Continental ContiProContact Tires SUCK!!

[PHML]

Anyone else got this problem...both front tires...18" on my AMG wheels....inner and outer tread bands are breaking off small pieces of rubber? Then middle of the tire tread is perfectly fine. I had a 4 wheel alignment done at my MB dealer in October. My PSI is at 30 front...and 35 rear....MB recommended psi. I travel on normal paved roads...to and from work....freeway as well. I personally have never seen anything like this before, regardless of the type of road conditions. I've run Goodyear, Firestone, Bridgestone, Michelins, Dunlops, Generals, Federals, Continentals...and again, never seen pieces of the tire breaking off. Anyone else having this issue with their 18" ContiProContacts?

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[BM2BZ]

wow, that's some nasty stuff ! have you talked to the dealer yet?

[hyperion667]

jeez man, that's terrible!! Maybe you got a bad batch, or it's the Hawaiian air!!
warranty? dealer?

Let us know how it works out cousin!

[ImInPA]

That looks like the type of damage that comes from underinflation heat build up. You can see from the photo that this did not occur all at once but over a period of time. You can see evidence of underinflation on the side of the tire. It is important to check your tires often and regularly. I would go to a Continental Tire dealer and get their take. They will likely assist you. There is something unique to your tires because I have owned cars with that tire and my only complaint with them was excessive noise as they wore down. It will be interesting to see what a tire dealer says. The damage done does not seem to be the tires fault but a maintenance issue.

[CEB]

it also looks like you have been rubbing somewhere and your alignment may be suspect. Is the car lowered?

This isn't a 'Continental' problem and you need to take close look at your other tires.

Take ImInPa's advice and seek out a tire dealer rather than the Mercedes dealer and please report back.

[bigigg]

Inner and outter part of the tire?.. underinflated.. 30 psi sounds low

[SKYKING44]

When I ordered my car, I requested Michelin tires. US ordered cars cannot spec the manufacturer of the tires. In ROW (rest of world) when ordering you can spec. the tires.
When my car arrived it had Continental Pro Contacts on it. I drove directly from the dealer to Direct Tire and had them put on Michelin Pilot All Season Plus tires. Came with 45,000 mile warranty, free balance, rotation.
I now have 21,000 miles on them and they are still fantastic.
I expect to get over 50,000 miles before i will need to replace them.
It is sad Mercedes puts such poor quality tires on such a great car.
Cheers

[CEB]

Originally Posted by SKYKING44

When I ordered my car, I requested Michelin tires. US ordered cars cannot spec the manufacturer of the tires. In ROW (rest of world) when ordering you can spec. the tires.
When my car arrived it had Continental Pro Contacts on it. I drove directly from the dealer to Direct Tire and had them put on Michelin Pilot All Season Plus tires. Came with 45,000 mile warranty, free balance, rotation.
I now have 21,000 miles on them and they are still fantastic.
I expect to get over 50,000 miles before i will need to replace them.
It is sad Mercedes puts such poor quality tires on such a great car.
Cheers

I've had ContiProContacts on several cars now (Audi/VW/BMW/Honda) and have really liked them.

Continental tires frequently get very high marks in tests like here and here.

[PHML]

Originally Posted by hyperion667

jeez man, that's terrible!! Maybe you got a bad batch, or it's the Hawaiian air!!
warranty? dealer?

Let us know how it works out cousin!

Hawaiian air? LOL..if that was the case, then the rears will do the same as well.

Originally Posted by ImInPA

That looks like the type of damage that comes from underinflation heat build up. You can see from the photo that this did not occur all at once but over a period of time. You can see evidence of underinflation on the side of the tire. It is important to check your tires often and regularly. I would go to a Continental Tire dealer and get their take. They will likely assist you. There is something unique to your tires because I have owned cars with that tire and my only complaint with them was excessive noise as they wore down. It will be interesting to see what a tire dealer says. The damage done does not seem to be the tires fault but a maintenance issue.

I would think that if it was underinflation, then the area of damage would be closer to the sidewalls.

Also, at least for my e350, the recommended psi under NORMAL is 30psi front...and 35psi rear. Its printed on the backside of the fuel lid. Maybe 30psi is too low for the front?

Thanks for the tip...I'll look into that.

Originally Posted by CEB

it also looks like you have been rubbing somewhere and your alignment may be suspect. Is the car lowered?

This isn't a 'Continental' problem and you need to take close look at your other tires.

Take ImInPa's advice and seek out a tire dealer rather than the Mercedes dealer and please report back.

Car is NOT lowered...stock suspension. My rears are fine...no issue.

Originally Posted by bigigg

Inner and outter part of the tire?.. underinflated.. 30 psi sounds low

Yes...but that is the recommended front psi under NORMAL conditions. What psi are your fronts?

Originally Posted by SKYKING44

When I ordered my car, I requested Michelin tires. US ordered cars cannot spec the manufacturer of the tires. In ROW (rest of world) when ordering you can spec. the tires.
When my car arrived it had Continental Pro Contacts on it. I drove directly from the dealer to Direct Tire and had them put on Michelin Pilot All Season Plus tires. Came with 45,000 mile warranty, free balance, rotation.
I now have 21,000 miles on them and they are still fantastic.
I expect to get over 50,000 miles before i will need to replace them.
It is sad Mercedes puts such poor quality tires on such a great car.
Cheers

I love Michelins as well...I had the Pilot Sports...great tires...they are beefy and grips well...tread life is unreal, but they are quite pricey too.

Originally Posted by CEB

I've had ContiProContacts on several cars now (Audi/VW/BMW/Honda) and have really liked them.

Continental tires frequently get very high marks in tests like here and here.

Seems odd...maybe I got a bad batch? I only got 11K on the odometer.

[CEB]

Originally Posted by PHML

Seems odd...maybe I got a bad batch? I only got 11K on the odometer.

Very odd. If it were a bad batch then you'd have issues with all 4 tires (I assume they all have the same build date)

This really looks like an underinflation/alignment issue that caused these issues. Just go to a tire dealer dealer and have them evaluate it.

[bigigg]

PHML.. Im pretty sure my recommended psi is 36 front and 38 rear

[PHML]

Originally Posted by CEB

Very odd. If it were a bad batch then you'd have issues with all 4 tires (I assume they all have the same build date)

This really looks like an underinflation/alignment issue that caused these issues. Just go to a tire dealer dealer and have them evaluate it.

Not the same tire sizes. Wheels and tires are staggered setup...rears are wider than the fronts....I forget what the sizes are as Im driving my Lexus today...but anyways, definitely different build dates.

Originally Posted by bigigg

PHML.. Im pretty sure my recommended psi is 36 front and 38 rear

Can you take a pic of backside your fuel lid and post it up? Thanks.

[Shifter]

Do you do a lot of parking lot type turning? I mean like not or barely moving but turning the wheel a lot?

[PHML]

Originally Posted by Iknownothing

Do you do a lot of parking lot type turning? I mean like not or barely moving but turning the wheel a lot?

No...but I do some small scale spirited driving at times...like taking a corner turn at 25 mph without braking or downshifting...lol.

Even so, why just the front tires are peeling rubber?

[GermanCars]

Front tires wear differently than rears, that's why tire rotations are recommended when possible. In this case it looks to me like excessive toe-in or really aggressive driving. Mercedes delivers C63's with so much rear toe-in that the rears are lucky to go 6K miles. I recommend that you have the alignment checked and documented with a printout. Compare it to the recommended spec's. with particular attention to toe-in. You may be able to dial back some toe without hurting straight line stability.

[amaycg]

Quick question: I have a 2011 E350 sport with 4,600 miles. Can the dealer even do a tire rotation since my wheels are staggered?

[CEB]

Originally Posted by amaycg

Quick question: I have a 2011 E350 sport with 4,600 miles. Can the dealer even do a tire rotation since my wheels are staggered?

No.

In theory the tires can be removed from the wheels and move them side to side but that makes little ecoomic sense.

[captj3]

Originally Posted by CEB

No.

In theory the tires can be removed from the wheels and move them side to side but that makes little ecoomic sense.

That depends on how bad the camber is on these cars. If the wear is heavy on the inside tread then it's worth the $100 bucks to rotate compared to the cost of replacing the tires IMO.

[CEB]

If they are asymetric tires then the inside will stay the inside. The other risk you run is damaging the wheel when removing/reinstalling the tire.

[acr2001]

ContiProContact tires are some of the worst you can possibly put on a car. There was a thread similar to this one on the C class forum where someone posted a link to reviews - many people have been injured in accidents thanks to these wonderful tires. They are known to bubble and blow out due to pot holes quite often. We had this happen to all 4 of them on our E. All 4. Never had a bubble on any tire on any other car where we live.

[hyperion667]

I really liked my cont's, they came on my 550 at delivery......wish I still had those things

[CEB]

Originally Posted by acr2001

ContiProContact tires are some of the worst you can possibly put on a car. There was a thread similar to this one on the C class forum where someone posted a link to reviews - many people have been injured in accidents thanks to these wonderful tires. They are known to bubble and blow out due to pot holes quite often. We had this happen to all 4 of them on our E. All 4. Never had a bubble on any tire on any other car where we live.

This is a typical kneejerk reaction based on not understanding how tires work.

The Ford explorer came predominantly with Firestone tires. Because most owners had Firestone tires, they were blamed even though subsequent tests showed that the tire brand was irrelevant.

The BMW 5 series with the sport package comes with Goodyear LS tires. Those owners will tell you that the Goodyears are the worst tires ever because they bubble.

The 2008 R32 was fitted primarily with Dunlop tires. Because of bubbling issues, those owners will tell you that Dunlop tires are the worst tires ever.

My 2003 Audi RS6 came with Michelin and Dunlop tires. Because they bubbled, those owners will tell you that Michelin and Dunlop tires are the worst ever.

In all these cases, the problem is the low profile tires and crappy roads in the US. Other tires will have the same problem but since one tire brand usually prevalent, that brand takes all the blame.

[captj3]

Originally Posted by CEB

If they are asymetric tires then the inside will stay the inside. The other risk you run is damaging the wheel when removing/reinstalling the tire.

They are not asymmetrical they are directional. Yes we know about possible rim damage. You sound like you have incompetent tire stores or dealers where you are. I have been rotating tires like this for years with no issues or damage to my rims.

[blackbullit]

Originally Posted by PHML

No...but I do some small scale spirited driving at times...like taking a corner turn at 25 mph without braking or downshifting...lol.

Even so, why just the front tires are peeling rubber?

Fronts for me always tend to wear more on the edges due to friction of turning the car.

I would increase pressure to 34 and see if this is resolved. I use 34 on my fronts and they wear well (30K miles on Goodyear F1 summer tires).

[CEB]

Originally Posted by captj3

They are not asymmetrical they are directional. Yes we know about possible rim damage. You sound like you have incompetent tire stores or dealers where you are. I have been rotating tires like this for years with no issues or damage to my rims.

I was speaking in generalities and not to any specific tire fitted to any particular car. It is obvious from these tire threads that many people don't understand tires and remember the old school "rotate them any old way" mantra of years gone by. Some here don't understand TPMS or how to properly check tire pressure.

None of these are critiques of the people asking the questions. None of us automatically know these things and it is the role of these forums to educate.

Rim damage is rampant in all areas of the country. Many stores still use older equipment designed for higher profile tires that have metal bits intended to touch the wheel when breaking the bead. Accordingly, one has to choose a tire shop wisely or risk wheel damage. In addition, the low profile tire itself can be damaged during the unmount/mount process. All things to consider when determining if you want to dismount a tire to rotate it. I wdon't think that the costs and risks outweigh the marginal advantage.

If I have uneven tire wear, I'd want to address it with an alignment rather than hiding the problem with a rotation.