I reside in SE Michigan, and have a 2019 Honda Accord LX with 17" wheels.
At 20k miles, the stock Hankook Kinergy GTs were getting loud and spinning easily.
I was looking for a good balance of quietness and the ability to handle our rapid weather changes.
Indeed, we can hit 100 in the summer and 0 in the winter.
Our snowfalls aren't necessarily huge, but about 8 years ago we had 92" total snow.
At 52, I've never felt the need for snow tires; all-seasons have been fine.
In the past, we used Michelin Defenders (nice tires), and at one point had a set of General Altimax RT43 on the old '03 CRV (also nice tires).
I read many reviews and chose the Continental Pure Contact LS 225/50 R17 98V XL. Two weeks ago, I got them from Discount Tire.
The reviews highlighted my needs: quiet, damped ride, good handling in snow, decent tread life.
For reference, the Accord is not known to be a super quiet car; it is quieter than my wife's '17 CRV, but louder than my 2009 Impala.
Also, the Accord is a very light car, so I wanted a tire with just a little bias toward snow handling.
I run the tires at the recommended 32 all around.
Anyway, the new tires handle beautifully. Curves and turns are smooth and confident.
They have a nice blend of mellow luxury softness, with sporty-ish handling and grip.
They damp the impacts VERY well. The Hankooks had a super loud resonant thunks over expansion joints and ridges.
They handled torrential rain nicely.
They are quieter than the Hankooks, but they have a surprisingly loud tread noise--a singing--especially noticeable on glass-smooth asphalt.
It is a kind of white noise with some tremolo warbling.
I'm not pleased.
I will contact both Continental and DT. I'm guessing that they will do a re-balance.
I know some tires break in, becoming quieter (I think the Michelins did, but can't recall for sure).
Does anyone know if the Contis tend to need break in?
If the noise is inherent, I have 60 days where I can choose to replace the tires with the same model, or choose another Continental.
Any recommendations?
DT has:
-TrueContact Tour. Might be firmer tire, maybe a bit less grippy in winter. Seems like a step down from the Purecontact. It is also not available in V speed rating (I prefer sticking with the manufacturer's recommendations...but, I might consider a lesser rating).
-Extreme contact DWS 06 Plus. Highly considered these for their good all around capabilities, but people were mixed regarding noise and flat-spotting.
If I cannot get a quiet Conti, I'll sell them and get another brand.
I'll take a loss to get a quieter tire.
Non-Continentals I considered:
-Michelin Defender T+H. Strong contender due to past experience. But, not available in V speed rating.
-Altimax RT43. Owned by Conti, seems like a good tire, but many reports of moderate tire/tread noise. The old CRV was a noisy car, so I couldn't get a sense for quietness.
-Michelin Cross climate 2. Checks a lot of boxes. But pricy, and many reports of tread noise.
-Nokian Encompass AW01. Looks like a very capable tire, but not many reviews.
-Pirelli Cintaurato P7 All Season Plus. Some good reviews, would need to research.
-General Altimax 365AW and Nokian WRG4. Maybe too biased toward winter, probably not quiet.
-Wild card: Bridgestone Quiettrack at Costco. Don't know much about this one... pretty good reviews.
Bob
At 20k miles, the stock Hankook Kinergy GTs were getting loud and spinning easily.
I was looking for a good balance of quietness and the ability to handle our rapid weather changes.
Indeed, we can hit 100 in the summer and 0 in the winter.
Our snowfalls aren't necessarily huge, but about 8 years ago we had 92" total snow.
At 52, I've never felt the need for snow tires; all-seasons have been fine.
In the past, we used Michelin Defenders (nice tires), and at one point had a set of General Altimax RT43 on the old '03 CRV (also nice tires).
I read many reviews and chose the Continental Pure Contact LS 225/50 R17 98V XL. Two weeks ago, I got them from Discount Tire.
The reviews highlighted my needs: quiet, damped ride, good handling in snow, decent tread life.
For reference, the Accord is not known to be a super quiet car; it is quieter than my wife's '17 CRV, but louder than my 2009 Impala.
Also, the Accord is a very light car, so I wanted a tire with just a little bias toward snow handling.
I run the tires at the recommended 32 all around.
Anyway, the new tires handle beautifully. Curves and turns are smooth and confident.
They have a nice blend of mellow luxury softness, with sporty-ish handling and grip.
They damp the impacts VERY well. The Hankooks had a super loud resonant thunks over expansion joints and ridges.
They handled torrential rain nicely.
They are quieter than the Hankooks, but they have a surprisingly loud tread noise--a singing--especially noticeable on glass-smooth asphalt.
It is a kind of white noise with some tremolo warbling.
I'm not pleased.
I will contact both Continental and DT. I'm guessing that they will do a re-balance.
I know some tires break in, becoming quieter (I think the Michelins did, but can't recall for sure).
Does anyone know if the Contis tend to need break in?
If the noise is inherent, I have 60 days where I can choose to replace the tires with the same model, or choose another Continental.
Any recommendations?
DT has:
-TrueContact Tour. Might be firmer tire, maybe a bit less grippy in winter. Seems like a step down from the Purecontact. It is also not available in V speed rating (I prefer sticking with the manufacturer's recommendations...but, I might consider a lesser rating).
-Extreme contact DWS 06 Plus. Highly considered these for their good all around capabilities, but people were mixed regarding noise and flat-spotting.
If I cannot get a quiet Conti, I'll sell them and get another brand.
I'll take a loss to get a quieter tire.
Non-Continentals I considered:
-Michelin Defender T+H. Strong contender due to past experience. But, not available in V speed rating.
-Altimax RT43. Owned by Conti, seems like a good tire, but many reports of moderate tire/tread noise. The old CRV was a noisy car, so I couldn't get a sense for quietness.
-Michelin Cross climate 2. Checks a lot of boxes. But pricy, and many reports of tread noise.
-Nokian Encompass AW01. Looks like a very capable tire, but not many reviews.
-Pirelli Cintaurato P7 All Season Plus. Some good reviews, would need to research.
-General Altimax 365AW and Nokian WRG4. Maybe too biased toward winter, probably not quiet.
-Wild card: Bridgestone Quiettrack at Costco. Don't know much about this one... pretty good reviews.
Bob