Continental Launches New Timing Belt for Special Citroen and Peugeot Engines

Technology company Continental is updating its range of timing belts for the automotive aftermarket with the addition of the CT1228 timing belt. This will replace the previously available model, the CT1188, in all applications. It is intended for use in Peugeot and Citroen 1.2-liter engines built from the end of MY 2013 onwards.

Even tougher and harder-wearing

The timing belt runs directly in oil in some applications. Manufacturers use this design to reduce friction in the engine and thus cut its emissions. At the same time, this ensures low-noise operation with very precise timing. Operating in this way, however, places extremely high demands on the timing belt’s wear properties. Because even the slightest level of impurities in the oil can result in the formation of crystals. If such crystals get between the belt and the pulley, the belt can be damaged by the extremely hard crystals and, in the worst-case scenario, tear.

This prompted Continental to further improve the belt’s material properties: The glass-cord tension members have an optimized, oil-resistant coating and are embedded in an HNBR rubber (hydrogenated nitrile rubber) cross-linked with peroxide. This has an even higher acrylonitrile (ACN) content than before. The higher this content, the better the material’s resistance to certain carbon compounds that can occur as a result of friction between crystallized impurities in the oil. The aramid fabric on the inside face of the belt is also equipped with a multi-layer wear protection system. “The CT1188 itself was extremely tough and hard-wearing. In the newly developed CT1228 we have been able to improve these properties further still,” says Continental product manager Robert Franz. That means that even older engines with particularly high mileage can enjoy the efficiency and environmental benefits provided by a design featuring a timing belt running in oil. However, workshops must play their part in this by complying precisely with the manufacturer’s oil specifications, Franz continues.

Continental also grants its 5-year guarantee to registered workshops for the new CT1228 timing belt. Please visit www.continental-ep.de/5 for further details.

Continental’s Watch and Work video series, which, among other things, addresses the principle of the timing belt in oil, is available to professional automotive mechanics: www.continental-ep.com/bio