anyone NOT like the stock tires?

[gkirk]

Originally Posted by Kabigon

Yeah, it's too bad that the Germans don't know how to make tires and that BMW puts Conti tires on many of their cars, including the M models.

Imagine how good the M3 would be if it had decent tires on it.


/sarcasm off

Yeah, when i'm doing normal kind of mild-fun turns, the contis seems kind of lame, but the few times I've really pushed them, they do really well.

And for that they are reasonably quiet, stop well on wet stuff and handle decently on wet stuff. I haven't tried them in snow, but I'm sure they suck compared to snow tires, so who cares.

[Fresh1]

Originally Posted by gkirk

Yeah, when i'm doing normal kind of mild-fun turns, the contis seems kind of lame, but the few times I've really pushed them, they do really well.

And for that they are reasonably quiet, stop well on wet stuff and handle decently on wet stuff. I haven't tried them in snow, but I'm sure they suck compared to snow tires, so who cares.

Actually, I like how the car drives even more when it's wet and rainy! (I haven't gone over any large puddles at high speed, so I haven't felt the hydroplaning that others complain about.) I think the normal wet-road noise hides the thunking and drumming that the ContiProContact tires make over bumps and expansion joints. I'm putting on winter tires in October, so I can't wait to see what difference it makes in the ride and noise ...

[gkirk]

Originally Posted by Fresh1

Actually, I like how the car drives even more when it's wet and rainy! (I haven't gone over any large puddles at high speed, so I haven't felt the hydroplaning that others complain about.) I think the normal wet-road noise hides the thunking and drumming that the ContiProContact tires make over bumps and expansion joints. I'm putting on winter tires in October, so I can't wait to see what difference it makes in the ride and noise ...

I had a wet parking lot and tried to get it to spin out.. the tires stick really well in the wet. I went through a few inches of water the other day and didn't hydroplane. Mine have 16k miles and lots of tread left (although its 95% highway).

The tires are good. I will probably get something else when they are worn out, but i don't feel the need to spend $$$ on something that is fine.

[Fresh1]

Originally Posted by Fresh1

Actually, I like how the car drives even more when it's wet and rainy! (I haven't gone over any large puddles at high speed, so I haven't felt the hydroplaning that others complain about.) I think the normal wet-road noise hides the thunking and drumming that the ContiProContact tires make over bumps and expansion joints. I'm putting on winter tires in October, so I can't wait to see what difference it makes in the ride and noise ...

Originally Posted by gkirk

I had a wet parking lot and tried to get it to spin out.. the tires stick really well in the wet. I went through a few inches of water the other day and didn't hydroplane. Mine have 16k miles and lots of tread left (although its 95% highway).

The tires are good. I will probably get something else when they are worn out, but i don't feel the need to spend $$$ on something that is fine.

Mine are going on Kijiji (~95% tread left) after the winter tires are on the car ... ; )

[Justintoxicated]

on most cars the stock tires usually suck. Even when I bought my truck it had some crappy BFG's (Rugged Trails) and they wore out crazy fast and were NEVER very good. And those tires were damn expensive about 1200- $1400 for a replacement set.

Put some REAL BFG's (Mud Terrain) on it and they have been there ever since, about 60k miles of them and they still have lots of tread.

I expect crappy stock tires on the focus but so far they seem to do alright for my daily commute.

[slow3v]

I find the ProContacts to be EXCELLENT tires, for dry grip, WET grip especially and hydroplane resistance. Much better than most all-season tires.

[Sean05]

I hate mine and dont get the dws. My buddy has em and aligns his car like once every 3 months.
Still has funny wear.. ive hated continental in general but omg these tires drive me nuts.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using FF Mobile

[sirhawkeye]

Stock tires are awful. While taking my car in today, someone pulled in front of me and then had to make an quick stop. I thought I was going to die, plus it felt like only two of the tires (on oposite ends) where getting traction ,so I sort of got this like weaving-pulling feeling in the car when I was slowing down rapidly. And this was all on a nice warm, 70 degree clear day... These tires scare me in the rain and are pretty much worthless (from my experience) in snow.

Those tires are getting replaced this winter with some performance all-season tires. I would say the conti's are OK for dry weather, but after my near-death experience today in dry weather, I can't even give them that.

Ford only uses them because they provide a low rolling resistance, which obviously means they don't grip the road very well in any condition, and thus the tires aren't that great. A visit to TireRack will probably confirm this.

[mmmoose]

Originally Posted by sirhawkeye

Ford only uses them because they provide a low rolling resistance, which obviously means they don't grip the road very well in any condition, and thus the tires aren't that great. A visit to TireRack will probably confirm this.

The ContiProContact tires aren't low rolling resistance tires. They're grand touring all-seasons. They're about as mediocre as any stock tire can get (built for a balance of comfort, noise, wet/dry grip, etc.). It's a jack of all trades and master of none type of tire.

Personally I never had any major issues with mine. I actually liked the fact that its grip was very predictable. For being a set of grand touring tires I thought it cornered really well when pushed to its limits. It did however trigger the ABS on my Rabbit a lot on ice/snow (at the slightest pressure of the brake pedal). As long as you drive conservatively in the winter you should be fine though.

Recently I upgraded to a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS. They're a little more expensive, but they're also hands down the best all-season tires I've ever driven on. According to TireRack it's classified as an "ultra high performance all-season", which I guess is as good as all-seasons can ever get. And quite honestly the ratings seem to reflect that.

The biggest highlight to me is that the DWS handles wet weather exceptionally well. It seriously feels like I'm driving on dry roads ALL THE TIME. I can't comment on winter performance too much since it hasn't snowed a ton here in PA for a while. But overall I have to say these are the grippiest all-seasons I've ever had the pleasure of using all year round.

The worst set of tires I've ever had easily goes to Cooper with their awful Grand Touring CS4's. It felt like this thing wasn't built with any sidewall reinforcement whatsoever (I later found out some Cooper tires don't even include a nylon cap!). Hard cornering felt extremely mushy with boatloads of understeer, and wet grip was absolutely horrendous. The only thing it had going for it is ride comfort/noise... but I guess that's why it's classified as a grand touring tire.

Bottom line, avoid grand touring tires whenever you can. Their higher price might lead you to believe that they perform better, but truthfully they don't. Stick with regular or "performance" all-seasons instead if you're looking for exceptional handling characteristics. You're going to sacrifice some ride comfort and increase road noise, but in the end it's going to be worth it in terms of both safety and handling. Or better yet, get dedicated summer and winter tires (if you can afford it).

[gkirk]

Originally Posted by sirhawkeye

Stock tires are awful. While taking my car in today, someone pulled in front of me and then had to make an quick stop. I thought I was going to die, plus it felt like only two of the tires (on oposite ends) where getting traction ,so I sort of got this like weaving-pulling feeling in the car when I was slowing down rapidly. And this was all on a nice warm, 70 degree clear day... These tires scare me in the rain and are pretty much worthless (from my experience) in snow.

Those tires are getting replaced this winter with some performance all-season tires. I would say the conti's are OK for dry weather, but after my near-death experience today in dry weather, I can't even give them that.

Ford only uses them because they provide a low rolling resistance, which obviously means they don't grip the road very well in any condition, and thus the tires aren't that great. A visit to TireRack will probably confirm this.

Sounds like your abs was engaged. Its weird, i wonder if i have different tires. Not that mine are amazing or anything, but the performance seems average around the board and the braking is fine (i've pushed it).