2008.09.23

Hanover, September 2008. For years now, new technologies and products from Continental AG have been contributing in a major way to enhanced driving safety. Slated for customer trials at the end of the year, a new tyre pressure monitoring system for commercial vehicles not only improves safety and reduces emissions but also provides considerable cost savings – provided the driver plays along.

Continuous improvements have been made in the past to enhance vehicle energy efficiency. One example of this is the reduction in a tyre’s rolling resistance. In addition, electronic brake systems, foundation brakes, fan modules, electronic control units, belt drive systems, hybrid drives and tyre pressure control systems from Continental all help to both make thriftier use of raw materials and improve safety.

The new tyre pressure monitoring system supplies precise pressure measurement values for all wheel positions and can, if the vehicle driver responds as intended, ensure that buses and semis operate more safely, consume less fuel and, at the same time, pollute less.

The system consists of

• a battery-powered transmitter – about the size of a hazelnut – fitted to the inside of the tyre;
• a receiver attached to the vehicle chassis frame;
• a display on the dashboard of new vehicles or a separate display if the vehicle is retrofitted with the system.

“The transmitter is powered by means of a seven-year battery,” explains Dr. Jörg Lehmann, system development project manager at Continental AG in Hanover. “It sends frequent short high-baud-rate signals to the receiver with information on tyre pressure and temperature,” he adds.

The system is quite easy to assemble. When the tyre has to be replaced, the component – about the size of a hazelnut and weighing less than 20 grams – can be removed from its rubber holder by means of a special pair of pliers and later reinstalled for further use as required. The receiver is frame-mounted. The system can be fitted on all vehicle types – i.e. cars or trucks. 

“Continental AG has carried out product life cycle assessments to DIN ISO 14014 ff for car and truck tyres. 95% of all emissions were found to be generated during actual use of the tyre,” reports Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin, Continental Executive Board member for the Commercial Vehicle Tires division. “The remaining five percent occurs during raw material procurement and in tyre production, transportation and recycling.”

These life cycle assessments prompt tyre engineers to look for ways and means of reducing the emissions released by a tyrein use. In addition to less tyre abrasion, one of the best-known ways of doing this is to lower the tyre's rolling resistance. Tyre drag eats up energy – energy that a heavy commercial vehicle gets from the fuel tank. And so for years now tire engineers have been steadily improving a tyre’s rolling resistance by means of new structural features and modified rubber compounds, by making tires lighter and by upping mileage performance. However, as every cost-conscious driver, haulage company manager or fleet operator probably knows all too well, underinflated tires are one of the best ways of wasting energy and, ultimately, of unnecessarily driving up costs.

In the U.S.A. alone, four billion liters of diesel were wasted due to an average tire underinflation of 12%. In the process, CO₂ emissions in the order of nine million tonnes were released. The ContiFleetCheck tool obtained comparable findings in Germany. In other words, saving on air is costly and also harmful to the environment. Checking tyres regularly and making the necessary adjustments in tyre inflation pressure can, moreover, also save money in other ways. Properly inflated tires hold out longer. And last but not least, properly inflated tires are safer because they are less likely to fail and have shorter braking distances.

Continental expects the new system to be a market success, not only due to rising fuel prices and the forecasted growth in road transportation. A recommendation by the U.S. Department of Transportation, still pending, would make tyre pressure monitoring systems mandatory on buses. This would most certainly get the system off to a good start.

With targeted annual sales of more than €26.4 billion for 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for the powertrain and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tyres and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global climate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Today, the corporation employs approximately 150,000 people at nearly 200 locations in 36 countries.

The Commercial Vehicle Tyres division, which oversees the development, production and global distribution of truck, bus and industrial tyres, posted a turnover of approx. €1.5bn in 2007 with a workforce of over 8,000 employees.

The tyre  divisions are an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2010^TM, which will be staged in South Africa in 2010. You will find information on this at www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.ContiFanWorld.com and www.continental-corporation.com