A new offering from Continental, the WinterContact TS 860, is said to perform 5% better than its predecessor when braking on wintry roads, with braking distances 4% shorter on ice and further improvements in snow handling, grip on snow and ride quality.
The tire’s compound, which features Conti’s cool chili technology, has a high proportion of silica, which reduces braking distances on wet roads due to its special damping characteristics. The highly flexible polymer matrix is said to offer a noticeable improvement in traction properties on all wintry road surfaces. Also new are special high-performance resins that maintain the flexibility of the compound even at low temperatures, providing shorter braking distances on cold, wet, icy and snow-covered surfaces.
For effective braking on icy roads, engineers at Conti have developed a technology liquid layer drainage. When braking on ice, a film of water is created under the tread that significantly reduces the tire’s contact patch with the road. The new technology, incorporating an additional drainage channel molded into the tread block, allows the water to drain away faster than was previously possible, effectively cutting braking distances on icy roads.
January 5, 2016
