Continental ContiPremiumContact Tire

I write this review from my own experience, I have gone into a corner too fast and left the road. Nothing to do with the tyres, it was all my fault, and I was just glad the tyres were as good as they were, otherwise I may not have been here to tell the tale. I have been driving cars for 32 years and trucks just thirty. I have had a few skids in that time, (before ABS) and think that tyres are more important than steering or brakes.

For the first time in my life, I have bought a full set of tyres for my car, and my choice was Continentals. The actual model (Conti Premium Contact) was chosen by my ex boss who is in the tyre trade, and I trust him.

I was unimpressed by the fact that my tyres being sixteen inch were more expensive than fifteen, or even seventeens! Apparently this is due to supply and demand, they don't make as many sixteen inch tyres.

In my case, the cost was £90 each fitted and balanced etc. I got a good deal but you would not have to pay much more if buying two or four (always expect a discount on tyres) They were fitted onto my Irmsher rims, and the balancing weights fitted on the inside, out of sight, why do most fitters bang them on the outside???

I had shopped around in local tyre fitters as well as the internet, and I do realise there are places selling them a lot cheaper, but after paying for delivery, then fitting, I decided the saving was not worth the hassle.

A good tyre fitter is worth his weight in gold, and mine always run their hand across the tread before doing anything else. Immediately they know if the geometry is out, in some cases saving the customer a fortune.

New tyres should always be run in, and then checked as often as you can, both for pressure as well as wear. Current practice is not to rotate the tyres onto different axles, although this does even out the wear and make them last longer. One disadvantage of this is that all of your tyres wear out at the same time, and most people prefer to change two at a time.

As for grip, these tyres seem to be better than Pirelli, Dunlop, or Goodyear, this is my own opinion only. They do seem to grip better in the wet than most others, and in my opinion this is when you really need the grip.

I know nothing about "designer tread" that a lot of tyres seem to have, but these look good, not only when they are brand new, but after a lot of wear.

My Conti's, which of course are fitted to gorgeous alloy wheels, look perfect. A lot of tyres nowadays have a "direction of rotation" on them these don't, however, they do have "outside" marked in a prominent position, so make sure yours are fitted the right way round. Also, do you know what your pressures should be? What it says in the handbook may not always be correct. This is because they have to state a pressure suitable for the average driver with an average load. Yours may be much different, so it is best to have a decent tyre fitter's opinion after a while, you may well find yours are wearing on the middle for instance, indicating too much pressure, even though it is exactly what it says in the book.

That is my two penn'orth, they look good, are affordable, grip like mad, and don't wear out too quickly. They offer everything a tyre should to me.

Drive safely.