Braking, Rolling Resistance Priorities in ContiSportContact 5 Development
As was the case for the ContiEcoContact 5 (see yesterday’s article on tyrepress.com), reducing rolling resistance was also a goal for the ContiSportContact 5 development team. The new range, scheduled for release in spring, will eventually replace two products – the SportContact 3 and the CrossContact UHP. Accordingly, this means the new range will cover both passenger car and 4×4 sizes.
Continental reports that, compared with the ContiSportContact 3, braking distances for the new tyre on both wet and dry roads have been markedly reduced, whilst rolling resistance has been cut by 12 per cent. These improvements in what were once diametrically opposed qualities are possible through the use of the company’s “BlackChilli” compound, which takes advantage of the vibrations tyres are exposed to during driving and braking: Normally, when a tyre rolls along an asphalt surface, it vibrates at 13.8 Hertz (at 100 km/h – 62.5 mph). This low excitation in the compound activates polymers with long chemical chains that dissipate the thermal energy generated during driving. “This enables the tyre to cool down well during normal use, which reduces rolling resistance considerably,” comments SportContact 5 project leader Markus Fischer. However, during braking the number of vibrations rises abruptly to 200 times the norm – reaching 2770 Hertz. This extreme increase in the tyre vibrations activates short-chain polymers which are able to absorb the energy produced during braking. The vibrations to which the tyre is exposed during braking are converted into heat in the process, generating high grip, which shortens braking distances on wet roads, for example, by nine per cent.
To achieve the desired handling characteristics for the ContiSportContact 5 a macro-block design has been used in the tyre’s outer shoulder to generate a particularly large contact patch during cornering. In this process the tyre is supported primarily by the large and very sturdy tread lugs on the outer shoulder; at the same time, the entire contact patch increases substantially compared with that of a standard tyre. The manufacturer boasts a five per cent improvement in handling over the SportContact 3.
The new range will be launched in series 17 and 18-inch series 50 to 35 fitments for passenger cars and approved for speeds of up to 300 km/h (187 mph), whilst for 4x4s the ContiSportContact 5 line-up covers 55 to 45 series tyres suitable for 18, 19 and 20-inch rims, also approved for speeds of up to 300 km/h.
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