The Continentals are Junk: Gotta Go. 3 flats 3,000 miles

[Larrythelunatic]

This flat sucks. And I mean flat #2 in 3,000 miles. First one was ~500 miles first thing in the morning with the wife calling me at 0600, I changed it and I looked at the hole in it. Looked like a 1/4" piece of pipe went in and out of it. It was fixed at my dealership at no charge. I came home after changing the flat and found a piece of bent .22LR brass on my concrete garage aloha.

That is weird and I kinda thought that could have happened but I've never had that happen and I've had .22 brass in the driveway for 23 years. Move on--freak occurrence but I have never punctured a tire with a piece of brass. Strange.

OK. This morning wife calls me. I have a flat, at the gym, L front. I set up to change it and go take a look, pump it up with my Ryobi inflator and find the hole. Looks like an in/out from a nail but no nail present. Right in the tread blocks so thick rubber, right?

I decide to plug it and put the rasp in the hole--it's like a lawnmower tire--no resistance at all. If you've ever plugged a tire you know they are tough as heck, especially right in the thickest part of the tread. This one had nothing. I put a plug in it and I am prepping for the usual resistance and ram it all the way into the tire flush with the tread.

Well...I didn't like the thought of all the plug swinging around in the tire--especially with no resistance and possibly pulling itself out so I got another plug and pushed the first one into the tire with the install tool. I have some really thick truck plugs. Put rubber cement on it and gently push it in. This tire must be made of toilet paper it goes in so easy.

Get it finished and it holds air. Wife is upset because of 2 flats in 3,000 miles. I was a mechanic for 20 years, we have lived 1.5 miles down a dirt road for 23 years so I have had my battles with tires. I have had 1 set of tires that were this soft and I cut one thru the tread the first week I had them and got rid of them.

My road is in the best shape it has ever been out here--county put down SB2 in all the rough spots so rock cut tires have reduced to nil lately. I just can't see me dealing with the Contis if they are this soft. Sorry for the long rant--I'm just frustrated right now at the thought of replacing all the tires with this few miles on them.

So don’t replace them……….yet.
If they are that soft, they won’t last that much longer, anyway.
So use them up!
At least until the snow flies.

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[JP4AZ]

Get Michelin Defender tires! I have had great luck with the older LTX M/S. if you can find them. No experience with the new Defender 2. I put over 100K miles on the LTX M/S on an older ranger 4x4. They did awesome off roading, smooth ride, unbelievable tread wear. The best tire ever! in my opinion.

 

[A.Bursell]

Get Michelin Defender tires! I have had great luck with the older LTX M/S. if you can find them. No experience with the new Defender 2. I put over 100K miles on the LTX M/S on an older ranger 4x4. They did awesome off roading, smooth ride, unbelievable tread wear. The best tire ever! in my opinion.

These are the exact tires I had that pretty sure are rated a 70k mile tire but I had 80k miles when I got rid of the truck and they were still good. I would absolutely buy them again.

 

[Decayed]

I have had good experiences with conti's bought from a tire store though I will say some of them have been flat prone. But they have had very good traction especially in wet weather and they are lighter so you get better mileage. Everything is a trade off I guess.

There are so many stories about OEM tires being junk and it's hard to fathom why a company would trash their reputation making shitty OEM tires for a car manufacturer but maybe the orders are too big to ignore.

My mav has pirellies and they are better than I thought they would be to the point where they are in the running for when they need replacing. 10k miles in and they are still good to go.

I don't need a hard core all terrain tire but it would be nice to have a beefier tread to avoid the nail punctures. Apparently the local contractors like to spread nails on the road like caltrops.

 

[Steve Urquell]

My sympathy ran out when I re-read your post. So you leave your brass lying all over the garage, and then get upset because it picked up the brass and it acted like the hole-punch tool that you should fully expect? I doubt that the choice of Contis had anything to do with your poor control of your brass. What kind of tire can survive a hole-punch tool?

No, I police my brass but this may have been an errant piece that I missed. Nice approach to another Maverick fan though.

If you noticed I also posted about how ridiculously soft the carcass was when I plugged it which was what this post was about.

 

[Steve Urquell]

So don’t replace them……….yet.
If they are that soft, they won’t last that much longer, anyway.
So use them up!
At least until the snow flies.

It's the wife's car. If it was mine I'd take another chance but I believe these are going to give us fits on my rock road.

I feel like any rock is gonna started breaking these down so I'm surprised they dont already have knots on them.

 

[Steve Urquell]

Get Michelin Defender tires! I have had great luck with the older LTX M/S. if you can find them. No experience with the new Defender 2. I put over 100K miles on the LTX M/S on an older ranger 4x4. They did awesome off roading, smooth ride, unbelievable tread wear. The best tire ever! in my opinion.

I love Defenders but our flint road wears them out in 20,000 miles so they are not a good value per mile per dollar for us. I have had them prorated but still end up spending a lot to have them replaced.

 

[JP4AZ]

I love Defenders but our flint road wears them out in 20,000 miles so they are not a good value per mile per dollar for us. I have had them prorated but still end up spending a lot to have them replaced.

I understand! If the roads eat your tires, I would suggest getting a LT (lite truck) tire with much more tread on them. They are going to weigh a lot more than AS tires but they will withstand your harsh road surfaces! Best of luck.

 

[JP4AZ]

No, I police my brass but this may have been an errant piece that I missed. Nice approach to another Maverick fan though.

If you noticed I also posted about how ridiculously soft the carcass was when I plugged it which was what this post was about.

It's very true that the stock Conti tires are very thin (in order to save weight). Continental tires are normally very good tires. The stock Conti that come on the Maverick are the low end of their line up (like when you buy a new printer and it comes with a cheap "Starter" toner cartridge, only does about 100-200 pages). Get the premium tires and you will be much happier/satisfied.

 

[Maui]

I hate to speak without all of my facts in place (lie) but I purchased a Good Sam wheel and tire plan. They had a sale for $299. for 5 year coverage. They won't come out on the road and change it for you, but pay $30. toward a tire repair. They will replace a tire or wheel if not repairable (not cosmetic only damage).

https://tireandwheel.goodsam.com/

Look at the brochure too, or call them. Coverage is good for all your vehicles.

You have roadside assistance on your new Ford already.

 

[Maui]

When I was selling tires, I would offer the customer the opportunity to physically lift the tire off of the floor. The Michelin ia a good bit heavier, as there is more to it.

Just to be an ass I suggested they lick them too, but only let a couple of real grinders go through with it.

 

[Steve Urquell]

When I was selling tires, I would offer the customer the opportunity to physically lift the tire off of the floor. The Michelin ia a good bit heavier, as there is more to it.

Just to be an ass I suggested they lick them too, but only let a couple of real grinders go through with it.

I lived in Houston in the 80s and was a gearhead. My buddies and I would go to Supershops which was a speed shop. They had all the tires on the floor in stacks and you could fondle them. It gave you a good idea about what the tread was like, compound softness etc. If I licked one I wouldn't talk about it. Not that I did...err...hmmm...

Fast fwd to 2007 or so when we didn't have a discount tire here in AR and I ordered a set of Yoko Geolanders from them online. When I was rolling them off the UPS truck I noticed how squishy they were. That followed thru to them riding really soft. That followed thru to one of them ending up with a gash all the way across the tread down thru the carcass the first week we had them on my wife's 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe.
Discount tire was great when I called them saying this was not going to work and sent me a set of Michelins for just a little more $$. Great tires and they never did get cut. It made me realize just how good Michelins were. I hate paying for them though.

These Contis remind me of those Geolanders I sent back and I bet they would feel just like them if you rolled them across the floor unmounted.

 

[OleFordGuy]

Ive always been a Michelin guy 100%. But the way your describing your roads, dang you may be better off with like an off road LT tire.

 

[Steve Urquell]

Ive always been a Michelin guy 100%. But the way your describing your roads, dang you may be better off with like an off road LT tire.

The closest thing in the size 225/65-17 is the 107 load range BFG TA KO2 at near $300/tire. Imma try the 106H XL Nittos and will update. The Contis are 102 load range BTW.

 

[Montana]

No, I police my brass but this may have been an errant piece that I missed. Nice approach to another Maverick fan though.

If you noticed I also posted about how ridiculously soft the carcass was when I plugged it which was what this post was about.

Brass is SUPER soft too. You'd have to hit it just right and the chances of that happening to pierce even a 4ply tire are VERY slim. Most steel belts in tires would stop it from a major puncture. But, I've seen crazier things.

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