Hi,
Im looking for a quiet tire with an excellent ride quality. My Mazda 3 is a bit stiff, so I think a smooth tire that absorbs the road imperfections would improve the ride quality.
I do 40,000 km a year, 80% highway, so the ride quality is very important for me, as well as noise.
The Continental TrueContact tour seems highly rated on tirerack.com, but on other reviews some say its noisy at highway speeds.
My tire size is 205/60/16 speed rated H.
Any of you had those tires before? or have a better alternative?
Thanks!
Continental TrueContact Tour
- Thread starter wolf_06
- Start date
Is snow performance important? Or do you use a separate et of tires for the winter? 
I put about 35K miles on a set before I traded in the car. They were very sooth, quiet, confident in corners and excellent in the rain. I rotated them every 5K and they wore very evenly. They still had 7.5/32" of tread remaining after 35K miles.
The TrueContact Tour tires were significantly better than the Pirelli Cinturato P7 A/S tires that they replaced. I only got 45K miles out of the Pirellis before the uneven wear made them unusable and they were dangerous in the rain.
I have a set on a car that gets little use, but the 6,000 miles or so I've put on them have been quiet and smooth. Rain performance is fine - no snow use to speak of.
I currently have them on my elantra. The above reviews are pretty much spot on. The one thing I did notice was a drop in gas mileage. I have about 10K on mine now, and its like they haven't worn at all.
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Is snow performance important? Or do you use a separate et of tires for the winter?
I have them on the Camry and am not a big fan. I stacked two rebates and a sale to pay about $375 for the set, as I remember. I was lured in by their high ranking on TireRack but they have kind of disappointed. Grip is not great, even on dry roads. Handling is not terribly confidence-instilling. I think the problem is that they are designed to last so long that they just have to be made "hard" and rather "non-grippy." (But then other tires like the Michelin Defender manage to last a long time without seeming to resort to this...) I'm not asking a lot of the tires, no hard driving or cornering, but they just feel really hard.
Their one benefit is that they are lasting (on track for 80-90k probably, as they have 30k on them now with little wear). MPG seems just the same as the factory Michelins that came off, no notable difference there.
I did get a good deal on them, but I am not terribly happy with them and will probably be stuck with them for another 3 or 4 years. YMMV, literally, but I would not recommend them. We have cheapo Goodyears (Comfortread Touring, I think) on the Sienna that I do prefer. Those were $290 for a set of four with install/lifetime balance and rotation. Frankly, I would rather have a cheaper, softer tire and be able to change it out more frequently. That's just my take after buying one of the longest-lasting tires on the market (and not being happy with them). But, as you noted, the reviews are great. Maybe I got a bad set or something.
Originally Posted by TmanP
I have them on the Camry and am not a big fan. I stacked two rebates and a sale to pay about $375 for the set, as I remember. I was lured in by their high ranking on TireRack but they have kind of disappointed. Grip is not great, even on dry roads. Handling is not terribly confidence-instilling. I think the problem is that they are designed to last so long that they just have to be made "hard" and rather "non-grippy." (But then other tires like the Michelin Defender manage to last a long time without seeming to resort to this...) I'm not asking a lot of the tires, no hard driving or cornering, but they just feel really hard.
Their one benefit is that they are lasting (on track for 80-90k probably, as they have 30k on them now with little wear). MPG seems just the same as the factory Michelins that came off, no notable difference there.
I did get a good deal on them, but I am not terribly happy with them and will probably be stuck with them for another 3 or 4 years. YMMV, literally, but I would not recommend them. We have cheapo Goodyears (Comfortread Touring, I think) on the Sienna that I do prefer. Those were $290 for a set of four with install/lifetime balance and rotation. Frankly, I would rather have a cheaper, softer tire and be able to change it out more frequently. That's just my take after buying one of the longest-lasting tires on the market (and not being happy with them). But, as you noted, the reviews are great. Maybe I got a bad set or something.
Although I bought the Pirelli Cint P7 A/S+ on closeout(~$103/ea), the Continental TrueContact TOUR(CTCT) was on my radar and high on my consideration list. I did a lot of searching & reviews on this tire and based on just this, I would have considered & recommended them to others.
I've had TrueContacts on several vehicles, a 2006 Odyssey, and a 2007 Impala. I will be buying a set for my 2005 Outback soon if that tells you how good they are. They are a hair stiff when first put on but the ride softens within 500 miles. I'm not sure why Tman feels they are not grippy, I could do offramps at nearly double the posted speed in the Fusion, and have no regrets in the Odyssey and Impala. They will grip just fine and gently break away at the limit; you will get tickets before you exceed the capabilities of the TrueContact Tour. They are a little harsh over rough expansion joints, but as mentioned they are a very long-life tire. I sold the Fusion with PureContacts and the tires were at 66k miles and still had a hair over 4/32 tread depth. Odyssey has over 30k and barely looks worn, Impala has over 20k and the tire still looks factory fresh. Snow performance on the FWD vehicles is decent as long as you are minding your speed, but nothing like a Blizzak or full snow tire. I expect on the Subaru they will be excellent, as every tire except the Pep Boys ones on the Outback now have been raised up several notches with the AWD.
Long story short, for the price and intended vehicle usage, it's a stellar tire. Unless you are very picky, you will be happy.
You can also look at the Hankook Kinergy PT (H737). They are a long life touring tire that are decent riding.
Rebate on them right now as well for 4.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Kinergy+PT
I have the True Contact's on my wife's Rav4 and my daughter's Honda Civic. I would buy them again.
I am in the I had a horrible experience with True Contact Tour camp. To be fair, I had them installed 12/31/18 since rebate expired next day. Shop had young crew working. All tires were balanced 1/2 ounce off. The Nexen tires they replaced were super soft. So immediately it felt like I was feeling every bump. Being out of balance tires felt like they were going up and down. Even after balanced felt every bump in road. They were great in snow. If they were balanced properly from get go during the warm part of the year my experience may be totally different. Under warranty replaced with RT43's. Could immediately feel they absorbed bumps and have been very happy with them. Tire size 195/65R15 91H for both tires.
Originally Posted by Char Baby
Although I bought the Pirelli Cint P7 A/S+ on closeout(~$103/ea), the Continental TrueContact TOUR(CTCT) was on my radar and high on my consideration list. I did a lot of searching & reviews on this tire and based on just this, I would have considered & recommended them to others.
Yes I bought the P7 A/S Plus. This is my 2nd set of them and 4th set of Pirelli's. I do like'em.
Originally Posted by wolf_06
Originally Posted by Char Baby
Although I bought the Pirelli Cint P7 A/S+ on closeout(~$103/ea), the Continental TrueContact TOUR(CTCT) was on my radar and high on my consideration list. I did a lot of searching & reviews on this tire and based on just this, I would have considered & recommended them to others.
Originally Posted by Char Baby
Yes I bought the P7 A/S Plus. This is my 2nd set of them and 4th set of Pirelli's. I do like'em.
These were the tires that the Honda dealer put in when I bought my 2013 Honda CR-V EX-L used, so far I have no complain. I would but these set of tires again.
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