Continental introduces new drive-axle truck tire for extreme winter conditions on difficult terrain

The goal of Continental’s research and development department was to develop a tread design that ensures the best possible traction in any extreme winter conditions. The result is a drive-axle tire with the highest number of sipes (more than 1,000) in Continental’s long-lasting winter tire history. Furthermore, the new Conti Scandinavia Extreme HD3 contains the following technologies: Wide lateral shoulder grooves ensure maximum traction on soft snow throughout the life of the tyre. The high content of natural rubber in the rubber compound provides high elasticity even at extremely low temperatures (down to minus 50 C) and best grip. The sipes with anti-slip design of the three-dimensional sipe surface have a dual function: they act as an interlocking structure between the blocks to reduce slippage and deformation; at the same time, they provide more surface area for optimum grip on snowy roads and thus greater traction. The tread pattern with variable sipes of different depth increases the mechanical stability of the blocks. A "tube" attached to the underside of the sipes reduces stress build-up in the tread pattern and thus increases the mileage of the tyre.

Lutz Stäbner, Head of Product Management for Continental truck and bus tires in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), explains the company’s aspiration: “Continental has a large expertise and knowledge of winter tires performance that has been used to design dedicated truck product lines to cover each need, this means on one hand the specialists to cover extreme applications and on the other hand generalists to cover all-around winter applications. Focal points for us are always maximum safety of the drivers and smooth vehicle operations, even in extreme conditions.”

In customer field tests the new Conti Scandinavia Extreme HD3 proved its robustness on heavy trucks where high torque and loads challenge the tire structure and tread integrity to the limit, especially when climbing steep hills on slippery roads. And the tire also demonstrated good performance on intercity coaches driving on roads which are snowy throughout the whole winter season and the snow clearing frequency is lower than usual.