Anyone else running Continental Terrain Contact A/T's?????

[2kwik4u]

My BFG KO2's on my truck are finally showing enough wear I'm not comfortable putting the family in the truck any longer. Just pulled the trigger on a new set of Continental Terrain Contact A/T's in a 275/55/20 size.

The Conti's are much less aggressive than the BFG's. I do something like 90% of my mileage on pavement. The other 10% is mostly gravel and light field work. I don't need deep mud fording capability, and I'm not rock crawling. I did want to stick with an A/T though, mostly just for the look on the truck. The Conti's won just about every "mild A/T" comparison I could find, and I'm a big fan of Continental anyway (even have them on my bicycles).

Now to recover from the $890 purchase and estimated $120 installation costs. They're certainly not cheap, hope they work as well as the reviews say.

Anyone else have an experience with these?

 

[2kwik4u]

New Continentals are installed. 20mi of driving this afternoon completed.

First impression is that these are SIGNIFICANTLY smoother riding and holy crap omg quieter than the previous setup. I'll be taking a road trip this weekend and will be putting ~350miles on them. Should get a good feel for how they do between that trip and 3 more days commuting this week.

I like the look. Still aggressive enough to fit the style of the truck, but clearly more street oriented than the BFG's.

.

Yes I know, the truck needs a wash......badly.

Total cost after shipping, tax, mounting, and road force balancing was $1,041. Oof they're pricey!

 

[djetok]

My BFG KO2's on my truck are finally showing enough wear I'm not comfortable putting the family in the truck any longer. Just pulled the trigger on a new set of Continental Terrain Contact A/T's in a 275/55/20 size.

The Conti's are much less aggressive than the BFG's. I do something like 90% of my mileage on pavement. The other 10% is mostly gravel and light field work. I don't need deep mud fording capability, and I'm not rock crawling. I did want to stick with an A/T though, mostly just for the look on the truck. The Conti's won just about every "mild A/T" comparison I could find, and I'm a big fan of Continental anyway (even have them on my bicycles).

Now to recover from the $890 purchase and estimated $120 installation costs. They're certainly not cheap, hope they work as well as the reviews say.

Anyone else have an experience with these?

Yes we have had them for 2 ski seasons. They are awesome on the jeep gc. 1 st trip we had to stop and wait for a guy in a 4x4 chevy to get up the ice hill. He didn't make it. My wife just creeper up the ice and on to the street. I was sold right there

 

[djetok]

New Continentals are installed. 20mi of driving this afternoon completed.

First impression is that these are SIGNIFICANTLY smoother riding and holy crap omg quieter than the previous setup. I'll be taking a road trip this weekend and will be putting ~350miles on them. Should get a good feel for how they do between that trip and 3 more days commuting this week.

I like the look. Still aggressive enough to fit the style of the truck, but clearly more street oriented than the BFG's.

View attachment 137949. View attachment 137950

Yes I know, the truck needs a wash......badly.

Total cost after shipping, tax, mounting, and road force balancing was $1,041. Oof they're pricey!

They are quieter and ride great. We lost no mpg from hard rubber that was on it from the factory. They may be more capable than the bfg. Her jeep has been up some stuff in the mountains.

 

[2kwik4u]

Had the tires for about a month now. Did one long road trip with them. ~1,500 miles or so on them at this point.

The quietness and smoothness as compared to the BFG's can't be overstated. The truck "feels" like the luxury vehicle it's supposed to be. The noise reduction alone is worth the cost of entry. Traction on dry and wet pavement has been excellent. Been on gravel and wet grass with them as well, also no issues at all. I've stopped running "Auto 4wd" in the rain, which was mandatory on the BFG's.

Only thing I've found (which I somewhat expected) is that they flat spot pretty easily. I can get them warm on the way into the office (~30mi, mostly interstate), and by time to go home they have a flat spot that is noticeable for ~3-4 miles, or until you get them warm again. Every continental tire I've owned has done this, so it's no big surprise, but it's noticeable.

I'm 100% ready to start doing some tow testing with them. Only ~90days out from the start of the season here, so hopefully I'll get that data here soon

 

[Babin Farms]

When you get some snow let us know how they do. I'm going to be in the market for new tires by next summer and am tired of the howl of the GY Duratrax.

 

[2kwik4u]

When you get some snow let us know how they do. I'm going to be in the market for new tires by next summer and am tired of the howl of the GY Duratrax.

Will do. Although there is a good chance we won't have any this year. It's been a couple years since we had appreciable snow to drive through around here. We're right on the cusp of "snow territory". We have had a few years where there have been twenty plus inches of fall overnight, and then other years where we don't get a total of six inches all season.

Either way I'll report back with findings if/when that data is available.

 

[djetok]

When you get some snow let us know how they do. I'm going to be in the market for new tires by next summer and am tired of the howl of the GY Duratrax.

They do great in the snow. My wifes Jeep GC, which goes to colorado every other weekend, handles everything well. It has been on roads with 2-3 inches of blowing snow with a hard pack below. It does great, but they are not Blizzak's or sotto zerros'. Its a great fulltime tire for us and is 3 peaks rated. Myself being a Michelin guy, started converting over to the Contis'. I put some of the conti DSW extreme contacts on the BMW m car for a winter tire. Great tire but I would have rather had the Mich as4 that just came out.

 

[2kwik4u]

I put some of the conti DSW extreme contacts on the BMW m car for a winter tire.

I ran the Extreme Contact DSW on my Audi for two full sets. Excellent tire. Moved to them on the Focus as well once the ContiPro Contacts that were factor installed wore down.

Between the DSW's and the Quattro on the Audi, I won a $50 bet with an uncle. He got his F250 with MudTerrains stuck in Granddads back yard (large "yard" that is ~1.5 acres of mostly grass). Told him I could drive the Audi out there no problem, and followed up with "What's the big deal anyway?". He bet me $50 I couldn't drive around his truck, stop, roll down the window and wave, then start up again and get back to the driveway". I did him one better and got out and walked around the car 1/2 way through. Snow was just over the 4rings emblem in the grill when I stopped. Drove out like it was no big deal. I didn't tell him the DSW's had less than 1k miles on them at the time .

Only other more "sure footed" vehicle I've ever driven was that same uncles Jeep Grand Cherokee with the original Quadra-Drive system about a decade earlier. That thing would damn near climb a tree if you asked it to. Drove it around one Christmas with 6-7in of snow on the ground. Didn't realize until I got home that it had belts showing on 3 out of 4 tires. I mean, they weren't "due for replacement soon", they were full on wore the hell out. Was really quite impressive how well that vehicle handled the slick conditions.

 

[djetok]

I ran the Extreme Contact DSW on my Audi for two full sets. Excellent tire. Moved to them on the Focus as well once the ContiPro Contacts that were factor installed wore down.

Between the DSW's and the Quattro on the Audi, I won a $50 bet with an uncle. He got his F250 with MudTerrains stuck in Granddads back yard (large "yard" that is ~1.5 acres of mostly grass). Told him I could drive the Audi out there no problem, and followed up with "What's the big deal anyway?". He bet me $50 I couldn't drive around his truck, stop, roll down the window and wave, then start up again and get back to the driveway". I did him one better and got out and walked around the car 1/2 way through. Snow was just over the 4rings emblem in the grill when I stopped. Drove out like it was no big deal. I didn't tell him the DSW's had less than 1k miles on them at the time .

Only other more "sure footed" vehicle I've ever driven was that same uncles Jeep Grand Cherokee with the original Quadra-Drive system about a decade earlier. That thing would damn near climb a tree if you asked it to. Drove it around one Christmas with 6-7in of snow on the ground. Didn't realize until I got home that it had belts showing on 3 out of 4 tires. I mean, they weren't "due for replacement soon", they were full on wore the hell out. Was really quite impressive how well that vehicle handled the slick conditions.

I have the pilot sport a/3 on the lincoln and they are superior to the dsw. The DSW tracking is weird, almost like driving on marbles when you push them a bit on the M car. The lincoln being a heavier car and 450 hp awd (tuned) , I have a hard time pushing the tires. Of course the m car goes through the turn faster though. It obviously has a better suspension for handling.

The conti at's are a awesome tire , that is far superior to any other truck tire for all around. Are they quieter than my Mich ltx or defender ltx? No They are louder than those but on anyother surface than dry highway, the conti is far superior of a tire. It is a tire that I will continue to use, when we move to Salida, Co. I will have a set of dedicated snows (hakkas or blizzak).

 

[swatski]

I have been chasing good tires for my Landcruiser for quite some time, I'm on a 3rd set now and still only under 60k miles. Finally though I feel like I have arrived - Michelin Latitude. I find those to be pretty amazing in just about every regard, quiet, perfect balance, fantastic traction, great in snow albeit only had about a week of serious snow here so far. I went through Dunlops and Cooper Discoverer before those which were okay, but no comparison.

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[suke]

I have been chasing good tires for my Landcruiser for quite some time, I'm on a 3rd set now and still only under 60k miles. Finally though I feel like I have arrived - Michelin Latitude. I find those to be pretty amazing in just about every regard, quiet, perfect balance, fantastic traction, great in snow albeit only had about a week of serious snow here so far. I went through Dunlops and Cooper Discoverer before those which were okay, but no comparison.

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I've been a huge fan of cooper AT3's on everything 4wd. My current F150 came with Michelin tires and I'll likely ride these until I replace the truck. LOL! I have the AT3's on my jeep with about 20k miles on them and still 11/32 left of tread. If I was to keep my truck I'd probably replace them with coopers or the OEM Hankook ATM's. I looked into the Continental AT's the other day as a FB friend just put those on his F150. For the cost it probably wouldn't be my first choice. The other day I was adding up how much I've spent on tires in my life time and it was nearly $20k!!!!! Which is pretty crazy to think about.

 

[2kwik4u]

I've been a huge fan of cooper AT3's on everything 4wd. My current F150 came with Michelin tires and I'll likely ride these until I replace the truck. LOL! I have the AT3's on my jeep with about 20k miles on them and still 11/32 left of tread. If I was to keep my truck I'd probably replace them with coopers or the OEM Hankook ATM's. I looked into the Continental AT's the other day as a FB friend just put those on his F150. For the cost it probably wouldn't be my first choice. The other day I was adding up how much I've spent on tires in my life time and it was nearly $20k!!!!! Which is pretty crazy to think about.

I looked hard at the Cooper AT3's and the Falken Wildpeaks. Both are great tires with great reviews. I sided with the Continentals since I already knew the brand. I don't think anyone would go wrong with either of those either. They are both, what I would call, a "click or two" more aggressive than the Continentals. Could be good or bad depending on your situation and what you need the tires to do.

The Continentals weren't the cheapest. I'm close to $1k after purchase, mounting, balancing, and disposal of the old tires. $829 ($207/ea) for the tires shipped to my local Big-O from TireRack.com. Then $40/tire (+tax) for mounting and road force balancing.

 

[suke]

I looked hard at the Cooper AT3's and the Falken Wildpeaks. Both are great tires with great reviews. I sided with the Continentals since I already knew the brand. I don't think anyone would go wrong with either of those either. They are both, what I would call, a "click or two" more aggressive than the Continentals. Could be good or bad depending on your situation and what you need the tires to do.

The Continentals weren't the cheapest. I'm close to $1k after purchase, mounting, balancing, and disposal of the old tires. $829 ($207/ea) for the tires shipped to my local Big-O from TireRack.com. Then $40/tire (+tax) for mounting and road force balancing.

I don't "need" anything remotely aggressive. My minivan Michelins on my truck right now are more than adequate. Quiet, great fuel mileage, and great in the rain (we really don't get snow here). So for me it'd be almost purely for looks. Largely the same for my jeep. Next set of tires on that I'll stick to the coopers but likely go down a tire size from the 32/33's I have on it now to 31/32s.

 

[swatski]

I don't "need" anything remotely aggressive. My minivan Michelins on my truck right now are more than adequate. Quiet, great fuel mileage, and great in the rain (we really don't get snow here). So for me it'd be almost purely for looks. Largely the same for my jeep. Next set of tires on that I'll stick to the coopers but likely go down a tire size from the 32/33's I have on it now to 31/32s.

What's your experience balancing the Coopers? In my case (n=1, so it could have been just my case), balancing them was the only issue; it bothered me to the point I swapped them before they showed any substantial wear, with only like 15k on them (some 3-4k of it was towing which could had made them go out of whack) and then I couldn't have them balanced well enough to be smooth riding... I made three attempts and all failed, done in 3 different places, two of which were road force machined. They were fine up to about 60mph, and then not.
After that I just threw in the towel and went Michelin. We'll see what happens, I'll probably tow less now. The Michelins are simply awesome, so far.

 

[2kwik4u]

@swatski The K2 platform trucks ('14-18 fullsize GM pickups) are SUPER sensitive to tire balance. I'm not sure how sensitive the Land Cruisers are, but i would wager they're similar.

I've found that even a "normal" road force balance isn't adequate to keep vibrations away. I have to ask (and sometimes pay) to have the tires balanced 2 or 3 times to get it right. I've worked with the local big-0 in getting it right, and have found that their "standard" spec is around 20lbs of imbalance is "good". VERY sensitive people or vehicles need to go even lower. I've asked the local guys to try and hit under 5, and they can usually get me under 10 with acceptable levels of effort. Several times on the my last set of BFG's, they would have to mark the wheel/tire, unmount, rotate the tire, and remount to get the balance acceptable. Once they're "right" they're smooth as butter, until then the truck shakes like a drug addict going through detox.

Typically, I offer to pay an extra hour or two of shop rate to really drive home the point that I want the tech to spend some extra time on my setup. Only once have they actually asked me to pay. Finding the right shop, and honestly, the right tech is paramount to getting a good balance. It's been worth it to me, as tires (and transmissions) are one of the few things I simply can not do myself on my truck. I hate being at the mercy of the shop to get anything done, so I've educated myself, searched for a shop I can trust, and paid close attention to the results.

 

[swatski]

@swatski The K2 platform trucks ('14-18 fullsize GM pickups) are SUPER sensitive to tire balance. I'm not sure how sensitive the Land Cruisers are, but i would wager they're similar.

I've found that even a "normal" road force balance isn't adequate to keep vibrations away. I have to ask (and sometimes pay) to have the tires balanced 2 or 3 times to get it right. I've worked with the local big-0 in getting it right, and have found that their "standard" spec is around 20lbs of imbalance is "good". VERY sensitive people or vehicles need to go even lower. I've asked the local guys to try and hit under 5, and they can usually get me under 10 with acceptable levels of effort. Several times on the my last set of BFG's, they would have to mark the wheel/tire, unmount, rotate the tire, and remount to get the balance acceptable. Once they're "right" they're smooth as butter, until then the truck shakes like a drug addict going through detox.

Typically, I offer to pay an extra hour or two of shop rate to really drive home the point that I want the tech to spend some extra time on my setup. Only once have they actually asked me to pay. Finding the right shop, and honestly, the right tech is paramount to getting a good balance. It's been worth it to me, as tires (and transmissions) are one of the few things I simply can not do myself on my truck. I hate being at the mercy of the shop to get anything done, so I've educated myself, searched for a shop I can trust, and paid close attention to the results.

Thank you for that, I started thinking I might be going mad insisting on smoothly balanced tires. Kate's also getting tired of my constant budgerring "can you feel this...?". But - I know when things vibrate, and it does drive me mad.
I was not successful so far finding a shop or a guy around these parts who can help me, and the last set of tires (michelin) were actually put on by a Toyota dealer with a road force machine, and seem okay. That was after 3 independent attempts on getting the coopers balanced, at which point I was worried maybe my rims got out of whack, maybe I should had kept trying though.
There is one mechanic/tire shop around me I really like and trust, but he does not have the "hunter" road balancer. I wonder if the utility of those machines may perhaps be overhyped, they only reach up to 50 something mph equivalent anyway which is probably not quite enough to mimic highway driving conditions. Perhaps a good tech is better than one of those machines? IDK.

At any rate - thanks for chiming in, glad I'm not the only person here living with the diagnosis of SATIHS (severe acute tire imbalance hypersensitivity syndrome, lol)!

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[2kwik4u]

glad I'm not the only person here living with the diagnosis of SATIHS (severe acute tire imbalance hypersensitivity syndrome, lol)!

I've got that bad. Like really bad. Then I went and bought a truck that has an imbalance problem. Google "Chevy Shake" and you'll see what I mean. There are some guys that have chased the vibration for YEARS, had vehicles bought back, and switched brands because of it. Mine shook terribly when I bought it. Took it to the local tire guys and they had it sorted in 2 tries and ~$100.

I don't think the hunter is overhyped. It measures the out of roundness, and gives the techs a better chance of getting it right the first time. I do 100% agree though that a good tech will be worth WAY WAY more than a good machine. A bad tech can out wit a good machine any day, and a good tech understands what the machine is telling him and makes adjustments accordingly.

Also, something to keep in mind. The natural frequency of a tire depends on wheel size, shape, weight, material, as well as tire specs such as rubber compound, sidewall stiffness, air pressure, and others. This means that even the same size tires might resonate at different frequencies. The 275/55/20's on my Sierra like to resonate around 72-76mph. The other guys that run the 18in wheels have a resonance closer to 68-71 mph. Likely your Land Cruiser has a similar speed range that like to resonate. You won't notice an imbalance much, if at all, until your tires hit that excitation frequency.

Another item to note is the weight of the tire/wheel combo. The BFG's that I had previously were around 55lbs each. The new Continentals are closer to 41lbs each. 14lbs per corner I removed from the truck. The ride comfort increased, and the resonant speed decreased due to the interaction of the unsprung weight of the wheel/tire combo, and the damping force applied by the shocks. The shocks are now representing a higher percentage of the forces acting on the suspension, and as such have more control authority. previously there was an obvious "double bounce" when hitting square edged bumps (like expansion joints on the interstate at speed). That has completely gone away, and the ride overall is much improved. Keep an eye on that unsprung weight if you're going to spending a lot of time on the expressway, or near that resonant frequency of the tires.

Finally......I made that post at 2am this morning because I couldn't sleep at the inlaws (near your old stomping grounds in MO) and was prowling the boards. I noticed you marked it within an hour. What's your excuse for being up so early in the morning?

 

[suke]

What's your experience balancing the Coopers? In my case (n=1, so it could have been just my case), balancing them was the only issue; it bothered me to the point I swapped them before they showed any substantial wear, with only like 15k on them (some 3-4k of it was towing which could had made them go out of whack) and then I couldn't have them balanced well enough to be smooth riding... I made three attempts and all failed, done in 3 different places, two of which were road force machined. They were fine up to about 60mph, and then not.
After that I just threw in the towel and went Michelin. We'll see what happens, I'll probably tow less now. The Michelins are simply awesome, so far.

I've had 3 sets of coopers AT3's on different vehicles and never had a balance problem. I'm OCD and any sort of noise or vibrations I'd notice. I had them on my ridgeline and had no issues up to 80mph, never went any faster. My jeep has no issues up to 75ish, smooth and quiet. That thing is sketchy at speeds beyond that and it's not a tire issue. LOL! 2 sets I bought from a buddy who's a mechanic and they balanced them for me very well. Last set I bought off amazon and just took to the local discount tire and they had no issue. They're(discount tire people) not particularly great, either. They broke 3 out of 5 of my center caps on my jeep, didn't tighten one of my wheel locks for one car, and random scuffs when installing tires(was able to polish everything off, so no actual damage). My next set of tires I'll probably make the drive back to my buddies shop and buy tires through him. Not the best prices, but from talking to him there's almost no profit margin in tires. Maybe at the big guys, but for what he pays for them and resells them he makes more off shop time than the tires.

 

[swatski]

Finally......I made that post at 2am this morning because I couldn't sleep at the inlaws (near your old stomping grounds in MO) and was prowling the boards. I noticed you marked it within an hour. What's your excuse for being up so early in the morning?

Simple, I consider you one of the best educated and best informed members here and, consequently, I never want to miss out as I always like to learn. I'm very competitive myself.

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