Conti to launch self-sealing tyre next year in Europe

Frankfurt, Germany - Continental AG is adding a self-sealing tyre, to be marketed under the ContiSeal Technology name, to its portfolio of extended-mobility tyres.

Conti displayed concept tyres at this year's IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt with the sealant technology as a prelude to launching tyres with the technology next year, “most likely” as an original equipment fitment on a European car, the company said.

Conti describes the technology as a protective layer on the inside of the tyre's tread that seals holes that develop when a foreign object penetrates, thus preventing air from escaping. The seal functions with nearly all leaks caused by objects up to 5 millimeters in diameter, covering about 80 percent of tyre punctures, the company said.

Conti did not indicate how this technology is similar to or different from self-sealing technology its General Tire unit developed in the 1980s. Continental Tire North America Inc. still markets a version of that technology in the General Ameri-Seal line.

A sealant tyre would complement Conti's range of run-flat and extended-mobility designs, which include:

• The Continental SSR, a self-supporting run-flat tyre with reinforced sidewalls using technology Conti licenses from Bridgestone Corp.; and
• The ContiComfortKit, an aerosol-based sealant and on-board inflation device that allows a driver to reinflate a flat tyre.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)