I don’t usually rely on CR ratings. Tires perform differently from vehicle to vehicle. My 2020 F-150 has Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires and I’m very happy with them. They are good in every category. Will I replace them with the same tire? Probably not. Will I replace them with a Continental? Probably not. When the time comes, I’ll probably choose Hankook, Toyo or Nitto.
Continental truck tire line blowing doors off Michelin Defender LTX
- Thread starter Navi
- Start date
There are two things I doubt CR on - paint and tires. Conti does make a good, if not short-lived tire. There’s reason I see Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear on big rigs, work trucks and buses and Contis on pushbikes and luxury cars.
These ratings by CR hardly constitute “blowing the doors off“
. Better headline perhaps “Continental finally puts out tire on par with Defender LTX”
. Better headline perhaps “Continental finally puts out tire on par with Defender LTX”We have had the TerrainContact H/T on the wife's 2018 Colorado for a little over a month now. Like every aspect of them.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=256
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=256
Ive had the terrain contact AT for about 10,000 miles. The sidewalls are a little soft and a couple extra psi took care of that. We tow some with them, so they see real use. This is the first AT I’ve owned that still handles rain in a RWD vehicle as good as they did on day 1. And they are quiet. And I’ve nailed a rock or two and they’ve held up. There‘a mild block shedding from a few miles of hard rock terrain. they are less noisy than Michelin LTX I’ve known before.
the only limitations id say for now is this: they are barely an AT. They are the lightest of all the ATs listed on tire rack, which makes them more compliant on the hwy but I’d argue less sturdy if you’re doing true off road use. Their tread pattern is pretty mild.
I think the rubber is a bit soft, but I prefer that. They dig in if you’ve got to get on the brakes or scoot out into traffic. hands down I’ll take them over Michelin.
BUT, I’m not a big fan of their other tires. I’ve known of two sets in my family, other conti offerings, which blew the sidewalls prematurely. One gave some warning with a big blister, the other just went spectacularly on the highway.
m
the only limitations id say for now is this: they are barely an AT. They are the lightest of all the ATs listed on tire rack, which makes them more compliant on the hwy but I’d argue less sturdy if you’re doing true off road use. Their tread pattern is pretty mild.
I think the rubber is a bit soft, but I prefer that. They dig in if you’ve got to get on the brakes or scoot out into traffic. hands down I’ll take them over Michelin.
BUT, I’m not a big fan of their other tires. I’ve known of two sets in my family, other conti offerings, which blew the sidewalls prematurely. One gave some warning with a big blister, the other just went spectacularly on the highway.
m
Just saw some continentals on a tractor trailer hauling a backhoe. They looked hardcore.
i would take CR with a grain of salt, but this tells me they ride better in a qualitative comparison.
i would take CR with a grain of salt, but this tells me they ride better in a qualitative comparison.
I'm a huge fan of Continental's line of General tires. The Hts60 and ATx are great truck tires for their intended purposes. The Rt43 is a really solid choice for a touring tire. All with mid level pricing.
When it comes to premium line I usually lean towards Michelin.
When it comes to premium line I usually lean towards Michelin.
Kumho Crugen HT51 are a not so secret carbon copy of the LTX have them on my wife’s car and they’re like snow tires in the winter. $100 a pop vs $180 for the frenchies.
I always wonder about these sort of tests and how they’re carried out. Vehicle, weight distribution, overall weight, and drive type have such an important impact on tire performance characteristics. It’s why I always go off of the reviews of similar vehicle and discard different types of cars that the tires are reviewed on. Does CR have their testing protocol published? I don’t have a subscription.
Crugen has lower load rating than Sumi, at least in size I needed.
"Blowing doors off" is a bit overblown statement. ...more like a smidgen. Keep the LTX's at 40-45 psi when not towing and they ride just fine. These are overengineered tires made for real work. Ill stick with the Michies for the long history of good service.
It appears those are P-metric tires based on speed rating shown and mileage warranty.
I'd like to see an LT tire comparison on a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck see the results then.
I'd like to see an LT tire comparison on a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck see the results then.
Bringing this back as I will need some new "shoes" before my summer road trip hauling a travel trailer from NC to Florida.
Currently running Michelin LTX/MS and want to try the Conti Terrain Contact H/T. Seem to be an alternative to the LTX/MS.
Someone upstream mentioned the Conti's don't have full tread depth sipes like the Michelins? Can anyone verify this?
Currently running Michelin LTX/MS and want to try the Conti Terrain Contact H/T. Seem to be an alternative to the LTX/MS.
Someone upstream mentioned the Conti's don't have full tread depth sipes like the Michelins? Can anyone verify this?
Looks like I found the answer at Tire Rack for the Conti Terrain Contact H/T
Full-depth, interlocking sipes deliver stable handling and braking under heavy loads, in addition to improving traction in wet, snowy or icy conditions. Traction Grooves feature gripping teeth inside the grooves to retain snow in the footprint for snow-to-snow traction.
Now that we've got that outta the way, anyone have an update of these Conti Terrain Contact H/T's? The Michelins have done me well, although the treadwear has not been as good as I expected. The Michelins appear to have a much wider groove between each tread that the Conti's. That would probably reduce hydroplaning. Still deciding.
Full-depth, interlocking sipes deliver stable handling and braking under heavy loads, in addition to improving traction in wet, snowy or icy conditions. Traction Grooves feature gripping teeth inside the grooves to retain snow in the footprint for snow-to-snow traction.
Now that we've got that outta the way, anyone have an update of these Conti Terrain Contact H/T's? The Michelins have done me well, although the treadwear has not been as good as I expected. The Michelins appear to have a much wider groove between each tread that the Conti's. That would probably reduce hydroplaning. Still deciding.
I wonder how these Continentals would stack up against the new version of the Michelin defenders?
Hey Corn, I’ve been running the Conti terrain contact HT for about 16 months on the ram 1500. They have exceeded my expectations. On ice, they’re as good as any other tire I’ve had, although surprisingly enough, the stock Goodyear wranglers were exceptional on ice driving. The Congo’s grip like glue in heavy rain and all wet conditions. Handled about 8 inches of our north jersey heavy wet snow on my unplowed roads without using 4WD. On some of our larger hills, I would most likely have had to use the 4WD. They seem to be wearing well, but I haven’t measured the tread depth. Handling in normal weather is fine. I run them at 40PSI. When I bought them, they were significantly cheaper than the Michelins. I can’t see the Michelin being any better. Btw, one can tell just by looking at them they are not off road tires, but they do handle the boat ramps I frequent without any drama.
Sure, when brand new, the Goodyear Wrangler SRA’s aren’t a bad tire but once they reach the halfway point in their treadwear is where they begin to deteriorate badly in traction.
I’m not sure if there’s significantly a difference between the GY SRA’s that came on my 2008 Ram 1500 as opposed to my 2018 Ram 1500 I bought brand new that had pretty much the same tires but because of how dangerous the SRA’s were on my 2008 only being half worn, I got rid of the SRA’s on my 2018 with no more than 1500 miles on them for that very reason.
I have ran the old-style Michelin Defenders and they are a superb tire and as far as whether or not the Continental TC’s are a better tire just because they are a little cheaper, I just don’t know and who knows, they’re probably just as good as the Michelins’s and as far as I can tell, you probably can’t go wrong with either choice.
I don’t know about your Ram but mine has that next-to-useless BW 44-44 auto-transfer case; confession: I don’t necessarily think it’s worthless, per se but even when you want true four-wheel-drive, you still don’t even get that because the auto-engagement of the front powertrain still applies even in 4-“Lock” and in 4-low so with that being said, my truck actually handled pretty well here in Oklahoma winters when we have actually gotten some snow and ice so I’d say that makes them pretty good as well.
