LOUISVILLE, KY. Continental Tire the Americas unveiled a commercial-vehicle specific advanced tire pressure monitoring system this week at the Mid-America Trucking Show here.
ContiPressureCheck continually monitors the pressure and temperature of each tire, providing real-time tire status and warning of potential problems, including underinflation, Continental said.
“ContiPressureCheck is a unique product that brings together all Continental’s expertise in tires, inflation, in-cab displays, sensors and monitoring technologies for a direct system that not only provides advanced, accurate pressure data, but also addresses fleet concerns about fuel economy and operating cost reductions,” said Clif Armstrong, director of commercial vehicle tire marketing for the Americas.
The system integrates sensors, a communication system and a data processor into a single module housed inside a rubber container and glued to the inner surface of the tire, the company said, to monitor air pressure and tire temperature. Data is sent wirelessly to the truck’s electronic control unit, processed, and if necessary, alerts the driver through an in-cab display.
“Since a tire’s contained air pressure naturally increases as a vehicle moves, it can be difficult to tell if a hot tire is underinflated. Without some form of temperature compensation, a hot tire that is underinflated might appear to be fine, because the contained air pressure is at or above its cold inflation pressure,” Armstrong said.
ContiPressureCheck eliminates this problem, Armstrong added, by measuring the temperature at the optimal point inside the tire and then compensating for the temperature in the inflation data.
“With ContiPressureCheck, which is tire mounted, we measure both tire pressure and temperature, in order to give the most accurate reading,” Armstrong said. “This feature alerts drivers to underinflation issues even in the case of slow leaks, which are difficult to detect in a system that is not compensated.”
By ensuring proper tire inflation, Continental said, fleets will see improved fuel economy, longer tire life, and lower operating costs.
