General Yet another thread about 4x4 tyres

[oyumurtaci]

The time has finally come to replace the Continental CrossContact M+S All Seasons that came with my MJT 4x4, as tread depth won't get me through the end of summer. As such, I've been trying to keep up with tyre news and reviews for a while now, and I fall into a decidedly unfortunate category of user. I spend all year pootling about in the city, then go on one or two long distance road trips a year where I spend 90 percent of the trip on highways but then push my luck trying to get to a secluded cove or to the clearing in the forest on the other side of a lake. Basically, it's dry on-road driving for 70 percent of the year, 20 percent rain, 5 percent off road (gravel, rock, mud) and 5 percent snow/ice. I've gotten stuck enough to know that I probably can't get by with a regular road tyre, and the missus would probably kick my face if I just amassed a collection of tyres for various uses in the garage.

As for replacements... The CrossContact has been discontinued. The Michelin CrossClimates are getting good reviews as a summer-oriented all season tyre, but I'd probably end up stuck that one time of the year I really need traction and 4x4. The closest compromise I've been able to find is the Michelin Latitude Cross, which is a summer M+S tyre (somewhat oxymoronic) with road bias (apparently designed for 65/35 on/off road use) but that has also been discontinued, so I might not be able to find them. The closest competitors seem to be Goodyear Vector Gen 2 and Nokian Weatherproofs, with Vredestein Quadracs a difficult to find third option. Actually, after checking around, getting my hands on a set of Vectors will also be a problem.

So I pass the question on to you, what would FF do? I'm willing to get a separate set of winter tyres when the time comes if that's the best route to take.

 

[gullyfoyle]

Using Nokian Weatherproofs at the moment, I found them better in snow than the Mitchelin Crossclimates on the subaru.
Had them about a year now and just running all year round, wear seems fine obviously they will need replacing sooner, but then no faffing about changing them twice a year, just did a run over to Skye from the east coast, there and back same day, so 300 odd miles on mixed dry and wet roads, good and bad, never went above 70 and grip and braking ( you do a lot of that on single tracks ) was more than acceptable.

 

[oyumurtaci]

I don't really mind swapping out tyres for summer and winter, but I'm having a hard time finding a summer tyre that won't disappoint if I were to try to go camping by a lake.

 

[gullyfoyle]

Depends on your mileage really, we dont tend to do more than about 8k annually, being pensionable we tend to fly or train longer distances, and reap the benift of a tyre that does most things well at the expense of more frequent reshoeing.
Did swap out the Subaru with snow tyres when I was working but we both retired from that game.

 

[Al D]

Nokian WR D4 if can get look very good, I used mytyres.co.uk to search which is actually German site (and only place that can get winter tyres all year round to Britain inside 3 days). The Continentals can still be got but are roughly 40% more than Nokian. Nokian quieter and better in the wet apparently. Probably won't last as long though.

 

[Leroypanda]

I'm running my 2wd panda on Goodyear vector all season, and through the recent snow I've been unstoppable, I've even driven across sheet ice with minimal effort, they do get a bit soft when pushing on in temperatures of +25oc but I think it's a fair compromise.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

shame the CrossContacts are being discontinued: as well as being a 'true' winter tyre, they are intended for all year round off road use, which the 'all season' alternatives are not. Mine have always lasted well, even with a lot of summer, on-road use, going at least 30,000 miles before getting to 3mm tread (when I've replaced them).

The 4x4 Cross comes with the Goodyear Vectors ... which I guess says they can't be too bad (the Conti's being the factory fit on the 4x4). I didn't think the Mich CrossClimate came in the 175/65R15 size...

 

[gar074]

I've been very impressed with the Goodyear Vectors on my Cross. Apart from some tyre-squealing on tight roundabouts, and a touch more poor-surface road-roar than I'd like, they've performed brilliantly, including in the recent Beastly weather. And they still have some life in them after 32k miles! My dliemma is whether, when the time comes, to replace like-for-like, or go for the Michelins.

 

[oyumurtaci]

Tyre size is also becoming an issue like you've mentioned. The Michelin CrossClimates are available in 175 and 185 widths, and apparently the local tyre shops can hunt down old stock 175 section CrossContact Winters if I pay them well enough (and give them time). For the most part, the move up to 185 width seems inevitable as the only tyres I can find in 175 are the CrossClimates and regular road tyres (none with M+S marking, which I know doesn't really mean much but they at least perform with a modicum of grace in mud, while regular road tyres turn into rolling pins). I have managed to find the Michelin Latitude Cross at 185 section, but they're more than double - almost triple - the price of, say, a set of Falken SN832 (which get pretty good reviews for a regular road tyre), only improve on the dry weather performance of the CrossContacts currently on the car and are not winter rated (only M+S, no 3PMSF), though they do have a very aggressive tread pattern and are apparently the bees knees on gravel. I'm thinking I should narrow it down to the Vectors and the Nokians, both 185 width. With a more aggressive lug pattern, the Nokians are supposedly better off road but are more susceptible to poor performance and increased deterioration in dry and hot weather (which is pretty much most of the year) compared to the Vectors. The only other way out I see is just following the trend and going for a set of CrossClimates, because it seems while they're summer biased all season tyres the CrossClimate SUV model, which has the exact same tread pattern as the regular CrossClimate, is in the 'off road' category of the Michelin website, gets 3PMSF certification (though no M+S designation) and only loses out to the similarly patterned Vectors in snow tests. While available in 175 width, they're significantly cheaper at 185 widths so unless I ask the tyre shop to hunt down another set of Continentals, it seems I'm moving up to 185 no matter what.

 

[oyumurtaci]

Quick update to the situation: the local Continental dealer found a set of used CrossContacts in better condition than mine. They're an old set (manufacture date is 2012) but in better condition than mine, and got them for cheap. Seems like I'm good for at least another year.

 

[babbo_umbro]

Quick update to the situation: the local Continental dealer found a set of used CrossContacts in better condition than mine. They're an old set (manufacture date is 2012) but in better condition than mine, and got them for cheap. Seems like I'm good for at least another year.

Hmm - not what I'd do I'm afraid. I prefer to know where my tyres have been and six to ten years is commonly given as the maximum age for a tyre irrespective of mileage and apparent condition. I have the Goodyears on my 4x4 TA as they got good reviews and come in the right size - better than the original CrossContacts in every respect especially dry road braking; wear seems just as modest.

 

[oyumurtaci]

I paid about 75 Euro for all, including balancing and mounting. I'll consider that a win if I make it to the end of summer with them. They've been sitting in storage for 2 years, and the previous owner traded them in for summer tyres.

 

[R1NGA]

The CrossContacts have been replaced by the new Conti AllSeasonContact, which I hear are very good.

I replaced my CrossContacts with Nokian Weatherproof and they have been outstanding in all situations thus far - utterly unstoppable in the recent snow. Their mud abilities will be better than other all-seasons too, as the tread pattern is a little more open.

 

[oyumurtaci]

I really wish I could justify spending more and getting either the Vectors or Nokians, but at that price it was just an easy choice of the wallet, even if only for one more season. That being said, I really wish Michelin updated the Latitude Cross line instead of discontinuing it, as they could have had a CrossClimate substitute for 4x4 vehicles. In fact, that's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for considering my driving patterns and local weather: CrossClimates with extra blocks in the tread for mud evacuation and loose surface grip. In fact, I'll throw in a few hashtags #Michelin #crossclimate just in case someone on their team are trawling the internet for seeing how the brand is mentioned and perhaps they'll take notice and get right on that.

 

[philboo]

I'm really interested in this thread. My 5 year old 4x4 TA Panda is due new tyres all round. It's been great with 36K miles from the original set.

I'd assumed I'd change to Michelin cross climates as I constantly read how good they are but have now been looking at options and thought the Continental AllSeasonContact looks good too and may be a little better in snow and mud than cross climates. Has anyone direct experience of both ? I'm in the UK and mainly driving on country roads/local roads but for the last few months have been doing 80 miles per day including motorways due to personal circumstances.

 

[Al D]

mytyres have 11 Continental Cross Contact winters left. Prices dropped a little but £91 each exc fitting. Falken Eurowinters £62.20 fitted Phil. May see 30k on a set. Ony one way to find out.

 

[Palio]

I don’t know if it helps, but I’ve found Uniroyal MS Plus 66 tyres excellent on a mk3 Panda 4x4. Admittedly it’s not got the performance of a mk4 twin air, but I’ve never found the tyres lacking in grip in summer. I run them all year round & they have been unstoppable off-road. Although I do a fairly low mileage, they have had hell beaten out of them off-road, and haven’t had any chunks/wear knocked out of them even clambering rocks etc.

It looks like they have been replaced by MS Plus 77 now, so have a different tread pattern. I’d certain,y be looking at these for my Mum’s mk4 4x4 if it ever needs replacements (21k so far, on the Cross Contacts and no visible wear!). Actually I think it’s the 77 I’ve got on now, replacing 66’s so I can recommend them off-road!

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/r...ch&Label=F-C-71-2&details=Ordern&typ=R-240851

 

[philboo]

mytyres have 11 Continental Cross Contact winters left. Prices dropped a little but £91 each exc fitting. Falken Eurowinters £62.20 fitted Phil. May see 30k on a set. Ony one way to find out.

Thanks for pointing that out. Having looked more at this I’m now leaning to just go cross climate plus for the quieter ride and lower rolling resistance.

 

[Al D]

Forgot you were near Southport Phil. All season tyres all you'll ever need.

 

[Al D]

Turns out Continental's parent company Uniroyal. So the Cross Contact Winter lives on (seemingly same stats) as the Uniroyal MS plus 77 if it helps.