I took an injury to one of the tyres, and the specialist (a bunch of people I respect) replaced the ONE tyre for me under warranty. Identical Continental ProContact that comes with the car from factory.
That's great, but it's also not "great". This new tyre is mounted on the front of my RWD XE. The other three tyres already have 20K miles wear on them. I don't need a measuring tool---you can actually feel with your finger how superbly deep the tread is on the new Conti ProC compared with any of the remaining three Conti ProC's.
I'm used to the XE feel and ride by now, and I can tell the car just isn't quite… something. In a simple street corner turn, instead of holding super flat in spooky break-no-sweat way the XE responds, my car now lists a bit in a corner turn, in the more normal way any typical car from Fords to Hyundais would. And on a simple straight cruise, the ride feels VERY SLIGHTLY… granular, like travelling over a very fine peat stone roadway.
NOT my imagination, because I've tried it under several different driving conditions over two weeks, and the difference is still detectable.
NOT anything that interferes with control or handling at the steering wheel… so I'm not worried about safety.
But those of you with XE's and other performance cars in the past: Is this slight 20K treadwear imbalance on the steering-tyres putting a challenge on my car's electronic control, wheel monitoring, suspension accuracy, or the like? Am I LIKELY giving the car's electronic stability control a headache that over time could become a permanent downgrade in the car's butter-smooth handling?
(If yes, I will replace the tyres in the next month, instead of the next year as planned).
That's great, but it's also not "great". This new tyre is mounted on the front of my RWD XE. The other three tyres already have 20K miles wear on them. I don't need a measuring tool---you can actually feel with your finger how superbly deep the tread is on the new Conti ProC compared with any of the remaining three Conti ProC's.
I'm used to the XE feel and ride by now, and I can tell the car just isn't quite… something. In a simple street corner turn, instead of holding super flat in spooky break-no-sweat way the XE responds, my car now lists a bit in a corner turn, in the more normal way any typical car from Fords to Hyundais would. And on a simple straight cruise, the ride feels VERY SLIGHTLY… granular, like travelling over a very fine peat stone roadway.
NOT my imagination, because I've tried it under several different driving conditions over two weeks, and the difference is still detectable.
NOT anything that interferes with control or handling at the steering wheel… so I'm not worried about safety.
But those of you with XE's and other performance cars in the past: Is this slight 20K treadwear imbalance on the steering-tyres putting a challenge on my car's electronic control, wheel monitoring, suspension accuracy, or the like? Am I LIKELY giving the car's electronic stability control a headache that over time could become a permanent downgrade in the car's butter-smooth handling?
(If yes, I will replace the tyres in the next month, instead of the next year as planned).