OEM tires....My experience.

5116 Views 22 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Bobaru, Dec 31, 2012

4wheeldog

Discussion Starter · Dec 6, 2012

Lots of folks hate the OEM Continentals. I now have 25k on mine. I just rotated them yesterday. They appear to have a little less than half their life left. I now rotate every 10k, (I originally did it every 5k) and they look nearly identical, all around. I measured circumferance, and all were within 1/8th"........Which is the limit of accuracy, when done with a tape measure.
Anyway, they all seem to still be in good balance. They have never been rebalanced. The car rides and handles smoothly, so no indication of a tire going egg shaped. All in all, they seem just fine. I expect to be shopping for new ones in another 20k, so I will most likely only need to rotate these one more time. Car was purchased new the end of last March. I leave for a 5k trip in less then 2 weeks. So, by the time a year rolls around, I should have 35k on the tires. I will check in and give my continued experience then.

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deantchi

· #2 · Dec 6, 2012

have you driven them in various road conditions? gravel, snow, rain, etc... how did they hold up?

AltaBrig

· #3 · Dec 6, 2012

At 36k I have one eggsh tire that is balding/curbing on 1/3 off the outside circumference on the said tire. Lots of mixed - summer hot asphault, off-road, poor condition paved, heavy snow, ice, etc. I hope to get 10k but 5K would be super. Started rotations at 10k and have gone about 5k between rotations since.

Already shopping different tires for the next set of meats.

wildan2

· #4 · Dec 6, 2012

We have 34,000 on a 2010 Outback with good performance and no problems other than a nail in the drivers rear.Rotated at every 10,000 miles.Exspect to get at least another 15000.

scoobydoo2

· #5 · Dec 6, 2012

...some have said they are too soft and make the ride mushy but I have found them to a good tire so far. My take on it is that you will never find the perfect tire and looking at tires is kinda like art...quite subjective. There are crappy tires out there but you get what you pay for.

Consumer reports is a good place to start.

Nickshu

· #6 · Dec 6, 2012

I found that increasing tire pressure to 36/34 made a big difference in the "mushy" feel of the stock contis. If this makes them wear out faster I don't care b/c they are crummy anyhow.

statueim

· #7 · Dec 6, 2012

Running at 32 psi all around. Currently at 68,000 miles and I plan to get a couple thousand more out them when I switch back from my snow tires this spring.

Definitely considering them for the next set on the car as well.

mpnret

· #8 · Dec 6, 2012

I think the OEM Continentals initially got a bad rap because so many people had famous shaker issue and they were looking for somewhere to place the blame. I had over 30k on them when I traded in my 2010 OB. Rotated every 10K. Great tires, I would get them again. In fact I did get them again. They came on my 2013.

kpk02

· #9 · Dec 6, 2012

My experience hasn't been so great. My main complaints are that they have high level of road noise and poor absorption of bumps. I've tried changing the pressure but only found it to help marginally. Strangely, I found that the handle better on wet roads than dry. They aren't the worst OEM tires I've experienced by any stretch but I get frustrated by having mediocre tires after spending so much on a new vehicle.

I did initially think that they were at least okay.. until I put my winter tires on. I found the winter tires to have significantly better ride, noise, and handling characteristics than the OEM Continentals. That shouldn't happen. I also realize just how much more difficult it was to maintain a straight line with the OEM compared to the winter tires.

Whether I stick with the OEMs come spring or replace them will entirely depend on available funds.

subiesailor

· #10 · Dec 6, 2012

I replaced ours at 40,000 miles they shook like a wet dog would not hold balance beyond about 9000 miles and required excessive weight change each time they were balanced. One tire could no longer be rotated due to being so out of round it would shake the steering wheel something wicked if it was put on the front end this started happening around 25,000 miles.

Increase tire pressure to 34-36 caused them to howl and scream like a stuck pig on our canyon road which has tight switch backs even at low speeds. Over all they are just poorly made tires regardless of how you try to paint them.

I have about 1800 miles on the BFG Touring Tires very big difference regarding tire quality they hold balance - stiffer side walls have resulted in slightly sharper handling better cornering the treads are similar to the Continentals mileage has been dead on similar though I suspect these tires might have slightly lower rolling resistance another few thousand miles and a road trip or two will give me a better idea if mileage has increased some with these tires.

No way Am I ever putting the continentals back on this car or any of my other cars. they are more or less just poorly made cheap tires.

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wutbürger

· #11 · Dec 6, 2012

My experience (this is my third set of them, had the same exact tires on two previous VW products)

Pros
-Quiet (until about 25,000 miles it seems, then they get a bit louder)
-Extremely smooth
-Handled decent in the snow with AWD (FWD VW was a different story)
-No issues in the rain

Cons
-Require re-balancing about every 8,000 miles (same experience on my past ones as well) to maintain a smooth ride
-Require large amounts of weight to balance
-They pick up each and every small, little pebble or rock (I'd assume this affects the balance as well)
-They do get noisy after 25,000 or so miles

All in all, every single conti tire I've owned required LARGE amounts of weight to balance and they required continuous balancing. I never curb them and I simply cruise about 25,000 miles of highway per year yet they still never seem to hold a balance. I've never had this experience with any other Bridgestone or Michelin tire that I've owned - they've all balanced perfectly and have held balance for their entire life. I will be switching to a different tire next year, I will honestly miss the cushy, smooth ride (they really are so smooth) but hope that I can find one that will hold a balance. Not really worried about sporty handling either, so these were exceptional in that regard too :29:

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NinjaTurtle2.5

· #12 · Dec 6, 2012

mpnret said:
I think the OEM Continentals initially got a bad rap because so many people had famous shaker issue and they were looking for somewhere to place the blame. I had over 30k on them when I traded in my 2010 OB. Rotated every 10K. Great tires, I would get them again. In fact I did get them again. They came on my 2013.

They get a bad rap in my house because they sound like a helicopter is landing on me. Then again I had them for 42K, can't complain there...

fun2drive

· #13 · Dec 6, 2012

OP post says he hates the tires. I read nothing as to why. I am a Michelin guy through and through but these tires seem pretty good.
This is an OB not a high performance sports car and I am very happy with how these Contis work for me.
YMMV

jp1203

· #14 · Dec 6, 2012

subiesailor said:
I have about 1800 miles on the BFG Touring Tires very big difference regarding tire quality they hold balance - stiffer side walls have resulted in slightly sharper handling better cornering the treads are similar to the Continentals mileage has been dead on similar though I suspect these tires might have slightly lower rolling resistance another few thousand miles and a road trip or two will give me a better idea if mileage has increased some with these tires.

Have you tried those BFGs in snow or anything? I have a friend who has got them on his Forester and he says they're scary in snow even in comparison to the Continentals (I think the same ones that are stock on the new Outbacks) he had before. Apparently he managed to put a rock through the sidewall on the Contis when going up his driveway. Not sure if the BFGs are really bad or it's just the fact that he drives like an idiot though

. Looking at them, they look beefy enough to me to handle snow at least halfway decently.

I believe his Forester, an '05, came with some sort of Geolandars (not the A/T-S) stock...seems like that would be a better match for the Outback too.

subiesailor

· #15 · Dec 6, 2012

Heavy rain and lots of standing water on the BFG's and they seem to be on par with the Continentals No snow till later this year when we take the kids up for some play time in the white stuff.
Based on the reviews even some Ob owners I expect them to be similar to the Continentals in the snow which isn't terrible nor are the exceptionally good which is fine for my use.

All my issues with the continentals were Quality related - they were fine regarding traction and noise they didn't appear to get any louder though a car with bad alignment might get noisy but I wouldn't blame the tires for that

4wheeldog

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 7, 2012

fun2drive said:
OP post says he hates the tires. I read nothing as to why. I am a Michelin guy through and through but these tires seem pretty good.
This is an OB not a high performance sports car and I am very happy with how these Contis work for me.
YMMV

You should work on reading comprehension.......I said lots of people hate them........And went on to say nothing but good about them, so clearly I am not one of those people.

To answer someone else's question, I live in NM, so probably 10% of my miles are on gravel/dirt. My 300' driveway is gravel, so it gets some everytime it gets driven.

The tires have been trouble free. They are still in balance with the original weights. They work well in the rain, on slick stuff and are great on the highway. The only thing we haven't tested them for is snow traction..........We usually have several feet by now, but it is like extended September here. 60 degree days, and only one 2" snow, so far.

benamin

· #17 · Dec 7, 2012

I picked up my 2013 3.6r ltd on Wednesday ( during a snow storm ). Thursday i drove straight to the tire Shop. In -15 and colder with snow and ice the OEM tires just don't cut it from a traction perspective. Now after putting some new 4 season ( not all Season ) rubber for some snow traction, I was surprised at the performance difference between them on bare roads/hwy. It stears nicer,rides quieter and just has a better connected feel. The Conti's will not see my OB again. Guess I will have to find someone to sell them to.

subiesailor

· #18 · Dec 7, 2012

benamin said:
I picked up my 2013 3.6r ltd on Wednesday ( during a snow storm ). Thursday i drove straight to the tire Shop. In -15 and colder with snow and ice the OEM tires just don't cut it from a traction perspective. Now after putting some new 4 season ( not all Season ) rubber for some snow traction, I was surprised at the performance difference between them on bare roads/hwy. It stears nicer,rides quieter and just has a better connected feel. The Conti's will not see my OB again. Guess I will have to find someone to sell them to.

Make a few happy kids this Holiday with 4 tire swings. HA HA

benamin

· #19 · Dec 7, 2012

subiesailor said:
Make a few happy kids this Holiday with 4 tire swings. HA HA

That's a great idea!

Hey, I put on a tire that I don't think is available to our USA friends. It is a Hankook Optimo 4S, a 4 season tire that competes directly with Nokian WRG2SUV up here. (which I have had several sets of) I must say I am pretty impressed so far, having never used a Hankook tire before.

Sorry I guess that's a thread hijack

statueim

· #20 · Dec 7, 2012

benamin said:
That's a great idea!

Hey, I put on a tire that I don't think is available to our USA friends. It is a Hankook Optimo 4S, a 4 season tire that competes directly with Nokian WRG2SUV up here. (which I have had several sets of) I must say I am pretty impressed so far, having never used a Hankook tire before.

Sorry I guess that's a thread hijack

Always good to qualify a comparison in a review. Comparing a snow-rated tire against a standard all-season isn't exactly a fair test since they have different performance characteristics. I'm not sure if you had them on there long enough, but how is the fuel economy of the Hanooks compared to the Continentals if you can comment?

If someone were to compare some Blizzaks WS-70s against the Hankooks in serious snow, I would bet that the Hankooks would be bested in similar fashion.

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