Magazine for the professional tire industry
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63 www.moderntiredealer.com e sound of silence Continental offers quiet TerrainContact A/T all-terrain tire By Lori L. Mavrigian T he Continental TerrainContact A/T, Con- tinental Tire the Americas LLC's first all- terrain tire, also was launched by the tire maker at the resort in Pennsylvania (see previous page). e company said the all-terrain tire for CUVs, SUVs and light trucks has the durability to conquer dirt, gravel and grass while providing a quiet, comfort- able ride on pavement. It "strikes the perfect balance between off-road traction and on-road manners," said the tire maker. "With 2.7 million miles of paved roads and 1.4 million miles of unpaved roads in the U.S., this tire meets a variety of lifestyle needs." "is tire is the best balance of on- and off-road performance and is ideal for the driver who spends roughly 90% of their time on-road and 10% off- road," said Travis Roffler, director of marketing for Con- tinental. e tire fea- tures an open, aggres- sive tread paern with paern-shiing noise blockers. e TerrainContact A/T was designed u s i n g C o n t i n e n - t a l 's Tr a c t i o n P l u s Technolog y, which combines of f-road traction (thanks to a very open, high void tread pattern) and durability (large stable block s) w ith good on-road hand ling , said the company. Continental's +Silane technology provides wet traction. T h e a l l - s e a s o n tire also has traction grooves with gripping teeth inside the grooves for improved snow grip. Full-depth sipes aid in snow and ice traction while providing the comfort and traction needed in wet and dry conditions the rest of the year. Even road surface contact provided by a flat contour shape and strong tread shoulders boosts the tire's tread life. e TerrainContact A/T will compete against the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 2, Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar and Michelin LTX A/T2. It will be available in 35 sizes broken out as follows: 20 metric sizes up to 22 inches; 15 LT sizes up to 20 inches. e metric sizes range from 265/75TR16 to 285/45HR22 XL. e LT sizes — a first for the Continental brand — range from LT245/75R16 to LT285/60R20. All sizes are backed by a 60,000-mile limited tread wear warranty. Continental previewed the new tire for its Gold dealers earlier this year. e light truck and SUV replacement tire market represents 70 million tires; 37%, or 26 million tires, fall into the all-terrain category, an untapped market for the Continental brand until the TerrainContact A/T. Continental's entry into the all-terrain set was three years in the making that included over 100 hours of computer simula- tion; 1,500 tires tested; 12,000+ hours of machine testing; and over 1 million miles of machine testing. Aer the simulation was done, Continental tested the TerrainContact A/T for over 2 million combined miles on- and off-road. e company says the tire will be available for sale this fall. Focus on industry Continental's TerrainContact A/T was designed to provide off-road traction while still offering a quiet ride on the road thanks to an open, aggressive tread pattern with pattern-shifting noise blockers. The tire is geared toward CUV, SUV and light truck owners look- ing for on-road manners as well as off-roading capability. Its flat contour shape and strong tread shoulders help boost tread life. To aid in wet traction, the all-season tire features full- depth sipes and the company's +Silane technology.