Forum menu
There is an opinion that the CC2's are now too biased towards snow performance at the expense of wet performance which depending where you are in the UK you are makes a more wet biased tyre a better choice.
If you don't live in a part of the country that gets properly cold, then I'd recommend Uniroyal rainsports in whichever flavour suits your car, they're the best all-round tyre I've ever used.
Ahoy thread bumpers....
So far very happy with the bridge stones...
Plus... The A27 STILL suffers standing water.. just this week I was commuting through pouring rain and puddles! Me has no regerts regarding my choice!
Economy seems unchanged, as far as I can tell.
DrP
Just checking it’s OK just fitting to the front axle, or do all four need changing to all season?
Most of the time it won't matter but when it starts getting cold i'd think there would start to be significant performance differences between your fronts and your rears which could make the handling a bit unpredictable. Where I live though, it's very unlikely there's going to be significantly cold weather until November - I'd be happy running a mixed set until then myself, that'd let you get another 6 months of of the rears then change them for winter onwards.
Also, what do you mean by a lot of life? I change tyres at about 3mm, legally they'd be ok for another 10k miles or so but the performance in the wet drops away dramatically below 3mm.
Sod it. Have booked in for all 4.
My first experience of crossclimates was my work lease company insisting on them as replacements. I was a bit miffed as had a hybrid and wanted eco tyres. They were fitted front only and turned out to be great, just the same economy but they actually gripped.
I replaced the worn primacy 4 on my current car recently with CC2. Only 1 axle needed doing and wasnt prepared to throw away a lightly worn set of Primacy 4 so put them on the back and moved the rears to the front to wear out sooner.
Reading up, its advised to replace all of them, but if going to have more grip then better on the back to get understeer rather than the front grip and then have the rear overtake it!
Will replace the fronts with similar when worn, probably in Autumn.
For balance, our other car has the Conti All Season Contact 2 on the rear, and they also seem good.
I know it goes against the grain but I've been running all season tyres on the front and std tyres on the back* for the past 2yrs & 20k miles. Front wheel drive hatchback & down south so temps aren't extreme. In my mind most emergency braking will be in a straight line & I'd rather have the better grip, braking & steering on the front, so I might lose the back end and get a glancing blow - but isn't that better than ploughing straight on into a head on?
Too pig headed to be convinced otherwise, just thought I'd put out an alternative viewpoint out there 😉
* will change to all seasons once they wear out.
TBH i also put them on the back as car is an EV and much heavier wear on the fronts, so it means I will replace sooner than if i put the new ones on the front.
The previous car also ran for about 6 months with all season on front and rock hard eco tyres on the rear and was fine.
Latest conti 4 seasons on my old beemer, 57mpg (real) on a round trip to Austria from Scotland the day after they were fitted, grippy, quiet, M&S rated. Been over some snowy car parks abroad, and a few very wet muddy fields in the last few weeks, excellent tyres.
I run conti van contact 4 seasons on the van and they have also been an excellent long lasting, very capable tyre.
I've been faithful a d put 4x Michelin Cross Climate 2s on my Kuga.
2x OEM tyres at 40k miles (Conti Contact Sport) were a bit thin and also the sidewalls were perishing/cracking up. A big fat nail in 1 of them (right on the edge) was the excuse to trigger renewal.
(The other 2 tyres were appalling plasticy shiiite that had been put on to get the car past the MOT before I got it.).
The CCs are defo quieter and less harsh/ less road vibration.
The all seasons Contis in my size were only available in 101xl load rating rather than 97. I decided I wanted 97 (which does meet manufacturers spec requirements) to reduce the harshness. Something to bear in mind. Higher load rating = stiffer side walls = harsher.
If you don’t live in a part of the country that gets properly cold, then I’d recommend Uniroyal rainsports in whichever flavour suits your car, they’re the best all-round tyre I’ve ever used.
Had them on the wifes old C30 great tyres and decently priced too IIRC. Have Kuhmo solus 4's on the van and they were great in the properly cold and slippy weather too (not that we get that much)
About to replace my Bridgestones as they have lasted only 16 months. Michelins were previously good for 3 years.
Question on the Conti's as I've forgotten the answer.
The CC2's are almost self funding with the extra mileage and fuel economy. Wondered if the Conti's are the same as, well as the improved performance?
I wouldn’t mix them
I have, and currently am.
I had shiny Hankook Kinergy 4s fitted to the front after a puncture .
Another pair will go on the back in September/ October to eek out a list few miles from the part worn tyres the car came with.
Cc2 here, very impressive in bumper deep snow(I live off road up a track) I wouldn't go back to full winters now, and I've had a few.
All round the cc2 is great, very quite, very smooth. I was slightly concerned about the XL rating but have no issues at all. Very comfortable tyre.
I got a killer deal that saved me 20 quid a corner, so at that price a bargain but I'd buy again if the longevity is good
I used to just leave winter tyres on all year round, then I realised that often I'd get to the start of winter with 2-3mm on them- good enough for summer but not winter so I got some steels and switch back and forth. Thats why I wont use all season tyres.
This thread from the other day might give you some ideas...
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/so-i-fitted-all-season-tyres/
The polestar is a hefty, fast, powerful car..that I drive up and down the a27 with me and my kids on several times a week… It’s been so wet, with standing water, over the past few years, that I’ve ALWAYS erred on the side of caution and stuck decent (i.e branded all season) tyres on my cars
Why not just get rain tyres which will be a better all round all season tyre for the south of Britain where it rarely falls below 7 deg?
Swapped out 4 Goodyear eagle asymmetrics for 4 Goodyear vector 4seasons gen 3 a few months ago as my front eagles needed replacing, plus I felt uneasy at how the eagles ‘clunk’ about when the roads get cold, then looking at the reviews noticed how terrible the performance tyres were for braking in the cold and wet.
But you have bought the wrong tyres for the driving you do. They need a bit of heat in them to work well, and are designed for 'pressing on'. No wonder they were no good if you just pootle around. Agree they get a bit harsh in winter too, but again get the heat in them, or leave them cold and do lots of fun skidz.
Why not just get rain tyres which will be a better all round all season tyre for the south of Britain where it rarely falls below 7 deg?
Because on the coast I frequently get below 7 degrees (has been below that 2 mornings last week)... plus it's hilly in brighton and hove..
The Bridgestone all season are better in teh wet, and worse in the snow/ice, than cross climates. hence the choice..
DrP
FunkyDunc Free Member
But you have bought the wrong tyres for the driving you do. They need a bit of heat in them to work well, and are designed for ‘pressing on’.
If you mean the Eagles it depends exactly which one, I reckon they've changed focus a bit, I had the old Asym 3 and it was just a very good everyday sport/touring tyre, didn't need to be driven hard and tbh ran out of steam a bit quick if you did. The 6 is definitely a more sporty tyre and gives up a little bit of those everyday manners for sure.
The thing about "get a rain tyre" is, well, what is that? Most allseasons are designed with rain in mind and most allrounders too but there's not a raindrop icon for sidewalls to go beside M&S or a wee mountain. Premiumcontact's supposed to be great in the wet,but so is a vector, what's the better "rain tyre"? It feels to me like that's just something that's hard to ID, as a punter. Especially as grouptests uqite sensibly tend to compare "to the winner" not to an overall score, just cos conditions vary. (I am also discounting the Rainsport, because ime they're just not much good)
I'm just getting some Vectors on mine to replace some older gen winters and tbh they're all seasons and it'll be snow and ice where they really earn their keep and keep things safe, and they'll see a lot of sub-7, but I also expect them to absolutely kick ass in the rain. AND be good in the dry for that matter. I'm not sure there's much wet weather or everyday sacrifice here in order to get the winter performance, or at least that is my hope! Feels like we're getting past that.
CC2 update. 25k and in need of replacing. Very poor.
Well after a tight arsedness run down of the OE Pirellis on my Vulva, I've opted for a full set of Crossclimates. The OEs are down to about 5mm but falling to bits after ~6 years. Much cracking and now a nasty egg bulge on one side wall - utter shite.
The Michelin's were £690 for the set, being fitted next week. If this happens posthumously, you'll know the egg burst...
Well after a tight arsedness run down of the OE Pirellis on my Vulva On your what??
Volvo obv. Deliberate sp 😁
They have been our tyre of choice for some time, however youngest son's 1.0l Polo is getting new rubber all round tomorrow and I have opted for Bridgestone Weather control Evo this time. They were £40 less per tyre and have really good reviews with the Michelin's only really beating them for proper snow conditions, the Bridgestones rate better in wet, cold weather, which is more the norm here in west central Scotland, though we do get a few snow days most winters.
He has a daily commute across Glasgow so a diversity of road conditions, hoping i have chosen wisely..
I was a fan of the original CC's but the CC2 seems to have improved snow/ice performance but at the detriment of wet performance, which doesn't seem ideal for most of the UK. I ended going with GY Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's on my Polestar, mostly due to their wet weather performance (and also OK rating for noise and efficiency), been happy with them so far (10k miles now). They were perfectly fine in sub zero temps last winter.
I had CC2's on my previous car and they paid for themselves in increased mileage and mpg. I use them in the Alps a couple of times each winter so favour the snow performance.
It looks like the competition have caught up so I wanted to wait for the CC3 before changing. Unfortunately, circumstances have decided now is the time...
The OEs are down to about 5mm but falling to bits after ~6 years. Much cracking and now a nasty egg bulge on one side wall - utter shite.
I don't think that 6 years is a bad innings for tyres, regardless of the milage.
To be fair, they started cracking at ~3 years and were advised on the first MOT. Pirellis, never had a problem with them before.
Still very happy with the vector gen 3, I was honestly a bit gobsmacked by how good they are on ice and hard comrpessed snow- I was expecting competence, I wasn't expecting them to be as good as they are. Not quite as good as my old winters in deeper softer snow , definitely more fuss and spin, but still the limitation is when I run out of ground clearance and the bumper becomes a plough, not the tyres. Also not as good as the old winters in mud, made heavy weather of getting out of a sloppy race parking field- it did get out, with a little spinning and drama, it just wasn't going to tow a van out behind it like it could before.
But yeah, warmer weather arrived and they're just... fine. Completely unnoticable. I have pilotsports on my other wheels and sure, they do have some advantages- a bit less noise, I expect better economy, I suspect better lifespan and the outright traction will be better in an emergency, but in normal driving unless you're a ****ing idiot there's no shortfall here. You can feel a little bit less accuracy, a wee bit of sort of smearyness and stability and generally less confidence and "niceness". (this is on a 300bhp subaru legacy with good suspension etc, it can use a lot of tyre if you set your mind to it but it's impressively happy on these)
I'll still stick with 2 sets of wheels, even if only because I know the allseasons will perform much less well as they wear, so I want to keep them fresher for winter, whereas the pilotsports can happily munch spring/summer/early autumn miles
(further down the line I think it's totally possible I'll be on 2 sets of wheels, but it'll be "allseasons" and "road legal tw200 trackday tyres", right now I have 3 sets and if I went to 2 it'd be the summer tyres that'd go)
In the end I wasn't expecting class leading performance, I got them because they were like 60% the cost of crossclimates in my size. But we're definitely at a point where "slightly second best" is still bloody brilliant.
When I had the Conti’s fitted, I had the lightly worn CC2’s put onto the rear, which I’ve been advised was incorrect. They had about 1mm of wear on them, which I’m fairly certain isn’t going to compromise performance on a Ford EcoSport - it’s not a particularly big or heavy car. I certainly haven’t noticed any significant difference between them and the Michelins, other than a slight increase in tyre noise on certain road surfaces.
Junior has returned the car I lent him for an alpine Winter so I'll be taking off the Alpin 7 and putting dreadful Conti Eco things back on for the Summer. I drove it to the mountains with the Alpins on yesterday at 20°, they felt fine, I'm only taking them off to keep the wear down.
THe CC2s on the Zoe will stay on for the Summer, they got us up and down to the ski resort all Winter with no need to chain as the snow was never that deep or wet. I'm suprised by the not good in the rain comment above, fuzzy, I find them excellent from light rain to roads completely awash - the best non-full-Winter tyre I've ever used to hit standing water.
We've CC2's on our AWD v90 and had reason to be really happy about it yesterday. It's our annual Meribel pilgrimage and the journey down involved 30 or so miles of peage behind the ploughs grimly trying to keep everything moving. Then an accident/blockage at Moutier had us on the back roads to avoid multi hour delays. The little roads were picturesque in a 'haven't been cleared' way but the CC's were terrific. Several vehicles in our convoy bottled it and returned to the scene if the crime.
The coup de grace was the run up to the resort. Loads of people bottling it and dropping out to fit their chains. The whole of the Alps has been blitzed with ~1.5m of snow over the past few days and I'm so glad of my previous rubber choices... I'm reasonably sure we'd be upside down in a ditch if I'd still been running the OE kit.
Just switched to a set of Kuhmo Solus 4S’s on the Fiat 500 and so far so good. Not as fuel efficient as the EcoContacts which came off it but much less squirmy and sketchy on side and country roads and handled the recent black ice and snow which put a good few cars in ditches round here in the last week. Good value too.
Just switched to a set of Kuhmo Solus 4S’s
We have them on Mrs IRC's Ignis. Few options in an unusual tyre size. Very happy with them.
I have just got a car with a set of brand new summers on it. So plan is to use her car on any snowy days until mine are worn enough to justify buying a set of all seasons.
The barge is in need of a couple of new rear tyres due to a cut in the sidewall. CC3 are now £200 plus a corner!
We've gone on to Hankook and Rotalla 4 seasons across 3 cars in the household. Toe Rotalla's feel slightly 'soft' at first but performance wise I've noticed no difference at all.
The Rotalla's I would not have chosen from a list, but both the garage that services our cars and the tyre shop both suggested them over more expensive brands. Apparently a long standing Chinese brand seen as the Michelin of Chinese tyres...
The barge is in need of a couple of new rear tyres due to a cut in the sidewall. CC3 are now £200 plus a corner!
think this is across the board.
Last set of BFG A/T s i bought in 235/70/16 were 153 each.
Now thats 223 each.
DELETED
Ignore me, just checked prices since I bought mine.
We've gone on to Hankook and Rotalla 4 seasons across 3 cars in the household. Toe Rotalla's feel slightly 'soft' at first but performance wise I've noticed no difference at all.
The Rotalla's I would not have chosen from a list, but both the garage that services our cars and the tyre shop both suggested them over more expensive brands. Apparently a long standing Chinese brand seen as the Michelin of Chinese tyres...
Interesting stuff. Those Rotalla's look good, decent reviews and £82 fitted at Black Circles, that is a chunky saving.
We've gone on to Hankook and Rotalla 4 seasons across 3 cars in the household. Toe Rotalla's feel slightly 'soft' at first but performance wise I've noticed no difference at all.
The Rotalla's I would not have chosen from a list, but both the garage that services our cars and the tyre shop both suggested them over more expensive brands. Apparently a long standing Chinese brand seen as the Michelin of Chinese tyres...
Interesting stuff. Those Rotalla's look good, decent reviews and £82 fitted at Black Circles, that is a chunky saving.
I looked into those Rotalla's when there was nothing in stock for my weird sized wheels. They review pretty poorly across the board in the Autobild tests:
https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyre/Rotalla/Setula-4-Season-RA03.htm
Personally I don't put too much weight on buyer reviews because most people aren't going to compare two tyres back to back, and they're probably also going from a worn tyre to a new one, so anything will feel better.
I got Cinturato SF3 instead, but they were really stupidly expensive.
I've switched to Cross Climate 3 Sport, cause sport = better 😀
In fairness its an i30N and I did notice the difference in steering feel going from the summer P-Zero Corsas to Cross Climate 2s even if the Cross Climate 2 had massively better traction in the wet they didn't feel as "sporty". The Cross Climate 3 are a different construction with stiffer sidewalls and feel a bit better overall.
Yeah, I'm not going to buy cheap Chinese tyres unless they win the review competition. I don't buy this sort of tyre on price, I buy on performance. If that costs a few more £'s, so be it.
When I look at what shorter life and higher rolling resistance will cost I'm failing to find value in these Cinese tyres linked compared with Conti and Michelin.