Tire Rack tests new CONTINENTAL SecureContact AW ...

[odie]

go here for details . No video as of now . T.R. buyers giving good reviews for SecureContact AW . Debating on getting them .

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/test...securecontact-aw-hands-on-test-drive?ttid=352



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Detailed view of the tread , sipes and blocks . Talks of them being placed on a TOYOTA GR86 for Wisconsin winter .

 

[The Critic]

I wonder if the directional tread pattern is the secret to the CrossClimate2's strong wet performance.

Based on these results, there's pretty no reason to buy the SecureContact AW over the TrueContact Tour 54 if you do not see snow.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Conti is great rubber!

 

[jadmt]

living in Montana I am glad I bought the CC2's.

 

[scrllock]

Just bought the Goodyear WeatherReady2s, look nearly identical to the CC2. Excellent in the rain, as you'd expect due to the tread pattern. Maybe slightly louder than CC2s but with USAA discount it's tough to beat.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

Haven’t seen or read this review yet but judging by the looks of the tread they’re too aggressive for an all around all season tire.

 

[jmo42]

living in Montana I am glad I bought the CC2's.

Likewise, glad I bought the CC2s for driving in the crazy torrential rain we get here in Tennessee. Their wet road condition performance far exceeds any other tire I’ve run in my 35+ years of driving.

We don’t get much snow, but I’m really glad to have them on my vehicle when we do. Having grown up right next to the Great White North, I used to run Blizzak snow tires in the winter but it was a pain to swap tires at the beginning and end of every winter season. Wish I had had CrossClimate tires back then, wouldn’t have ever felt the need to swap.

They really are a great all weather, all season tire.

 

[scrllock]

Haven’t seen or read this review yet but judging by the looks of the tread they’re too aggressive for an all around all season tire.

how so?

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

how so?

Looks like a snow / winter tire tread

 

[dubber09]

It's an 'all weather' tire, not 'all season' tire that wasn't meant to see snow. AW tires are not for everyone or all and any geo location; they make sense to those and where winter conditions happen but don't justify having to change to proper winter tires due to personal choice or winter duration.

 

[bdc101]

It's an 'all weather' tire, not 'all season' tire that wasn't meant to see snow. AW tires are not for everyone or all and any geo location; they make sense to those and where winter conditions happen but don't justify having to change to proper winter tires due to personal choice or winter duration.

I agree with this -- "all weather" is just an all season tire that is designed for slightly better winter performance at the cost of slightly worse performance on wet and dry asphalt.

Likewise, glad I bought the CC2s for driving in the crazy torrential rain we get here in Tennessee. Their wet road condition performance far exceeds any other tire I’ve run in my 35+ years of driving.

The road tests show that CC2 and other all-weather tires are generally slightly less grippy in wet and dry performance than an equivalent all-season tire. It's just the same compromise as an all-season, except they lean slightly more towards winter performance. I live in an area where tons of people are buying CCs so they don't have to have snow tires for the winter. After a lot of research the conclusion seems to be that the CC2 is not as good of a tire for wet or dry conditions as an equivalent quality all-season.

After a bit of wear the snow performance drops off as well, just like any other tire (winter or otherwise).

I'm happy to learn more as I have not purchased a set for myself (still have 2 sets of tires for every vehicle) simply because of the data I've seen.

 

[The Critic]

I agree with this -- "all weather" is just an all season tire that is designed for slightly better winter performance at the cost of slightly worse performance on wet and dry asphalt.

The road tests show that CC2 and other all-weather tires are generally slightly less grippy in wet and dry performance than an equivalent all-season tire. It's just the same compromise as an all-season, except they lean slightly more towards winter performance. I live in an area where tons of people are buying CCs so they don't have to have snow tires for the winter. After a lot of research the conclusion seems to be that the CC2 is not as good of a tire for wet or dry conditions as an equivalent quality all-season.

After a bit of wear the snow performance drops off as well, just like any other tire (winter or otherwise).

I'm happy to learn more as I have not purchased a set for myself (still have 2 sets of tires for every vehicle) simply because of the data I've seen.

Not sure if I fully agree with that assessment. All of the instrumented testing has shown the CC2 to deliver comparable (and often better) wet traction performance than other Grand Touring A/S tires.

 

[bdc101]

Not sure if I fully agree with that assessment. All of the instrumented testing has shown the CC2 to deliver comparable (and often better) wet traction performance than other Grand Touring A/S tires.

I have read three or four instrumented tests on Tyre Reviews that showed the advantage to all-seasons in both dry and wet conditions. I can dig those up later for you if you'd like but I don't have them at hand. I love learning about this stuff and studied vehicle dynamics in college (mech engr) but I don't have the data at hand.

 

[The Critic]

I have read three or four instrumented tests on Tyre Reviews that showed the advantage to all-seasons in both dry and wet conditions. I can dig those up later for you if you'd like but I don't have them at hand. I love learning about this stuff and studied vehicle dynamics in college (mech engr) but I don't have the data at hand.

Tyre Reviews generally compares European Market tires - options that are not available in the US.

 

[odie]

Have the CONTIENTAL related GENERAL Altimax 365AW ( 92V ) 205/60-16 on the '25 KIA Soul LX . They do very well in all types of weather without having very little or if any impact on fuel economy . The 365AW ( 92V ) and the SecureContact AW ( 92V ) start at 11/32s' . Wearing well since install in October of '25 and little over 4,000 miles . Not long after the purchase the road was oiled and graveled which has likely caused more wear than nromal . Then followed by stone, dirt and ice mix for winter . Plan to get rotated soon .

 

[scrllock]

Looks like a snow / winter tire tread

yeah, that's the idea. the siping is also good for wet roads.

I have read three or four instrumented tests on Tyre Reviews that showed the advantage to all-seasons in both dry and wet conditions. I can dig those up later for you if you'd like but I don't have them at hand. I love learning about this stuff and studied vehicle dynamics in college (mech engr) but I don't have the data at hand.

theoretical advantages in terms of grip are rarely ever appreciated in real world commuting. and even then, no all season holds a candle to a good summer tire, you're comparing compounds that are already pretty handicapped.

 

[bdc101]

Here is the video I took this data from.

I didn't post every instrumented test but this is kind of the gist of it. To your point, both of the Michelin CC3 and CC3 Sport tires are not available in the states. However, I believe the Pirelli will be released here soon, however Michelin has said the CC3 tires won't be released here in the states because neither tire will meet American customer expectations of tire wear. They say the CC2 and CC2 SUV will continue to be sold for several years here.

I can only assume that the normal CC3 is a better version of the CC2. I haven't seen any data about one versus the other. But in this test, the CC3 places last in almost every test, including last in dry and wet braking, and 3/4 in snow braking.

There are other videos from Tyre Reviews showing that the CC2, Nokian WRG4 and others don't really touch a true studless snow tire's performance in snow conditions.

This is just one test but I would be happy to find more data or perhaps hear from our resident tire engineer @CapriRacer

 

[bdc101]

Here is data from another similar video comparing four top-quality Michelin tires.

I interpret this data as demonstrating that all-weather tires are just as bad of a compromise as an all-season tire, except weighted more in the direction of snow performance rather than dry/wet performance. It appears that every bit of grip you get in the snow, you give up in the wet or the dry. That's my hypothesis but I would be happy to be educated more!

Take this last one with a grain of salt as it's a subjective score provided by the manufacturer. However, at least all four tires are from the same manufacturer.

 

[CapriRacer]

This is just one test but I would be happy to find more data or perhaps hear from our resident tire engineer @CapriRacer

I'm not sure what you want me to comment on. If it is whether or not All Season tires have better wet grip than All Weather tires, I would say that there's a lot of variability and I am sure the overlap is large, but on a theoretical basis, I think that is true.

 

[scrllock]

I didn't post every instrumented test but this is kind of the gist of it.

All this demonstrates is a profound lack of interest in unbiased graph axes. Also, I don't think any of these tires are the ones being discussed in this thread.