Life span for Continental ProContact Rx Tires

[Tony de Veyra]

I got my Model Y long range back in october '21 and it came with Continental ProContact Rx tires. When I got to 30k miles, one of my tires blew out (ran over a nail or something) and I got towed to a tesla service center where they told me that the rest of my tires were on pretty marginal tread (I think they were a little under 4/32) so I might as well replace the set. Which I did. They gave me a brand new set of Continental ProContact Rx tires. I just rolled with it, and figured that ~30k miles is the lifespan of a set of tires on a Model Y, because its a heavy vehicle.

Fast forward 18 months or so and I'm at 63k miles on the odometer, 33K miles driven on this second set and they're still in pretty good shape. I'm between 6/32 and 7/32 on all my tire depth gauge readings. If the tires were to continue to wear down at the same rate, and I were to roll with them until they got down to the legal limit of 2/32 and I don't suffer and catastrophic failures along the way, math says they should last 77k miles. Which seems pretty unbelievable.

When I look back on my first set of tires, I took them on a 4,000 mile winter road trip through the rockies, Idaho, portland. A bunch of snow and stuff and I think that ate up a lot of tread depth. I live in Southern California, so I have some fairly nice driving conditions year round and haven't driven this second set of tires through any winter weather, snow or salted roads. Seems like that would explain the difference I'm seeing in tire life.

Anyways, I'm curious what others have been experiencing with these ProContact Rx tires and their life expectancy.

 

[NeverGoingBack]

Got 48,000 miles out of my first set. Lots of highway driving in MS, AL, FL, TN, KY, and IL. 12,000 miles or so on my second set so far.

 

[Pianewman]

There are a few dozen thread about this, if you're willing to do an "advanced" search. You can read about lots of options prior to needing your next set of tires.

I'd say 30k is average for these Contis.

 

[Alonzo]

They gave me a brand new set of Continental ProContact Rx tires.

I'm not following something. Why did they give you new tires?

 

[Tony de Veyra]

I'm not following something. Why did they give you new tires?

You're right, that is confusing. It's more correct to say that they sold me a new set.

 

[Tony de Veyra]

There are a few dozen thread about this, if you're willing to do an "advanced" search. You can read about lots of options prior to needing your next set of tires.

I'd say 30k is average for these Contis.

Yeah I've been looking through a lot of threads about tires, but have primarily been focused on what to get for my next set of tires. I want tires that will serve well for very light off roading and for these winter adventures and that's why I've concluded that Falken wildpeak might be best. And based on the experience others have posted on the forum it seems that I could even go to a narrower Falken peak than the stock contis, which will keep me at the same range/efficiency, despite it being a deeper treaded tire.

I'm doing a Yellowstone road trip in Feb, so I gotta get those Falkens by then. What I'm trying to decide now is if I should also go down to 18" wheels and if the weight/range savings from that is worth the cost of a new set of rims

 

[MattM24]

Yeah I've been looking through a lot of threads about tires, but have primarily been focused on what to get for my next set of tires. I want tires that will serve well for very light off roading and for these winter adventures and that's why I've concluded that Falken wildpeak might be best. And based on the experience others have posted on the forum it seems that I could even go to a narrower Falken peak than the stock contis, which will keep me at the same range/efficiency, despite it being a deeper treaded tire.

I'm doing a Yellowstone road trip in Feb, so I gotta get those Falkens by then. What I'm trying to decide now is if I should also go down to 18" wheels and if the weight/range savings from that is worth the cost of a new set of rims

Not a bad idea to have a second set of wheels. 18” wheels give you an opportunity for a little more sidewall too.

 

[Tony de Veyra]

Not a bad idea to have a second set of wheels. 18” wheels give you an opportunity for a little more sidewall too.

any specific recommendations for 18" tire size? I know the Model Y's speedometer and mileage functions can be confused by using tires too thin or too tall, so I've been trying to find tires that would keep overall wheel size as close as possible, to reduce that distortion. Seems like 235/55/R18 are that--it would only make the rig about .15" taller than the MY on 19" wheels with the stock 255/45 contis.

 

[MattM24]

My winter tires are 235/55R18XL 104 on 18”x8.5” ET40 wheels. Size works well on my MYLR.

 

[kpanda17]

I got my Model Y long range back in october '21 and it came with Continental ProContact Rx tires. When I got to 30k miles, one of my tires blew out (ran over a nail or something) and I got towed to a tesla service center where they told me that the rest of my tires were on pretty marginal tread (I think they were a little under 4/32) so I might as well replace the set. Which I did. They gave me a brand new set of Continental ProContact Rx tires. I just rolled with it, and figured that ~30k miles is the lifespan of a set of tires on a Model Y, because its a heavy vehicle.

Fast forward 18 months or so and I'm at 63k miles on the odometer, 33K miles driven on this second set and they're still in pretty good shape. I'm between 6/32 and 7/32 on all my tire depth gauge readings. If the tires were to continue to wear down at the same rate, and I were to roll with them until they got down to the legal limit of 2/32 and I don't suffer and catastrophic failures along the way, math says they should last 77k miles. Which seems pretty unbelievable.

When I look back on my first set of tires, I took them on a 4,000 mile winter road trip through the rockies, Idaho, portland. A bunch of snow and stuff and I think that ate up a lot of tread depth. I live in Southern California, so I have some fairly nice driving conditions year round and haven't driven this second set of tires through any winter weather, snow or salted roads. Seems like that would explain the difference I'm seeing in tire life.

Anyways, I'm curious what others have been experiencing with these ProContact Rx tires and their life expectancy.

30K
A guess based on how they are doing on my M3
But if your a launcher much less

 

[Tony de Veyra]

My winter tires are 235/55R18XL 104 on 18”x8.5” ET40 wheels. Size works well on my MYLR.

awesome.

the reports I saw in this thread Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail 235/55r19 on Gemini wheels was that the falken wildpeaks were seeing the same range and power consumption that I see with my stock contis, even during summer, so I'm leaning towards making it my permanent, all-season tire.

btw, do you have a link to your wheels? still trying to explore all the options for 18" wheels. did they have an aero cover?

 

[OxBrew]

Our OEM Contis only made it about 12k miles. Blew out 2 sidewalls on rocks. After the second one, the other 3 were too low to mix with a new one, so we got some more durable tires. I forget which, Bridgestone 3 season tires of some flavor. We get about a 5% range hit with them, but the weekly trek down a rocky dirt road to a cabin all summer is too tough for street tires.

 

[kpanda17]

Our OEM Contis only made it about 12k miles. Blew out 2 sidewalls on rocks. After the second one, the other 3 were too low to mix with a new one, so we got some more durable tires. I forget which, Bridgestone 3 season tires of some flavor. We get about a 5% range hit with them, but the weekly trek down a rocky dirt road to a cabin all summer is too tough for street tires.

You’re def an outlier
My contis are doing good
9K miles and at 8/7 32nds

 

[MattM24]

awesome.

the reports I saw in this thread Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail 235/55r19 on Gemini wheels was that the falken wildpeaks were seeing the same range and power consumption that I see with my stock contis, even during summer, so I'm leaning towards making it my permanent, all-season tire.

btw, do you have a link to your wheels? still trying to explore all the options for 18" wheels. did they have an aero cover?

I have Replika R241 in space grey with the 64.1mm bore. No aero cover. I see basically the same efficiency numbers summer and winter. My winter tires are Nokian Hakka R3 SUV. Very good in winter. Very annoyingly loud.

 

[OxBrew]

You’re def an outlier
My contis are doing good
9K miles and at 8/7 32nds

No question, you are correct. I was down to 3 or 4/32 after (guessing) 12k? 15k? miles. We use winter tires all winter, so hard to know the actual miles (I could do the math, just have not) Maybe a bit more, but car was at about 27k miles total when we replaced them, and we run winter tires more months than summer.

 

[ChargePort]

Got 27K with my Continental ProContact Rx tires. Replaced with same.

 

[kpanda17]

Wow guys our contis won’t last long
Next M3 tires I’m either going with Mich pilot 4 AS or Hankook EVO ion AS
I know I should do AS on a car but in the northeast we do get snow

 

[DanielBlystone]

I bought my MYLR used with 40k miles on it. The original ProContact RXs were on it. The tread is down to 4/32. I am going to get the Michelin CrossClimate2s for the next set of tires. They seem to be highly recommended for the driving conditions we have here in South Texas.

 

[pepperoni]

I’m at 18K on my Contis with about 4/32 remaining, and not sure I want to go much past 20K. I’ll likely be shopping for new tires in the spring and looking for something with a little more life in them.

A few months back, I did see a post from someone on this forum state that the OEM tires installed by Tesla and the aftermarket version aren’t the same, and the OEM version is not as durable. Don’t know if there is any truth to that, so take with a heavy grain of salt. I’ll go back and see if I can find the post.

 

[pepperoni]

Be aware that the OEM Conti is not the same as the aftermarket Conti.
Although branded and named the same, the OEM tire is designed for a price point for Tesla and the aftermarket of the same name is better.
Softer riding, better sounding, and equivalent efficiency.

I had an opportunity to run an aftermarket set on my MYLR several weeks ago (wheels were in for powdercoat) and thought it had to be an upmarket tire.
Nope, same product label as the OEM.
Go Figure.

Here is the post I mentioned in my previous post, though I was wrong recalling that this post stated the OEM Contis were not as “durable.” I’m still curious if there is any confirmation that the aftermarket Contis are a better tire. I might be tempted to buy them again if I found out they were. Otherwise, nope.