Dubai or Svalbard: Commercial Vehicle Air Spring From Continental Can Withstand Range of Temperatures
- New N7 model variant launched as original-equivalent spare part and can replace factory-fitted Tough RuNR air springs one-to-one
- Regardless of outdoor climate, the N7 combines flexibility with desired protective properties
- Aftermarket innovation: new compound made from natural rubber reinforced with high-performance ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM)
Hanover/Frankfurt am Main, Germany, August 2, 2024. Continental will present its new N7 air spring systems for commercial vehicle applications from September 10 to 14 at Automechanika (booth FOR.0 A03), the most important industry and trade show for the automotive aftermarket. The technology company is using the Frankfurt trade show to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and high performance of its N7 air springs for the aftermarket, fleet, haulage and workshop customers.
N7 is the identical spare part variant of the Tough RuNR air springs, which for the last two years have been factory fitted in the trucks of a major European commercial vehicle manufacturer. The Tough RuNR systems have proven their reliability as original equipment on demanding short-, medium- and long-haul routes around the world. They are now also available for the aftermarket, where durability is a key factor determining a product’s competitiveness and total cost of ownership. Workshops now have a cost-effective comparable product from the premium Continental or ContiTech brand for even more vehicles than before. Continental’s OEM product range covers more than 90 percent of the replacement air spring requirements for the models of European commercial vehicle manufacturers and thus almost all common truck axle applications.
From Dubai to Svalbard – the perfect combination of material properties
"Thanks to the new material compound, the N7 air spring offers the ideal combination of outstanding dynamic performance and protective properties," says Ingo Rosenau, product manager for the commercial vehicle aftermarket in Continental’s Industrial Solutions EMEA business area. "Our new natural rubber compound can withstand both cold and hot temperatures, which slows down material aging."
In the past, commercial vehicle workshops had to make a choice: they could either recommend to their customers air springs made of natural rubber, which can withstand very cold climatic conditions, or air springs made from synthetic chloroprene rubber, which can withstand harsh environmental conditions such as very high temperatures, ozone, ultraviolet light (UV) or chemicals. In the Tough RuNR and N7 air springs, the materials experts in Continental’s ContiTech group sector have replaced synthetic rubber with natural rubber reinforced using a particularly high-performance ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber. As a result, the product can withstand a wide range of climatic conditions, regardless of whether it is being used in the Arabian desert or on snow-covered roads on Svalbard. This makes the air springs attractive for haulage companies whose trucks are regularly exposed to both unusually cold and unusually hot temperatures.
The N7 air springs are not only a sustainable investment thanks to their durable material properties. By switching to natural rubber as the main component, the carbon footprint of the compound is also 50 percent lower than that of air springs made from chloroprene.*
*Own calculation, reference product is the rubber bellow of an original equipment air spring made from chloroprene rubber.
