Continental releases long haul steer tire

Continental has released the Conti EcoPlus HS3+, a steer/all-position product in the long haul or line haul application, where vehicles travel 100,000 miles or more per year primarily on the highway. According to the company’s field tests, it delivers 27% better mileage than its predecessor, the Conti EcoPlus HS3.

The tire is optimized for maximum mileage performance, lowest overall fuel consumption, and durability for retreading — the key aspects for Lowest Overall Driving Cost in this segment. It features a technologically advanced cap compound to provide improved cut and tear resistance for increased mileage, balanced with rolling resistance for fuel efficiency. The Conti 3G casing provides heat dispersion for increased retreadability. The tire is also designed to provide a comfortable ride, as drivers may spend many hours per day in their vehicles. The Conti EcoPlus HS3+ is SmartWay verified, CARB compliant, and is covered by a seven-year, three retread warranty.

Steer tires are especially important on a commercial vehicle, since they run in a single rather than a dual configuration. Steer tires are free rolling and pivot to control vehicle direction, meaning they need to be specially designed to prevent irregular wear. The Conti EcoPlus HS3+ features a tread profile that reduces sensitivity to road surface, fleet, and vehicle variations allowing for improved performance throughout tire life. Its footprint shape delivers significant wear improvements for increased removal miles. It also has a 10 percent improvement in de-coupler durability, a key feature for maximizing tire life.

The Conti EcoPlus HS3+ has a 19/32-inch tread depth and is currently available in the following sizes: 11R22.5 Load Range G and H, 295/75R22.5 Load Range G and H, 11R24.5 Load Range H, and 285/75R24.5 Load Range H.

With the Conti 3G casing, Continental’s wide, standardized casing construction allows for retreads up to 245 millimeters in width. The casing is ideal for multiple retread use in both long haul drive and/or long-haul trailer applications. Continental offers a wide portfolio of drive and trailer retread patterns, including SmartWay verified and CARB compliant options.

The Conti EcoPlus HS3+ is also available as an intelligent tire pre-equipped with TPMS sensors, upon customer request. Maintaining proper tire inflation on a steer tire is critical, allowing fleets to extend the tread life, as well as maintain casing integrity for future retreading to the drive and trailer positions. Proper tire pressure also improves safety and handling and helps prevent steer tire blowouts. Continental offers a full portfolio of digital tire monitoring systems to meet different fleet needs. Components of all systems can be combined to take advantage of different functionalities.

Tire monitoring solutions include the ContiPressureCheck on-vehicle TPMS and ContiConnect Yard digital tire monitoring system with web portal.