Towards the end of 2015, tyrepress.com reported that Continental may be warming to the idea of selling all-season tyres in Europe, and earlier this year we were given further reason to believe these products were on their way. The wait, it seems, is nigh on over. Several of Continental’s European market websites now include details about a new tyre, the AllSeasonContact.
Introducing the AllSeasonContact in a promotional video, the formerly staunch advocate of separate summer and winter tyre fitments comments that “under certain circumstances, an all-season tyre can be an alternative, also from our point of view.”
Continental still maintains its view that season-specific fitments provide optimal safety and performance, however it considers that all-season tyres – or, more specifically, its all-season tyre – offer an alternative for low-mileage vehicles operating in urban areas within mild climate zones. “To this end, Continental developed an additional tyre, the AllSeasonContact, which combines good winter and summer performances, plus best in class rolling resistance.”
The 3PMSF-marked AllSeasonContact features a v-shaped tread pattern that is similar to the Michelin CrossClimate in that it doesn’t feature the extensive siping seen on many all-season tyres. Continental credits the AllSeasonContact’s “impressive grip on snowy and wet winter roads” to an “adaptive all-season compound” – the Traction Silica Compound – that contains “winter performance resins” and “a high silica fill rate.” The tread design comes into play to a greater extent in the warmer months; Continental states that the pattern offers a “combination of open shoulders for high aquaplaning performance and stiff pattern with minimum sipes for better handling and braking on dry roads.”
According to product information published by Continental, the AllSeasonContact will be available in 14 to 18-inch sizes, widths of 165 to 245mm, 40 to 70 series cross sections and T/H/V speed ratings. Certain sizes have been given a EU tyre label rating of ‘B’ for both wet grip and rolling resistance, however it is not yet clear whether this rating applies to the entire AllSeasonContact range.
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