2007.09.25 Continental's new site tyres

Hanover / La Bobadilla, April 2007. As well as passenger and goods transport, Continental also serves a third sector of commercial vehicle applications - construction sites. After an extensive facelift of its site tyres for heavy commercial vehicles in 2005, Hanover-based Continental is rolling out a further evolutionary stage this year - the new HSC1, HDC1 and HTC1 tyres can be instantly recognised by their new tread pattern, which is distinctly different from that of their predecessors. Greater tread depth and increased rubber volume ensure clear benefits, including higher mileage, better handling, optimised traction and greater performance reserves.

Site trucks cover around 750 billion kilometres per year worldwide. Their applications can be sub-divided into various categories both on and off the road. For vehicles driven predominantly on the road, the HSR1 and HDR+ are the ideal answer, whilst the HSO and HDO are designed for exclusively off-road use. And the new Construction tires HSC1, HDC1 and HTC1 fit in perfectly between these two applications. Their special features include outstanding traction, excellent resistance to damage and very good driving characteristics on a wide range of surfaces. This new generation of tyres offers quiet running, safe driving performance both on and off the road, plus a high load-carrying capacity - and all this at low operating costs.

In 2005 Continental launched the HSC+ and HDC+ tires for construction site use. Although these tyres retained the tread pattern of their predecessor without the '+', they already offered higher performance potential. The new generation of site tyres has a substantially reinforced second and third belt ply, making them even more rugged. Their considerably enhanced resistance to damage caused by cuts, combined with a more wear-resistant compound, increases the service life and mileage of these tyres.

"The new 1-series has been further improved in terms of durability and mileage versus the previous generation of  +-tyres" explained Karim Fraiss, the product developer responsible for the tyres at the Commercial Vehicle Tyre division of Continental AG. "The new generation can be instantly recognised from its looks. There was only one version of the HSC+ with sturdy shoulders and three circumferential grooves. The tread pattern on the HSC1, on the other hand, varies depending on the tyre size - the 11, 12 and 13 R 22.5 formats, which are preferable for off-road use, have three grooves and can be identified by their traction-optimised shoulder.

Similar measures also account for the enhanced performance potential of the HDC1 drive axle tyre versus its predecessor. Here an increase in tread depth and the amount of tread rubber resulted in a significantly better mileage performance. The optimised edge angles on the tread lugs also substantially improved the tyre's self-cleaning characteristics and the ejection of stones and similar from the tread.

A further benefit is the less bulgy sidewall, which now flexes only slightly under load, thereby counteracting impact damage.

The combination of a new tread design, further improved tire contour, reinforced steel belt and perfected rubber compound means the use of Continental's construction site tires HSC1, HDC1 and HTC1 provides noticeable customer benefits.

The following tire sizes for the appropriate axle positions are either already available or will come on stream in 2008:

HSC1:
295/80, 315/80 and 385/65 R 22.5
11, 12 and 13 R 22.5

HDC1:
295/80 and 315/80 R 22.5
12 and 13 R 22.5

HTC1:
385/65 R 22.5

Continental Truck Tires, Europe

As one of the largest manufacturers of premium tyres for commercial vehicles, Continental carries a broad range of high‑performance products finely tailored to specific application areas for heavy‑duty and light trucks, buses and off‑road vehicles. Continental AG produces truck and bus tyres under the Continental, Uniroyal, Semperit and Barum brand names. In existence since 1978, the ContiBreakdownService is an immediate‑response network of authorised dealerships providing an added margin of safety in the event of tyre failure.

The Continental Corporation is a leading supplier of tyres, brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers. Consolidated sales in 2006 amounted to 14.9 billion and employees currently number approximately 85,000 worldwide.

The tyre division is an Official Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008^TM. For further information visit the websites www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.contifanworld.com and www.conti-online.com.