Continental Tyres |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
Topic: Continental Tyres Posted: 06-April-2005 at 13:05 |
All I am in the process of trying to get this type of tyre. I want a Continental ContiEcoContact 225/60 R15 96V. Not a SportContact and not a PremiumContact. I got quotes from various garages all of whom said they didn't have them but could get me them in 2-3 days. Local grage has just told me that they no longer produce that type of tyre. I would have to get either Sport or Premium tyres instead of "Eco". I aksed the same garage for EcoContact tyres for the other halfs Escort again to match tyres that were already on the car and the local gargae put PremiumContacts on. Are they just 'at it' or have Continental really stopped making EcoContact tyres? Kwikfraud say they can get them and even showed me an EcoContact tyre albiet of a different size as I'd asked if you can still get EcoContacts as I was unsure after asking for them for the Escort and getting PremiumContacts. My E39 has two ContiEcoContact 225/60 R15 96V on the front and two different rear tyres which I want to replace. What do you guys shod your 15" E39 rims with? Any comments on the above? Andrew |
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studyolic
Really Senior Member I Joined: 09-July-2004 Location: Inchture, Dundee, Scotland. Status: Offline Points: 427 |
Posted: 06-April-2005 at 15:53 |
Hi Andrew,
my understanding is that it doesn't matter too much if you have different tyres on the front and back axles, providing the tyres on each axle are identical. If the EcoContacts on the front are OK, leave them, but don't feel you have to necessarily get the same for the rear axle. My advice is to take a pen and paper, and go to www.mytyres.co.uk; on the home page, enter the tyre size you want, and it will do a search for you, listing about five pages of options. On just about every tyre choice, if you click on the name, it takes you to a "details" page for that tyre. On that page they have a test result, sometimes two or three. Frequently, only one of the test links is active, but it's enough. The "test" is usually a compilation of all the tests published for that particular tyre, and about ten areas of performance are measured, and graded 1 to 5, where 1 = best and 5 = worst. Just add up the figures that are important to you, (ie grip in wet, braking in wet, etc) and make up your own table of the three or four makes you are interested in. When I did this, for 235/45 17', the Vredestein Sportrac 2 was easily the best performer across the board, at a reasonable price. The Goodyear Eagle F1 was only fractionally better in the wet, and worse everywhere else. I remarked on another forum "why would anybody want to get Continentals?" Remember, these are measurements across many many tests. I trust figures more than hearsay, especially when it comes to safety . Whew! That was much longer than I intended! Richard. |
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Richard.
Current; 2000 316i Compact 1.9 previous; 1999 535i V8, 1995 316i Compact 1.6 |
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MTEC530D
Banned User Joined: 01-February-2005 Location: stockton on tees Status: Offline Points: 150 |
Posted: 06-April-2005 at 16:32 |
i'll be hoinest with you i hate continentals i currently have Dunlop SP2000 on front and SP 9000 on rear and they are excellent in both wet dry and the wear rate seems preety good. mine are 255/40/17's on rear and 235/45/17's on front (standard M5 tyre sizes)
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 03:07 |
Wow Wasn't expecting a slating of Conti's! I was under the impression that ContiEcoContacts were OEM on my type of E39. I have one of those Vredestein things as my offside rear and some sh1tty winter tyre on the nearside that the garage I bought it from ploped on it for passing its MOT. Both of these rears are direction orientated i.e they can only go on one side of the car when mounted on the rims. S omething inside me is telling me to stay away from rotation specific tyres. It must be the Engineer in me, something to do with in compatability when it comes to the spare.... Anyway physcological problems aside, I'll try your link Richard and see what it throws up. Thanks Andrew |
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Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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MTEC530D
Banned User Joined: 01-February-2005 Location: stockton on tees Status: Offline Points: 150 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 03:25 |
the SP9000 aren't directional but the SP2000 are. another place is a company called www.johnsontyres.co.uk
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 03:50 |
Richard Thanks for that link! Really interesting and useful! I'm away now to do my own survey. Reading those reports is a real eye opener. Tyres that give great grip in the dry can be really poor in the snow. Very interesting reading. I'll let you know what tyre I reckon suits. One thing to note though is once I put in my choice of tyre it threw up 3 different types of Contis onthe first page alone. The first one being an Eco Contact W then a Eco Contact V then Premium Contact. What do they mean by "runout" is that out of stock (temporarily or indefinate?) or is it some form of tyre speak? Andrew |
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Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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318is-joe
Really Senior Member I Joined: 04-March-2004 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 314 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 05:01 |
I inhereted a set on a car I bought but after having them I don't rate Conti's one single bit. Good up to a point, then a dangerous loss of grip, I wouldn't touch them ever again.
I've since used Dunlop. SP2000's Good all rounder SP 9000 better in the wet than the 2000's. I'm rolling on 255/40/R17 rears 235/45/R17 fronts - GLUE. I think the term "runout" would mean the end of a product line in which the tyres were being discontinued, or that they were out of stock, in any event it is not a technical tyre term. The only item on a car that can be measured for runout is a brake disc. Edited by 318is-joe |
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mmm-five
Really Senior Member I Joined: 16-January-2003 Status: Offline Points: 343 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 06:20 |
Some available here - although they do list it as a run-out model Edited by mmm-five |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 07:37 |
My local garage told me they were out of production so maybe they are telling the truth then! Andrew |
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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__CRiSiS__
Newbie Joined: 05-April-2004 Location: Doncaster Status: Offline Points: 32 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 08:07 |
I too have these sizes on my 540i Sport (6sp man. It came with Dunlop SP200e. I changed the rears last year and the mechanic advised me that they were the original tyres (he could tell via the reference numbers on the tyre) 30K miles for the rears - NICE :-) Had him check the fronts: also original tyres. I'm still running them; currently 43K miles on the clock (though I do think they will need changing before the winter) |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 13:03 |
Had a wee look see as to what tyre I should get as suggested by Richard earlier. I reckon a Conti Premium Contact will my best shout given that it has very good grip characteristics in all apsects. Scores just as well as the Dunlop but isn't rotation orientated which means I can swap em about! It does however have a really low score when it comes to grip in the snow. Should be fun. I can also easily get Premium Contacts as Eco Contacts HAVE been discontiued by Continental. We'll see what they're like and take it from there. Thanks for all the advice guys. Andrew |
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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studyolic
Really Senior Member I Joined: 09-July-2004 Location: Inchture, Dundee, Scotland. Status: Offline Points: 427 |
Posted: 07-April-2005 at 14:14 |
I think grip in the snow is of minimal importance - all summer tyres will
be next to useless. I didn't mention that I was talking about 17' tyres, when I did my own research. Of course, a different size (like your 15") could be a different kettle of fish, and throw up completely different results. I'm glad you like the Premium Contacts. It's all down to personal choice, prioroties, etc, but I think it's nice to have some sort of data on which to base a decision, rather than just the look of the tread pattern or whatever. Did you replace your rear door seals? I notice a bit of water on my rear seat after a jet wash. |
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Richard.
Current; 2000 316i Compact 1.9 previous; 1999 535i V8, 1995 316i Compact 1.6 |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
Posted: 11-April-2005 at 03:20 |
Hi Richard I am now the proud owner of a pair of ContiEcoContacts firmly bolted to the rear axle. Big big difference in grip and handling from the rear end. Got the tyres from Preformance Tyres in Carmunnock. Turned up 10.55 am and left at 11.05am and that included 5 mins for the guy to find the tyres. Each tyre cost me a smudge over £80 each bolted to the car. Cheaper than mytyres.co.uk and much much cheaper (nearly £30!) than Kwikfraud! I think I'll be getting Premium Contacts next time. I reckon I'll be needing 4 tyres next time as the front pair still have loads of tread left so they should even out in wear at the same time. I haven't changed my door seals as I think it was a case of me not having shut the door when it poured down as I was washing the car as I have never ever found a wet patch on the carpets again. Andrew |
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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studyolic
Really Senior Member I Joined: 09-July-2004 Location: Inchture, Dundee, Scotland. Status: Offline Points: 427 |
Posted: 11-April-2005 at 15:56 |
well done on the tyres. Keep a note of how they do mileage - wise, for
interest. I think I need one rear door seal, (and I think they only come in pairs), and the driver's seal is a bit tatty where my shoes always catch the rubber on the way in and out. Make that 4 door seals. On the other hand, summer is almost here, so I can put it off until Sept. (Trying not to think about the flooding here last August.) |
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Richard.
Current; 2000 316i Compact 1.9 previous; 1999 535i V8, 1995 316i Compact 1.6 |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
Posted: 12-April-2005 at 03:09 |
Tyres fitted at 56,700 ish miles. Car turned 57,000 miles this morning. Hopefully I'll get 20,000 miles min out of the rears and the fronts should last about that I reckon. I have already done 11,000 miles since I bought it last August. I'll need to tell the insurance company if I do many more miles! Keep us posted about how you get on with the door seals. Andrew |
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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