Falken Espia EPZ II. FEATURES AND BENEFITS: Winter weather traction; Enhanced controllability; Longer lasting tread life; Road Hazard Warranty offered by Falken; . OVERVIEW: The Falken Espia EPZ II is a touring winter tire manufactured for passenger vehicles.Falken offers a road hazard warranty with this tire. Road hazard damage is harm caused to the tire during its performance. It can occur in the form of punctures, bruises, or impact breaks when the tire is driven in normal driving conditions on a federal, state, and/or locally maintained road. Falken's road hazard covers the first 3/32nds of the tire's tread life or 2 years from the date of purchase (whichever comes first). The road hazard warranty is honored if the damage is unrepairable per the USTMA puncture repair guidelines. Additional restrictions and fees may apply.The tire promotes first-rate winter weather traction. Even without studs, the tire's compound and tread design boost the ice and snow gripping ability. The silica-based compound improves the tire's flexibility in colder temperatures, while also increasing the winter weather traction. The asymmetric tread design features large tread blocks and a high-density 3D canyon siping pattern that improves the number of biting edges gripping the ice- and snow-covered road surface. The special lateral snow grooves pack snow in between the tread elements to increase the snow-on-snow traction and to clean the road surface of snow quicker. The tread's straight and wavy circumferential grooves prevent hydroplaning. They disperse water and slush from below the tire's footprint to improve the tire's performance and road contact in all winter conditions.The model's optimized asymmetric tread design enhances its controllability. The optimal rib placement of the tread pattern boosts the road contact area and enables the tire to closely follow the road surface at all times. This significantly upgrades the steering responsiveness and the driving stability. In other words, the steering becomes faster and more precise in its response to the driver's commands, while the structure is secured against the driving pressure affecting the model. The outer shoulder pattern's larger tread blocks provide additional biting edges gripping the road surface throughout the tire's performance. These biting edges increase the tire's stability and grip during cornering and maneuvering to ensure a secure driving experience.The Espia EPZ II offers a lengthened tread life. The silica-infused tire compound and the optimal road contact improve the length of the tread life and the tire's usability. The silica compound slows the tread wear rate down by easing the driving pressure off the tread area with its better winter weather traction. The asymmetric tread's road contact evenly distributes the driving pressure along the tread area. In this manner, the evenly dispersed driving forces prevent irregular wear formations along the tread area, extending the tread life and the tire's usability greatly. Manufacturers recommend changing tires every 10 years. As long as tires are properly stored before they are sold, the year of their manufacture will not shorten their service life.