Continental Demonstrates Complete Tire Solutions for Construction at CONEXPO-CON/AGG

·        Public debut of Generation 3 truck tires: Conti HSC 3, Conti HDC 3, Conti HAC 3

·         Featuring Earthmoving Off The Road (OTR) tires and new General Tire bias line

·         Digital tire monitoring solutions to increase uptime and reduce costs are also on display

LAS VEGAS, NEV. March 10, 2020 – Continental, one of the largest automotive suppliers and tire manufacturers in the world, will highlight complete solutions for the construction and other on/off-road industries at North America’s largest construction trade show, CONEXPO-CON/AGG, on March 10-14. Continental offers a broad tire portfolio for the industry, from medium and heavy truck tires to earthmoving Off The Road (OTR) tires. In accompaniment will be digital tire monitoring solutions that help construction fleets increase uptime and reduce costs. Products and technologies will be on display at Continental’s booth #F101403.

New Truck Tire Products

The event will serve 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 on/off-road applications, 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 6 year, 3 retread warranty.

Conti HSC 3, a heavy truck, steer/all-position, construction tire, delivers significant benefits over its predecessor, HSC1, including an estimated 11 percent mileage improvement.

Built on Continental’s 3G casing for reduced heat build-up and improved retreadability, the tire 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 percent 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.

Conti HDC 3, a heavy truck, drive, construction tire, delivers significant benefits over the previous product, HDC1, with an estimated 15 percent improvement in life expectancy.

The new tread pattern delivers excellent lateral traction throughout tire life and features a 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 a 250 mm wide tread platform – wider than the Michelin X Works XDY, Bridgestone M799 and Continental HDC1. 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. As an intelligent tire, it is equipped for Continental’s digital tire monitoring solutions to help maximize traction through proper air pressure.

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.

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 to measure casing temperature.

Earthmoving OTR and Specialty 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 directly from the factory pre-equipped with Continental tire sensors.

The EM-Master, designed for ADTs, loaders and dozers, was created 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 deeper tread depth. It offers high carcass protection and superior cutting resistance, minimizing the risk of punctures and downtime.

The RDT-Master, designed for rigid dump trucks, 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, designed for ADTs and loaders, 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.

In addition to radial OTR tires, the TeleMaster, MPT81 and General Tire TE188 will be displayed. The TeleMaster is a solid OTR tire designed for telehandlers with a rugged tread pattern to handle rough surfaces at worksites and is capable of heavy load-bearing and traveling long distances.

The multi-purpose tire MPT81 is designed for mixed on and off-road use with a strong emphasis on tough conditions. The flexible carcass and the wide inflation pressure range allows for both high speed on-road and rough-ground off-road operations. Thanks to their outstanding traction and non-slip grip, they’re ideal for construction applications.

General Tire, a brand of Continental, is launching a bias line of OTR tires in 2020. The General Tire TE188 will be displayed at CONEXPO/CON-AGG, following its recent U.S. debut at the Tire Industry Association’s OTR Conference. The TE188 is a multipurpose earthmoving tire for use on ADTs, RDTs, loaders and scrapers. Its bi-directional pattern with massive bars provides gripping edges on soft and wet ground and the wide ground patch leads to even wear, good surface interaction and long service life. It comes in one E3 size (16.00-25) and seven E3/L3 sizes (ranging from 20.5-25 to 37.25-35).

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. 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 and 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.

Continental’s digital solutions help fleets reduce downtime, improve safety and fuel efficiency, and minimize labor and maintenance costs associated with tire inspections. 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 Yard is ideal for fleets whose trucks, buses or off-the-road vehicles return to the terminal daily. The yard reader station, mounted in the fleet yard, collects data from all the tire sensors within range, an approximately 65-foot radius.

“ContiConnect is an accessible solution for domiciled fleets, such as those used in construction and regional hauling,” says Carolina Wagner, Continental’s director of marketing 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 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.

Components of the systems can be combined. For example, Continental customers use ContiPressureCheck in-cab displays along with ContiConnect Yard, so drivers can be informed while on the road and the fleet manager can see the data on the web portal once the trucks return to the fleet terminal.

For OTR tires, the embedded sensors can also be used in a new service concept, the ContiLogger Live. 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 like 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, customer solution engineers can make customized recommendations on significant tire challenges, possible application improvements aimed at optimizing tire, equipment life and operational processes.