Tread Wear - Blizzaks vs. ContiExtremeContacts

[Insert Name Here]

Hello everyone,

I'm driving a 2011 (23K mi) 2.5i OB, CVT and love it. I'm going to purchase either the Blizzaks or the ContiExtreme Contacts; you may disagree, but for my purposes they're roughly equal. My question is, which one has the better tread wear life? I'll be doing mostly highway driving. Of course the car came with 225/60/17s, I'm going to put 215/60/17s on it.

On another note, I've called several different retailers and most do not even carry the Contis. They carry other Conti models but not the ExtremeContacts. And when I called TireRack (after I called Discount Tire and was told they don't and won't have them this season) the TireRack guy said the Blizzaks were far superior. Still, I believe the tread wear and wet/slush handling is better for the Contis and that's why I'm interested in them.

Thanks in advance for your responses. Hopefully, in time I'll be able to contribute.

[bheinen74]

Blizzak outer 50% tread soft good when new. Inner 50% tread, hockey puck hard when cold after 15k miles, terrible. Dangerous when only some tread is worn. But they don't test used tires, they test them when new.

Michelin, wear better, pretty good.


Nokian. Entire 100% of the tread compound is soft and pliable, you can run them til there is not tread left. If they tested used snow tires, these would be winner not even close test.


What was the question?

[Insert Name Here]

First, thanks for responding. Second, if yours was not a rhetorical question, I was wondering if Cont Extreme Contacts had better tread life than Blizzaks.