At its international launch event in Spain, Continental Tyres introduced a new heavy truck tyre for regional distribution, two purpose-designed van tyres aimed at the home delivery sector, a new tyre sensor, new digital tyre management and business solutions packages, all aimed at achieving, what Conti terms, lowest overall driving costs (LODC).
The new Conti Hybrid Generation 5 premium tyre line for regional transport is aimed at high-mileage, high-impact operations. Available as the HS5 (steer) and HD5 (drive) from autumn 2022, Conti says a Gen 5 trailer tyre will be available in 2023. Conti achieves the required robustness in the Gen 5 range thanks to a new high silica compound, full width 3D matrix sipes and a zero-degree belt casing that provides more even wear and reinforcement to the tyre edges, prolonging service life and retreadability. Void-generating grooves and stone bumpers within the tread protect the tyre from damage from small stones.
The HS5 315/70 steer tyre has an EU Tyre Label (C) for fuel efficiency (rolling resistance) and a (B) for wet grip. It is rated at 70dBA for noise. The 315/70 HD5 has a (C) for fuel efficiency, (C) for wet grip and is rated at 76dBA. Both tyres have the 3PMSF mark approving them for winter use. From launch the tyre is available in sizes 315/70 R 22.5 and 385/55 R 22.5 for steer axles, and 315/70 R 22.5 for drive. 315/80 and 385/65 versions for steer and drive will follow, with 295/80 and 275/70 sizes coming in 2023.
Conti looks to its digital solutions suite to help mitigate the effect its tyres have on energy consumption and emissions. At the Seville launch, it showcased a second-generation tyre sensor, which sits at the heart of its ContiConnect2 digital solutions offering. The new sensor (GEN2) retains the ability to monitor tyre pressure and temperature, but will also now estimate tyre mileage and has Bluetooth connectivity. In its next iteration, Conti’s tyre sensor will use wheel rotation speed to calculate an indirect estimation of tyre wear, which will warn fleet engineers when tread depths are approaching the point when regrooving and ultimately retreading is required. A Conti spokesman said that the tread depth monitoring function is about to go into customer testing; so far, from its own testing, Conti has seen accuracy up to 90%. He said the feature should be on the market within three years.
Conti now offers a factory fit option for its GEN2 sensor and will also offer this for its range of urban bus tyres from 2023. Mounting sensors in trailer tyres has been a challenge thus far, given the fact they rarely stay connected to the same prime mover. From Q1 2023 Conti will offer a trailer unit solution. A transponder mounted on the trailer (see inset pic, above right), with its own independent power source, will mean data from its tyres can be fed into the ContiConnect system, whether coupled or uncoupled. Customer access to the tyre data generated can be from a roll-over ground station, via telematics thanks to an in-cab transponder or from a mobile app.
At the launch, Conti said that the huge increase in van sales, driven by the boom in e-commerce, and the focus on LODC were behind its decision to introduce two new van tyres to its range, aimed at commercial van fleets. The VanContact Ultra comes in two variants: a summer and all-season tyre, the VanContact Ultra A/S.