Continental summer tyres win high ratings

ERJ staff report (RD)

Hanover, Germany - Continental AG's ContiPremiumContact 2 summer tyre has performed well against five cheaper imports from Asia, the company said in a recent press release.

A test by British magazine Autocar weekly said the difference in quality between the two tyre types was “staggering,” in favour of the Continental tyre.

Continental's statement also said that the tyre received high ratings from the German Motoring Club (ADAC), as well as winning tests conducted by Auto Zeitung and Auto Bild publications.

According to Continental, a recent test performed at the Leibniz University of Hanover demonstrated that cheap imports from Asia are “a considerable risk to the safety of the driver and passenger of a car.”

“We had various tyres on our test rig to examine whether budget tyres are really of substandard quality,” said Professor Jörg Wallaschek, director of the Institute for Dynamics and Vibration Research at the faculty of Mechanical Engineering. “The results show that the cost benefit of cheap tyres from Asia is outweighed by serious safety deficits. Of the cheap tyres we examined, the friction coefficient of the tread blocks was on average 20 percent lower than that of quality tyres from Europe,” Wallascheck continued. “But only a high friction value makes it possible to brake and steer safely,” he added.

Wallascheck said those seeking to pay Euro 30 less when buying tyres must take into consideration that they might be risking a total loss at some later stage.

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Press release from Continental AG