In the midst of the recovering market conditions, Continental Tyre South Africa has announced its most extensive product offensive so far. The company plans to further expand its market share in the commercial vehicle tyre sector. In this regard, CTSA has invested R 200 million in its Port Elizabeth plant, with another R 20 million investment planned for the future.
Six new tyre patterns, available in five different sizes will be available over the next six months, all produced locally at the plant in Port Elizabeth. The new generation truck tyres that have been developed utilising the latest technology for Regional and Long-distance usage, are made from superior lab-engineered rubber compounds. The compounds are suitable for South African conditions, for tough everyday use with the single aim of significantly reducing costs in the transport trade, whatever the application.
These New Generation truck tyres boast significant design updates. Together these improvements offer higher mileage, lower fuel consumption, reduced rolling resistance, improved retreadability and a considerable increase in safety.
Continental Tyre has cited quality and new casing technology as the basis for the all-new truck tyre design. The stiffer casing has been designed in a new optimised contour that allows a considerably larger air volume to be created that increases the load-bearing capacity and the mileage significantly. Furthermore, undesirable movement of the tyre is reduced.
The tyres comprise a 4-ply triangular belt that absorbs the forces from lateral and radial moments and reduces the intrinsic movement of the tyre at the root. This ensures a more stable ride with increased driving safety. The steel cord bead reinforcement has been re-designed and improved considerably compared with its predecessor offering a stable seat on the wheel rim.
All tyres feature Continental’s patented Airkeep® technology, an innovative inner liner which maintains the tyre inflation pressure at a constant level for up to 50% longer than before – an important contribution to improving the rolling resistance and thus saving fuel.
New Truck Tyre Range:
- HSR 2: Heavy Truck Steer – Regional Traffic
- HDR 2: Heavy Truck Drive – Regional Traffic
- HTR 2: Heavy Truck Trailer – Regional Traffic
- HSC 1: Heavy Truck Steer – Construction
- HSL 2: Heavy Truck Steer – Long Distance
- HDL 2: Heavy Truck Drive – Long Distance
More about Airkeep® Technology:
The inner layer, which was developed by the German tyre experts, is made from a special non-air-permeable rubber and maintains a constant air pressure for considerably longer than conventional tyres. Gradual loss of pressure is thus effectively counteracted. The new technology increases reliability, reduces fuel consumption and extends the tyre life noticeably in practical use.
Regular vehicle checks show how vital this technology is. A large percentage of trucks are driving on our roads with incorrectly inflated tyres. Today, the majority of truck breakdowns are almost always the result of tyre pressure checks being neglected.
If they are not inflated properly, even modern truck tyres cannot provide all safety-related properties like optimum side support and the best possible transfer of braking power to the road surface. Furthermore the economy suffers noticeably both in terms of fuel consumption and tyre life.
Continental tyre engineers have managed to effectively combat the creeping pressure loss resulting from the natural diffusion of air, i.e. the escape of air molecules, from inside the tyre with the completely new Airkeep® technology.
The whole interior of the tyre, the inner liner, is coated with a special rubber compound in the process patented by Continental. The enlarged molecules in this “airtight” layer of rubber form a tightly packed structure comparable to a bird’s coat of feathers. This slows down the constant escape of air. The oxygen molecules need up to 50 percent longer to get through the labyrinth-like structure of the Airkeep® inner layer thanks to this all-new technology. This reduces the maintenance work for the tyres considerably without the risk of driving on incorrectly inflated tyres.
The new Airkeep® technology offers users definite economic advantages. If the inflation pressure is up to ten percent lower, the fuel consumption of a truck will rise by three percent.
The Continental tyres run with less rolling resistance and reduced wear thanks to the constant air pressure. Both have a direct influence on the fuel consumption and the costs per kilometre for the vehicle.
Furthermore the tyre wear is significantly more even. The life of the tyre is raised considerably due to the use of the new coating technology throughout the range. Furthermore there is less risk that the tyre will heat up due to the low pressure and the resulting energy-producing flexing. In extreme cases this could even destroy the tyre. The correct use of the new tyre first time around also guarantees the ideal re-use of its casing in retreading.
By the end of the rollout of the range, Continental Tyre will have renewed its complete premium range in the goods, transport and construction vehicle segments. The company now has the most modern product range, offering all the benefits and advantages expected from the modern transport operation. This product offensive is a unique chance to improve Continental Tyre‘s market position, to a stronger one, as the market emerges from the economic crisis.
Alan Straton
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