Continental Terraincontact H/T 285/45R 22 500km review

[OVERKILL]

Per my other thread, we opted for the Continental TerrainContact H/T tires over the Defender LTX due to a rather massive price difference. I had originally ordered the LTX, but my dealer had no problem changing the order.

We now have ~500km on these, so I thought it time for some initial impressions.

1. Firmness/sidewall stiffness
These are XL rated tires and I must assume that has some impact on sidewall stiffness. They have very little roll-over in corners; significantly less than the Goodyear ones they replaced. I do not consider this a negative attribute, it firmed up the ride ever so slightly but improved "connectedness" and made them significantly more responsive as they lack that delay in response in input from the wheel that we'd experience from the Goodyear as it would roll-over.

2. Wet traction
I can't even begin to describe the difference in behaviour on wet pavement. These are extremely grippy, which was one of my main buying criteria, so this has me extremely satisfied.

3. Quietness
They are as quiet as you'd expect a tire with a highway tread to be.

4. Dry traction
Extremely good, they bite very well when you roll into the throttle. The Goodyears were not bad in this department, but these are a fair bit better.

5. Handling
This ties into #1, the tires are much more responsive and seem to grip well in corners. The lack of roll-over inspires more confidence and so this is overall a pleasant experience and unexpected improvement. Of course this is a truck, so one has to keep that in mind.

Overall, I'm pleased with the purchase at this stage, we'll see how this holds up as the miles accrue.

Some filthy pictures. As I've noted before, I do NOT use tire dressing, on any tires I own, so these will never be shiny. Of course the truck is filthy too

 

[02SE]

I'm going to send a box of Q-tips, so you can clean those filthy sipes...

 

[The Critic]

Thanks for the review. Based on your knowledge of LTX M/S tires, how do these compare?

 

[ZeeOSix]

Per my other thread, we opted for the Continental TerrainContact H/T tires over the Defender LTX due to a rather massive price difference.

Checkout the video in the link below ... the TerrainContact H/T rated the best between the 4 tested. I'll consider these for my Tacoma when tires are due. Are yours black wall, or did they put the outlined raised white letters on the inside? I don't like raised white letters on tires.

Tire Test Video - Tire Rack

 

[OVERKILL]

Checkout the video in the link below ... the TerrainContact H/T rated the best between the 4 tested. I'll consider these for my Tacoma when tires are due. Are yours black wall, or did they put the outlined raised white letters on the inside? I don't like raised white letters on tires.

Tire Test Video - Tire Rack

These are blackwall. The Tire Rack test is the reason I bought them

 

[OVERKILL]

Thanks for the review. Based on your knowledge of LTX M/S tires, how do these compare?

VERY favourably. I am quite interested to see if they hold up as well over the long term. We always got very good mileage out of the LTX, so that's one of the things I'll be tracking.

I'd say these are the best competitor to the LTX on the market and the closest in performance.

 

[dadto2]

I hope they work out for you. I've had bad luck with Continentals and Generals. Even the Continental bicycle tires I had were flatting all the time!

 

[meep]

Overkill, glad you like them. Ive got a set with 15k on them and they have been very unique for me in that their wet traction is still as good as they were new. By now the rear end would normally be getting slick in the rain, with every other truck tire I’ve had. And they are dead silent, and they do give a little better dirt traction than a highway tire, though they clearly are on the light side of an AT. We tow a little with ours and they’ve been just fine there too. I’m hoping/gathering that their sidewalls are a little more robust than passenger car apps. Congrats!

 

[The Critic]

Any update?

Do these still perform comparably to the Defender LTX?

 

[sohccammer427]

I have Defender LTX's on my Colorado now. I was going to go with the Terraincontact HT's but at the last minute ordered the
Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II. An SUV/Crossover tire. Reason being the truck is exclusively on road. Waiting to mount them when we return from a trip to Florida later this month as the Michelins still have some good tread left.

 

[The Critic]

I have Defender LTX's on my Colorado now. I was going to go with the Terraincontact HT's but at the last minute ordered the
Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II. An SUV/Crossover tire. Reason being the truck is exclusively on road. Waiting to mount them when we return from a trip to Florida later this month as the Michelins still have some good tread left.

I’m sure you are aware of this, but treadlife is quite miserable on those Pirelli’s. 30-40K is what you can expect.

 

[sohccammer427]

I’m sure you are aware of this, but tread life is quite miserable on those Pirelli’s. 30-40K is what you can expect.

I heard that but probably after the truck shortage eases I'm going to step up to a 1/2 ton pickup. So seeing as I've not even mounted them I'll have plenty of tread life. The Colorado Baby Max has been good so far, but we've outgrown it.

 

[OVERKILL]

Any update?

Do these still perform comparably to the Defender LTX?

Yes, still very impressed with them. Used them in heavy rain several times now and they grip well. You can get them to let loose, but the LTX's would do the same under the same throttle application on the same surface.

 

[OVERKILL]

I’m sure you are aware of this, but treadlife is quite miserable on those Pirelli’s. 30-40K is what you can expect.

yes, I had the Verde's on my first SRT Jeep and they did not wear well (mind you, these were OEM).

 

[Jmlo96]

We just ordered a set of the TerrainContact H/T for our 2014 Grand Cherokee. They will replace a set of Michelin Defender LTX M/S. The Michelins have had terrific traction and remained quiet; however, they are starting to have small cracks in the sidewalls and get low on tread. We would have bought the Michelins again except the price was $25 more a tire for the Michelins. I'm curious to see how the two compare.

 

[OVERKILL]

We just ordered a set of the TerrainContact H/T for our 2014 Grand Cherokee. They will replace a set of Michelin Defender LTX M/S. The Michelins have had terrific traction and remained quiet; however, they are starting to have small cracks in the sidewalls and get low on tread. We would have bought the Michelins again except the price was $25 more a tire for the Michelins. I'm curious to see how the two compare.

Keep us posted, those sort of back-to-back comparisons are extremely valuable.

 

[Rand]

I just ordered the terraincontact AT DTD has a special $1003 will pay 570 after rebates all in (taxes, fees, install, warranty certs etc)
I decided to stay factory size 245/65r17

I had local discount tire pricematch DTD's current deal. They had everything except the $110 off sale so it was an easy phone call.
-110 instant sale, -10% military discount, 100 continential MIR, 30CC mir.

Will post up a review in a week or so and update it.. expecting it to be a decent upgradefrom the factory oem firestone destination AT with 35k miles on them.
Since current tires still have decent tread 8/32 will probably be easy to sell them for $100-$150

 

[The Critic]

I just ordered the terraincontact AT DTD has a special $1003 will pay 570 after rebates all in (taxes, fees, install, warranty certs etc)
I decided to stay factory size 245/65r17

I had local discount tire pricematch DTD's current deal. They had everything except the $110 off sale so it was an easy phone call.
-110 instant sale, -10% military discount, 100 continential MIR, 30CC mir.

Will post up a review in a week or so and update it.. expecting it to be a decent upgradefrom the factory oem firestone destination AT with 35k miles on them.
Since current tires still have decent tread 8/32 will probably be easy to sell them for $100-$150

I am very interested in doing the same....to get rid of my truck's OE Goodyears.

 

[crj19]

I have had both on my Silverado, the Conti Terra Contact AT is great at everything but in the snow which Tire Rack also noted in their testing, the Defender LTX was much better all around.

 

[meep]

I am very interested in doing the same....to get rid of my truck's OE Goodyears.

They are outstanding tires. best lasting rain traction tires I’ve had on a truck, ever. Quiet, quiet ride, tows a load without drama. Felt good around 37 psi with 275/55/18 (I think) (Ford oem for 18”)