Recommended tires

I am driving a 2010 Golf TDI with 225/45 R17 ContiProContact tires. (Orig equipment tires).

I have 42K miles on this set and need to replace soon. I ran another set of this same tire for 60K mi. Can anyone make a recommendation for an alternative?

I keep the tires on during the winter in the NE and want the best compromise for fuel economy and go-cart handling.

Anyone had good luck with other tires?

Thanks,

Sounds like you have the right tires,why switch? Getting 40-60K milds is about as good as it gets.

Tires

Technology changes fast and the ContiProContact tires are several years old.

Thanks for the response and I agree, the first two sets were complaint free.

Regards,

You may not get the longevity, but the ExtremeContact DWS was good for handling and traction. They were somewhat noisy towards the end of their life.

I had the dws on mine and was not real happy with the life span...I did get good prorated money for them though.
I have had
Stock continental
DwS continental
General's
And now Nitto Motivo
And the nitto are by far my favorite.
They handle great in deep water and feel much better in the corners then any others I have tried.

Check out the conti purecontact. They are what I'm currently running on with great results so far. Equal mpg or better then the stock tires.

Also more threads on this very same subject...
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=349541
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=426003

Upgraded to the Continental PureContact eco + at 33,000 miles.... couldn't take the noise of the OE Continentals. MUCH better now. Quiet, good wet traction, no noticeable difference in mileage. No experience yet with snow.

To the OP.... I grew up in Charlestown, NH.... anywhere near you?

Seems like most folks on the forum prefer Continentals. Is that because they are original equipment or what? I've not had much experience with this brand. From the sound of it, seems like they are basically a high mileage, not a performance oriented tire. Sound about right?

TDIAustin said:

Seems like most folks on the forum prefer Continentals. Is that because they are original equipment or what? I've not had much experience with this brand. From the sound of it, seems like they are basically a high mileage, not a performance oriented tire. Sound about right?

Click to expand...

Check Continental out on Tire Rack. You'll find Ultra High Performance All Season tires like the Extreme Contact DWS in V, W and Y ratings, the Pure Contact with EcoPlus grand touring model with up to V rating, and everything in between. I have the DWS V rated tires on my Acura... and they are not high mileage... rather typical high performance... maybe 45,000 good miles if you're lucky.

On the other hand, I have new PureContact Eco + H rated tires on my Sportwagen...quiet, longer lasting, and a good ride.

Just happens Continentals are often OE on Volkswagen (maybe because Continental is a German company?)

The best compromise that I have found is the V rated continental purecontacts.
Great handling and mpg matching or bettering the stock procontacts.

^^^^But are they quiet and reasonably priced? I hate noisy tires.

TDIAustin said:

^^^^But are they quiet and reasonably priced? I hate noisy tires.

Click to expand...

Pricing depends on where you can get them.

Quiet?
They are much less noisy then the procontacts that had 32k miles on them. But I do notice a bit of tread noise. Only audible if the radio is below 10. I typically have the radio louder than that. The amount of grip & handling is worth the small tradeoff in noise.

Watch the video review of the tires here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...tireModel=PureContact+with+EcoPlus+Technology
They also show in depth review as well that show charts on the performance of the tires.
Do some research on tire rack and find what best suites your preferences.

I just ordered a second set of Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires. They're a Grand Touring All-Season tire and they had the best test results I've ever seen at Tirerack. The reviews from people in the surveys are not as glowing, but I liked them enough to get them again. I went 58K miles so far on the first set, but they are down to the wear bars now. Performance in the wet is certainly not like it was when they were new, but I think that's to be expected at the end of the tire's life.

I did go up in size just a bit from OEM, to 235/45/17. I did that last time too and I love the look and I think it also adds some comfort. They are 94H. I always get the H-rated tires. I don't like to get V-rated tires, because the one time I tried them they were clearly less comfortable than the exact same H-rated tire. They do have a slightly higher weight rating, but it was the closest I could get to the original tires going up to the 235 size. Like the speed rating, I think it's possible a higher weight rating could affect comfort and/or noise levels if it was too much higher.

One thing, they're not cheap. They were $200 and change each. Of note too, they are the OEM replacement for the Mercedes SL! I don't think that's a bad thing!

Link to Tirerack tests

I got a set 10k miles ago they are the Michelin Sport A/S 3, they replace the michelin pilot plus. These communicate way better than the OEM hockey pucks the car came with. They stick to the road way better and are orders of magnitude better in heavy rain at high speeds. My millage dropped a bit about .5 mpg.

Thmastr said:

I got a set 10k miles ago they are the Michelin Sport A/S 3, they replace the michelin pilot plus. These communicate way better than the OEM hockey pucks the car came with. They stick to the road way better and are orders of magnitude better in heavy rain at high speeds. My millage dropped a bit about .5 mpg.

Click to expand...

I have that tires too! Love it lot! It's 235/45/17, and i think lost maybe 1 mpg, thats all.

I just got a set of Continental Purecontacts INSTALLED for $472 total at SEARS. All I did was call their 1-800 # and ask for every discount they could give me. Includes lifetime rotation and balance.

So far I'm very happy. I went up a size to 205/60/16 and am running 40psi. Will report back after they are worn in a little, but I think mpgs will be just as good if not a little better.

PS - I normally only have ever bought Michelin but no rebates on the Premiers are going on currently and installed prices were close to $600.

Is 255/60/16 a typo? Or did you mean 205?

ATR said:

Pricing depends on where you can get them.
Quiet?
They are much less noisy then the procontacts that had 32k miles on them. But I do notice a bit of tread noise. Only audible if the radio is below 10. I typically have the radio louder than that. The amount of grip & handling is worth the small tradeoff in noise.
Watch the video review of the tires here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...tireModel=PureContact+with+EcoPlus+Technology
They also show in depth review as well that show charts on the performance of the tires.
Do some research on tire rack and find what best suites your preferences.

Click to expand...

I think I'll have to edit this reply a bit... The purecontacts are VERY quiet and seem to be only add slightly louder than wind noise. With the radio above 8 (rns315) tire & wind noise is very low.

Got to stop posting from the iphone....

15 months and 48,000 miles and I am so glad to get rid of the OEM Continentals on the '13 in my sig. They were noisy, I could not get them to balance well, they were out of round (terrible humping at 40 to 50 mph).

Put a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3.

Whew, that feels better. Of course, a new set of shoes always feels better...

I have had very good results with various Michelins.

ATR said:

Is 255/60/16 a typo? Or did you mean 205?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the catch. I edited to say 205.

I just put a set of Pirelli P7 Cinturato all season plus for my 17 inch wheels. I was looking at the Conti Pure Contacts too. The guy at discount tire told me that the Pirellis would last the full tread life and do a little better in the snow .. They also saved me about $60. Tire rack has ratings on this the Contis and Michelins

My '11 Sportwagen has the original P205/55HR16 tires @ 37K miles.

Of the front wheel drive cars I've owned in my lifetime, this vehicle is near awful in snow in terms of gaining traction. Braking isn't much write to home about either. I've surmised the primary issue to be a front/rear weight ratio. Most cars, if I recall, are around 60/40 or so and I'm guessing the Sportwagen may be more like 50/50.

I don't have a problem with modifying sizes, but I want to keep the tires on the original OEM wheels.

With that said, I'd like my next set of tires to be the overall BEST All Season tires available. I want to avoid changing out tires just for winter. Also, price becomes secondary when you're spinning wheels in the snow.

I have no tire manufacturer bias, but I have never been disappointed with Michelin.

Thanks for your insight and recommendations!

I think there is some tradeoff between grippiness and fuel economy. Anyway, I went the sporty route and got the Bridgestone Potenza 970AS (or something like that). It's really grippy, but I definitely lost some fuel economy, maybe a couple of MPG. Haven't had snow here, but it doesn't snow much so I'm not worried about that. It is great in rain. If I wanted a bit less sport, I'd look into the MXM4, but I've never tried that one -- seems to be a popular choice though.

I just put a set of the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric all season tires on my Golf. I've sacrificed a couple mpg for a softer grippier tire, but then I've got a decidedly sporty ride, I was looking for precision and feel over mileage. And wanted better grip on snow and ice here in the NE winter.
Quieter than the worn Conti's I had, and a nimbler feel and response.
I suspect I'll be sacrificing longevity for the handling, but there's no free lunch, worth it for me.
Cheers,
R*2