Continental CrossContact LX25's

[Ws6]

These are just the bare initial impressions.


The mold release stuff still isn't worn off, so I've not pushed these tires yet. What I can say:

-The car feels lighter with them. Difference between a 3/4 full tank, and a 1/4 full tank, maybe.
-They are a bit more lively than the A36's, meaning it feels like the wheel turns easier, both at speed, and in a parkinglot. "Twitchy" has a negative connotation, so I hesitate to use that word, but it could apply if you were in the right mindset to understand that it's not meant in a bad way, in this case.
-They are quiet. On gravel, concrete, and asphalt. They have no bad tendencies. No resonance nodes 0-105mph. No getting louder in a moderately hard corner. No low-speed growl. Nothing. They just get progressively louder with speed, and they don't get loud at all. Similar to the A36's when new, which I found to be very quiet as well, honestly (previous experience is LX20, RT43-H, Destination LE2, WRG3 SUV, and more). I would say these are "as quiet as any, with NO bad characteristics regardless of speed or dynamic loading within reason")
-They do pick up gravel, but it's not excessive.
-The tread on my A36's was worn, so there was less "squirm" from them, as opposed to these. It is normal for people to thing "these new tires don't corner as hard" when they go from worn-out tread to new full tread, because of this. However, the difference was not bad, and they feel very planted in corners.
-They strike a great balance between responsive, and comfortable.


I have no doubt they will impress me in the snow and rain, etc. just like the LX20's did, and as for now, they are an incredibly well behaved tire. Like a spouse that obviously works out, and also happens to have a master's degree, but can also crack some seriously funny and vulgar jokes, too, all while balancing the checkbook. The whole package. Not EXCEPTIONAL in any way, but with no weak spots I have found, and VERY VERY GOOD! in ALL the ways.

 

[CharBaby]

Thanks, nice write up & initial impression!

These are the types of tires that I look for. I like tires that don't call attention to themselves in anyway except in good ways. No life altering experience, just goes about their business. I've had several tires like this(passenger car tires) once I learned to purchase tires based on testing & reviews instead of what the tire store wanted to sell me. I've had better(not perfect) success this way.

I am considering for the two vehicles in my signature(Altima & Civic),
the Continental Cross Contact TOUR as they seem to meet my criteria and check the most boxes of what I want most in a tire.

I love a nice quiet & good riding tire while having lot of other benefits of decent handling/stopping during the foul weather times. But, I am getting some mixed results & reviews from two different publications & customer comments in certain areas of testing. So, I still have time to decide.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by Char Baby
Thanks, nice write up & initial impression!

These are the types of tires that I look for. I like tires that don't call attention to themselves in anyway except in good ways. No life altering experience, just goes about their business. I've had several tires like this(passenger car tires) once I learned to purchase tires based on testing & reviews instead of what the tire store wanted to sell me. I've had better(not perfect) success this way.

I am considering for the two vehicles in my signature(Altima & Civic),
the Continental Cross Contact TOUR as they seem to meet my criteria and check the most boxes of what I want most in a tire.

I love a nice quiet & good riding tire while having lot of other benefits of decent handling/stopping during the foul weather times. But, I am getting some mixed results & reviews from two different publications & customer comments in certain areas of testing. So, I still have time to decide.


I, too, considered the same tire (CC-Tour) for my application. After all the research I could do, I determined that it was a good tire. What swayed me to the LX25, is that I owned a set of LX20's previously, and they were flat out amazing in all conditions from pouring rain, to white-out. The snow in this picture fell during the course of a few hours, and at times visibility limited prudent speeds to 20mph or so. The tires were absolutely competent, and I took back-roads home through the mountains with narry a worry. The only thing to have been aware of was the longer stopping distances and lower cornering speeds, but it was utterly predictable. I even got up to 50mph and SLAMMED the brakes a few times. The vehicle could be predictably slotted into either lane I chose, albeit the stopping distance was long. Getting started was no problem at all, and it would hook up pretty good under all but WOT. (that vehicle was a 2015 CX5 2.5L AWD). Given these experiences, the LX25 was a shoe-in when it dropped last month, and so far, I am experiencing LX20 "Plus" performance from it, just like I thought I would.

 

[Deamos]

I've had my LX25s for about a month now and put what's approaching 1K miles on.

Driven through some heavy STL thunderstorms with them, they were just fine going through heavy downpours and even spots with deeper standing puddles.

I'm finding at least right now in the warm weather, as I'm adjusting to the tires and they're breaking in (is that a thing with tires?) the LX25s are wonderfully responsive and give me a strong feeling of confidence. I had LX20s before (rode them down to 3-4/32nds) and would say these are (at least so far) at least the same if not an improvement.

Now to be fair I opted for the V rated version over the H rated since it was only a few dollars more on tirerack and I figured it wouldn't hurt anything when I was buying my tires, no idea if that has any effect on the other characteristics of the tire. They're the same index and load range otherwise. (107XL)

In any case, I was a little apprehensive to order a brand new tire to replace my LX20s, but so far the experience has been good. We'll see how I feel about this time next year when I've had them a year and put about 15K miles on them. Chances are I won't get to experience any heavy snows in them as those are fairly rare for the STL area, though last year was an exception, cold, rain, and occasionally a bit of ice however are likely.

One thing I have noticed though, maybe it's the tire, maybe it's the speed rating, but the tires feel quite a bit more responsive than the LX20s for their entire lifetime.

Overall, at least at initial impression is that like the LX20s, the LX25s seem to be a good match for my Sorento.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by Deamos
I've had my LX25s for about a month now and put what's approaching 1K miles on.

Driven through some heavy STL thunderstorms with them, they were just fine going through heavy downpours and even spots with deeper standing puddles.

I'm finding at least right now in the warm weather, as I'm adjusting to the tires and they're breaking in (is that a thing with tires?) the LX25s are wonderfully responsive and give me a strong feeling of confidence. I had LX20s before (rode them down to 3-4/32nds) and would say these are (at least so far) at least the same if not an improvement.

Now to be fair I opted for the V rated version over the H rated since it was only a few dollars more on tirerack and I figured it wouldn't hurt anything when I was buying my tires, no idea if that has any effect on the other characteristics of the tire. They're the same index and load range otherwise. (107XL)

In any case, I was a little apprehensive to order a brand new tire to replace my LX20s, but so far the experience has been good. We'll see how I feel about this time next year when I've had them a year and put about 15K miles on them. Chances are I won't get to experience any heavy snows in them as those are fairly rare for the STL area, though last year was an exception, cold, rain, and occasionally a bit of ice however are likely.

One thing I have noticed though, maybe it's the tire, maybe it's the speed rating, but the tires feel quite a bit more responsive than the LX20s for their entire lifetime.

Overall, at least at initial impression is that like the LX20s, the LX25s seem to be a good match for my Sorento.


I, too, have V rated LX25's, and also find them very responsive. To be fair though, my last set was on my 2015 CX5, and had a taller side-wall.