I normally get around 25k miles to a set of tyres, but my current Continental Premium Contacts on a 2001 1.8 Mondeo are wearing at an alarming rate. I'll be lucky if I get 12.5k.
The tracking is ok and the tyres are wearing perfectly even.
Continental tell me it is usual for new tyres to wear quickly initially but the wear rate should slow down as the tread gets less.
The tread pattern on these tyres consists of three grooves (which are 7.5mm deep on a new tyre) with diagonal grooves which are only 6mm deep.
The 1.6mm treadware indicators are in the 7.5mm grooves, so this means if you run the tyre down to the legal limit of 1.6mm there will only be 0.1mm of tread in the diagonal grooves.
As the law states you must have 1.6mm across 75% of the tread will this make them unlawful.
At this stage they would look like slicks with three grooves in them.
A bit like Formula 1 tyres.
Anyone had any dealings with these tyres.
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do not know if this helps but i got thru a michelin energy in 12,000 miles on my mondeo td. Had both fronts replaced at the same time and the nearside tyre wore itself out in one year. The offside has loads of tread left,may have been a rogue tyre?
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do not know if this helps but i got thru a michelin energy in 12,000 miles on my mondeo td. Had both fronts replaced at the same time and the nearside tyre wore itself out in one year. The offside has loads of tread left,may have been a rogue tyre?
Thanks for the reply
Strangely one of my tyres is wearing faster than the others no matter which corner of the car I put it on.
Must have got the rubber compound wrong when they made that one.
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I had Continentals on a new Renault 19 many moons ago. I got about 12,000 out of the front tyres and was suitably horrified! Changed to Michelins and went back to about 20,000 (normal for me!) Made up my mind never to buy Continentals again!
I will say, though, that they did grip really well - probably due to soft compound.
I've always used Michelins since and in general find them good on wear and grip - not particularly cheap, though.
Graeme
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I had Continentals on a new Renault 19 many moons ago. I got about 12,000 out of the front tyres and was suitably horrified! Changed to Michelins and went back to about 20,000 (normal for me!) Made up my mind never to buy Continentals again! I will say, though, that they did grip really well - probably due to soft compound. I\'ve always used Michelins since and in general find them good on wear and grip - not particularly cheap, though. Graeme
Thanks for the reply
I had Michelins on a Citroen BX. They were still on it when I sold it 5 years later.
The Continentals have a treadwear rating of 280 which should mean they are pretty hard wearing.
I once read a test report that criticised them for poor wearing, but later read another report that praised them for good wearing.
Perhaps they changed the rubber compound on later ones.
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All the tyre companies use variable pattern depth or 'tie-bars' to balance tread pattern stiffness at strategic positions. This can even improve regularity of wear. Yes, these grooves will disappear before the tyre is legally worn-out, but usually the last to reach minimum are the main circumferencial grooves which provide a major contribution to water clearance for wet braking & cornering.
The tread-wear indicator bars are usually positioned in these 'principle' full depth grooves, so you should remain legal until these bridge-over.
Having said that, it's advisable to bear in mind that tyre performance, particularly in the wet, will reduce throughout it's life. So it's safer to change them before the TWI's appear -but, of course, who wants to spend money before the law insists?
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All the tyre companies use variable pattern depth or \'tie-bars\' to balance tread pattern stiffness at strategic positions. This can even improve regularity of wear. Yes, these grooves will disappear before the tyre is legally worn-out, but usually the last to reach minimum are the main circumferencial grooves which provide a major contribution to water clearance for wet braking & cornering. The tread-wear indicator bars are usually positioned in these \'principle\' full depth grooves, so you should remain legal until these bridge-over. Having said that, it\'s advisable to bear in mind that tyre performance, particularly in the wet, will reduce throughout it\'s life. So it\'s safer to change them before the TWI\'s appear -but, of course, who wants to spend money before the law insists?
Thanks for the information.
I usually change my tyres before they reach the legal limit.
I once had Dunlop SP Sport 200\'s that were poor in the wet and hopeless on snow. I ditched them with 3mm of tread left and replaced them with Goodyear Eagle Venturas. What a differnce.
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Bilgewater - I also have a 01 Mondeo 1.8. My Continental Premium Contacts on the front lasted 13k. I replaced them with Contisport. The rears lasted until 25k. I also replaced these with Contisport to match the fronts. The fronts put on at 13k were/are still looking good and the car now has 30k on it so they have lasted 17k so presume they are a longer wearing tyre than premiums.
However...See my thread from last week regarding the baldness on the inside edge of one of these replacement front tyres. I am going to get the tracking checked this weekend hopefully if I have time.
Not cheap at £70 a pop
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Had a New Shape Mondeo with Conti Premium Contacts fitted all round, sold the car after 6000 miles and the tyres were hardly touched front as well as rear.
PP
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