Original Continental tires are finally done!

[ToolGuy]

Last night one finally faced its demise, a puncture in the side wall. My wife was not driving and it was a slow leak at work. At any rate I got 40,000 miles out of the original tires! Seems to me to be a rarity on the site too! I was going to replace all after winter but last night sealed the deal and I will get new tires in the next few days. I was wondering how many people got an alignment with their new tire purchase and what brand did you get?I usually do not, no need to but with the Vibe and the GM TSB 1740464 on the Conti tires for cupping issues, noise and replacement I heard along the way the rear end is not aligned properly form the factory. Thus why the rear tires cupped. My dealer would not replace mine, I tried. My Conti tires cupped very minimally but made LOTS of noise, thus the side walls were shot. Here is a pic of the fallen tire last night. You can see a piece of rusty metal maybe a nail in the tread but there is a puncture that leaks in the sidewall right above the nail. The metal is in the center of the tire/pic, outer side of the tire.

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[zionzr2]

If i'm gonna spend $400-$500+ on a set of new tires, then Yes I probably make sure the wheels were all aligned properly.

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »If i'm gonna spend $400-$500+ on a set of new tires, then Yes I probably make sure the wheels were all aligned properly.And how does one "make sure the wheels were all aligned properly"? I swear mine is worse after the dealer alignment. Don't notice unless you are above 80 mph which I very rarely am.

[Mavrik]

new tires and alignment should go hand in hand with balancing the new tires on the rims instead of just putting them on the car.Most tire places though sell the services seporate.

[zionzr2]

Goodyear told me they do a check of the alignment when they put on new tires. I'm sure they will then charge you extra to put it back within spec.

[ToolGuy]

I usually do not ever get alignments unless the car does not drive straight and the tire wear pattern is not even. When I do not get an alignment, the new set of tires lasts 50-55,000 so I assume the alignment was still good to get that kind of mileage out of the new tires. However in this case the Belle Tire that is going to do the work will check it for free before hand. I am getting Goodyear Eagle LS's, $90 a piece.

[JohnC]

Definatly got an allignment, the tire dealer saw my Contis and insisted on it, if I was to have any type of warranty on my new Perelli P3000s. The allignment must have worked because I have over 55K on the Perellis and still alot of tread left. The Contis were gone at 13k miles.The dealer checked the allignment at 4k when I first noticed the accelerated wear and said it was fine, the tire dealer said my camber was way off and had to get parts (shims i think) to fix it.

[djb383]

For $48 more the Goodyear ComforTred did much better in the surveys than the Eagle LS. Just a thought. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...=trueh ... s/...=true

[new05vibeowner]

Since I had (for a very short time) ComforTreds on my '05, all I can say is DON'T DO IT! I absolutely hated the way they made the car wander and feel like I was going to roll over on the sidewalls when cornering. Put TripleTreds on it; best tire I have ever owned! The Tire Rack has them at $110 ea. vs the Eagle LS at $88 ea. And with the TripleTreds, the tread warranty is 80K vs zero tread warranty on the LSs. The Eagles have a $20 rebate on a set of 4; the TripleTreds have a $40 rebate on a set of 4.Trust me, you will not go wrong with the TripleTreds. I have 26K on mine already!

[keithvibe]

Can't say how they would be on a Vibe. But, I purchaced a set of BFGoodridge traction TA tires for my wife's cavalier and MAN are they fantastic. The handle great. The ori. tires that came with the cavlier made the anti-lock breaks kick in WAAAAy too soon for my taste. Since the TA's have been on the car the anti-lock breaks have not kicked in once. They are fanstic in under 3inches of snow and fantastic in the wet as well. But you made up your mind already

[tots]

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »Last night one finally faced its demise, a puncture in the side wall. My wife was not driving and it was a slow leak at work. At any rate I got 40,000 miles out of the original tires! Seems to me to be a rarity on the site too! I was going to replace all after winter but last night sealed the deal and I will get new tires in the next few days. I was wondering how many people got an alignment with their new tire purchase and what brand did you get?I usually do not, no need to but with the Vibe and the GM TSB 1740464 on the Conti tires for cupping issues, noise and replacement I heard along the way the rear end is not aligned properly form the factory. Thus why the rear tires cupped. My dealer would not replace mine, I tried. My Conti tires cupped very minimally but made LOTS of noise, thus the side walls were shot. Here is a pic of the fallen tire last night. You can see a piece of rusty metal maybe a nail in the tread but there is a puncture that leaks in the sidewall right above the nail. The metal is in the center of the tire/pic, outer side of the tire. I just got rid of My Contis too - also very nosiy and just lousy traction. I put 4 new Michelin Harmonys on - so much quieter, smoother ride. I did have it aligned since it is a new set of tires, altough it was only out of spec on the front right.

[michaelgt]

This may be too late, but I have almost 70k miles on my Kelly Navigator Golds from Belle Tire. They were much better then the Conti's.

[ToolGuy]

Quote, originally posted by michaelgt »This may be too late, but I have almost 70k miles on my Kelly Navigator Golds from Belle Tire. They were much better then the Conti's.Actually that is what I went with in the end! Plus a $60 4 wheel alignment... Good to know! I have heard of Kelly but never had them before.

[lexicon]

MichaelWere those tires on a Vibe?

[azsapphire87]

Sorry to hear that. At least you got 40k out of them though, I only had 15k on mine when i lost the rear driver wheel to a blown sidewall (unknown cause). I decided it was best to replace all 4 instead of just swapping the front to the back and replacing the fronts. After all, I didn't want this happening again, right?Ended up going with BFGoodrich Touring T/A's. Excellent tires, A Temperature AA Traction. Handles very well on all kinds of road surfaces and conditions at all speeds (i've taken them up to 117... very smooth and quiet - a rare combo). I haven't lost traction yet. I fill 'em with nitrogen... free N2 inflation for the life of the tires where I got mine.I'm calling the dealer this afternoon to find out what kind of alignment to get on the Vibe so I can get it done this weekend. No problems yet, I just want to make sure they're sitting right so I don't experience the same problem as the Continentals.

[ToolGuy]

I have had BFG's before on my first car a 1987 Cavalier RS and really liked them! No issues with them too! Free Nitro for life! That is great, have not heard of that around here yet.