Continental UltraContact UC7 sampled – now accessible in Malaysia; improved moist grip; 15- to 18-inch sizes

Continental Tyre Malaysia (CTM) lately held an official launch occasion for the brand new UltraContact UC7 in Langkawi, which comes following the announcement of the tyre’s availability within the nation again in September.

The primary of the model’s Era 7 merchandise, the UC7 succeeds the favored UC6 by delivering improved braking and management on moist floor. That is on high of different efficiency elements which are additionally enhanced, together with gas effectivity, dry braking and dealing with.

These enhancements are a results of greater than 9,500 hours of designing, simulating, constructing and testing of prototypes that concerned a world group of round 25 engineers and materials consultants. In the course of the UC7’s improvement part, prototypes have been subjected to over 850 assessments below varied situations that logged a mixed distance sufficient to circle the Earth 12 instances.

Described as an all-round tyre that’s tailor-made for a variety of car varieties, the UC7 carries the model’s Confidence+ Expertise and options what it calls ‘Diamond DNA’, which is headlined by three distinct options: Diamond Compound, Noise Breaker 3.0 and Aqua Channel Superior.

To virtually show these options, we got the chance to check out the brand new UC7 on the street in addition to in a sequence of assessments held in a managed setting. For good measure, a number of models of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles accessible to us have been fitted with the outgoing UC6 so we will expertise the variations firsthand.

The programme kicked off with a drive in direction of the Els Membership, with the route serving as a very good take a look at of the UC7’s Noise Breaker 3.0, which leverages on the slender longitudinal grooves (referred to as Move X-celerator) discovered on the tyre to interrupt the sound waves travelling by means of the principle tyre grooves.

By breaking apart these sound waves and dissipating them into smaller frequencies, the Move X-celerator grooves forestall noise from increase and travelling into the cabin of the automotive. This works with the specifically developed Diamond Compound that absorbs street impacts to cut back noise technology.

Throughout our drive, noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) ranges have been barely higher with the UC7 than the UC6, though it isn’t an evening and day distinction. In any case, we didn’t discover appreciable tyre roar and it was comparatively snug when going over lower than very best street surfaces.

On the winding Jalan Datai, the UC7 offered reassuring grip ranges, significantly in sections that have been damp because of our Malaysian climate. That is once more because of the design of the Move X-celerator grooves, which takes benefit of the Venturi impact to speed up water movement by means of its slender constriction to push water out.

Additional serving to evacuate water away from the tyre are the UC7’s Aqua Channel Superior floor sipes that function drainage for the tread blocks so the tyre can preserve as a lot floor contact with the street.

These options do end in a noticeable enchancment by way of moist grip, which is extra obvious after we tried out the UC7 within the slalom, braking and fast lane change assessments. In slalom and fast lane change eventualities, the UC7 impressed extra confidence when executing these manoeuvres, offering higher management and assurance in comparison with the UC6.

In the meantime, in braking assessments, the UC7 exhibited shorter braking distances on moist surfaces too, with the Diamond Compound formulation optimised to remodel kinetic vitality into warmth, with the method aided by hysteresis – the upper the extra environment friendly the conversion.

We observed a distinction of round 1-2 metres in braking distance between the UC7 and UC6, which may be appreciable in emergency conditions. As for dry grip, we didn’t discover a big distinction from the UC6, though there may be barely much less roll skilled by means of the corners with the UC7.

One side we couldn’t take a look at is longevity, though we’re informed that the Diamond Compound’s polymer community offers put on resistance for long-lasting tread life. If you happen to’re interested in treadwear modifications, Khoo Jan Sen, who’s a tyre improvement engineer at Continental, informed us that the UC7 has a ranking of 380, up from the UC6’s 340.

For many who have an affinity for aesthetics, the UC7 showcases a brand new sidewall design that prominently shows the product title and model title prominently together with a diamond icon, the latter pointing in direction of the ‘Diamond DNA’ options.

Whereas our time with the UC7 was brief, the enhancements over the UC6 have been instantly apparent and it’s a compelling tyre for many who need one thing that doesn’t encroach into the worth realm of Continental’s higher-end efficiency tyres just like the PremiumContact, MaxContact and SportContact sequence. The UC7 is accessible in sizes starting from 15 to 18 inches, which covers many mass-market vehicles, together with these from premium marques.