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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Our 2021 FIAT Panda 4x4 cross, came shod with Continental ECO-Contact 6 tyres - a surprising factory fit for a car sold for dirt track use?
Before taking delivery, the forums I joined all said: first cost is “get some new rubber” suitable for dirt use.
Here in Portugal, the law is tough on any vehicle changes, so as the size is noted on your legal documents, 175 65 15’s is what it has, so that's what I need; unsurprisingly, very few options are available.
So narrowing the search to all seasons, with strengthened sidewall, the best (on paper) I could find were some (brand unknown to me) Semperit ALLSEASON-GRIP tyres.
As Nathan is Lisbon bound regularly, we decided to splash out on another set of wheels, so we can switch back to the Continental ECO-Contact 6’s for the motorway haul, as the paper stats show a significant noise reduction and fuel reduction having the Conti’s back on.
Desperate to test Pete Panda off road, the Continental ECO-Contact 6’s were off after only 500km and the noisy, bad handling fuel sapping Semperit ALLSEASON-GRIP’s were on.
So on and off both sets have been, just to see if we were imaging it? Pressures tested and checked - so what did we discover ?
Now some cut and paste tyre blurb ….
EcoContact 6
The next standard enhanced by German technology.
The new generation of Green Chili™ brings the newest and most advanced compounding technologies to the Eco tyre line:
Maximum fuel efficiency thanks to improved component geometry and efficient silica distribution.
The EcoContact™ 6 strikes an optimal balance between tyre size and component distribution. The high-tech compound provides robust connections between the silica and the rubber. This allows an optimal adaptation to varying road conditions, which ultimately improves the tyre’s rolling resistance and fuel consumption.
Enhanced mileage due to the new Green Chili™ 2.0 compound.
The advanced Green Chili™ 2.0 compound adapts to the road surface, which leads to a reduction in the rubber loss throughout its life cycle. As a result, mileage is increased.
Optimised grip and handling experience.
The EcoContact™ 6 offers a tailor-made pattern, resulting in the best compromise between dry and wet performance. It further increases the safety in handling situations such as lane changes. And due to its innovative asymmetric rib and sipe geometry, the tyre always keeps the contact with the road.
The new Semperit ALLSEASON-GRIP is a balanced tyre that provides reliability, all year long. Whether you may encounter dry, rainy, muddy or snowy roads - the versatile design of this tyre helps you manage all adverse driving conditions.
• Dry performance: Keep full control when cornering thanks to high stability and good handling on dry surfaces
• Snow performance: Experience reliable grip and stable handling during acceleration and braking on snowy roads
• Wet performance: Master rainy weather conditions with stable handling and short braking distances
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#ContinentalECOContact6
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It's worth remembering that due to the log scale, the sound doubles for every 3dB. So 2dB is a lot!
Ha ha - we are not that bright :)
hey Mark I think you meant 10 decibels. Every 10 decibels the volume doubles.
What I’d read about eco tyres is they’re thinner in tread depth than non-eco tyres and made from a harder compound rubber to increase longevity, therefore noisier.
Think you are spot on - on all accounts
One more factor that might come in play for some people is service life. Here in the north of Sweden we usually switch between winter and summer tires/wheels and people that drive very little in a year, like me, might consider the life span of the tires. I have often choosen to buy new tires, not because of wear, but because of age. In those cases a "cheap" faster wearing tire might be the smart choice since a highend tire will not wear out but will get too old and hard to feel safe. (this is especially true when it comes to winter tires). There are alot of things to think about when it comes to tires.
Our big difference was when Nath got an ML ( old one ) and it had some unpronounceable named tyres on it - we changed them to some BF Goodrich and the car was transformed, ride comfort and noise we so much better. The all seasons we have fitted to Pete Panda we really rate. they were a temporary fit waiting for the legalization of the Michelin Latitudes I have - but I am going to keep the Semperits on until I have worn them out, like you say, interested to see the life span.
It also depends on the vehicle itself, in my experience those eco contact ones are good for smaller lighter vehicles, road noise is also the same as many others
We thought they would be quieter & last longer - think I would go for grip over a tiny mpg increase myself :)
Sad to see even reputable company as Continental doesn't stick to promised specification. Not to bash Continental maybe these particular tires missed the quality assurance process. But still lots of brand-new car owners were not happy with these tires as auction portals are full of these.
We took them off Mum's Tcross as well, they are so eco focused, they miss the big point, safety in our opinion ( I want tyres to grip and stop the car as fast as possible)
Evening gent's. Nice bit of foliage.
How about a brake test to measure the different stopping distances? Or is that a bit too much car wow?
That's a very good point we missed, we shall do that, great idea - we have done (if I say so myself ☺ ) an auto braking test - Panda v Tcross into a blow up sex toy (shagged it first, just in case we killed it ) as the pedestrian. If Nath can drag himself off his girlfriend and edit it, we will get it up ....
@@DrivenMadShow Was the doll hosed down (or out, depending on the quality of said sex aid) before the brake test?
My last Panda (0,9 TA Trekking) came with a set of Continental Contri Cross Contact an they are fantastic. Now i have a new City Cross 4x4 that came also with Eco-Contact 6 witch are summer tyres. I can not understand Fiat's choice. Anyway, i'm searching for alternatives. Contri Cross Contact or Michelin Crossclimate seems perfect. Booth are all season with M+S certification.
We thought it was really odd that a 4x4 came with such economy minded tyres - not saying they are bad in any way, just not right for the Panda 4x4. We were worried switching to all seasons, here in Portugal as mainly very hot, but the they have proved to be no compromise at all. I have a set of Michelin latitude cross tyres, due to the laws here, you need the exact size on your documents (car came with 175's smallest latitudes are 185) - that's now sorted, but we are so happy with the Semperits I am going to wear them out first. One thing I have not done is weigh them, but the Michelin are vastly heavier and do look very sexy, I do like a tyre tread :) I would not recommend anything to anyone as cars and parts are quite personal - but I am sure on this occasion, you do not necessarily need to buy the most expensive to get decent quality - The semperits were lets say low cost to the Latitudes, but have a strengthened sidewall and I have done 600+ kms on sharp flint / gravel tracks, some at quite high speed as many are real roads here to get about (50/60 speed) and the tyres still look great.
I thought that all season tyres are made to work in colder conditions as well as warm. Do you need them in Portugal? Just put the winter tyres on our Cross, waiting for the snow here in France so we can have some fun.
The ones the Panda came with, I was told would last days on the dirt roads (the conti's) - due to the 175 width (needed to legalise 185 which I now have) I was limited in choice, but wanted a reinforced sidewall and deeper tread for off road use - so the Semporite were my best option ( I read this : All-season tyres offer decent handling in a variety of driving conditions throughout the year, but with some compromises in straddling both summer and winter capabilities).
None scientific, but the Semporite's were really good in our skid test and for sure to our ears were quieter.
Now I have punctured one - on the sidewall as it happens :) - so now just fitted Michelin Latitude Cross ( blurb ... Manufactured using Michelin's state-of-the-art technology and strict standards, the Michelin Latitude Cross is a cross between off-road and asphalt tyres) these are significantly chunkier, heavier and sexier (if that counts for anything😂) and significantly more expensive - so lets see how these fair !
Enjoy the snow !!
KR J.
Es genial,!!!!
Obrigado