OK, I can't find anyone else having reviewed these - so here goes:
WhyWell, we all need tyres! The car doesn't go round corners very well on bare alloys, and I don't fancy 6pts on my licence for worn out boots!
Serious answer: I'm normally a die-hard Michelin user, and was then currently running Michelin Pilot Sport 3 all round, with Pilot Sport PS2 before that. However, the present PS3s are very disappointing - the big thing which let them down for me was wet grip - much worse than the PS2s.
These were needed to replace the two front worn out PS3s. The rears have nigh-on new tread PS3s. My usual action plan on a front wheel drive car (I don't swap my front to rear to keep even tread wear) is that the fronts wear out - I get a pair of new tyres, fit them to the front. I then 'scrub' them in for a few hundred miles, and also make sure they've been balanced correctly. Then after a couple of hundred miles, I swap these new fronts to the rear, and then have the 'older' (age-wise) tyres to wear out on the front.
I was going to try Continental ContiSportContact 3, but during my research (for prices), I discovered that Continental had recently released the new ContiSportContact 5P. Reviews on the 5P were limited, but having owned and used many different types of Continental tyres in the past, including the ContiSportContact 2, I knew that Continental made dependable, if not the most grippy tyres.
My standard GTI (200PS) has the factory-fit 18" Monza II alloys, but I have been running one size wider tyre than standard for ages now - being 235/40 ZR18 95Y eXtra Load (the 95 load index gives them a rated loading of 690kg per tyre - which is really advantageous if your car is regularly fully laden; when compared to the standard 225/40 ZR18 92Y XL which is good for 630 kg per tyre). Other important info to consider when reviewing tyres: my springs and dampers are OEM standard, I have WALK (all other suspension bushings are standard), and have Whiteline front and rear anti-roll bars (front set to softest, rear set to hardest). Engine performance mods include S3 and Forge intercoolers, and Revo stage 1.
SourcingWhen looking for tyres, I always have a shufty at all the usual online tyre sites, like Black Circles, e-tyres, pneus-online, Tyres-online.net; as well as the main 'high street' tyre outfits which also have online sites (Kwik-Fit, National, ATS, etc). I then make a note of the prices, and then start phoning round all my local tyre dealers from Yellow Pages, including the 'we come to you' mobile-type suppliers.
During this process (January 2011), I was getting very mixed points of view regarding supply: some places like ATS stated that they were not officially released by Continental, and others were saying there was no problem at all getting hold of them, and yet others saying they were available, but only in MO (Mercedes Original) rating. Knowing that MO rated tyres (just like the BMW 'star' rating) CAN be used on other vehicles, I decided to be bold and go for an axle pair of these CSC 5Ps.
I decided to use a local independent tyre place who I've used on a number of previous occasions, and have been happy with (very independent - he has just one premises, and you wipe your feet on the way out - the coffee is free though!)
FittingWell, they jack the car up, make a few 'zizzzzzing' noises, remove wheels, make some hissing noises, a couple of bangs, a few grunts and swear words, a couple of pops and some more hisses, then some spinney-sticky-shiney-weights thingies. Then the wheels go back on with more zizzzzing noises, the car gets lowered. My flexible friend gets shoved in a slot, I press a few buttons, and off I go!
What more can be said about fitting tyres????
The only thing I'm anal about is getting them to put the correct pressures in, and correctly torquing up the wheel bolts (well, making sure they take good care of my alloys too).
Other versionsI'm not gonna list all the other types of tyres suitable for the GTI . . . just type the size into one of the online tyre sites to see what is on offer.
Plus PointsErm, they are new tyres!
My licence is now no longer at risk of 6pts!
Minus PointsThey are the WRONG tyres. Let me explain. These tyres I was supplied with are for the
North American market - I know this because the web address on the sidewall says something like 'continental-tire.com' - whereas Conti tyres for the UK and European market say something like 'conti-tyres.de' - the clue is in the spelling of 'tyre' vs 'tire'.
I was aware of this
before they fitted them - I had a good look at the tyres (I am usually quite anal about getting matched axle pairs, with identical date codes, and I sometimes take my bathroom scales to weigh them - not this time though) - and they had both the North American 'DOT' ratings, as well as the European Union 'E' or 'e' codes - so I was happy that they would still be 'legal' here in the UK.
I also noticed they were supplied from a wholesale tyre distributor - STS, aka Stapletons.
You may be aware that I personally have had more than a few problems with STS 'retail' tyre places, and was also aware of another user on here who was supplied incorrect Goodyear Excellence tyres (with STS blatantly lieing that the Excellence were a direct replacement for the GY Eagle F1 Asymms!). So it seems that STS are still up to their shady practises!
SummaryOK, not a 'summary' as such, more of a review, from intial experience, to long term useage.
Like all brand new tyres, one needs to be cautious of new tyres - this is because they are often coated with a slippery releasing agent (helps them get free of the tyre tread moulding machines when they are made) - and so you should not only take a little care for the first 100-200 miles (to scrub them in and get rid of the releasing agent), but you shold also reserve judgement on how they perform (it wouldn't be fair to slag off a tyre which slips and slides when you drive off after having them fitted if they had a lot of releasing agent on them).
So, after scrubbing them in for a few hundred miles, here is what I think of them:
Comfort: traditionally, Continental have always given quite a hard, firm and harsh ride, due to them having a very durable and robust carcass - this makes them particularly good for heavy cars, especially when running at three-figure speeds on German Autobahns. These CSC 5Ps are noticeably more comfortable than say the CSC2.
Road noise: OK, I honestly can't say if they are any better or any worse than either the PS2s or the PS3s. But I can confidently say they ARE quieter than the orginal Dunflop Shyte Maxx directionals!
Stability: a big weak point. These 5Ps seem to have a very weak sidewall - not at all 'Continental-esque'. Comparing back to back tyre pressures of 42psi front (with my previous PS3 and PS2) - these 5Ps are noticeably less stable and more 'squidgy'. Dropping them down to the 'recommended' 35psi front makes them even worse! I have to pump them up to 48psi to dial out this instability (the comfort aspect was not noticeably affected). NOT good IMHO. But if you really like a very comfortable tyre, and have never traditionally liked previous Continentals - these may well be the tyre for you.
Dry traction: they seem to grip fairly well when accelerating. Floor the throttle, and they will spin up in 1st, 2nd and even 3rd. They do not seem to brake away as progressively as say the PS3. They arn't
bad - they just arn't up there with the PS3. If you drive sensibly (without giving it the beans in low gears), then these would be a perfectly satisfactory tyre on the GTI.
Wet traction: OK, this is interesting. I found the PS3 very poor in this respect (when comparing the PS3 to the PS2) - these CSC 5Ps seem to be on a par with the PS3s. Careful acceleration is not a problem, but say more than half throttle, and either the ESP illuminates the dash like a fairly light, or if you turn off the ESP, they just spin wildly. You have to come right off the throttle and try again to accelerate. They are rather embarrasing in this respect, and I'd hate to think how shyte they would be on say a 170 TDI (no doubt even a 140 TDI would overcome them). You really do need to be super disciplined when accelerating away from rest in the wet not to get them spinning. Varying tyre pressures from the standard 35 through to my 48psi just makes no difference to this trait.
Dry braking: this seems to be one of their better aspects - though not brilliant - probably on a par with the PS3 or Pilot Exalto, and better than the Shyte Maxx.
Wet braking: iffy is how I'd describe this. Not at all confidence inspiring, but not really brown trouser inducing either. I'd say they were better at wet braking compared to wet traction. This would mean they work better when they are heavily loaded (so that might explain why the lard-barges aka Mercedes fit them). The only positive about this is that you can give your ABS a regular work out.
Dry hard cornering: not toooooooo bad. They are reasonably confidence inspiring - though do not get carried away. They are NOT as good as PS3s, noticeably worse than PS2s, but a country mile better than Dunflop Shyte Maxx.
With my high pressure of 48psi, hard cornering stability was OK, not great. I have a particular slightly uphill corner which has a change of tarmac half way round, and another similar corner with a fooking great manhole cover - and these are both very good tests - for both mid-corner grip and mid-corner stability. At 48psi - everso slighty worse than PS3, but better than Shyte Maxx. At standard 35psi - oh dear, don't go there - a change of underwear was needed. Grip seemed OK, but stability was frightening - they just felt all over the place - not at all confidence inspiring.
Wet hard cornering: poor, poor, POOR. Keep it slow - if you want to keep it on the black stuff. If you like hedges and dry stone walls, these are the tyres for you!
Resistance to aquaplaning: righty, this is without doubt their best attribute. Much better than the PS3, probably on a par or slightly less than the PS2, and a million times better than the Shyte Maxx.
Cold weather performance: very poor - very
SCARY. OK, I know these are 'summer' tyres, so I am NOT trying to compare them with M&S or winter tyres - I am just comparing them with similar summer tyres from say Michelin, other Contis or Dunflop. This really is totally unacceptable - these will just slide on a roundabout or similar bends when the ambient temperature is 5deg C or lower. Other Continental tyres (CSC2, ContiPremiumContact, ContiEcoContact) have always been poor in the cold - but these are just frightning. Now, I don't know if my local council have changed the type of rock salt they use (I am aware they started to add molasses over the last two or three winters) - but these really do not match anywhere near the PS3s I have on the rear.
Tyre life: tyre life does not concern me - dry and WET grip and overall stability is massively more important to me compared to tyre life. I would be happy if a tyre lasted half as long, but was super grippy in the wet! My only comment on these 5Ps is that they seem to be lasting slightly better than the PS3s - though there may be another valid reason why.
Any other features: OK, these do have an interesting feature. I'm sure we all known about 'tread wear indicators' (TWIs) - those little bars at the bottom of the tread grooves roughly eight times around the circumfrence - which indicate when the tread has worn down to its legal limit of 1.6 mm. Well these have an additional 'wear indicator' - these cover just half the tread groove width, have a teeny picture of a rain drop, and are set at 3mm - 3mm being the 'recommended' depth to change them due to wet-weather performance drop off at this tread depth. Based on their wet performance - I'd say this is a very handy feature!
Would I use them again: NO, definately NOT!
Conclusions: these tyres just don't like corners! To me, that is a very bad trait - though I do have a theory. Earlier, I said these are for the North American market - where they don't really 'do' corners. I have frequently found that many American tyres share this attribute, including many different types of Goodyear (Goodyear Grand Prix S, Goodyear Vector, Goodyear NCT) - all shyte at cornering, but all acceptable in a straight line. Sooooo - maybe, just maybe the proper European market CSC 5Ps might be better . . . who knows?
I hope you all find this review helpful and useful.
