# Conti Pure Contact impressions



## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Does it snow in Northern , Va J ? if not you should be confident with them new conti's ..


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

brian v said:


> Does it snow in Northern , Va J ? if not you should be confident with them new conti's ..


Sometimes lots, sometimes barely at all. That was one of the major reasons I replaced with still a bit of treadlife left on the old ones (they weren't QUITE to the wearbars yet, but would have been useless in snow). We kept getting 8-12" dumped on us in storms last year; 2012, we had maybe at most 2" accumulate in one storm.

My Conti DWS's were amazing all-seasons in snow; reviews seem to be favorable on these as well. I've heard the ProContacts are pretty terrible.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

That's the tire I'm considering next time around.... should have bought it last time. Cheaped out and bought Hankook Optimo H727. Ride is quieter & softer than the firestones but performance wise I can break them loose with ease even on dry pavement. I also had one of the rear tires wear funny so now have a tire for 10K+ that has made some noise. 

Was gonna swap out before winter because of the noisy tire, but decided since I drive slow in the winter 90% of the time to try and accumulate more miles on this set(currently only have about 25K on these).


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## hificruzer226 (Mar 27, 2013)

jblackburn said:


> Sometimes lots, sometimes barely at all. That was one of the major reasons I replaced with still a bit of treadlife left on the old ones (they weren't QUITE to the wearbars yet, but would have been useless in snow). We kept getting 8-12" dumped on us in storms last year; 2012, we had maybe at most 2" accumulate in one storm.
> 
> My Conti DWS's were amazing all-seasons in snow; reviews seem to be favorable on these as well. I've heard the ProContacts are pretty terrible.


Have you forgot snowmaggedon ?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

hificruzer226 said:


> Have you forgot snowmaggedon ?


Wasn't here. I lived in SW VA that year; we got hammered but nowhere near that bad.


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## Slammed2014Eco (Feb 13, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> Wasn't here. I lived in SW VA that year; we got hammered but nowhere near that bad.


Are we talking about 2008 when we had like a 3 foot dump in 12 hours? lol
I was living in Alexandria until I got new orders to come out here to Buckley AFB XD


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## giantsnation (Oct 11, 2012)

Will be buying these or the DWS in the very near future. Thanks for the real world review. I've had DWSs on my past few cars and agree, best all-season tire in the snow hands down.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Slammed2014Eco said:


> Are we talking about 2008 when we had like a 3 foot dump in 12 hours? lol
> I was living in Alexandria until I got new orders to come out here to Buckley AFB XD


I think Snowmageddon was 2010... 2 ft dumped while everyone was still at work or on their way home. 

I got stuck in that - SW VA got ~15" in a few hours. Had a Honda with stock tires that got stuck EVERYWHERE.



> Will be buying these or the DWS in the very near future. Thanks for the real world review. I've had DWSs on my past few cars and agree, best all-season tire in the snow hands down.


The DWS were fantastically grippy tires for me in all conditions. But they were noisy and the treadlife was just terrible (20-25K out of a set was about normal for me on a FWD Volvo). Hoping these ones wear better.


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## Slammed2014Eco (Feb 13, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> I think Snowmageddon was 2010... 2 ft dumped while everyone was still at work or on their way home.
> 
> I got stuck in that - SW VA got ~15" in a few hours. Had a Honda with stock tires that got stuck EVERYWHERE.


Yea I think I left in Sept-Oct of 2010 so I don't remember that one haha


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## 170-3tree (Nov 4, 2014)

I was about an inch away from putting a conti extreme contact on my Mazda, ordered some in to my shop, was enjoying how light they were, then a customer came in with a flat tire on a dws and it was absolutely a nightmare to fix, they use very thin inner materials and a somewhat soft construction compound that makes buffing them without tearing up the inner liner almost impossible. That is how I feel about them as someone who ends up fixing my own tires. My buddy put them on his car and within the first week he'd picked up a nail in one tire and a rock in another. So they puncture pretty easily too as that's the first either of us have ever had to fix a tire . 

NNot knocking them, but we havetons of gravel roads around here and that's my experiencetoshare with y'all .


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

170-3tree said:


> I was about an inch away from putting a conti extreme contact on my Mazda, ordered some in to my shop, was enjoying how light they were, then a customer came in with a flat tire on a dws and it was absolutely a nightmare to fix, they use very thin inner materials and a somewhat soft construction compound that makes buffing them without tearing up the inner liner almost impossible. That is how I feel about them as someone who ends up fixing my own tires. My buddy put them on his car and within the first week he'd picked up a nail in one tire and a rock in another. So they puncture pretty easily too as that's the first either of us have ever had to fix a tire .
> 
> NNot knocking them, but we havetons of gravel roads around here and that's my experiencetoshare with y'all .


Interesting. I completely destroyed a Firestone hitting some small unknown object in the road and it shredded the sidewall entirely. Another had a huge hole gouged in the tread by a giant bolt thing, but that ones understandable.








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## 170-3tree (Nov 4, 2014)

Yeah. That'll happen to any tire that gets run flat on. I had one the other day that went flat in the parking lot and shredded on the trip to a shop bay. It was a Wal-Mart Goodyear though. 

Like I said. The continental lines are good tires, but living in an area where puncture is more frequent, they've been bad juju for me and anyone who's had them. Just some info to share.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

170-3tree said:


> Yeah. That'll happen to any tire that gets run flat on. I had one the other day that went flat in the parking lot and shredded on the trip to a shop bay. It was a Wal-Mart Goodyear though.
> 
> Like I said. The continental lines are good tires, but living in an area where puncture is more frequent, they've been bad juju for me and anyone who's had them. Just some info to share.


That happened within a 1/4 mile lol. Flat by the time I could stop.


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## 170-3tree (Nov 4, 2014)

How big was the puncture? Ido see this type of damage daily on every brand of tire. It's just the weight of the car crushing the sidewall at speed under the wheel. To be flat and do that in 1/4 mile after initial puncture means it had to be a rather large hole. 

I wasn't trying to start an argument, just personal experience.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I'm pointing at the puncture.

No argument; thin sidewall doesn't seem to be unique to the Contis. I've blown out the sidewall on something else too, but can't remember if it was a Yokohama or a BF Goodrich.

I would wager a bet that the higher speed rated tires also have a slightly better inner construction as well. Except that inner rubber layer you were talking about.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Long trip last weekend. Still very impressed; it was pouring down rain and they felt just as sure-footed as they do on dry pavement. 

Only demerit I can find is that they do ride a little rougher over uneven pavement than the stock tires, but again, I kinda expected that since I went from an S-rated tire to a V. And I'm fine with that - the turn-in response is wonderful.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Long trip last weekend. Still very impressed; it was pouring down rain and they felt just as sure-footed as they do on dry pavement.
> 
> Only demerit I can find is that they do ride a little rougher over uneven pavement than the stock tires, but again, I kinda expected that since I went from an S-rated tire to a V. And I'm fine with that - the turn-in response is wonderful.


Now you just need yer new rubbers to smell like bacon when you take on a hard turn!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

So I think I'm seeing ~ a 2 MPG hit in highway driving. It could be the cold as well (35 deg), but I took an long, easy back-road route yesterday where I normally average 44-45 MPG @ 60 MPH on the dash; I was struggling to do over 42.

XtremeRevolution noted that these tires have a much larger contact patch with the pavement than almost anything else in the same tire size. 

And yeah, the ride is definitely more firm since it got colder. Won't be running these over 38 PSI.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Last three sets of tires I have bought I noticed a couple MPG drop for the first 7500 miles or so. I suspect this is also part of the reason people notice an improvement after that mileage when they get a new cruze.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

3, maybe 4" on the ground today. Roads have been completely untouched and people were sliding/spinning everywhere.

These tires = a freaking boss in snow - just a quick trip around the neighborhood, but didn't spin or slide once.

Last year, the FR710 struggled to even crawl out of my parking space.


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## MattMD (Jan 17, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> 3, maybe 4" on the ground today. Roads have been completely untouched and people were sliding/spinning everywhere.
> 
> These tires = a freaking boss in snow - just a quick trip around the neighborhood, but didn't spin or slide once.
> 
> Last year, the FR710 struggled to even crawl out of my parking space.


My FR710s weren't too thrilled with the snow yesterday either. Southern Maryland didn't do any better than Virginia with clearing the roads! I still have decent tread-life(38,600 miles in), but might see about replacing these sooner rather than later.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Going to get some new tires in a few weeks, I'm 99% sure this is the tire I will be getting. Any update on snow traction/braking? 

Ordered a cheap rim from tirerack and will be using one of my old tires for my full size space. Gonna be doing some extra night time driving this year besides being more than 50 miles from a tire shop at times in a poor cell service area. Haven't used a spare in 350,000 miles or 12+ years & have driven the cruze 30,000+ miles without one, but I figure why risk being stranded over a 0.00002 increase in MPG. 

Still debating if I should raise my trunk floor to conceal the full size spare or let it stick up a few inches and put a black tire cover over it(would also loose less trunk space this way).


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

We haven't had anything more than 3" at a time this year, sorry. So far this "giant blizzard" is just rain for us. 

They did very well in that though - and the Firestones seemed to slide a ton if there was just a light dusting. 

Tire Rack reviews seem to look on them favorably for snow traction.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> Tire Rack reviews seem to look on them favorably for snow traction.


They thought my Hankook H727 were great as well, I would disagree with allot of their assessment. Wonder how much tire/rim size and the fact most people have not tried multiple brands of tires on the same car come into play? 

Only snowed 3 times here this year but only accumulated on the ground for a week I think.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

As I started my search for a replacement tire this year, I noticed something very interesting. TireRack reports not only section width, but also tread width. I had been heavily considering the Bridgestone Serenity Plus (and still am), but noticed, interestingly enough, that the tread width of the Continental PureContact is much, much wider in the same tire size. It seems that, for a given section width, this tire has a very wide tread contact, which no doubt significantly contributes to the change in driving manners when switching to it.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> As I started my search for a replacement tire this year, I noticed something very interesting. TireRack reports not only section width, but also tread width. I had been heavily considering the Bridgestone Serenity Plus (and still am), but noticed, interestingly enough, that the tread width of the Continental PureContact is much, much wider in the same tire size. It seems that, for a given section width, this tire has a very wide tread contact, which no doubt significantly contributes to the change in driving manners when switching to it.


It is only because of the salt and sand all over the roads in intersections that I have stopped cornering like an idiot grinning from ear to ear.


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## oshia86 (May 29, 2011)

Got these tires put on Wednesday of last week. Agree with the OP on these. Probably the biggest difference I've noticed on any of my cars while going from stock tires to aftermarket. Well, besides summer tires on the GTO and then going to all seasons/snow tires, but that's apples and tigers.


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

I'd just like to add my 2 cents to this feed. I got Discount Tire to replace my Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring that wore out really fast with the H rated PureContacts for 32 dollars on black friday(can't beat that with a stick!). Now that I've been driving on them for a few weeks since I switched off the winter tires, all I can say is WOW. These things have turned my Cruze into a totally different car. The most noticeable thing is how stable my car is now on the highway. It no longer wonders all over like it used to, and the steering feels like there is no slack. Also, I notice these tires ride very well (maybe better than the FR710? Its been a bit since I've had them.) and they are incredibly quiet. Driving down the interstate now its almost silent in the Cruze. Braking also seems better, which I have to believe is due to the fact these tires weigh only 20 pounds a tire (The Coopers I later found out were pushing 26 pounds a tire). Less weight also seems to make the clutch grab nicer with less strain. My last remark is how good they do in the wet, especially when its cold. They just seem to maintain traction throughout the temperature range. However, I cannot comment on snow or ice traction since I have not driven them in the snow yet. Color me impressed with these, wish GM would have used these as the OEM tire instead of the FR710.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

The Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires I put on my '03 Mazda P5 are nearly through their third winter and the "S" is still visible in the tread. There appears to be enough tread left to have them usable for another snow season. When the OEM ContiPros on Black Betty go bad (likely in another three years), I'll probably put the Continental DWS tires on it too.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Jim Frye said:


> The Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires I put on my '03 Mazda P5 are nearly through their third winter and the "S" is still visible in the tread. There appears to be enough tread left to have them usable for another snow season. When the OEM ContiPros on Black Betty go bad (likely in another three years), I'll probably put the Continental DWS tires on it too.


That's surprising. Mine lasted <3 years and were pretty much down to wear bars at <30k. Loved em, fantastically grippy though.


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## AutumnCruzeRS (Sep 10, 2012)

Any new impressions on the conti pure contact ecoplus tires. Im rolling 75k on my firestones and am in the market for some new shoes.


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

I just wanted to add a little supplement to my review. After 6500 miles, I still absolutely love these things. They are wearing like iron. I just rotated them, and the fronts were still at 8/32nds and the rears were still 10/32nds. If my estimates are correct, I should get about 40k out of these things (fantastic for Pittsburgh). I also absolutely love the traction of these tires. Even in the wet they are glued to the road. You can practically floor it and they hook up. The fact that I'm still happy with them says a lot. I would recommend the H rated because they seem perfect for the capabilities of the Cruze. PS- My gas mileage/rolling resistance seems 10 times better than either the stock Firestone FR710 or the Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring I had before. I actually gained a few MPG. Just a side note for you Hyper-Cruzers.


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

I have another follow update. I have been running the PureContacts for about 8000 miles now. I got to try them in the snow since I took my Blizzaks off a little early. Snow/slush traction was certainly impressive with about 1 inch considering these are an all season. They aren't snow tires, but I wouldn't feel unsafe running them in a climate with a mild winter. 

For the bad... I think these are starting to get noisy. I could be crazy, but they sound as loud as my winter tires on anything that isn't smooth. It's not an annoying loud, I just notice that I have to turn up the radio more. Also, jblackburn was right about the rougher ride. They seem good over small stuff, but I have been noticing over big bumps they feel quite firm. That's what you get with a sport oriented tire though.


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

For anyone interested, I retired my PureContacts the other day with a little over 10,000 miles on them. The shop told me all 4 tires were 4/32nds. (for anyone asking I had the alignment checked and its perfect) Strangely enough the tires were also were starting to crack around the tread like they were dry rotted. Another thing I noticed is that they got very noisy about halfway through.

I would have run them longer but we have been having lots of heavy rain in Pittsburgh and I didn't want to risk getting into an accident. Traction was still pretty good even at 4/32nds. 

Would I buy them again? Maybe. The Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires I got as a replacement are much better.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jmlo96 said:


> For anyone interested, I retired my PureContacts the other day with a little over 10,000 miles on them. The shop told me all 4 tires were 4/32nds. (for anyone asking I had the alignment checked and its perfect) Strangely enough the tires were also were starting to crack around the tread like they were dry rotted. Another thing I noticed is that they got very noisy about halfway through.
> 
> I would have run them longer but we have been having lots of heavy rain in Pittsburgh and I didn't want to risk getting into an accident. Traction was still pretty good even at 4/32nds.
> 
> Would I buy them again? Maybe. The Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires I got as a replacement are much better.


Hmm wonder why they wore so fast on yours...I had ~20k on mine and still ~ 7/32" of tread when I traded in the car. And I drive like an idiot.


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## jmlo96 (May 2, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> jmlo96 said:
> 
> 
> > For anyone interested, I retired my PureContacts the other day with a little over 10,000 miles on them. The shop told me all 4 tires were 4/32nds. (for anyone asking I had the alignment checked and its perfect) Strangely enough the tires were also were starting to crack around the tread like they were dry rotted. Another thing I noticed is that they got very noisy about halfway through.
> ...


It's pretty bad considering my Blizzaks have almost 10k on them and still have 10/32nds lol.


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