[snakeim]

All,

I thought someone may find this useful. I have 275/40/20 with 315/35/20 on my X5 sdrive40e. I finally decided to replace my RFT Pirelli P0. My second setup tires were still the Pirellis since I am at 63K miles. I know a lot of people don't like the Pirellis but they lasted 30K miles for me and I could have had another 5K out of them. I was torn between the Contis and the Michelin Pilot Sport all season 4. I got the Contis as I have Continental on my Passat and they are great.. I am not sure about Contis on my X5. First, I don't find them quieter than the Pirellis. Not louder, but just about the same for not being RFT. Cornering is very comparable to the all summer Pirellis which is a good thing, considering these are listed as an "all season" ( first, I live in Southern California, but if I didn't, I would definitely have 2 sets of tires: winter/summer). As for braking power, just about the same. However, I have to mention that my vehicle moves forward visibly more when braking that with the Pirellis which isn't a good thing. That means more stress on the struts, bushings, control arms. It may be because the tires are softer than the Pirellis. At least that's what they say. When going over bumps, I am not noticing a visible improvement which isn't very good since I am comparing them with a used set of tires I just got off the car. I can't say great things about the road noise either; they aren't noisier than the Pirellis but not considerably quieter either. If anybody is looking for a replacement for the RFT tires, I would give Michelin a try. These Contis seem good but nothing "better" than the Pirellis. Sure, still need to test them in the snow/water so for that part, I have no feedback as of now. Maybe that's were they shine, but if you live in a mostly hot/dry area, you may want to look elsewhere.