Continental : Safety First with Continental Winter Tires

• Comprehensive portfolio of winter tires for trucks and buses
• A specific Continental winter tire for each axle
• Generation 3 winter tires for 17.5" and 19.5" wheels
• Up to 40% better traction with winter tires for trucks and buses

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Hanover, Germany, October 30, 2014. In colder weather Continental recommends fitting winter tires on all axles of your trucks and buses. This is because in really wintry conditions, standard tires reach their limits very quickly. Their suitability in winter is very limited on cold and damp, snow-covered, or icy roads, despite the M+S label. By contrast, commercial vehicles fitted with tires that are genuinely designed for winter use can travel more safely, reliably, and economically. In Europe there are still no uniform regulations concerning the fitting of winter tires to commercial vehicles. The minimum legal requirement for tires suitable for winter use is mainly limited to the drive axle and only stipulates an M+S label. However, requirements for truck tires for the steering, drive, and trailer axles vary a great deal. For trucks, Continental has therefore developed an integrated tire concept for front axle, drive wheels, and trailer tires respectively. The extensive Continental winter tire program for trucks and buses is based on many years of experience and practical knowledge gained in Scandinavian countries, where genuine winter tires are always fitted to commercial vehicles before the onset of winter.

Not only do Continental winter tires marked with the snowflake symbol on the tire wall easily outperform M+S tires, they also significantly exceed the requirements of the "Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake" symbol (3PMSF). These tires are specifically designed for winter use and comply with axle-specific requirements due to their construction and tread design. These prerequisites include optimal steering and lateral guidance for the front axle, maximum traction and braking force on the drive axle, and significantly more grip when cornering and braking for trailers fitted with winter tires. Use of Continental winter tires on all axles increases traction by up to 40% in comparison with standard tires, and at 50 km/h, breaking distances are reduced by almost 10 meters on snow.

Specific winter tires for all truck axles ensure safe freight traffic.

The Scandinavia tire for the steering axle boasts a combination of a structured longitudinal groove tread, intermittent ribs, and micro-sipes. The interlocking effect of the sipes ensures maximum grip on slippery roads. Continental drive axle tires work with an optimized block design whose high edge grip forces literally grip tight in snow and slush. The structural stability of the sipes method of construction with block elements shaped in three dimensions allows a tread depth of up to 22 millimeters, ensuring long tire life in winter use. Of particular importance are the trailer tires in the Scandinavia range which are specifically designed for winter. The six additional winter treads are excellent at transferring braking and cornering forces to slippery road surfaces.

In addition to its 22.5-inch tire for long-distance and distribution work,  this season Continental has also extended its winter tire range to include the important sizes of 17.5 and 19.5 inches. Continental is therefore the first manufacturer to offer winter tires for distribution transport with a gross vehicle weight of up to or more than 12 tons. The generation 3 Conti Scandinavia winter tires in sizes 17.5 and 19.5 inches are based on the successful 22.5-inch winter tire. In addition, the Continental trailer tire HTW 2 SCANDINAVIA 445/45 R 19.5 is a 19.5-inch winter tire specifically designed for volume transport and heavy loads. This tire rounds off Continental's portfolio of modern winter tires, one of the most comprehensive tire ranges on the commercial vehicle market.

These new 17.5 and 19.5-inch winter tires complete Continental's comprehensive, modern range of winter tires.

For commercial passenger transport, the Conti UrbanScandinavia and the SCANDINAVIA HSW 2 Coach are the safe choice for differing requirements in winter use. With a design featuring numerous gripping edges and sipes, the Conti UrbanScandinavia HA3 successfully holds its own as an all-round winter tire for regular bus and coach transport on winter roads. The Conti UrbanScandinavia HD3 is a special winter tire for the drive axle and offers maximum traction in regions that see heavy snowfall.

The Continental SCANDINAVIA HSW 2 Coach is also suitable for all-round tire fitment on all axles. Thanks to its closed ribbed tread pattern and three-dimensionally designed micro-sipes, the HSW 2 Coach applies driving and lane keeping forces to the road surface with low noise and excellent traction, without sacrificing ride comfort.

Continental winter tires for buses:

Whereas the Conti UrbanScandinavia HA3 and the SCANDINAVIA HSW 2 Coach are designed for all-round tire fitment, the Conti UrbanScandinavia HD 3 was specifically developed for the drive axle.