After three years and 31,000 miles, my OEM 19” Continentals were worn down to 3/32nds and getting cupped. I was pretty satisfied with the performance of them over that time, other than the cupping issue that began about 5,000 miles ago. I’m not certain of the cause. I kept the pressure at 42PSI (factory spec) over that time, and there are no alignment issues with the car. I never bothered rotating them, since I figured with my car being RWD that the rear tires would be shot long before the fronts. In spite of my laziness, they all wore evenly with the exception of the cupping. One up them picked up a nail and developed a slow leak over the past few months. I was going to plug it, but I’ve seen that the foam on the inside of these tires doesn’t really make that possible. Liquid sealant apparently won’t work, either. Which is ironic considering Tesla is more than happy to sell you a sealant/compressor combo. I figured that this time around I’d skip the foam. My Nokian Hakkapellitta R3 winter tires don’t have it, and are surprisingly quiet considering that they’re winter tires and pretty heavily siped. I’ve been researching possible replacements since I first bought the car, half-expecting the OEM tires to only last 15-20,000 miles like some others had reported. I was pleasantly surprised they lasted as long as they did, so I consider it a win. I’m not particularly gentle on the car, but I don’t hoon it around like some amateur-hour Ken Block, either. I don’t put too much effort into driving efficiently unless it’s a longish road trip. My lifetime stats on the Contis worked out to 264 Wh/mi. I’m in the northeast, so that’s 95 degree summers and 15-20 degree winters at the extremes, with probably a 60/40 mix of in-town and 75mph highway driving.
My requirements for new tires were these:
1. No foam. I want to be able to plug and seal these if needed.
2. Be as quiet as possible without said foam.
3. Be as close to the efficiency/performance characteristics of the OEM Contis as possible.
4. Hopefully have better tread life and wear characteristics.
I had planned on trying one of the newer EV optimized tires from Goodyear or Hankook, but lack of availability either in the correct size or at all yet meant they they were not an option. I finally settled on Nokian’s ONE tire, apparently new for this year and specifically for the US market. Which means sidewalls reinforced with Aramid fibers since our moonscape, pothole-ridden roads are the enemy of all things round and rubber. They are also all-season, vital for our stupid weather here in the northeast. They are also supposed to be Low Rolling Resistance, which is good for the efficiency. They are supposed to last last 80,000 miles, but realistically I doubt they will. I was impressed as hell with their winter Hakkapellitta R3’s, not only for being absolute beasts in the snow, but for being surprisingly quiet and efficient as well. Putting on a set of their new all-seasons seemed like a decision that had already made itself to me. The results? After an initial 24 mile drive, again roughly 60/40 in-town/75mph highway driving in 80 degree temps with the A/C at 68, energy consumption was 233 Wh/mi. They are very quiet. The lack of foam means that what noise there is sounds more hollow than before, but it’s not distracting or annoying at all. Once I’m above 65mph whatever noise they make is mostly drowned out by wind noise, anyway. This is a 2019, so I don’t have double-paned glass or the less sloppy build quality of newer cars. They might actually ride slightly softer than the Contis, but that may be just the result of actually having some tread on them. They feel good, too. They’re as eager to change direction as the Contis were, and don’t feel squishy. I have to say that I’m very impressed so far. I’ll update this post again once I put some more miles on them.
My requirements for new tires were these:
1. No foam. I want to be able to plug and seal these if needed.
2. Be as quiet as possible without said foam.
3. Be as close to the efficiency/performance characteristics of the OEM Contis as possible.
4. Hopefully have better tread life and wear characteristics.
I had planned on trying one of the newer EV optimized tires from Goodyear or Hankook, but lack of availability either in the correct size or at all yet meant they they were not an option. I finally settled on Nokian’s ONE tire, apparently new for this year and specifically for the US market. Which means sidewalls reinforced with Aramid fibers since our moonscape, pothole-ridden roads are the enemy of all things round and rubber. They are also all-season, vital for our stupid weather here in the northeast. They are also supposed to be Low Rolling Resistance, which is good for the efficiency. They are supposed to last last 80,000 miles, but realistically I doubt they will. I was impressed as hell with their winter Hakkapellitta R3’s, not only for being absolute beasts in the snow, but for being surprisingly quiet and efficient as well. Putting on a set of their new all-seasons seemed like a decision that had already made itself to me. The results? After an initial 24 mile drive, again roughly 60/40 in-town/75mph highway driving in 80 degree temps with the A/C at 68, energy consumption was 233 Wh/mi. They are very quiet. The lack of foam means that what noise there is sounds more hollow than before, but it’s not distracting or annoying at all. Once I’m above 65mph whatever noise they make is mostly drowned out by wind noise, anyway. This is a 2019, so I don’t have double-paned glass or the less sloppy build quality of newer cars. They might actually ride slightly softer than the Contis, but that may be just the result of actually having some tread on them. They feel good, too. They’re as eager to change direction as the Contis were, and don’t feel squishy. I have to say that I’m very impressed so far. I’ll update this post again once I put some more miles on them.
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