[easymike]

My Continental Procontacts were getting a bit old after I had run them out to 75,000 miles, seriously I arrived at the dealer with 74,998 on the odometer. Last Saturday, I came home with a fresh set of Pure Contacts. Right away, the ride feels tighter, cornering on painted surfaces is less squeaky. Road noise has gone down some. Overall, it FEELS like a superior tire to my 1-2/32nds ProContacts. This winter will be the real test.

My only concern is a sudden 5mpg hit to my fuel economy. It feels like the car requires more throttle to accelerate and maintain speed. I can think of 3 reasons.
1- New tires
2- New oil
3- sudden temperature drop by about 10-15F since the end of last week
4- Winter fuel blend. This one is debatable, as I went to the dealer with half a tank and am still on the same one. Seems unlikely for the winter mix to abruptly kick in 250 miles into a fuel tank.

I'll know for sure in a few weeks. I really hope it is #2-4 and not the new tires.

 

[bruscki24]

these are the DWS? i was thinking of putting a pair of these but they are about $150 per tire @ tirediscount.... someone recommended to me the barum bravuris 3; which is at $94/tire its actually made by continental, exclusively for tirediscount, which is their lower brand... kinda like douglas tires which are made for walmart.... from what i read the barum 3 is a good tire... Barum Bravuris 3 Tire Review & Rating - Tire Reviews and More

 

[easymike]

these are the DWS?

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you asking if the 4 photos are my new tires? no, those are my old ones as of August. I was showing how worn they had gotten. The new tires are beefy.

This is the Pure Contact tread. Better angle to follow eventually

 

[Baldeagle]

5 mpg is a lot and is probably the result of a few things. These may be part of it:

• That new “taller” tread wiggles-n-swiggles more and increases rolling resistance. That could account for perhaps 1-2 mpg compared to your nearly bald old tires.
• With full treads the new tire is also about .6” taller. That will now fool the speedometer into thinking the car travels about 2% less distance than what it really does. If you averaged 28 mpg before and the computer thinks you’re getting 2% fewer mpg, that equals 1/2 mpg.
• A new tire is heavier. That could affect rotational inertia. And if you want to really get picky, some of that tire weight is spinning about a 1/3” farther from the axis. (As minimal as it may be, it could add up.)
• Cold weather will hurt highway fuel economy.

I’m not sure if this fully explains your 5 mpg drop but hope it helps.

 

[bruscki24]

no i meant the new tires that you bought; i know that continental tires have different model names, i think the DW= dry and wet ; DWS= dry, wet & snow. so i wanted to confirm whats the full name of the new continental tires that you put on

 

[clean240]

damn you took the other tires to the max huh!!

 

[slimm1469]

I have a set of the Continental Pro Contacts also, with probably 20k miles since new. They are strong tires, great on wet pavement, very sticky. I get them rotated free @Discount Tire every 7k miles.

 

[mclasser]

Are you driving the car harder to test out the new tires?

 

[Baldeagle]

@easymike. Hold on....ProContacts verses PureContacts? I missed that before. You can see from your photos that the tread design is very different. That alone could be a big part of your 5 mpg loss.

 

[14v6]

I haven't looked at the specs of the two tires as to energy conserving, speed rating, your air pressure etc. I notice that you are in CT and it's been a bit cold lately and my mpg's seem down a bit as well. I don't know if the gas change over has occurred yet. Either way that's a large variance that's more than just the tires.

Those tires that came off were like "shaved" tires for racing so they had to roll better. You were probably getting some of the best mpg's possible at the end of their life. New tires always feel so "knobby" and can't roll as easy as the worn ones that just came off. I would think that your mpg's will suffer at the beginning but should improve.

 

[easymike]

no i meant the new tires that you bought; i know that continental tires have different model names, i think the DW= dry and wet ; DWS= dry, wet & snow. so i wanted to confirm whats the full name of the new continental tires that you put on

Yes, this is DWS. I'm not sure how many brands use this feature (in addition to the normal wear bars that you see on EVERY tire), but this set also includes 3 indicators in the tread to clarify when the tire is no longer safe for certain conditions.

This particular set is Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology 205/65R16 95H

 

[easymike]

I may increase the pressure a little. My ProContacts wore out on the edges, likely from cornering as I always had the pressure over the vehicle recommended in the beginning, and as time went on, I increased that pressure to around 38PSI. I currently have this set at 38, but found a handy chart that lists the optimal tire pressure based on rating and vehicle top speed. Based on that, I could fill to 40PSI. If I start to see uneven wear (I measure with a tread depth gauge occasionally) I will drop the pressure and allow the tread to wear more evenly.

Tire Tech Information - Air Pressure/Load Adjustment for High Speed Driving (H-Speed Rated Tires)

 

[easymike]

Conclusion: I have OCD and need to stop logging data

I checked OBD fuel economy logs and compared with the daily lows since I started logging (the lows are typically in the morning when I drive to work). I picked out the dates when I drove the exact same route to work (I have 4 different routes depending on traffic conditions) and this is what I came up with.

If you compare the last 2 months, There isn't a huge loss in MPG with the new tires. If you only look at October, however, there's a big drop, but it appears temperature related as well. only the last 4 days on the chart have new tires, and you can see a blue line indicating new tires for those dates. There just isnt enough data to draw a real conslusion, but the car FEELS a little sluggish compared to last week, so I'm just going further and further down this rabbit hole.

 

[easymike]

Winter Update

So my initial complaint of a mpg drop still stands. It looks to me like a 3-4 mpg average drop compared to the old set. I can tell that the tires are the problem because even my neutral rolling has slowed down on hills where I once would accelerate with gravity and now I slow down gradually. But guess what? I DON'T CARE.

These tires basically equate to high-performance snows. I took my wife to work Saturday morning in the middle of a snowstorm. We had accumulations around 4-5 inches on un-plowed state roads at the time and I barely noticed for the most part. On my way home, there's a steep hill after a turn, no room for speed. I watched a guy in a Jeep come down and wave me off to turn around, then I saw a guy in a Passat halfway up backing into a driveway after giving up. I could see where he had slipped. I shifted into 2nd and held the throttle steady. No slipping, not even the traction control lights. The car went straight up the hill without even the slightest complaint. These tires make my car more stable and reliable in snow than my wife's Cherokee. I will take a fuel economy hit over the next 2-3 years if that means improved traction and safety.

 

[kushispro]

All I gots to say is continental DWS 06 are the best tires I have ever used. Feels like my car is planted no matter what weather or how many bumps there are. I recommend anyone to get them.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Renaissance Man]

My experience

Not the same tires, but when I went from 235x45 18 Goodyear LS2s to Continental ExtremeContact DWS 245/45ZR18 there was NO decrease in MPG.

These tires basically equate to high-performance snows.
In your dreams. Any new tire would be better than tires worn below the legal limit. Most tire gurus now suggest using a quarter instead of a penny to measure tread depth for when you should consider replacing tires.

I'm not only happy for you, but for all those who share the road with you.

FROM TIRE RACK:
However, as a tire wears it's important to realize that the tire's ability to perform in rain and snow will be reduced. With 2/32" of remaining tread depth, resistance to hydroplaning in the rain at highway speeds has been significantly reduced, and traction in snow has been virtually eliminated.

If rain and wet roads are a concern, you should consider replacing your tires when they reach approximately 4/32" of remaining tread depth. Since water can't be compressed, you need enough tread depth to allow rain to escape through the tire's grooves. If the water can't escape fast enough, your vehicle's tires will be forced to hydroplane (float) on top of the water, losing traction.

If snow-covered roads are a concern, you should consider replacing your tires when they reach approximately 5/32" of remaining tread depth to maintain good mobility. You need more tread depth in snow because your tires need to compress the snow in their grooves and release it as they roll. If there isn't sufficient tread depth, the "bites" of snow your tires can take on each revolution will be reduced to "nibbles," and your vehicle's traction and mobility will be sacrificed

 

[easymike]

In your dreams. Any new tire would be better than tires worn below the legal limit. Most tire gurus now suggest using a quarter instead of a penny to measure tread depth for when you should consider replacing tires.

I'm not only happy for you, but for all those who share the road with you.

OK, so maybe I was a bit too excited about my good fortune. As for measuring tread depth, last winter I purchased a gauge like the one below. It greatly simplified the task and gave me real numbers. I was fine and compliant last winter, but did some serious driving in 2016 and finished off the old set just in time. I might have pushed it another month at most if winter wasn't coming, but I'd reached the limit and promised myself when I bought this car that I'd never drive on bald tires again. If I can get 3 years from a set that cost me $650 installed, then it's essentially a $216/year protection plan for myself and the rest of the commuters.

Steelman Color Coded Tread Depth Gauge-97831 - The Home Depot

 

[BenzAccord]

@easymike, fwiw, I always found that I got the best MPG in May and October because the a/c is off, its still warm enough that wind/air resistance is not so much of a factor, and we're using summer fuel. With November and now December driving, MPG's go down 2-4 anyway. By chance did you do a lot of driving in the rain? That will also drop MPG's significantly. New tires probably also factor into the equation but surely not as much as it appears.

 

[easymike]

While I miss the old car, I do not miss the old PureContacts as they did not age well.