LC200 new tires installed: 275/65/18 Continental Terrain Contact ATs (1 Viewer)

[thammer62]

Pulled off the Nexen Roadian HPs (285/60/18) that the previous owner put on. They were not my cup of tea (unnecessarily aggressive directional tread pattern yielded poor mileage & loud drone >20mph for a street tire, etc).

My needs aren’t extreme off-roading like most on here, but I feel my 95% road/5% light off-road usage (to get to camping, backpacking, skiing) is similar to a lot of folks out there. I tow a small utility trailer occasionally.

Plus, aesthetically I wanted something taller to fill the well more & rugged looking without going overboard.

Research led me to P load, “light” ATs (@Couvi). So I needed to go slightly less wide to get 65 ratio Ps. Enter Continental Terrain Contact ATs 275/65/18 116Ts.

Will update as we go, but immediately notice substantially reduced road noise - like practically none. Impressively quiet. Mileage on my usual loop was better by >1 mpg but time will tell. I really like the slightly taller & more aggressive look.

Before photos for reference. Woof. ha

 

[thammer62]

More

Below: Left is off rim/uninflated. Right is on rim and inflated FYI.

 

[thammer62]

On

 

[thammer62]

annnd more

 

[CJ3Flyer]

Those look great. Hope they work well for you. I am interested in knowing your impressions after a while, that’s exactly the type of tire that suits my needs. Keep us posted.

 

[JohnPW]

Thanks for your post, this is very helpful. Please update on how these tires handle and wear over time. My use is similar to yours, and I want something that fills the wells better without going to a heavy LT rated tire. Considering the Continental’s, Michelin Defenders, Michelin AT2 in either OEM 285/60/18 or in 275/65/18. Would you mind adding a straight side view for reference?

I’m also looking at the General Grabber APT IN 275/70/18...only tire that is P rated in an 18” wheel size bigger than 275/65/18. The General APT is supposedly similar to the TerrainContact (Continental owns General, similar tread) but not much info on the APT. The Continental’s get great reviews on-road.

Looking good, thanks for the post.

 

[gnob]

Nice. I refused to sell nexans. They are complete trash.
The Conti's otoh are nice tires

 

[thammer62]

Would you mind adding a straight side view for reference?

Still pretty tame, but at least she has some grippy high-tops on now vs those old cheap loafers.

 

[JohnPW]

They look good. Please keep us informed on how they ride as you get some miles on them.

 

[thammer62]

About 2k miles in and really liking them. They don’t skip a beat in torrential, ponding rain. Braking is great. Very quiet still. Not sure if the others were just that bad or these are that good - little of both probably. Very smooth ride.

Haven’t notice any handling or other issues related to being slightly more narrow. If anything it is helping gas mileage about 1mpg. Again, hard to say for sure that is width-reduction based or another variable at play. But it’s happening and with no on road penalty that I’ve found. Had 8 grown adults in comfortably coming back from the Stapleton concert the other night. Felt right at home loaded up.

Aesthetically I love the look. Just right for my needs. Several compliments already from a variety of patrons. Most all angles to me look balanced and proportional. The direct rear view you could argue they verge on looking narrow bc of the wide mudflap width. Very pleased overall though.

The 65s rub ever so slightly at full right lock when in reverse on the outer driver side tire. It touches the inner ?fender liner?- not certain what its called. No issue with mud flaps or the little tab up front. Nothing a quick heat gun can’t fix I’m sure. Don’t let the rare rub scare you. It is so slight it is a non issue essentially.

Haven’t towed anything yet or seen any off-road. TBD.

Love these 275/65/18s contis so far but still very early.

 

[thammer62]

Few k more mi and all is well. Tires still ride like new in all aspects. Did have a flat when I woke up the next morning after driving from Chs to Memphis. Just a pesky nail in the tread - plugged and back to normal. But the ride over 11 hours was so plush and smooth I felt like I could drive another 3 hours. No fatigue whatsoever - I was impressed with the truck and tires.

Question - I now tow a 21 ft CC boat once a week that loaded and gased up weighs around 3500 lbs.
I don’t tow it far - usually less than 10 miles to local landings but want to confidently drag it to Jocassee, Keowee, Norman, etc lakes that are hours away and S.C. roads are not the greatest in the union by far.

My instincts are telling me to get LTs, but with my 116 load rating on these like the stock ones are -maybe I am just overanalyzing.

Thoughts?

 

[JohnPW]

Few k more mi and all is well. Tires still ride like new in all aspects. Did have a flat when I woke up the next morning after driving from Chs to Memphis. Just a pesky nail in the tread - plugged and back to normal. But the ride over 11 hours was so plush and smooth I felt like I could drive another 3 hours. No fatigue whatsoever - I was impressed with the truck and tires.

Question - I now tow a 21 ft CC boat once a week that loaded and gased up weighs around 3500 lbs.
I don’t tow it far - usually less than 10 miles to local landings but want to confidently drag it to Jocassee, Keowee, Norman, etc lakes that are hours away and S.C. roads are not the greatest in the union by far.

My instincts are telling me to get LTs, but with my 116 load rating on these like the stock ones are -maybe I am just overanalyzing.

Thoughts?

You do not need LT rated tires at all. The stock P rated Dunlops are rated to handle the full 8300lb max towing capacity. I have towed for 30+ years on P-metric tires, with much heavier loads than yours. I currently tow a 3500lb, 21’ boat with my LC200 on P275/65r18 Michelin Defenders, rig tows great all over Florida up to 70mph. I usually increase PSI a few lbs to firm up the ride hen towing heavy.

 

[unclemat]

Nice. I refused to sell nokians. They are complete trash.
The Conti's otoh are nice tires

OP had Nexens, not Nokians. Nokian makes great tires.

 

[thammer62]

Wanted to give some props - just returned from the NC mtns for an extra long weekend. Stayed near the top of Sugar Mtn for four nights (5,000’). Got about 10” of snow over the course of the weekend - which made for some pretty solid south east skiing but also dicey driving. Rental House had a steep slope driveway like most houses there do along with the slick, steep & winding roads to and from the base.

I was apprehensive when I arrived as the driveway was snow-iced covered. This truck was a beast and never skipped a beat though. The tires, which I have read can be sub par in slick&snow, were flawless. Other cars and suvs in our group got stuck and then avoided most any driving after first snow including a 4runner. They had to park up on the flatter street. I creeped in and out of the snow and ice covered driveway regularly and became the only functional automobile.

Confidence-inspiring performance from this tire-truck combo this weekend. I was impressed. Even my wife was like, “Damn this car is awesome” pulling out of the questionable driveway for the last time after check out.

 

[thammer62]

25k mi update - everything remains exactly the same and great as it was when new. Silent, great in rain, tows the boat well/grippy on wet ramps, and smooth riding as it gets. Down to about 50% tread life now and loving the decision still. Fits my needs great. Taking her to black balsam knob area this weekend for some camping/backpacking if the thunderstorms hold off. I’ve been in lightning storms up there on the balds before and don’t want to recreate those moments. Ha

Edit: went close by instead - did beachside camping in the lowcountry.

 

[nautiquelover]

Glad the tires are working out well. They look really good so that helps. Do you think you'll go with them again when it comes time to getting another set of tires?

 

[thammer62]

No only bc I want to try others. These tires fit my needs to a T though. They were a good decision.

 

[sfo1]

What psi are you running in non-tow capacity? 33?