First day on Continental (ProContact with EcoPlus) tires

Hi all,

I just installed a pair of 196/60/15 Continental ProContact with EcoPlus (LRR) tires to the front. They replaced well-worn Falken Ziex ZE 912 of the same size. Falkens barely lasted 30 k miles, but I really liked the traction .

Continental website gives the weight of 18.1 pounds for these, which is pretty good. Falkens are listed at 20 pounds. I got Conties from tirerack at $82 each plus shipping. Falkens can be found at ~ $66 now, e.g. at vulcantire.com.
I have driven just one day on them, at 38 psi, and here is what i noticed:
- Conties are somewhat softer riding and quieter.
- the steering wheel turns much easier. This is hard to explain but this is what I feel, mostly at low speeds
- Gas mileage seem to be at least as good as before, but too early to tell.
- Dry traction is definitely not as good as Falkens. I tried emergency braking from ~ 40 mph on straight empty stretch of road and I easily locked them. Could this be because they are so new? Not broken in? Reviews are pretty good for dry traction.

So I have mixed impressions as of now. I expected better performance from these, partially as they are more expensive, partially because of favorable reviews .

I will update my impressions after riding them on Interstate.

Thanks,
- Alex

 

Update on Interstate driving:
Drove ~100 miles on highway. I did not notice any significant differences with previous tires. Maybe a tiny bit less directional stability, but in general these Conties are ok on highway for me.

Thanks,
- Alex