Continental Snow Tires

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 12, 2013

Only a few miles thusfar but so far very satified- much quieter than OE Bridgestones.
No bad wether issues yet, has been through 2 snow storms so far with no traction issues.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
April 23, 2013

very quiet very smooth, would like it a little stiffer. Too soon to tell how well it will wear. I did get stuck in a parking lot with deep snow but I guess that should be expected, eventually got out.

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
April 26, 2013

Overall, a pretty solid tire. I put about 25,000 miles on this set, regularly rotated, and they did me proud. I live in Ohio, so snow is an inevitability, but it's not frequent enough to need dedicated winter tires in my opinion. So a good set of winter-capable all-seasons is a must, and I think these meet that requirement. Rain traction is also excellent, even if you hit a huge patch of water, these tires would shed it near instantly. Cornering is a bit mushy, the sidewalls aren't very stiff, but I never noticed terribly due to how nimble my Mazda 3 was.

Overall I would recommend this tire to anybody who has an average driving style, but if you're aggressive, you will hate the mushiness through the corners.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
April 23, 2013

as somone who drives in the snow a lot, i can not say that these tires work well in the winter. they are good in dry and wet conditions, but when it gets cold the tires have to warm up before they grip, so the first few turns in the morning are like riding on plastic. do yourself a favor, and get separate summer and winter tires if it snows at least a foot a year in your area.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
March 17, 2013

I put these winter tires on the car 2 winters ago, they have about 15,000 miles on them and barely show any treadwear.. they are quieter than the Kumo summer tires that are on the summer rims.. I have been using winter tires on 6 different vehicles over the last 20 years, and these are the best I have ever used. Great traction on Snow, packed snow, and ice. they just seem to grip everything. I put a set on our other car this winter as well, and the Toyata Echo has never been so stable in the winter driving.. And we live on a road that sometimes doesn't get plowed for 24-36 hrs after a storm. WE've had to drive through 6-10 inches of snow to get out several time this winter. AWSOME...Tim

Initial Review, 55,000 Miles on Tires
April 25, 2013

Bought these tires to replace the ONM Continentals, which were horrible. At the time I lived in PA, so I wanted tires that could handle moderate snow, which they performed well. Initially the tires were very good in wet conditions, but as the tread wore down some slippage developed from a standing start, but they never hydoplaned. These tires are of block design and I learned the hard way that rotation is essential at every oil change or 5K miles. I let the tires go due to a minor misalignment and they became very noisy. I had them shaved to even out the tread and with frequent rotation I got another 20K out of the tires. Just replaced the tires with 4/32 ends left, so the tread wear is excellent, even after shaving off some tread. These are good rugged tires and I would recommend them for heavy duty use. I went with a different brand this time as snow is no longer an issue for me. One more item, in five years the price of these tires has almost doubled,

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 18, 2013

These tires have two upstate NY winters under their belts and I couldn't be happier. I owned a set of Blizzaks on my old Civic and these are as good or better for less $$. My nose heavy FWD Acura plows through ANYTHING I threw at it with these tires on. I would most certainly buy them again, as well as recommend them to others. From light powder to packed icy snow I've always had confidence and control. Take em to an unplowed parking lot to play around and you'll see what I mean!

Initial Review, 200 Miles on Tires
April 25, 2013

Just put these on my Cayman after wearing out my second set of Michelin PS2's and taking off my Michelin Alpin winter tires. They look great. Very different feel. Immediately more comfortable - softer ride, quiet, but there's a slightly "floaty" feel and a brief delay when you turn the wheel before the car turns. Still grips on a hard curve, its just the connection between driver and road is a little fuzzy compared to the other tires which, frankly, are punishing as every day drivers. Was only getting 32,000 miles out of the PS2's and needed more durability for my dollar. Haven't driven them in rain or snow yet. Will update. So if you switch from a dedicated high performance summer tires, which are all considerably more expensive and last half as long, be prepared to trade off some precision for comfort.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
April 14, 2013

I bought these tires from shop as Continentals that i wanted were not available. Levis in buffalo recommended these and I'm glad he did. very smooth ride on highway and great traction in severe rain. We just finished winter and never had a worry driving through any snow conditions. i would buy these again.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 04, 2013

There was no snow for the first month of the tire use, so when we got a few inches, I took the Miata to a parking lot to see how the tires would perform. Donuts, quick stops, quick acceleration were all tested. It's a rear wheel drive roadster so there was fishtailing, but the Miata does that with the forecast of snow. I was really impressed with the Continentals. I was able to control the slides and was able to recover every time, no matter how hard I pushed the car. I have had all season/mud & snow tires from Pirelli (P Zero Nero's), Dunlop, Goodrich (Super Sport M/S)...the Continentals beat them all. We'll see how they do in deep snow, but so far, so good!

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 12, 2013

Excellent winter tires for my truck. They performed well in all conditions (dry, wet, snow, ice and slush, as well as cornering, acceleration and stopping). In deep snow, my truck did some fish-tailing as I had no weight on bed and I could feel it pushes the front wheels through the snow. Once I turned the 4x4 on, the truck went like a charm through the snow and didn't flinch a bit. After one winter with 10k miles, there is a noticeable tread wear on rear wheels compared to front wheels which still looks like new. Will have to rotate them after 5k miles next winter.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 10, 2013

Bought a set when my OEM Michelins wore out after 50K miles based on reviews here and elsewhere. Unfortunately, aside from good traction in snow I have had no reason to like these tires. I have had consistent vibration issues at highway speeds even though I have had the tires balanced numerous times, alignment done, etc. In addition, now at 10,000 miles, the road noise is getting worse and noticeable.

Initial Review, 3,500 Miles on Tires
February 09, 2013

After putting 51,000 miles on my OEM tires (Hankook Optimo H431), it was time to replace them. I must say that I was very pleased with the Hankook tires and had always thought I would go back with them. But when the time came, I took a look at every option that was available. What really sold me on the Continental PureContact tire was the warranty, UTQG, and price. All three points were much better then the OEM Hankook tires. Also, I opted to size up from P225 to P235 which gives me alittle taller and wider tire with abit more sidewall for ride comfort. While I might have lost alittle dry cornering from the OEM tires, I have gained in ride comfort, less road noise, better traction in rain or snow, and I believe alonger lasting tire. I am a VERY spirited driver, and I must say that these tires give me confidence in all weather conditions. I'm already saying that when it comes time to replace these tires that I'll buy them again.

Initial Review, 4,800 Miles on Tires
April 09, 2013

OEM on my '13 Mustang GT Premium Convertible. Aquired the car just after the New Year and drove it hard in Jan-Feb on snow and ice. Exceeded my expectations. Now that it is warm again I am finding how great these tires are in the wet and dry. I feel confident in all weather conditions with these tires. Highly recommended! This GT replaced an '08 CTS that was equipped with Continental DWS. I'll take the P Zero Nero over the Conti DWS any day.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
April 14, 2013

These tires will not give up their traction, my ABS will not activate, the car just comes to an immediate halt. On curves, everything inside my car will slide before the tires do. They never have, not even on highway 'decreasing radius' exit ramps. Beware they have no traction on snow or ice.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
April 09, 2013

Bought these to replace my worn out Pirelli Scorpions. Thinking spring had arrived I pulled off my Blizzak WS-70's and put these on. As luck would have it, 3 days later we got hammered with almost 2 feet of snow. Very quickly found out how good my Blizzak's really are. Calling these "All Season" tires is being optimistic. Traction in loose snow (after roads were plowed) is marginal at best. Cornering in loose snow caused the front end to plow and the traction control to activate immediately. Deep snow (unplowed roads) resulted in lots of wheel spin and darting. To be fair, I didn't buy these for winter driving and I did get a chance to evaluate them on dry roads prior to our spring snow. Road noise is low to moderate. Not as quiet as my Pirelli's but not annoyingly so. Haven't seen wet roads yet so I can't comment on how these do on them. Dry traction feels good but there is a small amount of sidewall squirm that you can feel in cornering. We have a lot of rutted roads thanks to the use of studded winter tires and these tires wander around when you get in a rut. It's not uncontrollable but it does make me feel a little loose compared to the OEM tires. I only have 500 miles on the tires so maybe they will get better as they break in and the roads warm up. I'll write a followup review in another 1000 miles to see if this is the case.

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
March 17, 2013

Good tire used on road and off road, on the road good wet braking and cornering no hydroplaning even in heavy down pours. Good in the snow and light and deep both. Off road in the deep snow up to the sides of the 4Runner they worked well in 2WD. Did need to engage 4WD to get out of over a foot of deep snow while off road. It was while helping someone off the side of the road. Considering the design isn't an off road design they did pretty well. Tire noise is minimal and fuel economy was much better than the Dunlop Grandtrek AT20s they replaced. The 4Runner used to get 17 mpg in town driving after mounting the Conti's the mileage came up to 18 to 19 on avg in the summer. Used them for some off road in the desert and they did fine on National Park and State Part dirt roads. Some wash outs and sand gravel and rocks nothing serious. Not a real off road tire but a good one for what it's designed for street and highway and mild off road. This is only a 20000 mile report will see how they age and resist hydroplaning as the tread wears out. So far I'd strongly recommend this tire.