical agent to the Firehawk SZ50 EP tread compounds
reduces the hardening and loss of flexibility. This further
helps minimize the decline in wet performance as the tire
wears. |
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