I'm looking for some new tires. Nothing to radical, as its a daily driver, and I want half decent tire life and fuel economy. The responsible side of me is saying buy the Michelins with the long tread live and good fuel economy, but I like the look of the Continental tires better. Any bad experiences with them. How noisy are they? I have a set of Toyo sport tires that sound like winter tires, and I don't want to go through that again.

go to www.tirerack.com and look at their survey results. Based on that I put Yokohama Avid Tourings on my 740 turbo and my wife's 240. Very quiet tire with good grip, better than the Goodyear Eagle GTII I had. Plus they are low priced.

In a recent extensive test where Scandinavian motor magazines tested the 2003 summer tires, Continental Premium Contact and Goodyear Eagle Ventura came out as the overall winners, slightly ahead of Pirelli P6 and well ahead of Michelin Energy.

Based on the tests I got a set of Continental Premium Contacts last Saturday, and so far I like them a lot.

Erling.
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My 240 Page

I've used the CT touring on my brick.

The good: they are excellant in snow and water and reduce road noise big time.

The bad: They don't last. I think mine wore down after 25k miles, the company was very good and replaced them at a great discount. The new ones also wore down pretty fast. They are known to wear down fast.

Generally, quiet tires with a good grip do tend to wear quicker than others, but, I agree, the plus side outweighs the negative. I once had a set of Bridgestones that were like running concrete discs. They were the hardest, roughest, noisiest tire I ever drove. After about 45,000, they still showed little wear (!) but they were so uncomfortable, I just tossed them anyway. I have never run Continentals, but I really like Dunlop on Volvo. Good ride, handles well, and wears reasonably well also.

I've used CH95s for ~8 years(4 sets, 2 cars); no complaints.
They seemed to be OK in the ice & snow, but that's California ice & snow.

I went to get a set of tires put on my car, and the person working there told me that Michelin made Continental. That's what I heard though from the guy, so not sure if it's totally true. I'm sure they're good tires :-) Michael

Here are the tire brand associations that I know of:

Michelin / BF Goodrich / Uniroyal
Goodyear / Dunlop
Continenal / General
Bridgestone / Firestone

When I replaced tires on a 245, I bought Yokohama Avid Touring, 195/75R14 (to replace no longer available 185R14). The only thing to watch for in this case is that the maximum pressure for these tires is 35psi, 1psi less than the top of the Volvo-recommended pressure range (27-36psi front, 30-36psi rear). However, the tires do have a load rating of 92, which is greater than the load rating of 91 for the old 185R14 tires.

I put the conti contac ch95's on our 94 965 and they are great so far. Quiet and good ride but I can't comment on the longevity yet. A highly recommended touring tire by many sources and only 68us w/shipping from discount tire direct. I read reviews of this tire and compared with michelins of the same price range-the continental won out. BTW this tire is oe for BMW. Michelin is an excellent tire but you can do just as good for less money. I personally like yokohama, toyo, for my 280z and 244. The 965 is the wifemobile.
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92 244 lowered, Bilsteins, IPD sways, Unitek cam/header, TSW Revo 18x8's - 94 965 Niiice MONEY PIT! - 76 Datsun 280Z lowered, modified head, cam, headers, intake

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about yoko's too but we haven't got a good dealer in NS (Canada). Mail order from the US is too expensive with postage/duty/weak dollar. I've had bad experiences with Toyos. Very loud and uneven wear. I have a pair on the front of my Turbo, and I can't wait till they wear out so I can hear the radio over the tires. I think I'll take a chance on the Continentals.

I put a set on my '86 when I bought it 5 1/2 years ago have since put 80,000 + mileson them. Still have half decent tread on rears. Rating is 700 A B
Best darn tires I have ever had. Great in snow, rain, quiet, great response for a tourer. Full depth sipes. About $73 US. with shipping to MD it is close to $325 Worth it!


Here are some raves ...from Tire Rack site on these tires
Vehicle: 1993 Nissan Altima
Location: Walterboro, SC
Driving Style: Fast and Aggressive
Driving Condition: Combined Highway/City
Reviewer's Overall Ratings: 10.00 out of 10
Review Submitted 2003-03-23

I am on my third set of x-ones. I travel about 40,000 miles yearly. My first set of x-ones got almost 100,000 miles on them when I finished with them. My second set did not last as well because I lost the suspention on my car (I had at that time almost 300,000 miles on the car) When I look for tires, I always compare them to x-ones!

Vehicle: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 300E
Location: Raleigh, NC
Driving Style: Average
Driving Condition: Combined Highway/City
Reviewer's Overall Ratings: 7.44 out of 10
Review Submitted 2003-03-14

Now on the 3rd set of X-ones. First set replaced 100% by Michelin when they had unlimited mileage warranty. Second set paid for 50% by Michelin (80,000 mile warranty now). Wife drives them hard, but keeps them rotated, balanced and aligned. They have been good for 40,000 miles consistently

Vehicle: 1994 Jeep Cherokee
Location: Great Cacapon, WV
Driving Style: Fast and Aggressive
Driving Condition: All On Road
Reviewer's Overall Ratings: 8.88 out of 10
Review Submitted 2002-11-19

OEM Michelin MX4s (?) lasted 82000; w/84000 mi. current X-Ones appear to have at least 5K mi remaining. Love em! Rotate, balance & check air press regularly. Hey, I know theyre made for dissatisfied Caddy & Lincoln drivers but, if you're in the group that really don't off-road your Jeep, do yourself a favor & try a set of X-One's.

I sound like a salesman ...here

Happy Motoring
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'86 244 and '87 245