Continental demonstrated complete solutions for the construction and other on/off-road industries at its proving grounds in Uvalde, Texas, on September 24-26, 2019. Approximately 100 attendees viewed demonstrations of Continental’s broad tire portfolio, from 19.5-inches to medium and heavy truck tires to earthmoving Off The Road (OTR) tires, as well as digital tire monitoring solutions.
NEW PRODUCTS
The event served as the public debut of Continental’s new Generation 3 construction truck tires for on/off-road or mixed use. The Conti HSC 3 steer/all-position tire, Conti HDC 3 drive tire, and Conti HAC 3 all-position tire deliver key benefits for the on/off-road application, including construction, cement, utility, emergency vehicles, forestry, and logging.
The tires deliver high performance in mileage, durability, traction, and retreadability, the key aspects for Lowest Overall Driving Cost in the on/off-road segment. All arrive from the factory pre-equipped with Continental tire sensors for digital monitoring of tire pressure and temperature and are covered by a six year, three retread warranty.
Continental chose to pre-equip these tires with sensors due to the inherent benefits of tire monitoring in the on/off-road environment. During the off-road portion of the construction application, tires are more susceptible to cuts, chipping and chunking, and punctures.
Additionally, the tires operate under heavier loads in a limited radius, meaning there is quite a bit of starting, stopping, braking, thus causing heat build-up—especially in warmer regions during the summer season. This is where it’s critical to ensure that tires always have properly maintained air pressure and to monitor internal casing temperature.
By embedding sensors in each of these new construction tires, Continental now offers a complete solution for the extremely demanding construction application. Continental’s digital solutions help fleets reduce downtime, improve safety and fuel efficiency, and minimize labor and maintenance costs associated with tire inspections. Digital tire monitoring solutions are key in this increasingly technological environment where fleets need to maintain premium tire casings and reduce the overall driving costs.
HSC 3
Conti HSC 3, a Heavy truck, Steer/all-position, Construction tire, delivers significant benefits over its predecessor, HSC1, including an estimated 11% mileage improvement. Event attendees experienced the Conti HSC 3 at several demonstrations, including cut-and-chip testing, stone ejection, curbing, uphill wet traction, and wet braking.
Built on Continental’s 3G casing for reduced heat build-up and improved retreadability, the tire also features a wider tread platform to increase mileage. The off-road belt package delivers improved penetration resistance. New cap/base tread compounds deliver a 100% improvement in cuts to the belt during cut-and-chip testing, as well as reducing heat build-up.
The Conti HSC 3 answers demands from the market, including excellent on-road mileage, stone ejectors in the tread pattern for self-cleaning to prevent stone drilling, and strong, thick sidewall reinforcement. As an intelligent tire, it is ready for Continental’s digital tire monitoring solutions to identify punctures and creeping air loss, helping avoid breakdowns in a time-critical industry.
The Conti HSC 3 has a 24/32-inch tread depth and is currently available in the following sizes: 11R22.5 LRH, 11R24.5 LRH, and 315/80R22.5 LRL. It is also available in a matching retread, ContiTread HSC 3, available in 210 mm, 220 mm, 230 mm, and 240 mm widths.
HDC 3
Conti HDC 3, a Heavy truck, Drive, Construction tire, delivers significant benefits over the previous product, HDC1, with an estimated 15% improvement in life expectancy. Event attendees experienced the Conti HDC 3 at several demonstrations, including cut-and-chip testing, stone ejection, curbing, uphill wet traction, and wet braking. The matching ContiTread HDC 3 retread was also demonstrated in the traction sand pit.
The new tread pattern delivers excellent lateral traction throughout tire life and features self-cleaning design to prevent stone drilling. The tire has a broad, even-pressure footprint for improved wear, traction, and cut resistance. It is built on Continental’s 3G casing with 250 mm wide tread platform. A wide tread platform delivers increased mileage and longer tread life.
With an aggressive open shoulder design and lug design for maximum traction, excellent retreadability, and a strong, thick, sidewall, it answers demands from the market. In addition, as an intelligent tire, it is equipped for Continental’s digital tire monitoring solutions to help maximize traction through proper air pressure.
The Conti HDC 3 has a 30/32-inch tread depth and is currently available in the following sizes: 11R22.5 LRH, 11R24.5 LRH. It is also available in a matching retread, ContiTread HDC 3, available in 210 mm, 220 mm, 230 mm, 240 mm and 250 mm widths.
HAC 3
Conti HAC 3, a Heavy truck, All-position, Construction tire, delivers significant benefits over its predecessor, HTC1, with new cap/base tread compounds for improved mileage and traction. Event participants experienced the incredible traction of the Conti HAC 3 and ContiTread HDC 3 retread on a cement mixer traveling across Continental’s 30-foot-wide sand pit.
With a casing designed to resist irregular wear, a self-cleaning tread pattern, and a rugged 4-belt package to resist impacts, bruises, and penetrations, the Conti HAC 3 delivers maximum hours of service. It answers market demands such as increased sidewall gauge for road hazard protection, and the same high performance on/off-road cap/base tread compounds used in all Generation 3 construction tires. Equipped with tire sensors, it is ready for Continental’s digital solutions to help reduce heat build-up and irregular wear through proper air pressure, as well as measure casing temperature.
The Conti HAC 3 is currently available in the following sizes: 385/65R22.5 LRL at 22/32-inch tread depth, and 425/65R22.5 LRL at 24/32-inch tread depth.
Continental’s newest generation of construction tires for mixed service deliver the performance fleets demand in mileage, durability, traction, and retreadability. Intelligent tires enhance all these benefits through digital tire monitoring.
19.5-INCH PRODUCT
The Conti Terra HD3, which participants experienced through a Ride & Drive across the desert hills of the Uvalde Proving Grounds, is the only 19.5-inch severe service drive tire currently available for the US and Canadian market. It is ideal for Class 4 and 5 working trucks, with an aggressive open shoulder design and a cut and tear resistant tread compound. It is differentiated by its retreadable casing, which is protected by a six year, two retread warranty. This makes it a good choice for fleets looking to reduce overall driving costs of their 19.5-inch tires. It is also intelligent tire capable for fleets who want to digitally measure air pressure and temperature.
EARTHMOVING OTR PRODUCTS
In addition to the three new construction truck tires, Continental offers a lineup of earthmoving Off The Road (OTR) radial tires. This includes the EM-Master, RDT-Master and DumperMaster, which all come direct from the factory pre-equipped with Continental tire sensors.
Shawn Rasey, director of global business development – earthmover tires for commercial specialty tire, presented the OTR tire demonstration. It included 23.5R25 EM Master E3/L3 tires on a Hitachi ZW220 Wheel Loader scooping material into a dump truck equipped with the new HSC 3 and HDC 3 tires.
The EM-Master is designed to excel in a variety of conditions from soft and muddy soil to rocky terrain. Featuring an exceptionally high tread volume along with availability in both E3/L3 and E4/L4 versions, the tire is versatile to perform in all conditions.
The E3/L3 features a normal tread depth and wide spacing between the blocks for good traction and maneuverability, even in muddy terrain. The E4/L4 features a greater block size with less spacing between the blocks and a deeper tread depth. It offers high carcass protection and superior cutting resistance, minimizing the risk of punctures and downtime.
The RDT-Master has angled tread edges and an open shoulder design to facilitate high lateral stability and maximum traction even on rough terrain while driving at high speeds. The RDT-Master’s special tread design with a deep tread depth and a wide and flat tread radius offers high loading capacity and cutting resistance.
The DumperMaster has an all-steel radial carcass which lowers heat build-up. The up to four-star rated carcass design allows extremely high load-carrying capacity that increases efficiency. Its tread pattern ensures high self-cleaning ability and good traction in muddy and loose ground conditions.
DIGITAL TIRE MONITORING SOLUTIONS
Every Generation 3 construction tire and radial Off the Road tire comes pre-equipped with a tire sensor direct from the plant. Sensors are mounted on the inner liner of the tire for maximum accuracy and protection from theft and damage. Unlike valve-mounted sensors that can be damaged during curbing and use an algorithm to calculate values, the Continental sensor is securely adhered to the inner liner of the tire and physically reads the air pressure and temperature.
Continental offers multiple receiver systems to read the sensors. One characteristic that helps Continental digital tire monitoring solutions stand out from other systems on the market is that components of all systems can be combined to take advantage of different functionalities, thus creating a customized fit for each fleet.
CONTICONNECT
ContiConnect® is ideal for fleets whose trucks or buses return to the terminal daily. The yard reader station, mounted in the fleet yard, collects data from all the tire sensors within range, an approx. 65-ft radius. It is typically mounted at a guard shack, fuel island, or other central point in the fleet yard. The data is analyzed and displayed in the online ContiConnect web portal, which is mobile-friendly for viewing on phones or tablets. The system also triggers text and email alerts for low tire pressure or high temperature, using custom thresholds set by the fleet within the system’s operating limits. Event attendees experienced receiving ContiConnect alerts on their cell phones.
“ContiConnect is an accessible solution for domiciled fleets, such as those used in construction and regional hauling,” says Michelle Reinhart, Continental’s head of digital solutions for commercial vehicle tires in the Americas region. “We don’t charge by vehicle. The yard reader picks up all the tire sensors within range and delivers the data to the web portal. The portal sends text and email alerts if low pressure or high temperature thresholds are breached, and the trigger levels can be set by each fleet. This allows the maintenance manager to confirm proper tire pressure before vehicles leave the fleet yard and as soon as they return. It’s a simple way to maintain control of your tire program.”
CONTIPRESSURECHECK
ContiPressureCheck® monitors a single vehicle in real-time, alerting the driver to tire pressure and temperature issues via an in-cab display. It is ideal for fleets whose trucks or buses are away from the terminal for long periods of time and for owner-operators. The ContiPressureCheck system can also be connected to any of Continental’s telematics partners for remote data viewing in the telematics platform. Current partners include Zonar, PeopleNet, and Geotab for truck and bus telematics, and Road Ready for trailer telematics.
“With Continental’s ContiPressureCheck system, the driver can monitor the tire pressure situation in real time and determine whether they need to immediately pull off the road or whether they can safely make it to the next service station,” Michelle Reinhart, Continental’s head of digital solutions for commercial vehicle tires in the Americas region, explains. “By adding a telematics integration, a fleet manager or dispatcher could help with this analysis in real time as well.”
Event attendees learned about ContiConnect and ContiPressureCheck from Michelle Reinhart and Trey Thompson, digital solutions field engineer. In a live demonstration, they showed how Continental’s digital tire monitoring solutions react to a tire with low air pressure.
CONTILOGGER LIVE
For OTR tires, the embedded sensors can also be used in a new service concept, the ContiLogger Live, which was demonstrated by Adrian Leu, senior technical solutions manager for commercial specialty tire in the Americas. ContiLogger Live uses a telematic device with integrated sensors to measure speed, distance, location, lateral forces, road grade, production activity, tire pressure, and tire temperature. The system issues warnings for critical conditions such as long idling time, high TMPH (ton miles per hour), low efficiency cycle pattern, low inflation pressure, and high tire temperature.
ContiLogger Live is designed to operate independently, being able to monitor thousands of vehicles. In more complex situations, field engineers can make customized recommendations on significant tire challenges, possible application improvements aimed at optimizing tire, equipment life, and operational processes. This consultancy service can help customers cut operating costs and improve applications.
CONTIPRESSURECHECK SOLO
Continental also offers a digital tire monitoring solution targeting greenhouse gas regulation compliance. ContiPressureCheck® Solois a stand-alone tire pressure monitoring system for trailers, compliant with pending GHG 2 greenhouse gas regulations from the EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and California Air Resources Board.
“If the legislation stays as currently written, fleets will be able to meet all GHG 2 regulations with just two simple items from Continental: the ContiPressureCheck Solo trailer TPMS and our extremely low rolling resistance tires,” Reinhart explains. “That’s it, just two products and your trailer can be GHG 2 compliant. You won’t need an aerodynamic kit or any additional products.”
Components of the systems can be combined. For example, Continental has customers using ContiPressureCheck® in-cab displays along with ContiConnect® Yard, so drivers can be informed while on the road and the fleet manager sees the data in the web portal once the trucks return to the fleet terminal.
Find out more about Continental tires, visit www.continental-truck.com.
Event photos courtesy of Continental Tire
