Good showing in CR for Continental tires

[Hokiefyd]

Good news for Continental fans: this low rolling resistance all season tire was just compared by CR against its existing crop of all season tires, and placed #2, just behind the #1-ranked Michelin HydroEdge. The tire scored no worse than "Good" in every category, showed decent braking and handling, and even "Very Good" for ice braking. It was also "Good" in ride and noise, and of course "Excellent" in rolling resistance. Tire Rack also tested it in a recent test (reported earlier in a different thread): http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=133

CR also included the Continental ExtremeContact DWS in their latest UHP all season tire test, and it came out #4, with a recommended status. Its best performance, "Excellent", was in wet braking, with "Very Good" in general across the board for the objective testing metrics. It also scored "Good" for winter performance and ride and noise. Its only low point was expected tread life, "Fair".

We've talked before how Continental seemingly had a bunch of duds out there, but they've got a few winners out there in the marketplace right now.

 

[tig1]

The Continentials on my Fusion have 59K on them and there is at least 20K left.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

CR also included the Continental ExtremeContact DWS in their latest UHP all season tire test, and it came out #4,

Which 3 tires scored above it?

 

[Hokiefyd]

1: Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season
2: Sumitomo HTR A/S P01
3: Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus
4: Continental ExtremeContact DWS
5: Sumitomo HTR +
6: BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S
7: Nitto Premium NT850
8: Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position
9: Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season

And there were a slew of others also, probably 20 tires total. Size tested was 225/40R18.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: tig1
The Continentials on my Fusion have 59K on them and there is at least 20K left.


Are they the last generation ContiProContact? How have you liked them in general? Grip? Comfort? Noise level?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
1: Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season
2: Sumitomo HTR A/S P01
3: Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus
4: Continental ExtremeContact DWS
5: Sumitomo HTR +
6: BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S
7: Nitto Premium NT850
8: Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position
9: Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season

Interesting. By contrast, Conti DWS came in first in this TireRack comparo, ahead of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

Our C300 came with ContiProContact. When they wear out, I am planning to replace them with DWS.

 

[opus1]

Admittedly, my seat-of-the-pants evaluation is not statistically relevant, but I think the best set of all-season tires I've ever owned came from Continental. They were replacements on my '79 Impala, bought them sometime in the late 80's. They were great even in snow and I got good life out of them.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
By contrast, Conti DWS came in first in this TireRack comparo, ahead of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.


Yep. This is why I value many different resources for information. Different sized tires will perform differently, and on different vehicles, etc. Either way, both look to be exceptional tires.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I'm questioning the ranking of Sumitomo HTR + above these tires: BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S, Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS and Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season.

I had Sumitomo HTR + on E430 some years ago, it was cheap and it performed as such. I would not buy it even if it is less than half of the above tires.

 

[Quattro Pete]

HTSS_TR, what are you running on your E430 now?

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: tig1
The Continentials on my Fusion have 59K on them and there is at least 20K left.

Are they the last generation ContiProContact? How have you liked them in general? Grip? Comfort? Noise level?

I have the last generation ContiProContact on my Nissan (size 215/60R16) and wouldn't hesitate to buy another set. I have just under 27K miles on them and have been running them just over 2 years. The tread looks like new; grip, comfort, and noise level are all good. They're even fine in the snow during the winter here in Southeast Michigan. And I find their wet traction extraordinary. I got stuck in torrential rain a couple months ago and never once felt them hydroplane.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
HTSS_TR, what are you running on your E430 now?

Continental ExtremeContact DWS, so far after about 800-1000 miles it is very good. The ride is quiet, the performance/handling is not as good as Falken FK452 but much better than Sumitomo, fuel consumption is about 2-5% more than the bald Falken which is expected.

The sidewall is much softer than Falken, but with 40-42 PSI the DWS doesn't feel weak on cornering and the ride is not hash either.

I don't need all-season tire for reason that we never have snow in So Cal, except when we go to Vegas in winter then may be some snow there. But I am tired of changing tires every 20-25k miles, even I rotated the tires every 5-6k miles and the recommendation from MB is 10k miles, I hope DWS will lasted 30-35k miles on the E430.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
But I am tired of changing tires every 20-25k miles, even I rotated the tires every 5-6k miles and the recommendation from MB is 10k miles, I hope DWS will lasted 30-35k miles on the E430.

I hear ya. I switched my 530i to all-seasons for the same reason (treadlife), although technically I could run dedicated summers since I have a set of snow wheels/tires that I use during winter anyway.

 

[FZ1]

I always go to Tire Rack and sort the surveys,by my make and model,to come up with a good tire for my Accord.

 

[Hokiefyd]

The question came up about the Sumitomo HTR+, as it related to some of the tires that ranked below it. I'm summarizing CR's observations here, but for what it's worth...

The HTR+ scored a "Very Good" for all 3-season performance metrics. It scored a "Good" for the winter performance metrics, for ride quality, noise, and rolling resistance. And it scored a "Poor" for expected tread life.

The Bridgestone Potenza scored a "Very Good" for all 3-season metrics but wet handling, in which it scored "Good". It was "Good" in both winter traits, "Very Good" in ride and noise, and "Fair" in both rolling resistance and expected tread life.

The BFGoodrich Super Sport matched the HTR+ in 3-season performance, with "Very Goods" all the way across. It was "Fair" in snow traction, but did match the HTR+'s "Good" for ice braking. It one-upped the HTR+ in noise, and scored a "Good" for expected tread life, compared with "Poor".

Keep in mind that these are CR's famous bubbles. Slim differences within each bubble cannot be ascertained. For example, every tire that scored "Very Good" in dry braking didn't have the exact same braking number; there will still be some variability there. In addition, CR does not weight each category equally. The performance categories weigh more heavily than ride and noise, for instance.

It's interesting to note that the HTR+ and the Super Sport both received the same numerical score (78/100). So although the Super Sport out-performed the HTR+ in noise and in expected treadlife, the one area where the HTR+ scored better (snow traction) apparently has a heavier weight than the other two, because the overall score came out the same. The HTR+ placed higher presumably because of its lower price, given an equal objective score.

The good part here about CR's testing result, and any testing regime that breaks out different facets of a tire's performance, is each person can decide what's best for them, based on your own priorities. In this case, if your priority is winter performance, and your choice is only among the two tires noted here, your choice would likely be the HTR+. If you don't care about 4-season performance, then maybe the Super Sport is your horse.

And regarding differences in observation, remember that tires of differing sizes may perform differently. In addition, many tires undergo continual improvement cycles, so even the "same" tire today may handily out-perform its older relative, even if the tire name and tread design are the same.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Interesting. By contrast, Conti DWS came in first in this TireRack comparo, ahead of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

Our C300 came with ContiProContact. When they wear out, I am planning to replace them with DWS.


The TireRack test was performed at the Artic, and was comparison of winter capability with an UHP AS. I own a set of DWS and until I see their winter capability am holding my opinion on them. They have a tough act to follow with my prior tires of Nokian WR G2's which I absolutely loved in all conditions. However WR G2's had a $230 premium over DWS and being unemployed at time of purchase.......