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Conti ECS Only Gave Me 13k Miles

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
I’m not really sure what Continental is thinking giving these tires a treadwear warranty 30,000 miles. I barely got 13,500 out of the set I put on in September 2018. Alignment is fine and they wore evenly according to America's Tire and my eye.

I have been on two or three 1-2 hour long mountain drives since then, pushing it very hard, but otherwise the car does not get tracked or autoX but is my daily driver commuter with my three-year-old in tow so I’m not even hooning around town. I’ve only even had a JB4 on it for a couple of months. Damage was already done.

Conti’s warranty reads that you to take them to a retailer for warranty administration, so I went to America’s Tire (I purchased from discount tire online though they do not operate in my state). They gave me 400something off a new set of tires based on the 13,500 I put on them and that they could see I had been coming in every 4000 miles for rotations.

I surely didn’t expect to be purchasing a new set of tires after 16 months and I can’t really understand why continental touts these as having a 30,000 mile warranty if it’s not going to last anywhere close to that under some fairly tame usage.
 
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aaronc7

Autocross Champion
Location
USA
Car(s)
17 S3
Either way that's pretty sweet getting a big discount on next set. No sign of alignment issues such as toe out if spec I take it?
 

aaronc7

Autocross Champion
Location
USA
Car(s)
17 S3
I ran those on my ST, maybe 10k miles and they were wearing well. Pretty surprising.
 

Crild

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Florida
I'm not sure what you're smoking but these tires last freaking forever and are cheap af. I have 8k or so street miles + 10-12 track days on them and they still got meat left for at least 2 more days maybe 4.
 

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
I'm not sure what you're smoking but these tires last freaking forever and are cheap af. I have 8k or so street miles + 10-12 track days on them and they still got meat left for at least 2 more days maybe 4.
I’m not smoking anything bad, I’ll say that.
But in all seriousness I don’t know why they wore so poorly.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
I’m not smoking anything bad, I’ll say that.
But in all seriousness I don’t know why they wore so poorly.

I believe you. I have 73,000 miles and I'm on my 4th set of tires. Currently have Michelin PS3+ and at my first rotation at 6000 miles the fronts were down to 5/32 already. I don't track it but I do drive hard.
 

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
I believe you. I have 73,000 miles and I'm on my 4th set of tires. Currently have Michelin PS3+ and at my first rotation at 6000 miles the fronts were down to 5/32 already. I don't track it but I do drive hard.

Yeah this will be my 3rd set of tires. I had a set of Conti DW before this that went ~19,500. Then these ECSs that went ~13,500.

I went DWS06 in the hopes of getting some longer life out of them. I didn’t want to spend the extra $150+ for the AS3+ because the DWS06 already chapped my ass enough. I’m sure I’ll miss the grip but I’m not trying to throw money at tires every 13k miles. I stretched those Conti DW tires to 19,500, too.
 

DallasDub94

Go Kart Newbie
Location
DFW
Car(s)
18 GTI S
I smoked a set, well the front tires of my Contis ECS in similar mileage on my stage 2 Mk6. Probably could have rotated a bit sooner... But still didn't explain the extreme wear rate. Worn down completely even.

I mean they were gone lol. For the first 5k they are excellent, but once they start wearing I noticed the level of grip nosedives.... Go from hooking in 2nd, sometimes 1st to burning through 1st-3rd.

Going ps4s next time.
 
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CDM MK7

Ready to race!
Location
Canada
I have a sneaking suspicion that VW shipped a bunch of GTI's with completely out of spec front alignment. I burned through a set of front Cont ECS in a similar time frame, and then burned through a set of Blizzak WS80 (to the wear bars) in a single winter season, while the rears (in both cases) showed somewhat normal/expected wear rates. Both sets of fronts wore evenly, but at about triple the expected rate based on usage.

However, when I installed my suspension and brand new FK510's at the beginning of summer 2019, I had my car in for a 4-wheel alignment to OEM specifications - the accelerated wear rates completely stopped.

Just hearsay, but that's what happened.
 

Crild

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Florida
I have a sneaking suspicion that VW shipped a bunch of GTI's with completely out of spec front alignment. I burned through a set of front Cont ECS in a similar time frame, and then burned through a set of Blizzak WS80 (to the wear bars) in a single winter season, while the rears (in both cases) showed somewhat normal/expected wear rates. Both sets of fronts wore evenly, but at about triple the expected rate based on usage.

However, when I installed my suspension and brand new FK510's at the beginning of summer 2019, I had my car in for a 4-wheel alignment to OEM specifications - the accelerated wear rates completely stopped.

Just hearsay, but that's what happened.

That makes it sound like you don't get an alignment when you get new tires so that's clearly your problem.
 

Crild

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Florida
Yeah this will be my 3rd set of tires. I had a set of Conti DW before this that went ~19,500. Then these ECSs that went ~13,500.

I went DWS06 in the hopes of getting some longer life out of them. I didn’t want to spend the extra $150+ for the AS3+ because the DWS06 already chapped my ass enough. I’m sure I’ll miss the grip but I’m not trying to throw money at tires every 13k miles. I stretched those Conti DW tires to 19,500, too.
The stock Conti 19's lasted me probably 12k miles and 6 track days?

35k miles and I'm about done with my 2nd set of tires so let's say 20k or so miles + 16 track days between my 2 sets?
 

CDM MK7

Ready to race!
Location
Canada
That makes it sound like you don't get an alignment when you get new tires so that's clearly your problem.

Care to explain exactly why you would change alignment settings due to switching out tires of the exact same size / overall diameter on the same rim, on the same (brand new) car? Not to mention after my alignment, both summer AND winter tires stopped wearing at accelerated rates ...
 
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