Continental shows tech innovations at Automechanika

Continental's silent tire technology is one of several tire innovations the company has been showcasing at the prestigious Automechanika trade fair in Frankfurt this month.

The Automechanika Frankfurt is a trade fair for the automotive service industry and features a huge range of new products and technology for the automotive aftermarket. Continental has been showing its super quiet tires, tires that can seal tire punctures by themselves and tires made of rubber from dandelions.

Quieter tires

Continental's ContiSilent tires have the same properties as normal production tires, but utilize a new technology that significantly reduces tire rolling noise in the vehicle. This is due to a lining applied to the inside of the tire tread after the actual production process.

Continental says the special foam layer significantly dampens the airborne vibrations caused by the rolling of the tire so on all surfaces the noise penetrating the vehicle interior is reduced by up to nine decibels. Braking, handling, and behavior in wet conditions are no different from other tires from the same product family. This also applies to rims and fitting.

Audi has equipped its RS 6 Avant and RS 7 Sportback models with ContiSilent tires from the ContiSportContact 5 P series – the first vehicle manufacturer to do so. The Audi RS 6 Avant is fitted with size 285/30 ZR 21 and the RS 7 Sportback with size 275/30 ZR 21. Like all other tires for the Audi RS models, the ContiSilent versions also have the RO1 label.

Tires that can seal tire punctures by themselves

Continental says its ContiSeal technology prevent around 85 percent of all flat tires. A protective layer on the inside of the tire’s tread immediately seals any punctures made by screws or nails and prevents air from escaping. ContiSeal seals almost any leak caused by an object of up to five millimeters in diameter. This means about 85 percent of typical flat tires can be avoided.

Because the motorist sometimes doesn't notice when a foreign object has penetrated the tire, Continental recommends tires be examined regularly for nails or screws. The benefit of the new tech means drivers can eliminate the need for the spare wheel, making their vehicles lighter and opening up more possibilities for designers when creating the trunk.

Continent 1 — Continental's ContiSeal technology

Dandelion tires

Continental also showcased its WinterContact TS 850 P, a world-first tire produced with dandelion rubber known as ‘Taraxagum’. The tread is made 100 percent out of dandelion-derived natural rubber as a polymer, taken from dandelion roots grown in Europe. As an alternative to using product from traditional rubber tree plantations in the tropics, dandelion tires could prove economically and environmentally revolutionary.

Continental says its long-term goal is to find a viable solution to counteract the increasing demand for natural rubber which can be subject to severe price fluctuations on the commodities exchanges. Also, cultivating dandelion crops on previously unused land in areas throughout Europe, close to Continental’s tire plants, would prove economically beneficial and be better for the environment.

Tagged: trade fair

Continental shows tech innovations at Automechanika