Bloody Conti's

[goodfella]

I had a ground maintenance guy whipper snip an edge and clipped my conti sidewall, leaving a mark and some rubber missing....unfort I noticed this long after he had gone...but back to the point, the tyre has lasted several punishing drives without any failures, infact it still holds ok to this day. However, i have since changed my rims and tyres, so its a mute point.

[G-rig]

2) Maybe you girly Golf drivers aren't up to pursuing racing lines through roundabouts, chicanes, etc..... the odd curb clip is to be expected. You just dont expect your $300 tyre to be f****d up becase of a slight bump.

Damaging your tyres and wheels is a risk you seem to be prepared to take by going through roundabouts fast.. It's not the indy.

Otherwise just don't buy the Conti's next time, and get a non-R compound semi slick if you want something to knock about.

[Maverick]

And the Contis are not great IMO, rather buy a proper performance tyre if you want performance ......

You might want to tell all the reviewers that as it's constantly come out in the top 3 in every performance tyre review. The tyre reviews unlike the opinions here are based on facts and performed under controlled conditions.

Maybe it's not the tyre at fault but the agricultural chassis and suspension of the car that it's attached to not being able to make use of the tyre

[brad]

I've had 2 punctures in 12 months, which is quite odd. I'd guess I've had 4 in the previous 10 years. Maybe a dozen in 30 years.

I think the straight grooves of the CSC2 help line the nail/screw up so that it goes into the tyre rather than being flicked out to the side.

[brad]

You might want to tell all the reviewers that as it's constantly come out in the top 3 in every performance tyre review. The tyre reviews unlike the opinions here are based on facts and performed under controlled conditions.

The only problem is, tyre tests only cover a small selection of the tyre brands/models available. In addition, they usually only cover one size & they only use a particular car, in specific weather conditions & generally on a single road surface.

Therefore, in the Motor Annual Tyre Test (for instance), the only real conclusion you can draw is that the "winner" was the best of the 10 tyre models that were tested, in size "X" when used on a 1800kg rear wheel drive SS Comodore at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees on a fine grit hotmix surface.

The results on the day might be very different if they used tyre size "y" on a FWD 1100kg Clio Sport on a 15 degree day on course chip or a 35 degree day on concrete.

The fact remains that there are probably 60 other tyre makes/models out there that weren't tested & some of them might be superior to those on test.

BTW: I think Sharkie means R-Comps & semislick style (RT615/KU36) when he refers to "performance tyres". Which, just like any other tyre, are a compromise & not suited to everyone.

[Maverick]

The only problem is, tyre tests only cover a small selection of the tyre brands/models available. In addition, they usually only cover one size & they only use a particular car, in specific weather conditions & generally on a single road surface.

The EVO tyre test was conducted at one of the tyre manufacturers testing grounds which has many different surfaces. They used a Golf GTI and electronic instruments to measure lap times, braking (dry and wet), cornering ability, traction and so forth. Top tyre was the F1 Asymmetrical and in third place was the CSC3.

Therefore, in the Motor Annual Tyre Test (for instance), the only real conclusion you can draw is that the "winner" was the best of the 10 tyre models that were tested, in size "X" when used on a 1800kg rear wheel drive SS Comodore at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees on a fine grit hotmix surface.

Hence why those tyre tests really are not much help.

The fact remains that there are probably 60 other tyre makes/models out there that weren't tested & some of them might be superior to those on test.

The EVO test was conducted on the ten highest performing tyres and had a tyre from each manufacturer. It's pointless testing the F1 GSD3 when this is nowhere near as good as their new flagship tyre the F1 Asymmetrical.

IMO the EVO test is the most comprehensive and as it uses a Golf GTI (2 in fact) and was conducted under all circumstances is going to be the best way to choose a performance tyre. The whole "my new tyres are great and better than my worn out old tyres" is pointless and the only real way to compare them is on a track under controlled conditions.

You can download a copy of the tyre test from here.

The 2002 version is also available from here and the F1 GSD3 just beat the CSC1 which came in second place.

As you can see the CSC (now 3) is an excellent tyre that constantly is near the top of the tyre tests.

[G-rig]

The EVO test is obviously flawed as they don't include kerbs, potholes and roundabouts on the test course, then drive straight into/over them.

[Petrina Polo]

Nothing wrong with the KU31's (assuming thats the one you have).

I prefer them for comfort, so on the track day I'm taking the Conti's so the Kuhmo's don't get shredded.

aha... so tracking car does shred tyres..


but for everyday use, do you notice a difference in which tyres you use? cheapie vs expensive?

[JCM308]

Well spotted captian obvious.

Of course driving hard will effect your tyres, this has been well documented before. Another thing to note is you will get drastically reduced fuel economy!

But back on topic...... I do notice a difference between cheap tyres and expensive tyres (to a degree) but does it justify the price difference? Each to their own but how much value do you put on you safety (or that of anyone that gets in the car with you)?

Not saying cheap tyres are no good, but it's something to think about.

[CatonaPC©]

It is possible that VW only specify cutdown imitation tyres for the Polo GTI, after all it's only cutdown imitation of a Golf GTI

Ha ha!

Sorry! I had to laugh at that one.