During the course of Continental’s annual pre-Christmas event, which has now taken place for more than 10 years, the German manufacturer asked international tyre specialists from several reputed magazines to ponder the following question: “Do driver assist systems require new winter tyre testing procedures?” To summarise the stimulated discussions that took place in Ivalo, Finland, it seems development engineers at Hanover are obliged to try and serve the two masters at the same time.

On the one hand, all tyre manufacturers are interested in achieving good test results for their products. On the other hand, tyre features have to be optimised according to road realities. And this is exactly where Continental has detected a discrepancy: because of the introduction of new driver assist systems some test set-ups seem to be out-of-date and could therefore generate misleading results.

Driver assist systems like ABS, ESC and TCS are now common standard fitments, even on compact cars. They provide increased safety and intervene to correct driving errors. During tyre testing, however, ESC and TCS are switched off in order to test the tyres without the effects of those systems. But such test methods have now reached their limits – particularly when you consider that ESC cannot be switched off in some vehicles without interfering with the electronics. Transferability of the test results therefore also debatable because – depending on the vehicle manufacturer’s philosophy – driver assist systems have different performance parameters and so respond in different ways to different tyres grip characteristics. According to Dr Burkhard Wies from Continental, driver assist systems should also be switched on during tyre testing in the future. This would keep tyre tests in line with latest technological advances for both tyres and vehicles.