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Review on Continental ContiVikingContact 7 205/55 R16 94T winter by Jnis Gailis ᠌

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Beyond praise! The product definitely deserves your attention.

I skated for one season on goodrich g-force stud 185/65 R15 bush spikes, which I got as a gift. In terms of grip properties, they were satisfied, although they did not show super results, but this is understandable since there are spikes only on the sides. Once I almost flew sideways onto the track from the accelerating lane when leaving the gas station, relying on spikes. At the same time, the tires, although they were soft and comfortable at the joints, made a lot of noise (additional studding had already been done). And there was still a beating even after balancing. Often you have to drive 100+ km one way along the highway (half along the M7, and the second part is local). I wanted quiet and comfortable tires on asphalt. I doubted whether it was worth taking friction clutches for my climate (Volga region), in the end I took a chance and so far have not regretted it. Dimension 195/60 R15 on polo liftback. Minor shortcomings are compensated by careful driving, and taking into account the fact that in the city everyone is already "sick" at 30-40 km / h during a snowfall, there are no problems at all. The city (Hong Kong) is cleaned promptly, on the M7 highway a large stream also quickly spreads snow and clears asphalt. There are no problems with rebuilding and overtaking (with proper execution of maneuvers). Today, climbing out of the garage into a snowy hill, where ice was already visible under the snow, there were no problems, of course, I took the hill in a small way. Before that, repeatedly riding around the city after / during a snowfall, I was looking for ups / downs where problems could arise. The tire successfully overcame all obstacles, with the exception of cases when it tried to move off into a steep slope (but such places are easily taken on a course). Impressions are generally positive, there is no desire to return to the spikes. But it is worth remembering that miracles do not happen, so you need to be more attentive to the condition of the road, the choice of distance and speed limit

Pros
  • Very quiet tire, quite comfortable on the joints and bumps. Good braking properties on various surfaces, even on icy areas (arrivals and departures to yards, gas stations, etc.) behave with dignity. Acceleration and lateral grip are slightly worse, but also at a high level (for friction clutches). Very predictable behavior, front axle drift or rear axle skid occurs smoothly (if there are no aggravating factors), well controlled in and out of a skid (with timely and correct steering). Confidently holds the road at high speed, is not afraid of changing lanes through snow drifts or porridge even 10-15 cm high (of course, you need to work smoothly with the steering wheel and maintain traction when changing lanes and returning to the lane). Rides well in the snow. Balanced normally
Cons
  • Noticeable lateral drift in icy areas on rough roads or in a turn (appears at low speed). There is a little lack of directional stability (compared to summer tires), you have to taxi more on the track (but this is apparently a problem with all directional winter tires). There may be problems when starting off into a snowy or icy hill (it is better to take such a coaster). Compared to spikes, they are less informative when drifting / skidding (Spikes, even with a slight drift, begin to scratch on the asphalt, letting the driver understand the grip limit, while Velcro quietly and gently “float away” from the trajectory). The tire, like all Velcro, works well when it rolls on the surface. As soon as strong sliding begins (slip, blocking on braking or side drift), grip on icy surfaces noticeably deteriorates. Therefore, I consider the presence of ABS and ESP a necessary condition for the safe use of these tires (as well as all friction clutches)