Continental develops new self-repairing tire

Posted Sat Feb 9 2008 2:49 PM by Akash Vasvani

Tire development today has come a long way from what it once was. Tires are now available with customized tread patterns, different colors, as run-flats or even with the ability to emit different colored smoke during burnouts. But German tire producer Continental has come up with possibly the most useful of all these developments, a self-healing tire that can repair itself during a puncture.

According to AutoExpress, the tire contains a tacky, viscous coating on the inside of the tread which repairs any punctures as soon as they occur. The coating is also able to fill holes of up to 5mm in diameter if the puncturing object needs to be removed. The best part is however that the repair is permanent and not just a quick fix until you’re able to replace it. And unlike run-flat tires the Continental’s latest set of rubber can fit on all standard wheels and don’t need pressure sensors to monitor tire pressures.

While some concerns exist over the strength of the tire structure after repair, Continental is set to start sales of its new ContiSeal tire from this summer.

Reader Comments

Sat Feb 9 2008 7:19 PM
Taekwondonkey says

Its bout time
Sat Feb 9 2008 11:59 PM
Gus says

Exactly.
Sun Feb 10 2008 3:06 AM
Raptor says

Didn't allready B-17 bombers have self sealing fuel tanks that worked like this?
Sun Feb 10 2008 9:45 AM
jim says

This makes a lot more sense than those horrible run-flat tires that BMW among others are inflicting on us.
Sun Feb 10 2008 9:42 PM
mauterer says

this only makes sense if they fit on normal wheels unlike run-flats.
Sun Feb 10 2008 10:51 PM
SuperSkyline89 says

They do fit on normal wheels

"unlike run-flat tires the Continentalâ€™s latest set of rubber can fit on all standard wheels and donâ€™t need pressure sensors to monitor tire pressures"

And what the hell is up with this thing that makes certain words in the articles ad peoples' comments into links? It's god damn annoying and incredibly random.
Mon Feb 11 2008 1:28 PM
MGBMAN says

In the US, Uniroyal had a similar tire that I purchased. They were RUBBISH!!! While they may or may not have sealed a puncture I might have had, they were constantly throwing themselves off balance. It gets pretty hot here in Texas and the tires heated up a lot. When the car would be parked, the sealing treatment inside the tires would pool at the bottom and cool. I could not wait to get rid of them. Hope Continental has remedied this...

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