Quite soon i'm going to need to replace the 2 front tyres, getting quite near the minimum tread allowance.

I've been having a look on National tyres and can see the Conti Sport Contact 5 tyres listed, I see these tyres being discussed on this forum quite regularly.

But what are the differences between Conti and Avon? They both have SAME fuel efficiency rating, and both have SAME wet-grip rating.

Discuss....

Reveiws

Conti:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Continental/Sport-Contact-5.htm

Avon

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Avon/ZZ5.htm

Apart from the price nothing much really. The only thing I will say from experience with conti's is that they wear out very fast even driving normally. Put your foot down a little and it's even quicker. 10-15k on a set of tyres isn't good that's a set a year for the average millage driver. On my last car I changed to Bridgestone potenza did 20k in it before getting my ST and still had 5mm left on the tread. I've never had Avon tyres so can't advise you there.

Conti's wear way to quick, have a look at some Yokohoma Parada Spec2's I had them on my ST, I got epic economy and the grip on them was immense even in the !Removed! rain

Just did a quick measure of the remaining tread on the current tyres (Bridgestone Potenza). Considering these have been on the car since new, and the car has only covered have only covered approx 9800k miles...

Front passenger: 2.9mm

Front driver: 3.4mm

Rear passenger: 5.8mm

Rear driver: 5.7mm

Haven't lasted very well have they? The front at least!!

This is the best resource for tyre reviews, very easy to compare options..

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/

My SportContact5 have done about 5.500 miles and have 5mm left both front and rear.

I'm pretty sure you can't get tyres with great grip that lasts long as well, since part of the great grip comes from the rubber being slightly softer, which in turn means it wears down faster.

I've ordered 2 x Avon ZZ5's, for fitting this Saturday. Used Tyre-shopper for the purchase, paid £133.18 (plus got 4% cashback) via this cash back scheme at my work. Every little helps© lol

Used to have Avon ZV5's on my old car, lasted 10k before i traded in, still had a healthy 3.5/4 ml on the tread..

Excellent in the wet, even when pushing the car it would never induce self soiling - can't say the same for my passengers!

Best of all, 65-70 a tyre, can't go wrong!

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I've just fitted contis to front of my ST after 14k on the bridgestones. Contis are quieter and give a smoother ride can't comment on grip yet as not been out on a spirited drive yet.

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Just don't get Pirelli P Zero's... my god the things are terrible. Can't wait for them to wear out.

Just don't get Pirelli P Zero's... my god the things are terrible. Can't wait for them to wear out.

What's up with them?

Well I did just over 20K on the Paradas and they still looked new tbh, good for at least 30k imo.

Also 5MM difference indicates a toe issue on passenger side, it's wearing way to quick on that side for a standard set up. I'd go for a free tracking check, anywhere that has a Hunter machine will do it for free.

He said its 0.5mm difference, that's probably due to roundabouts.

Front nearside wears quicker because the drive shaft is shorter on that side so more torque goes through that wheel.

Had the Avon's fitted yesterday, where it stayed dried most of the day. Today though... such a horrible day! Had to pop out to the market to get my stock of chicken Bre@st fillets ^_^ Anyway the roads are pretty moist, and my goodness these tyres ain't half good. I know the thread was low on the bridgestones, and suffered immense wheel spin if I was heavy on the accelerator. Anyway took a nice corner and the tyres gripped beautifully, even with a heavy foot on the straight - the tyres grip to the road like Velcro.

im in the same boat but got 2mm tread on my drivers side and 2.5mm on passenger side was looking at getting the michelin pilot sport 3's or the avon zz5's

Quick reviews:

thanks mate looks like the pilots are better but not by much and at least 20 quid more! you got a picture of the side walls of the avons?

Not to hand i'm afraid, have a gander on Google?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Avon+ZZ5&client=opera&hs=dEv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=HggYVYqdKquS7Ab1uYHYDg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1527&bih=855

thanks mate you really happy with the zz5's then

Yes mate, i'll be putting them on the back once the Bridgestones have worn down. Or may switch them to the back... with the current bridgestones on the front after approx. 4000 miles. We'll see what happens.

my bridgestones on the back only have 4mm left so not a option for me lol