Continental Tire life

[Ceej]

Just curious, how long are the Continentals lasting in the real world.

I was starting to have adhesion issues, so stopped off at a "preferred vendor" for a check. All four tires were down to 3/32" in the center of the tread, and 4/32" on the shoulders.

The lease agency replaced the tires with the OEM Continentals. They would not allow any other tire.

My Transit has 32,000 miles on it.

CJ

[Willie]

Mine look to be about half way worn out at a bit over 20,000 miles. I didn't measure the tread depth, but I expect about 40,000 miles of life.

Just for curiosity I checked at my favorite tire outlet to find that the original equipment Continentals were the only tires they currently recommend for the TC.

There must be others who have worn out the original tires by now.

[azdamay]

Mine are finally getting to the tread wear bars at 44,000 miles. I sincerely hope I don't get the Continentals again. They are fine when new but become very noisy and increasingly useless as they get some miles on them. Traction on any surface is abysmal. The Wheel Works location I took my van to a while back said I may be stuck with the Continental tires, because they have a reinforced sidewall to cope with the load rating of the van.

[mrtn]

In EU we can have any tire on the Connect as long as the size and load rating matches. I was just having the MOT done and the inspector was a bit surprised they don't require C-tires on a van with 900 kg load capability.

[gordow]

My work Transit is burning through really fast as well ,, i've got 42,000 Kms on mine and they too are wearing flush to the wear bars in the middle of the front tires and less so on the sides ,, almost like a cupping.

They were originally on the back up to about 36,000 kms and then rotated to the front ,, the ones on the back now are in better shape but not much so.

I think that i'm going to look into light truck tires for my next set even though the ride might not be that great , i want something that's a little tougher with all the hauling and rough roads i encounter in a day.

[Ceej]

I hadn't reallised how loud the worn tires made the interior on rough pavement.

New tires have quieted things down substantially! I can hear the stereo and bluetooth much better now when traveling.

:D

CJ

[mrtn]

Truck tires are not as smooth and nice to drive as passenger car tires the Connect is matched to.

[JTF]

I had very bad luck with the Continetals from the factory on my 2010 TC. Many of these tires failed in the 15K to 25K miles range. Belts broke internally and on the last one multiple little pinholes developed creating slow leaks. Unfortunately, I replaced the Continentals with Continentals. Finally, I switched to a different brand after the 4th replacement. At first I thought it might be potholes, but that changed after the roads in my area were all rebuilt nad newly paved. The multiple pinhole problem, was the best clue that something odd is happening. One suggestion is the high-pressure required in the rear tires, may be over the actual design limit. Interstate speed limit here is 70MPH, not sure if that has any effect or a contributing factor. New brand of tires has only 1K miles and too early to review.

[Ceej]

Interesting. I've not had any leak problems. Getting the TPMS reset, yes.

There is something to be said about the high tire pressure differential connection though.

The pressure difference when rotated front to rear is way over the percentage normally acceptable for inflating/deflating tires and running them. While this is much more important when working with racing tires, these little buggers spin down the road pretty fast, even at legal speeds. I've run mine many miles at 70+.

Be nice to have an allowed LT tire that can run at 50# front and rear. Ride would suffer, but durability should be enhanced. Unsprung weight would likely overcome any rolling resistance decrease, so I doubt any fuel savings would be seen with combined operation, and likely a decrease in an urban setting.

Tire choice is up to our lease company of course. I think the price would play into it more than anything else.

Continental has always been a reputable brand. In the states, Continental's presence has been highly praised in the motorcycle industry. I ran the rain treads on touring Guzzi's back in the late 70's and early 80's. Most were H rated, so didn't translate well to extreme performance on Ducati and Laverda. Too much sidewall compliance for high speed road holding with the big 900's and litre and above bikes. When I started playing with Alfas and so forth, they were an option, but one too many triple digit speed wobbles in my two wheel litre bike youth kept me from mounting them up. Went Pirelli for the track car. Pretty sure they don't make drag slicks or front runners, so it's unlikely I'll be buying a set for the rail soon.

One would think that Toyo would make a decent LT for this size. It would be difficult to get Domestic tire manufacturers to tool up a 15" Truck tire. Pretty much have to look at asia IMHO.

CJ

[Mikeeshaq]

I have 50,000 miles plus miles on my 2010 TC

I ran over some road crap and tore one tire to shreds, so two were replaced

Now the other two will need replacing soon

I bought 4 new OEM Continentals off Ebay like close to half off

So I got spares to go!

[K9 Cargo]

I replaced my Continental tires at 30,000 miles. Small chunks of rubber were peeling back on the inside and outside treads. Replaced with the Michelin Defender - a wonderful, smooth riding, amazingly quiet tire.

[Mikeeshaq]

Finally replaced the two front Continentals at 60,000 miles see earlier post with OEM Continentals

[Lefty64]

I'm from GB where the standard fit tyres (tires) are 195/65 R15 95T. It's much easier to get reinforced (RF or XL) in this size - all the VW Caddy vans use this tyre size too. There are at least 60 different brands in this size.

I did notice that the Connect wore very slightly larger tyres when it went over to the U.S.

The standard OE tyres over here are HANKOOK OPTIMO K406 91T (swb) or 95T (lwb), but these have been superseded by a new line KINERGY ECO K425 from Hankook. These are high silica composition, and have the top economy, grip, and low noise ratings under the compulsory EU Label rating system which starts (today) 1st November.

[mrtn]

195/65R15 is a tiny bit too small for the TC. I tried a set of 70-profile and it suited the look better. Probably the ride is a bit smoother as well.

[uncleel]

ask your tire professional about recommended load ratings, how much equipment or load do you plan to haul daily.

The "harder" the tire compound, the longer it lasts, but with less grip. - The "softer" the compound, the better grip & ride, but less longevity.

For my purposes, a 40,000 mile tire is about right. Too hard & the wet weather traction disappears, which is not fun in a truck full of tools.

[Daniel Dow]

I never had Continental brand tires on any vehicle before my 2011 TC which came stock with Conti Pro Contacts. I immediately noticed that the tread is not self cleaning (all 4 tires were completely packed with pea gravel after just a hundred miles and would not fully release even at highway speeds), they frequently lose pressure, and I had the excitement of the left front tread blowing out while going 65mph(the tire was at 17k). I would never recommend this tire to anyone, on the contrary, if this tire is still stock for new TCs I would urge all buyers to negotiate a different brand tire set from the dealership as a condition of the deal.

[robertlane]

I never had Continental brand tires on any vehicle before my 2011 TC which came stock with Conti Pro Contacts. I immediately noticed that the tread is not self cleaning (all 4 tires were completely packed with pea gravel after just a hundred miles and would not fully release even at highway speeds), they frequently lose pressure, and I had the excitement of the left front tread blowing out while going 65mph(the tire was at 17k). I would never recommend this tire to anyone, on the contrary, if this tire is still stock for new TCs I would urge all buyers to negotiate a different brand tire set from the dealership as a condition of the deal.

It seems a lot of tires are ribbed without side channels.

[Daniel Dow]

It seems a lot of tires are ribbed without side channels.

Below is a pic of one my tires now at 28,000 miles. When new, the tread's clear space vs gravel filled was about 60/40, no kidding. The dealership response to my complaint after the first week of driving was "then don't drive on gravel". It was a brilliant remark considering that every paved road in the county is finished with oil and, you guessed it, gravel. I am glad that I did not reach across the service counter and end up in jail that day. The gravel retention slowly eased somewhat over time as the tread depth grew less and the tread profiles became more radiused. The current load would almost be acceptable if not for the constant clickety-clickety-clicking. Being the patient miser that I am, I will wait out the remaining life cycle of this set or until another tire failure before buying new (the replacement tire for the 1st blowout did not match the ContiPRo set and so it became my spare).

[Willie]

I noticed that my Continentals picked up a lot of stone too. I would never say they were filled as you describe, but more than usual.

I really liked the Contis at first but then they began to wear very rapidly, so I changed my opinion and tired another brand for replacements.

[tombright]

Our Contis have suffered 5 nails in 39,000 miles. We just replaced a second tire when the injury was in the outer tread bar, beyond Ford's warranty zone. This is getting expensive.

That said, the TC rides nearly the same whether lightly loaded or at the 1,600 lb load limit, and corners like a spider. Great fun in wet or dry. Replaces a full-size Toyota T-100 pickup rated for only 1,100 lbs.

But the TC is LOUD. Using the iPhone sound meter app, we routinely measure 104.5 dBA at 20 mph, 109 dBA at sixty on our failing California pavement.

Michelin only offers snow tires just now (March 2014). Just upgrading to Michelin Latitude Tours from Michelin LTXes on the 4Runner put us into Lexus Land for ride and noise. Might Michelin snows do the same for the TC? Even though they are only rated for a few miles on dry pavement, since we are spending $150 every 8 months for popped Continentals, what's the difference?

Edited March 3, 2014 by tombright

[PetrosA]

I still run the original Contis in summer and am on my third set of winter tires this year (just in time, too!). I started noticing issues with the front tires last summer. There were chunks working themselves loose on the inner and outer tread of the front only. I finally ended up at a tire specialist here in Lancaster who did a thorough analysis (checked alignment, suspension etc.) and finally sent photos to the Conti engineers. They responded:

"This condition is the beginning of Chip/Chunk and is related to the OE compound (required by Ford for Rolling Resistance) and road conditions under load. We have brought this to Ford's attention in the past but it is more prevalent outside the US Market. It is not a Safety issue, it is more related to appearance."

My tire guy and my mechanic recommended running the front at the same higher pressure as the rear as visual inspection showed that the center of the tire was cupped inwards at the recommended pressure which puts more strain on the inside and outside treads. I will get some new summer tires this year, finances allowing, but if not, I'll feel okay about running on my chipped up, chunked up OEMs

[KeithSr]

My Continental tires are worn out at 27k, coming from larger Econoline vans that wore Michelin tires for 90k,this is unacceptable. I am tempted to sell the truck.

[mrtn]

Why don't you get a set of long life tires, like Cooper Cobra G/T or similar? Sure, you'll not get any traction with them.

[PetrosA]

My Continental tires are worn out at 27k, coming from larger Econoline vans that wore Michelin tires for 90k,this is unacceptable. I am tempted to sell the truck.

It's not the truck, but the tires. Long life tires are made with really hard rubber, so little traction to be expected.

[Dave H]

I have just repaired my 5th- that's right 5th flat tire in the Contis on my TC. This is in 40,000 miles! The slightest road hazard or piece of debris seems to puncture them. Only other tires that size I can find are Michelins which are LR C. Anybody know of any other tires that will meet the service description? Also would changing sizes and thus inflation pressures mess with the TPMS? That is just another piece of federally mandated crap that I don't need or want!