Leeeetssss RUMBLE!
Written: Oct 08 '00 (Updated Oct 09 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Priced inexpensively
Cons: Vibes, not round, premature aging
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| twoturn's Full Review: Continental Touring CH95 Passenger/Performance Tir... |
Can you say "Recall Scare". It is at a time such as this that those who know from experience should speak the truth.
All the marketing and branding can't hide poor quality. Continental was a tire brand that I always considered a leader in the industry. What is up in Deutsche land?
Lets go back a few years to 1997, when I took delivery of my 98 Audi A4, which came equipped with these tires. I felt confident that this was going to be a good tire for an all season use and long wear. Tread wear is rated at 360, but after 5000 miles it was evident that these tires would not be good for long term use. I had to re balance them every 5000 miles due to their design. They wore evenly but after 18,000 miles there were dry cracks in all four tires and at highway speeds they created a drone in the car that was very annoying. I sold the car with 22,000 miles on it and although there was enough tread left on these tires the noise and constant re balancing was not indicative of a good touring tire.
Again in late 1997 Volvo introduced the V70 AWD XC and the Continental was the original equipment tire for this car. As I work for a Volvo dealer in a service capacity I have had extensive contact with this tire. What is most noticeable is that this tire is difficult to keep balanced and contributes, to this day, to a high frequency of vibration, pulling, noise, and premature wear complaints.
Of particular note, Continental makes a tire that is virtually the same tire with the difference being that one CH95 is made in USA, while the twin is made in Germany. If you install these tires as a replacement you need to make sure that all four are of German manufacture, To the average consumer or parts guy they look identical but with a little scrutiny you will find that the "made in the USA" is molded into one and "made in Germany" molded into the other. There is a sidewall marking of 92H on the USA model and a 94H on the German model. The center grooves on the German tire are narrower and the spaces between the tread lugs are tighter. If you mount these tires with half USA and half German you will notice a greater tendency for uneven wear and within 5,000 miles give or take you will start experiencing a pull almost like you had a bent tie rod or control arm.
As I have mentioned before about re balancing, a good tire is unlikely to require much more than 30 grams (1 ounce)per tire and it is not uncommon to use more than 70 grams (2 1/4 ounces) to balance even a new CH95.
As an alternative for the CH95 I would recommend the Michelin XGT H4 which should prove to be a smoother and longer lasting tire. Always remember when replacing tires on AWD vehicles to replace all 4 at the same time and use the same tire.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
twoturn
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Member: Gene
Location: Cowhamsha
Reviews written: 54
Trusted by: 10 members
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