Lazarus Long

I see lots of threads asking for advice about tires, then no feedback later about how they felt about their choice. I thought I would write a short report.

I bought 4 new Conti Extreme Contact Sport for my 98, stock size (245/45/r17 front and 275/40/r18 rear) in July. Since then I have probably put between 3000 and 4000 miles on them.

Bad news first: I ran over something on the highway, not sure what. It tore a chunk of tread out of a rear, buy I did not flat. I was able to drive home. Tire rack honored their hazard warranty, it was a fairly painless process. The tires were new enough that I did not need to get 2 rear tires.

Good news:
Ride, noise, and grip and fantastic, and much improved over the 19 year old GY runflats. Was it silly to get high performance summer tires on a car that I won't race? Maybe, but they are still fun and I don't regret it. At the number of miles/year that I drive it, age will get them long before mileage does.

Wet weather grip was good, although I didn't push it hard. The old GYs were terrible in the wet, I didn't want to find out the hard way where the limit was.

One of my concerns was how cold temperatures would affect them. I want to drive in the winter as long as the roads are dry. I read many posts that warned of all kinds of disasters at near freezing temperatures. Some even warned against below 60 (which is absurd).

I found that all of those warnings were much about nothing. I drove in northern Wisconsin, in rain and near freezing temperatures, even a few flurries. The tires were fine. I had no issues accelerating, cornering, or stopping. The tires didn't freeze, crack, or disintegrate.

My verdict: I'm happy with them, and would get them again.

grampi50

Thanks for the post. I see a lot of threads started about which tires to get, but rarely does anyone post a report like this after they've had the tires for a while. This is good info to know and I'd like to see more of it...

billc80

I have 16,000 miles on the same tires, same results as you very little tread wear.

Harold97

I put a set on mine 18's and 19's on C6 wheels the ride and grip are great but the manufacture warns about temps below 45 degrees. I love them but I don't plan on using them in the winter. It's put away until March or April. Enjoy !!!!!!

grampi50

What supposedly happens, according the manufacturer, if you drive on these tires in temps below 45 degrees?

Lazarus Long

I don't know what Conti says, but in my short experience - nothing happens. There may be reduced grip, but it is still very good. It just might not be the maximum grip possible.

Harold97

Nothing will happen to the tire just reduced grip and the ride will be a little harsher. This is according to Continental. FWIW...

Quickshift_C5

People freak out about performance tires and cold weather. It's mostly gross exaggeration from people with no actual experience or very bad drivers with no common sense.

I've been using R-Compounds (R888, 555R-II, etc) for years year round. I'll drive the car as long as there isn't salt on the ground or snow. Rain, downpours, cold, 30F...it's fine. I've even pushed it on on ramps in 34F weather and didn't spin off the road and die in a horrible, fiery crash. This is on a boosted ZO6 with 640rwhp and no nannies. I pulled the steering position sensor years ago when the lateral accelerometer failed. Just use common sense.

Good to hear the tires are working out for you!

Harold97

Just the tire manufacturers covering their azz. IMOP....

Route99

Thanks for the feedback on your tires. Helpful to anyone considering replacements.

Velocity_Vette

Honestly I can't believe you even considered driving the car at all with original run-flats. Going to re-iterate what I say every time I see that; the original run-flats are worthless by this point regardless of how "good" they look. No tire is going to hold out for near 20 years regardless of how well you store the car.

Thanks for the tire feedback. I can understand why people may not often post their experiences. There are a tremendous amount of factors - mostly user - that negate a lot of what can be reviewed about tires. Of course initial ride quality and handling are one but the usable "life" and performance windows of a tire can shrink dramatically if the owner does not practice proper tire maintenance. It's especially difficult with a Corvette with rotation being difficult to virtually impossible in cases, worn suspension components, etc, etc.

I would say initial impressions say more than any sort of long-term review simply due to all of the aforementioned potential issues.

dbgoodwin

I have around 30k on my DW's and drove on them rain,shine, and cold for quite a while. They did great even down into the teens a couple times. At around 30° you could start to tell the traction was reduced, but anything above that they were fine.

Vetteman Jack

Good that you're happy with the Conti's. Hope the ride, handling and tire wear remain good for you as you put more miles on them.

knewblewkorvette

I have the Conti Extreme Contact Sport on my 99. I just read an article in Car & Driver that reviewed 5 sets of summer only tires. The Conti came in 2nd place, Michelin came in first. I have the Michelin tires on my 02 and I would have to agree that they are better but also cost about $40 more per tire.
As for the winter use, don't:

Beware that some performance summer tires can crack in winter
Summer tires not only lack grip in cold weather, but they can be damaged by low temperatures
Published: March 15, 2014 09:00 AM

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Tires
Anything made with rubber can become more rigid as temperatures get very low, as evidenced by some ultra-high-performance summer tires being used by General Motors and other manufacturers on some vehicles. These tires not only lose grip in cold weather, but they risk cracking, compromising longevity.

This is a significant concern for buyers in northern climes, with GM notably advising not to drive such vehicles during winter chills at the risk of developing damaging cracks. It is likewise important to owners looking forward to spring drives in their performance cars to inspect the tires thoroughly.

GM bulletin #13-03-10-001A: "Information on Tire Cold Weather Cracking" – (Jan 30, 2014) advises “avoid driving, moving, or test-driving vehicles equipped with high-performance summer-only tires below 20º F as operating at these temperatures can cause damage to the tires.” The car models affected include the 2012-2014 Buick Regal GS, 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport, 2012-2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Z/28, 2014-2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE, and the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Stingray Z51, and SS sedan.

In GM’s quest to deliver the ultimate handling in these cars, they built performance tires with essentially a racing compound to deliver the goods. These tires are great for driving in temperate areas and are ideally suited for track use, but the practicality of the tires stops there.

Reaching out to a GM tire supplier, Pirelli, a spokesman explained that the performance tread compound becomes so stiff on such tires that it can lead to cracking when deformed in cold weather. In measuring the hardness of numerous brands of summer tires at 0º F, we have found the tread becomes almost inflexible and the tires lose their bounce when dropped. The cracking is characterized as cosmetic, but in our experience any cracking shouldn’t be taken lightly as it can evolve over time. If there is crack, you should replace the tire. (GM’s service bulletin also recommends discarding a tire with cracking.)


Here is what you need to do if you own or are considering purchasing one of the GM cars mentioned in the bulletin or any car that comes with summer tires.

When looking at a new car with performance summer tires at a dealer’s lot, check the tires on the car for cracking in the tread area. The car may have only a few miles on the odometer, but if it was parked in the cold and moved around during transport or by the dealer, the tires could have cracked. This is the time to have the dealer change the effected tires, because once you make the deal and drive off, it’s your headache.
If you own a car with summer tires, refrain from using it at all in cold temperatures as the tires may crack. Leave it parked. Beyond cracking concerns, summer tires have diminished grip below 40º F on dry and wet roads and virtually little to no grip on snow and ice.
If you bought your dream car with summer tires on it and live in an area that does have winter, then consider using performance all-season tires or dedicated winter tires. These will provide better cold-weather grip and preserve the pricey summer times for the other seasons. Through our testing, we have found a number of ultra-high-performance all-season tires that provide handling and dry and wet grip on par to many summer tires we have tested. (See our full tire ratings.)