Continental Tires

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
May 07, 2012

Have only had these tires a short while; replaced the OEM Bridgstone PolePosition RE050 RFT's; I did not have the same problems as other BMW owners, but after three sets, wanted to try something new. Read all of the reviews on Tire Rack and went with the SS's. Amazing. Took a few day's to get used to the lack of a sidewall not made of concrete, but man what a difference. Purchased the Continental ContiComfort Kit for emergency tire repair, and it stows away perfectly within the small storage area in the floor of the trunk. Back to the tires, I feel like I am riding on rails. Cornering, acceleration and hard braking are all met with positive road feel and feedback. I typically drive with a "Drive it like you stole it" mentality (when traffic permits, and have to say these tires are the most "sure-footed" of any tire I have ever used. These tires are also a much smoother and quieter tire on the Fwy (than the RFT's). In 6th gear at about 3000 RPM, my car glides along at about 90MPH, and these tires, while responsive, feel like i am driving a down pillow. What a change. There are other reviewers (look at the (Z06 guy) who have some track time on the tires; I can only compare to the RFT's which I had for the last 4.5 years, but for the money, comfort and ride--will never go back. Oh, not to mention, four tires, the ContiComfortKit, and BMW install, still $200 cheaper than the RFT's...
Hope this will help any of you on the fence about switching from RFT's, save your spine-you will not be disappointed. Will try to update this review when I get to 10-15K.

Initial Review, 38,190 Miles on Tires
May 15, 2012

I have always been a BFG fan but the price of these tires was too good to pass up. I tried them mostly because of price but also because they had the same rating as the BFG TA's I was used to buying. Well I won't say they matched the road hugging grip of the BFG but it was close, very close. The obvious big difference is in treadwear. Where most of the tires I have had last between 15k and 25k miles these have gone much further with a strange side benefit. The longer they go the better the grip. If you are looking for a very good tire (cornering/braking performance) but want a tire that LASTS look no further.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
May 12, 2012

I purchased these tyres to use in the Targa Tasmania Tarmac Rally, Regularity event. The event over 6 days, 5 competitive, wonderful B and C roads, wet and slippery for 1/2 of the 8 stages each day. The tyres were consistent and in challenging conditions allowed us to push the car to its limit on street tyres. There was lots of off camber, blind crests, and long corners that tightened, and the combination of tyres and car was very reassuring. They were also quiet and comfortable for the 1200km drive each way to Tasmania and back. I use Continential Sportcontact 3 on my AMG C36 and while their cold wet grip is better, the D&W have sharper response. Very happy to buy them again.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
May 05, 2012

So far it has only been a feww hundred miles,but I havegone through light to heavy rain, and dry and hot contiditon both highway and city. They produce a definite different sound at low speed no radio etc. but noting to complain about. Notice they are way better then the P6 Pirellis I had on for summer ( even when they were new ) surefooted for sure, I will write back after about treadwear etc.. Great tire even it it looks a bit odd.

Initial Review, 13,000 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

I switched from Conti SpContact 2 tires to DWS mainly due to the amount of rain we get in the Burgh area and have not been disappinted since. DWS are super quite and offer excellent wet and light snow traction, on par with the best all season tires out there. while my SP2 lasted less than 15k miles, DWS treads are still deep and show no signs of wear, front or back. Cornering is not the same as SP2's but thats to be expected. For me, it was worth the trade off. If you are looking for high performance all season tires, look no further.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

These tires perform very well, however the wear resistance is very poor. I have had these tires for 5 months, and they are all but worn out. I have been very careful to keep the traction control turned on all the time, and do not break traction with them. I am very disappointed with this tire. I expected at least 8 to 10k out of them.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
May 13, 2012

These Contis were replacements for the OEM tires on our Cadillac SRX4. Got an almost unbeleivable number of miles out of the Michelins (+/- 60K) but I didn't think they were worth the premium charged. I stayed with the slightly different sizes front and back that came with the vehicle. They are quiet and have excellent traction. I did get marginally better MPGs, but hey, with this vehicle it's all relative - 16 city and 18-19 highway. They are great looking and I am about to buy another set for my daughter's Grand Wagoneer.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
May 17, 2012

Moved to this tire from the Direzza DZ 101 (would not recommend) mainly due to my concern for wet-traction. This tire hold my MINI straight and true through wet/snow conditions with no fear of hydroplaning. I feel completely confident driving through light-snow conditions in Tahoe without any chains/cables.

I made the mistake of Autocrossing on these tires, not realizing that the sidewall is nowhere near firm enough to prevent roll and excessive/dangerous wear, regardless of how much air-pressure you put in them (yeah, I'm an idiot). I did, however, manage to pull off top 3 placings in my class each time with these tires on my stock MINI, so there's something to be said for their performance ability if not at the sacrifice of the sidewall.

Overall, I would highly recommend this tire for daily driving conditions. Minimal road noise, excellent wet/snow traction, and very good tread-wear. Just don't be stupid like me and you can easily get 20k+ safe and enjoyable miles out of these tires in spirited driving conditions.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
May 15, 2012

These Continental Extreme Contact DWS replaced a set of Good Year Eagle Authority tires. The Continentals are much smoothier riding and quieter than the Eagles. These tires totally changed the feel of this car. I wanted a smooth,quiet ride as the first requirement. Second requirement was excellent grip in dry, wet, and snow in an all season tire. Third requirement was the tread wear rating. These tires were installed on my 17 year olds car, so these tires will hopefully keep him on the road. I studied the reviews, performance testing and the warranty info and I believe I picked the right tire for our needs. If these tires perform in the snow half as well as they perform in the dry and wet conditions they will recieve a 10 rating from this purchaser. I've been extremely well pleased with these tires.

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
May 09, 2012

These tires started out great with wet and snow traction superior to the OEM Continentals they replaced but at about 7000 miles the noise level at city driving speeds became unbearable. They have been rotated twice now and at 12,000 are nearly worn out. Inflation is proper so that is not a contributing factor nor is unusually spirited driving. I'll run them until this winter and likely go back to the original Continentals.

Initial Review, 4,063 Miles on Tires
May 15, 2012

I replaced the OEM Dunlops with the Bridgestones. It was a tossup with the Continentals. The price was right. These tires have been driven about 2000 miles per month in non-winter conditions. Perfect on dry pavement, excellent in heavy rains. Handling is perfect. No tread wear has been checked to date. I would strongly recommend them.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
May 04, 2012

They wear out fairly quickly, but it has a lot to do with my driving style. Very Grippy and fairly quiet. A great value, would definitely buy again.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

We recently purchased the Continental tires and had them put on our vehicle in Waco, Texas. We drove home to Canada through torrential rains and really tried out the tires in Wyoming. We never drove below 70 miles/hour and were more than impressed! Most vehicles drove at a snail's pace and we felt very safe staying closely behind a large truck at the indicated speed. Much better than the Kumho that were on the car originally. We also ordered new wheels and snow tires from Tire Rack to put on the car in the Fall and can hardly wait to try these although we expect that the Continentals will be just fine. The wheels were FANTASTIC and very cheap!!! Service form Tire Rack was better than excellent. We are first time customers and will definitely be back, especially since we have children and grand children living in the USA. Our order that was sent to Waco came perfectly on time and the tires + tires/wheels were wrapped-up beautifully. We'll be back Tire rack and Continental. J.H. Lethbridge, Canada.

Initial Review, 800 Miles on Tires
May 09, 2012

I own a 2005 Honda Element which is a terrific vehicle, the best I have ever owned, but one of the negatives of this vehicle is that the box construction amplifies tire and road noise. When I first got this truck, I added carpets which helped lower the road noise. I then changed the tires for Goodyear TripleTred tires as the noise ratings on TireRack were low for those tires, and other issues such as wet traction, handling etc. were well rated. When new, the TripleTred Goodyears were pretty quiet good in the rain, and gave me about 38,000 miles of wear. I recently needed to replace my tires again and after doing extensive online research, I chose Continental CrossContact LX20 EcoPlus tires. I am EXTREMELY satisfied with these tires. My Element feels almost like a regular luxury sedan on all but the most rough roads. Amazingly quiet, excellent wet handling, and just smooth as can be. My truck is considerably quieter than it ever was before. I purchased these from TireRack.com at a very reasonable cost. At this time, Continental includes a free Barnes and Noble Nook reader as a rebate. That was not a main reason for my purchasing these tires, but it is a nice bonus. The claimed increased gas mileage has not panned out for me, or at least only a very small gas mileage increase. My alignment shop (I highly recommend Ken Heiden's "The Alignment Factory" in Miami) suggested a cold tire pressure of 38 psi and even at that pressure, the ride is extremely comfortable. I believe that you will be very pleased with these tires on a Honda Element as well and other vehicles as well.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
May 08, 2012

Winter in MN was just over when I put these tires on, so I am unable to comment on performance in snow. However, I can comment on performance in rain, which has been superb. If these tires perform well in snow, I would consider buying them again. I told my tire rack rep that my main criteria was traction in rain and snow. So far, I am very happy with his recommendation of these tires. Not the smoothest or most quiet ride on dry roads, but again, I'll trade that for the great traction in tougher conditions.

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
May 08, 2012

These tires are wearing quite well. They handle well except for some sidewall flex. A lower profile tire would probably help. I drive home on a three mile long dirt road. The tires handle the rocks and ruts with ease. I have yet to see and cuts or have any punctures. In wet weather they handle quite well. Our surface streets are chip sealed so that helps as well. Control in the snow is about or slightly above average. These tire exume confidence on all types of roads.

Initial Review, 11,050 Miles on Tires
May 08, 2012

Have been through every season at least once since purchase. The tire is performing great. I am still mad at Honda for duping us all with their OEM Dunlop tire that came with the car. Although the Continental tire is doing a great job, it is averaging about 5 mpg less then I got on the Dunlops...but the Dunlops were the worst when it came to ice/snow and barely acceptable in the rain.

Initial Review, 27,000 Miles on Tires
May 06, 2012

I was very surprised at the winter/snow performance of these tires. I drive a 2002 Mustang GT, which can be interesting with a dusting of snow but I drove through all the the snow we had the winter before last in NY. I did not have a single problem. For winter driving on a rear wheel drive car, I would suggest these tires.

Wet driving was better than expected as well.

They are not as responsive as the O.E. tires on dry conditions when cornering but do offer a slightly softer ride.

The tread life could be better but there are always trade offs for getting what you want out of a tire. I wanted to make sure I be able to drive my car in all weather conditions, which these tires accomplished nicely. Since I am not driving the Canon Ball Run to work everyday, the performance was not an issue.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
April 28, 2012

This is the perfect tire if you want a comfortable ride but still want to pull some G's on the on-ramp.
The ride of this tire is very civilized considering it's grip. I was very impressed with it's wet performance also. Tire noise?? what noise?? Nuff said.

I would recommend running these on wider rim to improve responsiveness, that seems to be the only concession for the sweet ride. Am running the 245/40-18" on a 9" wheel, it gives the tire a little "stretch" which improves response. Granted, the response in not terrible... but it is noticeable slower than the 245/35-19 wheel/tire combination that it replaced. All talk about "response" goes out the door the first time you traverse a large crack across the road and it doesn't feel like shocks are about to be launched through the hood: )

I have been running these for approx. 4000 miles and they actually feel more responsive now, like they needed to be broken in a bit.
As far as wear, I can't detect any at this point.