How Can I Judge the Hardness of a Tire?

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nielkfj

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Jan 21, 2018
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Location
Calgary, Canada
I'm shopping for tires for my car.

The factory tires are: Continental ContiProContact 225/45/R17 91H
The tires I am considering are: Continental ExtremeContact DWS06+ 225/45/ZR17 91W

Since the ExtremeContact is a high performance tire I am concerned about the ride quality. What can I expect it to be like as compared to the ContiProContact?
Is the ExtremeContact a harder tire? Is my car going to drive like a wagon going down a rocky trail?
 
Unfortunately there is no real way to know for sure. Even reading reviews it's hard to know because there are so many different sizes going onto so many different cars.

In theory, higher speed ratings are firmer, but that is not always the case in practice.

Now, will the 06+ ride more firmly than a ProContact in the same size? Almost certainly... But it will not be a hard riding tire in that particular size.
 
Jimmy_Russells said:
Unfortunately there is no real way to know for sure. Even reading reviews it's hard to know because there are so many different sizes going onto so many different cars.

In theory, higher speed ratings are firmer, but that is not always the case in practice.

Now, will the 06+ ride more firmly than a ProContact in the same size? Almost certainly... But it will not be a hard riding tire in that particular size.
Click to expand...
Ok, I think I understand.
Are you saying that since a 225/45/17 is not a super-low-profile tire, it should be softer riding than say a 225/35/19 size?
 
nielkfj said:
Since the ExtremeContact is a high performance tire I am concerned about the ride quality. What can I expect it to be like as compared to the ContiProContact?
Is the ExtremeContact a harder tire? Is my car going to drive like a wagon going down a rocky trail?
Click to expand...

Generally speaking, the more raw performance a tire has, the more the tire trades comfort for grip so you can use the general rule of the better the grip, the less ride compliant it is. The ContiProContact is a grand touring all-season which tires in that category are generally softer and more ride compliant. It's really all a game of how much of one category you'll give up for another.

Specific models between different manufacturers vary greatly depending on ride quality vs grip but you can generally take the above rule into account when trying to compare models of the same manufacturer. Aka; the Michelin MXM4 are softer than the Michelin PS4s. I haven't used the ContiProContacts before but generally those would be softer than the DWS06+. For what it's worth, the DWS06+ already has a super soft sidewall so the CPC may be very similar; I'm not sure just how much more soft you can make those sidewalls.

Here's the kicker, ride compliancy vs grip differ greatly between manufacturers but it seems like each manufacture tend to stick to one side more than the other. So for example, in my experience Continentals tend to lean towards a softer ride compared to Michelins but Michelins tend to have better dry grip and steering response.

nielkfj said:
Are you saying that since a 225/45/17 is not a super-low-profile tire, it should be softer riding than say a 225/35/19 size?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you trade turn response for it.
 
Last edited:
nielkfj said:
I'm shopping for tires for my car.

The factory tires are: Continental ContiProContact 225/45/R17 91H
The tires I am considering are: Continental ExtremeContact DWS06+ 225/45/ZR17 91W

Since the ExtremeContact is a high performance tire I am concerned about the ride quality. What can I expect it to be like as compared to the ContiProContact?
Is the ExtremeContact a harder tire? Is my car going to drive like a wagon going down a rocky trail?
Click to expand...
If you're concerned about ride comfort, then consider the Continental PureContact LS as a replacement.
 
nielkfj said:
Ok, I think I understand.
Are you saying that since a 225/45/17 is not a super-low-profile tire, it should be softer riding than say a 225/35/19 size?
Click to expand...
225/45 used to be considered low profile, back in the early 2000's.
225/35 is more low profile than 225/45 since there is less sidewall to deflect, if you're comparing same tire line.
 
Pew said:
Generally speaking, the more raw performance a tire has, the more the tire trades comfort for grip so you can use the general rule of the better the grip, the less ride compliant it is. The ContiProContact is a grand touring all-season which tires in that category are generally softer and more ride compliant. It's really all a game of how much of one category you'll give up for another.

Specific models between different manufacturers vary greatly depending on ride quality vs grip but you can generally take the above rule into account when trying to compare models of the same manufacturer. Aka; the Michelin MXM4 are softer than the Michelin PS4s. I haven't used the ContiProContacts before but generally those would be softer than the DWS06+. For what it's worth, the DWS06+ already has a super soft sidewall so the CPC may be very similar; I'm not sure just how much more soft you can make those sidewalls.

Here's the kicker, ride compliancy vs grip differ greatly between manufacturers but it seems like each manufacture tend to stick to one side more than the other. So for example, in my experience Continentals tend to lean towards a softer ride compared to Michelins but Michelins tend to have better dry grip and steering response.



Yes, but you trade turn response for it.
Click to expand...
UG_Passat said:
If you're concerned about ride comfort, then consider the Continental PureContact LS as a replacement.
Click to expand...

On TireRack.com the “Ride Quality” ratings for the two tires are:

ContiProContact: 7.5
ExtremeContact DWS06+: 9.0

So according to this the 06+ should have a more comfortable ride than the CPC.

But the CPC is in the Grand Touring All-Season category and the 06+ is in the Ultra High Performance All-Season category. Do you know if these ratings are comparable across different categories?
 
nielkfj said:
On TireRack.com the “Ride Quality” ratings for the two tires are:

ContiProContact: 7.5
ExtremeContact DWS06+: 9.0

So according to this the 06+ should have a more comfortable ride than the CPC.

But the CPC is in the Grand Touring All-Season category and the 06+ is in the Ultra High Performance All-Season category. Do you know if these ratings are comparable across different categories?
Click to expand...
Ride quality is subjective. So, comparing ride quality of different categories is comparing apples to oranges
 
If the tire shop has the tires in stock you could probably feel the difference in stiffness of the sidewalls by hand, when they are unmounted. My old autocross tires have relatively stiff 2 ply sidewalls and are noisy as heck when driving on a road, and an old 3 season tire with 1 ply nylon sidewalls feel very pliable. Probably as good a predictor as any for how much difference there will be in noise transmission, and maybe a little how they will ride. Although I suspect air pressure makes a bigger difference in ride.
In general, if you are worried about ride and noise, the less performance biased tire will be more pleasant on the street.
On the street a good way to get some grip and good ride is go with a higher profile performance tire. I like the feel of the tires squirming a bit, the car getting a bit sideways but still has good grip, and you don't worry about going over railroad crossings or dodging every pothole.
 
nielkfj said:
On TireRack.com the “Ride Quality” ratings for the two tires are:

ContiProContact: 7.5
ExtremeContact DWS06+: 9.0

So according to this the 06+ should have a more comfortable ride than the CPC.

But the CPC is in the Grand Touring All-Season category and the 06+ is in the Ultra High Performance All-Season category. Do you know if these ratings are comparable across different categories?
Click to expand...
They aren't, none of tire racks test results can be assumed to be comparable to other tests, only within that test. I asked them a few years ago. Consumer reports tire testing is the only one I know of where they allow comparisons across tests and tire types. There are standard european tests for sound that are comparable between tyre types, so if those are sold there you might be able to compare.
 
nielkfj said:
On TireRack.com the “Ride Quality” ratings for the two tires are:

ContiProContact: 7.5
ExtremeContact DWS06+: 9.0

So according to this the 06+ should have a more comfortable ride than the CPC.

But the CPC is in the Grand Touring All-Season category and the 06+ is in the Ultra High Performance All-Season category. Do you know if these ratings are comparable across different categories?
Click to expand...

TR's ratings are usually on a per-category basis so I don't believe you can cross compare them. That said, it could be that way because the drivers using certain category tires are used to a different tire. IE: folks buying the DWS could have sportier cars that came with sportier, harsher tires with harsher suspension so the DWS could feel way better vs those buying the CPC could have come from some standard or GT tires. That's just my assumption on comparing customer ratings on tires across different categories.

The DWS is already really soft, like ridiculously soft for a UHP A/S and more along the lines of a GT tire so it could be possible the DWS rides a lot smoother than people would think a UHP A/S would ride, and thus based their opinions off their preconceived notions.
 
I bought a set of the ExtremeContact DWS06+ tires. They were on sale at a local retailer with the sale ending yesterday so I had to make a quick decision. I haven't had them installed yet though.

By the way I called Tire Rack customer service and they said that the ratings are comparable across different "All Season" tire categories. In other words they are not comparable between "All Season" and "Winter" tire categories, for example. With this information the Tire Rack ratings indicate that the 06+ actually has better ride quality than the CPC.

I also checked Consumer Reports ratings. The CPC wasn't listed by them but the 06" has the same Ride Quality rating 3/5 as a popular Continental Grand Touring tire. So I figured it can't be too hard of a tire.

I haven't even driven on them yet, but I at this point I'm happy with the purchase.
 
the speed ratings in your original post are different H & W. I would suggest the high speed rated tyre would have a stiffer sidewall/ carcase hence harder ride
 
To add to what Bonjo has written, the higher the speed rating (W=168mph; H=128mph) the harder the rubber. This is why tires with a speed rating of Y (300 kph/186mph) or higher shouldn't be driven when the outside temperature drops below 40*F.
 
I love my performance cars, however in Florida we have only 3 sweeping corners that I can enjoy. The off ramp of I-95 and the 2 airport on and off ramps.

Soooo, I tend to look for performance tires with a good ride. I tend to search TireRack and look at the ratings for "Comfort" and read the professional reviews.

For example, the Conti extreme contact sport get a very high comfort rating. People tend to like them on the Jag F-Type. Whereas people tend to dislike the P-Zero Pirelli's on the F-Type. Although I'm happy enough with the P-Zero's my car came with, I will not purchase them as replacement tires.

I will probably go with the Michelin Pilot sports next tire change.
 
nielkfj said:
I'm shopping for tires for my car.

The factory tires are: Continental ContiProContact 225/45/R17 91H
The tires I am considering are: Continental ExtremeContact DWS06+ 225/45/ZR17 91W

Since the ExtremeContact is a high performance tire I am concerned about the ride quality. What can I expect it to be like as compared to the ContiProContact?
Is the ExtremeContact a harder tire? Is my car going to drive like a wagon going down a rocky trail?
Click to expand...
DWS06+ has a soft sidewall. It’ll be fine.
 
" How can I judge the hardness of a tire"
When you see the prices you will see how HARD it is to buy. 🤣
 
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