Birdman

I'm stuck between these two tires. The sizes I would get are 275/40/17 Front and 295/35/18 rear.

My car is an '01 Z06, with I/E bolt-ons. It's a DD that sees every type of weather common to the SE.

My concerns/priorities in order are:

1) Price
2) Dry Traction
3) Wet Traction
4) Treadwear
5) Comfort/Noise

I've read lots of good things about the Continentals. I've also read good things about the Vredesteins. The Continentals seems to have a better treadware rating, which is great. However, if the performance of the V's outweigh the treadware of the C's, then I'm all for the V's.

Thoughts?

wamara

My understanding regarding the standards behind tread wear ratings is that you can't really compare between manufacturers. For example, you can compare different models of Continental tires between each other, but a 200 tread wear Continental will not be the same as a 200 tread wear Vredestein.

Birdman

Ah, good point. I didn't realize that.

dbaker

I have Vreds on my 02Z. F:275/35/18 & R:295/30/19.

They are UTOG rated @ 280.

IMO,it's the best tire I've had for my DD.Great dry traction and really good in the wet.Most HP summer tires aren't that great in the rain.

That's just my opinion.

\db2
carolina

striper

I was deciding between the same two tires when I made my last purchase. My previous tires were Michelin PS2's, but the price to replace was a killer. Plus I wanted the new Pilot Super Sports but they don't come in the stock Z06 rear size. I found a reprint from a German magazine comparing eight performance tires, including PS2's, Contis and Vreds. The Vredesteins were rated #1 overall, with wet performance being outstanding. Though I don't usually drive my car on lousy weather days, I purposely took it out in the rain to try it out. The Vredesteins drive like wet roads are dry, they are exceptionally good in the wet. Plus they look cool and are reasonably quiet, too. You will be surprised how reasonable the prices are too.

Birdman

How did the Contis vs Vreds compare in the dry?

Birdman

I also noticed from that German article, that the Vreds did pretty poorly under braking in wet and dry conditions, as compared to other makes. I wonder if the wet handling/confidence domination outweighs the poor braking ratings..

skeet

I would not buy tires I could not pronouce.

But seriously I believe the rear Conti DW's are Y rated while the front is W rated. Y's out handle W's but I was wondering if the Vredestein's are Y or W .
I really would like to find the best value in ties that will not cost a fortune but still are a decent tire.
I did find the it appears that www.discountwheelwarehouse.com has the best prices on all tires with very reasonable shipping- in my case $67 for all 4 which is way less than tax here.

Birdman

The Vreds are Y rated.

Birdman

You can get a full set of Vreds for $880 plus $80 shipping.
I believe the Contis are around there as well..

Dave concrete

Those conti's I had on my Benz and though it was a good all around tire I was able to pull only 15k out of them.

C5Longhorn

Idon't think you can go wrong with either. Check the weight of both. That is a critetia you can use to evaluate as well.

Birdman

Awesome, any more comparisons or recommendations?

C5Longhorn

If you want to read reviews of the Conti DW's go to the Tire Rack. They have some good write ups and comparisons with Pilot Sport 2's and others.

I would also look at revs per mile and see which one matches the stock good years the closest. It's another minor criteria that can be used.

striper

I bought mine from Fairmount Tire in L.A. I paid $830 total including shipping from LA to NJ and I run 18" sizes front and rear. If you call ask for Brad and mention corvetteforum for the best discoiunt. I don't have the phone number handy, google search.

Birdman

By "mine" which tires did you mean?

TheoZ

Well .... based on your stated list of requirements you might want to consider the Conti DWS as well. I have about 3000 miles on mine now and they are great DD tires. Not much snow here - and probably less down there in Columbia - but it does happen. And if it does I want to be able to get home from work! Plus the tread on the DWS is pretty cool looking.

Having said that, however, if I didn't care about cold weather performance I would go for the Vreds.

95wht6spd

I have the V's on my C4 18" and they are the best tire I have had on the car

SJSZ06

I had the V's on my '02 Z06.
Once on a fairly new asphalt road when the temp was 52 and it was raining, I hit full throttle in 1st expecting them to break loose... they didn't...

Birdman

Just ordered a full set of V's... I'm excited.