TrueContact is one of the flagmen of Continental all-season tread family. They are specifically built to combat the effects of rainy and snowy weather, as well as behave well on dry surfaces.
They’ve done it by putting up an efficient tire design made from high-quality components. In fact, TrueContact enjoys a bunch of the usual Continental tire-making techniques, and if you’re familiar with the manufacturer, you’ll definitely see the similarities.
The tire body is made mostly from polymer materials as well as other components. In its core, the tire has got two steel belts covered in polyamide – a highly durable material based off nylon. The rest of the tire is mostly other polymers, but there are Conti’s standard +sylane components, especially in the contact area.
The steel acts as a carcass, giving the tires integrity and strength. The polyamide that covers it is also very sturdy, but also whole and seamless, which enhances smoothness and comfort of the ride. Finally, the +sylane material is spent primarily on tread, owing to its superior stickiness.
As a result, the braking distance and grip are initially pretty good. But, as you can see, the manufacturer tried to emphasize the strength and durability. They claim a minimal mileage of 140,000 km, but the evidence shows that they usually wear down a lot faster than that. The 40,000-50,000 km is a much closer number, the customers say.
This tread is a peculiar shape. They are symmetric, and it means stable contact wherever you go, but it’s still an interesting pattern.
First off, the middle section is the two ribs separated by a middle circumferential groove. There are many roughly x-shaped grooves put together into a continual network. They aren’t random, but a patented and efficient design meant to provide traction even in the most challenging scenarios.
The large interlocked contact area in the middle is an obvious advantage in itself, and the traction grooves make sure you get the maximum handling in dry, wet, snow and even ice.
To help with water, the tread has also been given two additional solutions. The first is the sipes. The tread is filled with them. They are small grooves spread throughout the tread. They adapt to the surface and bite into it, thus improving handling and traction in water and snow, above other things.
And to further boost handling in water, there are three peripheral grooves that help evacuate water from underneath the tread. They are positioned without decreasing the contact patch too much, which is also a beneficial factor.
Lastly, the shoulders are fairly wide and have grooves on their own. They are nothing special, but their existence really improves the steering and handling.
So, the handling is very good, but what about the comfort?
Continental TrueContact tires aren’t terribly noisy. The materials contribute to it (you remember, the components inside are uniform and balanced), but the effect is enhanced by the unique comfort band technology that mostly exists to decrease noise and increase smoothness of the ride.
So, they are quiet. It also checks out if you look at what buyers have to say. There are complaints about the reduced tread life, but not about the comfort of the tires while they last.
The tires are all-season but not really high-performance. They are meant on providing as much stable control as possible, and they do ride smooth and quiet, which complements the overall quality, too.
However, they don’t really last long. The projected mileage doesn’t materialize in the majority of cases. Instead of the promised 140,000 km, you’ll likely get about 50,000. That’s also not bad, but somehow they managed to promise something almost three times bigger than the real thing.
175/65 R 15
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