ContiTech supplies lifetime diesel timing belt to VW

By Chrissie Thompson, Automotive News.

The ContiTech Power Transmission Group has developed a timing belt for lifetime use on Volkswagen AG's common-rail diesel engines, the supplier says..

The belt, called the Diesel Runner, is standard in the diesel engine of the 2010 Volkswagen Golf, on sale now in Europe. The Golf has the first diesel engine that meets the next round of tightened European emissions standards, which take effect in September, ContiTech said last week in a statement.

Also in September, VW plans to start selling the new Golf in the United States as the Rabbit.

In testing, the Diesel Runner lasted more than 240,000 kilometers, or about 149,000 miles. The statement said it uses thinner cord types, improving strength to resist bending fatigue. The belt also has an elastomer compound that makes it stable at temperatures as low as minus 26 degrees, ContiTech said.

ContiTech makes the Diesel Runner at its plant in Hannover, Germany, and ships it to VW plants in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

From Automotive News (A Crain publication)

Press release from Contitech