Just passed 50k miles on the OEM 19" Continentals

[Hkbruin]

I'm surprised that I have just hit my wear bars in the center treads of my original Continental ProContact RX's, and I've put on 50, 965 miles on my LR RWD. I rotated the tires twice, once at 12k miles, then at 25k miles, and haven't rotated them since. I do drive more like a Prius driver, and 90% of my driving is on the 405 freeway in the carpool lane or down the 5, and I take it up as much as 85mph on the long stretch between OC and North SD.

I'm thinking of going with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S as my next tire, even though Tesla's website now shows the Hankook VENTUS S1 EVO 3 as the OEM tire and with a lower price point. I've had Hankook Ventus before on my BMW E46 with great initial performance, but as the tires wore out they began to get very loud, and the performance in the wet went south really fast, given they were performance summer tires.

Is anyone running on the Hankook Ventus S1 EVO 3, and what do you think of the performance?

 

[gaswalla]

do drive more like a Prius driver

That is your 'secret'... good job. What is your wh/mile over the 50k?

I have had those Hankooks.. lasted even less than the Michelins

 

[mt09]

Congrats on getting 50k out of them! Have you noticed them getting any louder as they weared? I'm at a little over 30k with between 5-6 32nds left and driving around 20-40mph they're much louder than I remember.

 

[mobilesuit818]

Those Hankooks are not as good as the racebred RS4 Hankooks and have had horror stories in general in my ICE cars.

I would stick to Michellins but wait for the promo from Costco which is on average 50-100 off...

 

[PNWLeccy]

My LR RWD 19” tires are at 8k miles and are all at 7/32. I was planning on rotating soon but they look like they are wearing evenly. Did you see a similar trend and when you rotated at 12k what were the tread measurements at front and rear?

 

[Hkbruin]

That is your 'secret'... good job. What is your wh/mile over the 50k?

I have had those Hankooks.. lasted even less than the Michelins

I am averaging 256wh/mile, I think that is on the higher end? It's probably because the drive between Laguna Niguel and Carlsbad has barely any traffic so I'm always going 80-85mph on that stretch, that doesn't help efficiency. When I'm crawling on the 405 2 days of the week at 15mph for good stretches, My wh is much more efficient, around 215-220wh/mile.

Regarding the noise, I can't say for sure if it's louder, but if I'm going 40 or under it's still pretty quiet. I think the wind noise is more a factor.

I noticed that the new Hankook Evo3 has two different models, with the one for the Tesla Model 3 having the 'ev' next to the tire type. I wonder if it is lined with foam like the Continental RX's that were specifically built for the Tesla M3?

Those Hankooks are not as good as the racebred RS4 Hankooks and have had horror stories in general in my ICE cars.

I would stick to Michellins but wait for the promo from Costco which is on average 50-100 off...

Thanks, I forgot about that. I'll try to stick it out until the Michelin's go on sale.

 

[Hkbruin]

My LR RWD 19” tires are at 8k miles and are all at 7/32. I was planning on rotating soon but they look like they are wearing evenly. Did you see a similar trend and when you rotated at 12k what were the tread measurements at front and rear?

I haven't done an exact measurement, but the inside is wearing a bit faster than the outside tread (observing at 50k miles). I don't recall any uneven wearing at 12k or 24k.

Here is a picture of my front left tire:

 

[SSedan]

I think road surfaces vary a lot and that plays a bigger part than is discussed.

 

[mobilesuit818]

I haven't done an exact measurement, but the inside is wearing a bit faster than the outside tread (observing at 50k miles). I don't recall any uneven wearing at 12k or 24k.

Here is a picture of my front left tire:

View attachment 518485

Bad alignment is what it looks like, more specifically the Toe setting. Should get that checked

 

[Hkbruin]

I think road surfaces vary a lot and that plays a bigger part than is discussed.

Very true! The roads and freeways I take are on the better side of the spectrum.

 

[Hkbruin]

Bad alignment is what it looks like, more specifically the Toe setting. Should get that checked

Yes definitely, I feel like the steering wheel has to be turned slightly to the left, I mean just a hair, to keep center.

 

[Occhis]

I’d get the alignment after the new tires.

 

[XLR82XS]

I’d get the alignment after the new tires.

Absolutely.

 

[MasterC17]

The Hankook's are a summer tire, so you would be sacrificing both efficiency and tread life in exchange for more grip/sharper handling and shorter braking distance, though based on your description that doesn't really suite your driving style.

Out of curiosity, if you managed to get pretty impressive tread life out of the Continental's why would you change to something else that may not have as good tread life and will likely have worse efficiency?