All Round Safety

Continental AG’s two tyre divisions – Passenger and Light Truck Tires and Commercial Vehicle Tires – are addressing the company’s vision of making individual mobility safer and more comfortable with about 850 employees in the field of research and development (R&D). In order to manage the balancing act between scientific curiosity and practical use both tyre divisions have implemented an innovation management system. The tasks of the system include actively seeking new business fields and motivating staff to incorporate new ideas.

The Passenger and Light Truck Tires division, for instance, has already successfully put on an “Innovation Day” twice, organized with workshops and forums which generated more than 100 ideas from participants. In the Commercial Vehicle Tires division, eight “innovation brokers” hold regular workshops on topics determined in needs analyses, spurring participants on to find solutions.

Continental tires can be found on vehicles from nearly all renowned car manufacturers throughout the world,” said Dr. Andreas Esser, executive vice president for the original equipment sector of the Passenger and Light Truck Tires division.

Engineers report that they are constantly searching for, and finding, new possibilities to optimise tyre treads. For instance, with the Viking 2 winter tyre they launched the “brilliant stud technology” on the market in 2005. Instead of the previous round stud, the stud in the tread now has angular contact, providing greater stability and improving braking performance on ice by 11 per cent. Continental is currently the technology leader in this segment.

The bionic approach

According to Continental, “Numerous other innovative ideas are based on the ‘bionic approach.’” This approach replicates the “inventions” found in nature applying them to technology. Continental winter tyres have had honeycomb sipes since 1999. These sipes provide a high level of stiffness for the tread as a whole, thus ensuring good power transmission to the road. The ContiPremiumContact has an overall bionic contour, based upon the principle of the cat’s paw: narrow contour when running, wide when braking, so there is a lot of rubber on the road and thus better grip.

Commercial vehicle tyres

Dr Christian Lerner, head of truck tyre technology development, explained: “The right choice of tyre can reduce the operating costs of a truck-trailer combination by up to 30 per cent. Key factors are high durability, long tyre life, regroovability, retreadability and low rolling resistance for lower fuel consumption.”

This is demonstrated in particular by the long distance tyre developed by Continental. The company describes these tyres as having: “New components, elements with lower damping and a higher level of stiffness guarantee energy savings and low deformation,” adding: “The structural stiffness of the entire construction reduces rolling resistance and improves mileage performance. The savings potential for a 40-ton truck is about 4.4 per cent compared to conventional regional traffic tyres.”

Then there is the wide base tyre. Its rolling resistance is lower and it is easier to maintain. The whole system is safeguarded by electronic stability control (ESC) and constant inflation pressure monitoring. The new model (HDL1 Superdrive) was introduced at the IAA in September.

Another focus of passenger tyre innovations is on the field of extended mobility systems, which can also be presented well to customers. An example is the ContiComfortKit: with a combination of compressor and sealant, it seals tyre punctures up to a size of about six millimetres and is said to be much easier than changing a tyre. With a maximum speed of 80 km/h, the motorist can then continue on for up to another 200 kilometers before having to replace the damaged tyre.