Electric ready!

Continental knows no half-measures: the Van Contact A/S Ultra is designed for light and medium-light commercial vehicles while the Hybrid Gen 5 is tailored around the needs of heavy-duty vehicles. What they have in common are structures and compounds optimized to suit the needs of electrically powered vehicles. This means significantly higher torques available virtually consistently at any speed and significantly higher weights.

                                                                                                                                                            

Built for last-mile deliveries

The Van Contact A/S Ultra range, launched halfway through the pandemic, has now been finally unveiled to the press. The range consists of four sizes for 16-inch wheels, normally found on medium and large vans such as Fiat Scudo and Ducato, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Vito, Volkswagen T6 and Crafter, some of the most popular models with last mile delivery companies: frequent start and stop and speed variation, bumps with sidewalks and potholes are the main challenges for those moving in a city environment. As a sector, urban delivery, along with buses and compactor trucks, are the segments where the growth of battery-powered vehicles seems relentless. As Hinnerk Kaiser, director of research and development, Truck Tires Emea, points out, "EVs present the challenges of higher vehicle weight and torque, gearless transmission, and regenerative braking, which threaten to make tires designed for diesel vehicles less durable and more expensive." However, the benefits of a tire designed for electric vehicles are also noticeable on ICE vehicles, able to meet the needs of urban deliveries thanks to sidewalls reinforced with a rib that protects the casing from permanent deformation and the tread from flaking. Reducing fuel consumption and thus operating costs and pollutant emissions, has been entrusted to the compound, modified with a new filler that reduces rolling resistance. Newly designed sipes and grooves with small bars within the channels can trap snowflakes and improve grip on snow, while the three-dimensional design of the sipes improve traction on slippery roads in general; newly designed and sturdy tread blocks reduce braking distances. Three levels of wear indicators signal are placed at 5, 4 and 3 mm of residual tread.

 

A fresh start for hybrid technology

The Hybrids main feature is the self-healing tread: as it wears down, the tread reveals new grooves that restore the correct depth. September saw the presentation of the fourth generation named Conti Hybrid Gen 5 because in Asian markets 4 is considered an unlucky number. Like its predecessors, it is designed for regional use, mainly with highway routes of about 200 km/day, with frequent acceleration and deceleration as well as short stretches on motorways and possibly dirt roads. It’s the typical tire used on heavy-duty multi-unit trucks, such as Iveco S-Way AD and AT, Scania G-series, and Volvo FM, which have similar requirements to the vans seen above but suitable for 18-, 26-, or 32-ton vehicles (two-, three-, or four-axle, respectively). It is available with HD designs for the drive axle in size 315/70 R22.5 and HS designs for front and rear steer axles, such as 315/85 and /70 also for 22.5" sizing. Compared with Generation 3, the life span of the tire increased by 20 percent, a result achieved thanks to the dual-layer compound, new polymers and the three-dimensional matrix design of the sipes, which reduces stress on the sidewalls. The grooves are designed to easily eject trapped stones, and crucial feature for short dirt routes, thanks to the edges of the sipes able to flex and thereby open and close the grooves. The 0° belt designed for the drive axle allows smooth and constant ground pressure regardless of loading conditions. The robust casing structure also allows for a second retread following the first one, of course if the tire has been properly maintained and has not suffered major damage. In the coming months, Hybrid Gen 5 will also be available as Conti Tread retreads, made with cold curing processes by certified partners, and Conti Re hot retreads produced at the Hanover facility.

 

A sustainable trio

This represents Continental’s present, immediate and mid-term future schedule when it comes to exploiting the full potential of the "sustainable trio," presented at the Iaa in Hannover in mid-September. The present is the Efficient Pro D, which lowers rolling resistance and with it, CO2; it is a pure long-distance tire, demanded especially as OEM for its favourable parameters that guarantee excellent results in energy ratings. The near future is the Hybrid HT3 special for drive axles of electrified semi-trailers. For several reasons, first among them improving traction on slippery roads and energy recovery under braking, electrified semi-trailers, typically with three axles featuring an electric motor on the middle axle, will soon become widespread. Axles with an electric motor are now produced by all the major manufacturers in the industry, such as BPW, Saf and Valx; the Hybrid HT3 was designed in collaboration with specialized partner Trailer Dynamics. The medium term is represented by Conti Urban, a prototype designed for city buses, heavy-duty distribution trucks, and electric-powered compactors. When new it is made of 50 percent renewable or recycled materials, but the percentage rises to 90 percent with retreading; it has already been approved for circulation and will soon begin testing with fleets.