New in 2024: Continental VikingContact 8 Studless Winter Tire

No way? Every tire has different performance based on climate and vehicle. It may be better in Canada, and worse in the United States depending on where you are.

It the WS80 better than WS90 in some conditions? Is the Pilot Sport 3 better than Pilot Sport 4 in some conditions?

Usually for new iterations of the same tire, there is no advantage of the old version.

We'll see when the tests come out, but I expect it to be better or equal to VC7 in all aspects.
 
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Pretty significant differences in wet braking distances, although the test was done at 17c. Do you think the X-Ice would be closer at winter temperatures?
 
....thanks to Test World in Northern Finland, we've been able to test summer, CrossClimate, all season, winter and nordic winter tyres in dry and wet braking at 0c, 2c, 6c, 10c, 15c! We've also tested the snow performance of all the tires.

 
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Summer = Continental PremiumContact 6
CrossClimate = Michelin CrossClimate+
All season = Continental AllSeasonContact - also an all weather tire like the CC
Winter = Continental WinterContact TS 860
Nordic = Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3

Time to sell my VC7s and rock CC2s all year...
 
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Interesting point about poor wet braking and traction with winter tires. We deal with a lot of rain and the occasional snow day in the PNW - I wonder if we would be better off with good all seasons? Temperatures are still consistently below 7C during the winter though.

Or just get Michelin CC2 and don't think about it...

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Summer = Continental PremiumContact 6
CrossClimate = Michelin CrossClimate+
All season = Continental AllSeasonContact - also an all weather tire like the CC
Winter = Continental WinterContact TS 860
Nordic = Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3

Time to sell my VC7s and rock CC2s all year...

I have run Blizzak WS90s in 2 very mild Chicago winters and can confirm that winter tires are not good when temps are in the 30s and 40s. Grip is noticeably worse than a good set of uhp all seasons and braking can be a legitimate hazard in rain.

That said, we did have one pretty brutal cold snap/snow storm this past January and suddenly all my complaints about the WS90s went out the window and they were fantastic when in that element.

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But yeah, if you're not seeing real winter weather (temps below 30 with snow)... all seasons are superior.
 
For the Canadian market only, Continental has introduced the UltimateContact Winter studless tire.

.... This new tire will be sold exclusively through Canadian Tire, and will replace the Continental WinterContact SI Plus when it debuts in stores in August 2024.

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I have run Blizzak WS90s in 2 very mild Chicago winters and can confirm that winter tires are not good when temps are in the 30s and 40s. Grip is noticeably worse than a good set of uhp all seasons and braking can be a legitimate hazard in rain.

That said, we did have one pretty brutal cold snap/snow storm this past January and suddenly all my complaints about the WS90s went out the window and they were fantastic when in that element.

View attachment 206224

But yeah, if you're not seeing real winter weather (temps below 30 with snow)... all seasons are superior.

I've been running my DM-V2s in the 60-70s we've been having because of a nail in my A/S set. The tread squirm on the highway is crazy; makes me feel like I'm driving drunk.
 
I've been running my DM-V2s in the 60-70s we've been having because of a nail in my A/S set. The tread squirm on the highway is crazy; makes me feel like I'm driving drunk.

I know that sensation. When I went from worn summer goodyears to new michelin pilot sport all seasons on my Focus ST, I had so much squirm on the highway that I thought my rear sway bar was disconnected. Had to lift up the car again just to make sure everything was tight because it felt so loose.

Took a while to get used to it.
 
I've been running my DM-V2s in the 60-70s we've been having because of a nail in my A/S set. The tread squirm on the highway is crazy; makes me feel like I'm driving drunk.
DM-V2 are particularly bad in warmer weather. Even in cold they are not confident in dry.
 
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