Continental ContiExtremeContact Thoughts/Opinions

[Volvohead]

I run the Contis as a winter tire on our R.

It is the top of the pack in winter and wet performance, and is a good all-around choice. Of course, it runs rings around a dedicated winter tire on dry pavement. It is relatively comfortable and reasonably quiet. However, it is not as competent as some others in steering feel or dry cornering prowess. It is predicable at its limits.

Every tire is a compromise. But for fall and winter conditions, and especially snow and ice, this is about the best out there in an A/S design.

Were I limited to one year-round tire, I would give up some of the winter performance of the Contis and go with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.

 

[Tennisjon2002]

Get the Avon Tech M550's. i got them for the TL and they are GREAT!

 

[speedygonzalez]

May seem off topic, but the tires I bought, when I was also considering the conti's, is the Pirelli P3000 (same idea, a do it all tire with really high mileage rating).

I chose those because they were in stock, they didn't have the Conti's in stock.

Anyone else here owned the Pirelli P3000's? What do you think? Anyone here owned both the Pirelli P3000 and the CEC to compare them?

I have had them about 12000 miles. The tread is literally the same as when they were new. Dry is very good, rain is pretty good, and I've never driven them in the snow. I drove on an icy road, and if I punched the gas or break, the ABSW would go on if I braked hard. When punching the gas, I might get a little rooster tail (AWD turbo car). Then again, with a turbocharged car, it's not too suprising that the wheels will spin if you hit the gas hard on cornering.

My overall opinion on the Pirelli's is the have very good summer, medium sidewalls, and juust Ok in rain and icy conditions. Other people at tirerack gave it higher for rain then I do.

Seems like a tire that never wears down, but just OK traction.

I only brought them up cause I was either gonna buy the P's or the CEC;s.

 

[mshu7]

I have an '00 Grand Am GT. I recently just replaced my CEC's with the Avon Tech M550 A/S.

In regards to the CEC's, I like the grip they provided during all seasons. I was really impressed how good they were in the snow. However, I had two complaints about them. 1) In the winter they would flat spot when the car sat for a while. After a few miles of driving they would warm up and be fine. 2) They seemed to get loud towards the end of their life. I ran them for almost 50K.

I had very high hopes for the Avon's that I just installed since they received pretty good reviews. I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. The first thing I noticed is how heavy these tires are. Acceleration vs. the CEC's is definitely slower. The other thing I've noticed is that they too are flat spotting during the cold months. This is extremely aggrivating. I've checked tire pressure and everything is correct. I was also expecting these tires to be a handle much better than the CEC's esp. with 50K on the CEC's. They didn't handle nearly as well as I thought they would. When making lane changes, the tires seem "slower" and I don't understand why. With those complaints, I have enjoyed a couple things about the tires. They are much quieter than the CEC's on all surfaces. I couldn't believe what a difference it made going from the CEC's to the Avon. The other thing that I like is the grip. I've yet to break them lose on any surface, even wet.

All in all, I'd say both tires are OK to GOOD for their price. Out of the two, I don't know which one I'd pick...it would be a toss-up.

 

[sethjvm]

I don't really like these tires. I drive about 450 miles per week and these things are noisy. They are hard to balance so I get lots of whupity whupity whupity sounds. My steering wheel has a pull that two shops have blamed on these tires during alignments.

I'm cheap so I'll run them until the fall and then probably never buy Continentals again.

 

[wantin150]

Look into the Nitto Neogen. I have no experience with them (I run Eagle F1 GS D3's) but am looking for replacements eventually. You can find them at www.discountire.com and they come 225-45-17 94W and are all season rated.