Continental Terraincontact H/T is a robust tire that is designed for highway usage. This all-season tire can be used on pickup trucks, SUVs, and Jeeps. Even though it’s not an all-terrain tire, due to its durability, it can also perform off the road. Let’s dig into it and see its application range!
At a Glance
| Continental TerrainContact H/T | |
|---|---|
| Best for | Squishy regions, mild winter, responsiveness, towing and hauling |
| Test Report | vs Firestone Destination LE3 & Geolander HT G06 (June 1, 2020) |
| Category | Highway All-Season |
| Vehicle | Light Truck, SUV |
| Available Sizes (Rim) | 16”, 17”, 18”, 19”, 20”, 22” (Ensure these tires fit your vehicle) |
| Weight | 28 – 58 lbs |
| Made In | USA |
| Labels | M+S |
| Warranty (P-metric) | 70,000 Miles |
| Warranty (LT Sizes) | 60,000 Miles |
| Prices | DiscountTire: Check Price TireRack: Check Price Amazon: Check Price SimpleTire: Check Price |
As a former Bridgestone engineer, from my standpoint, Continental TerrainContact H/T has unique dry and wet ground performance. Furthermore, it can handle light snow and icy surfaces with ease. It’s a perfect pick for daily driving. Continental TerrainContact H/T offers a deaf and smooth ride. Moreover, its rubber lasts longer than most of the tires on the market. However, its off-road capability is limited to mild conditions.
I highly recommend checking the below pages out before making any purchase:
- DiscountTire Deals:
https://www.discounttire.com/promotions - TireRack Deals:
https://www.tirerack.com/specialoffers - SimpleTire Deals:
https://simpletire.com/tire-deals
Table of Contents
Dry Performance
Dry performance can be evaluated under three different dimensions; dry traction, steering response, and cornering stability. Tires that are capable of off/on-road driving generally handle dry ground with ease. In that case, I should separate all-terrain tires. Due to their lug-type pattern, sometimes, they have an issue with a steering response. Luckily, Continental TerrainContact H/T has a rib-type pattern that increases its steering response. Let’s evaluate our dimensions one by one.
Dry Traction
Even though Terraincontact H/T is a highway all-season tire, it’s built to perform on and off the road. Due to its well-siped and hybrid(rib/lug) type pattern, it has massive traction capability. Therefore, dry traction isn’t an issue for it.
Continental TerrainContact H/T has a reliable dry traction.
Steering Response
Symmetrical pattern and solid center rib get into the game for this section. While symmetrical patterns optimize its contact patch, the solid center rib acts as a mast and decreases its response time for each way.
TerrainContact H/T is an solid pick regarding steering response.
Cornering Stability
If you ever used an all-terrain tire, you might familiar with the floating feeling while cornering. All-terrain tires generally have flexible sidewalls due to increasing their air-down driving capability. Thus, floating feeling is expected.
Due to its tough sidewalls and dual spirally wound cap plies, TerrainContact H/T can stay stable while cornering at high speeds. I strongly recommend it if you’re high-velocity lover.
Wet Performance
Wet performance shows an alternation for high and low speed. While starting and acceleration are mainly related to tires’ wet grip ability, hydroplaning resistance is what is vital for high-speed performance. Though, I will evaluate those section under the two different dimensions. Wet grip and hydroplaning resistance.
Wet Grip
Wet grip isn’t an issue for all-season tires. Squishy day performance is their main quest. Though, manufacturers use a couple of tricks to improve its wet grip.
In that case, sipes and compound selection are crucial. Regarding compound, Continental TerrainContact H/T has a +Silane compound which is silicone with a hydrogen atom. Think about regular silicone that we use at home. It’s flexible and durable, right? That flexibility is the same thing with a soft compound(remember winter tires, they all have soft rubber). On the other hand, you can clearly see the full-depth sipes on the center section and shoulder. These sipes increase the tires’ contact patch and gripping area. Well, the wet grip is increasing as it’s expected.
TerrainContact H/T has a massive wet grip.
Hydroplaning Resistance
Hydroplaning resistance is directly related to water evacuation capability. Therefore, Continental prefers to use rib type pattern for this tire.
Due to its 4 circumferential grooves and lateral full-depth shoulder notches, it can evacuate the water with ease. So, its hydroplaning resistance is unique.
Note: Hydroplaning is vital for a safe ride under the pouring rain. However, it might occur even with the best tire. Maybe you can’t prevent it but if you know what it is and how to deal with it, you can easily stay on the safe side.
Here is an extremely efficient guide about ‘How to Deal with Hydroplaning?‘ –> https://www.discounttire.com/learn/hydroplaning
Comfort and Road Noise
Comfort and road noise reduction is where this tire shines. Well, these alpha-plus performances are mostly caused by its rib-type center section.
When you look closely, you can clearly see that these ribs consist of small lugs. In that case, these lugs must hit the ground in order. Otherwise, road noise is inevitable. Due to its optimized contact patch and perfect design, this tire is deaf. I strongly recommend it if the quiet ride is your priority.
Comfort is a bit more complicated than road noise. In that case, flexible compounds and internal structures are crucial. Two-ply polyester casing and +Silane(Silicone with Hydrogen) step ahead and enhance its comfort dramatically.
Continental TerrainContact H/T offers a quiet and smooth ride. I strongly recommend it for daily driving.
A side note here: Even though some tires tend to make noise because of their tread patterns, it’s still possible to keep your tire noise down.
I’m leaving a perfect explanation below from DiscountTire for those who need it;
How to Keep Tire Noise Down? –>
https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-noise
Winter Performance
All-season tires aren’t built for severe winter conditions. Below 7 Celcius (at or below 40º F) degrees aren’t recommended to use for all-season tires. Yet, manufacturers put a huge effort and try to enable at least mild winter usage.
Due to its sticky compound and gripping teeth(inside the grooves), Continental ContactTerrain H/T can handle light snow with ease. Yet, this tire doesn’t have 3PMSF and shoulder biters. As a result, its loose ground performance is limited.
Note: Continental TerrainContact H/T can handle icy grounds almost 10% better than its competitors. Yet, if you face ice so often I recommend you to go with winter or all-weather tires(the best ones).
Tread Life
Even wearing and compound selection are vital for long-lasting tires. In that case, Continental Terrain Contact H/T’s symmetrical pattern and unique rubber are huge game-changers. Continental uses robust shoulder rubber and relatively fluffy center section rubber for this tire. Hence, its even wearing ability is reliable. Furthermore, its +Silane compound is sticky and solid at the same time. For this reason, it’s wearing slower than most of the tires on the market.
Continental TerrainContact H/T has a long-lasting tire. I recommend it for mild applications.
Note: If you’re going to use this tire above 3/4 ton pickups, tread life might decrease.
Getting maximum wear life from a tire is related to you as well as your tire,
If you’d like to learn how to get maximum tread life:
Off-Road Performance
Off-road performance can be evaluated under two different dimensions. Mild and severe. Severe off-road consists of rock climbing and mud. On the other hand, dirt and gravel are the members of mild off-road. Sand… Sand is another topic.
I don’t recommend using these tires on mud and rock climbing. This tire has limited air-down performance and it’s not the priority of Continental for this time. So, I will evaluate only dirt and gravel performance for this time.
Dirt
Regarding dirt, it’s similar to light snow performance. Tires’ self-cleaning and grip ability are crucial in that case.
Due to its well-siped rubber and gripping teeth, Continental TerrainContact H/T has decent dirt performance. Yet, if you need massive dirt traction, you might wanna check this article out.
Gravel
Gravel is the other mild-off road that you can face from time to time in city driving. Therefore, it’s part of my examination.
In that case, its wide horizontal grooves have a huge impact. These grooves can grip the little stones and provide decent traction. Worth reminding, if the gravels are too small, your tire might hold some stones. If you don’t clean them up, your traction will decrease.
Warranty
Continental offers 70,000 miles tread life warranty for Euro-metric sizes and 60,000 miles for LT metric sizes.
Note: I recommend you to check Continental’s warranty document for what it covers.
Sizes
Most tire sizes begin with modifier letters(P, LT, etc.) that identify the type of vehicle or type of service for which they were designed. Here is a perfect guide for reading tire size –> https://tireterrain.com/how-to-read-tire-size/
| 16” | 17” | 18” | 19” | 20” | 22” |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 245/75R16 111T SL OWL | 225/60R17 99H SL BSW | 245/60R18 105T SL BSW | 245/55R19 103T SL BSW | 255/50R20 109H XL BSW | 285/45R22 114H XL BSW |
| 265/70R16 112T SL OWL | LT 235/80R17 120/117R E BSW | 255/70R18 113T SL BSW | 255/55R20 107H SL BSW | ||
| 245/65R17 107T SL BSW | 265/60R18 110T SL BSW | LT 265/60R20 121/118R E OWL | |||
| 245/70R17 110T SL OWL | 265/65R18 114T SL BSW | 275/55R20 117H XL BSW | |||
| LT 245/70R17 119/116S E BSW | 265/70R18 116T SL OWL | 275/55R20 113T SL BSW | |||
| LT 245/75R17 121/118S E BSW | LT 265/70R18 124/121S E OWL | 275/60R20 115T SL BSW | |||
| 255/65R17 110T SL OWL | 275/65R18 116T SL BSW | 275/60R20 115H SL BSW | |||
| 255/70R17 112T SL OWL | LT 275/65R18 123/120S E OWL | LT 275/65R20 126/123S E BSW | |||
| 265/65R17 112T SL OWL | LT 275/70R18 125/122S E BSW | LT 285/60R20 125/122S E BSW | |||
| 265/70R17 115T SL OWL | |||||
| 265/70R17 115T SL BSW | |||||
| LT 265/70R17 121/118S E OWL |
For Better Understanding: 215/55R17 94V SL BWL
215: Tire Width
55: Aspect Ratio
R: Radial
17: Rim Size
94: Load Index
V: Speed Index
SL: Load Range(can be XL also)
OWL: Outlined White Letters
BWL: Black Sidewall
Price
The tire market has a dynamic price policy. Hence, in my point of view, sharing tire price is pointless.
Though, I’ve analyzed the top 10 brands of most popular tire brands.
Here are the dealers with a reasonable price range,
DiscountTire
- Biggest dealer in the US. Founded in 1960
- 1000 stores in 35 states. You most probably find one on your parallel street
- Free rotation and balancing
- 5% off for DiscountTire cardholders on online purchase
- Highest rated online tire dealer in Consumer Affairs
- Almost all brands are available
- Delivery takes 2-4 days (30% shorter average waiting time when you book online)
- Frequent discounts and promotions
Continental TerrainContact H/T: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/continental-terrain-contact-h-t
TireRack
- Fast and Free shipping
- Usually delivered in 1 day
- Joint venture with DiscountTire(their installers and dealers are on your service)
- Tons of installer options, they also help you to choose the best one
- Mobile installers in many areas, your tires will be replaced while you’re working in the office
- Tire test results and comparisons can be found on the most product page
- 4.6/5 points on Google rate
Continental TerrainContact H/T: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/continental-terraincontact-h-t
SimpleTire
- Free shipping
- Delivered in 2 days
- Verified shops near you(for mount and balance)
- Mobile installation option
- 7 million customers since 2021
- 4.7/5 points on Google rate
- Top-notch customer service, you may even request a price match
Continental TerrainContact H/T: https://simpletire.com/brands/continental-tires/terraincontact-h-t
While choosing dealers, I especially pay attention to reliability. All of the dealers on this list have 15-20 years of experience in the online tire business. Therefore, I can guarantee a smooth and fast tire buying process.
Conclusion
Continental TerrainContact H/T is a trustworthy tire if you’re using it on the right application. The below table will help you to define its application range.
| Take It | Leave It |
|---|---|
| If you need solid dry and wet ground performance | If you’re livin in a severe winter conditions |
| If you’ve face only light snow in winter conditions | Severe off-road riding is your thing |
| Mild off-road(gravel,dirt) enough for you | |
| The long-lasting tread is your priority |
Take-Home Points,
- LT sizes have stronger sidewalls. That feature makes them more durable. Yet, these tires offer a rougher ride. (LT vs P-Metric tires)
- XL sizes tend to carry more load and offer better handling. Hence, if you’ll go with p-metric sizes, they might be a better pick for hauling and towing( XL vs SL tires)
- Please pay attention to the load range and speed index. These metrics are essential if you expect decent tread life
- There isn’t a bad tire in the market right now, you should just know what to expect from tires
A side note here: If you’d like to get local advice and find the best fit for your driving habits, location, and road conditions DiscountTire – Treadwell Tire Guide can give you masterpiece recommendations.
I recommend you check TireRack’S test report before deciding. This report includes Firestone Destination LE3, Kumho Crugen HT51, and Yokohoma Geolander H/T G056.
I hope this article was helpful. If you have any further questions, please leave them in the below section. Have a safe ride folks!
Hey Emre – greatly appreciate your tire knowledge, been reading your articles to help determine my next tires. I have a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz limited AWD. I just installed a 1.5″ lift/leveling kit and am looking to add a more aggressive & size-up tire to my ride. I use on mostly dry road/highway, but also do some camping & mountain biking so occasional dirt/gravel roads. We also have snow here in Prescott, AZ, mostly mild snow, but also like to head up to the mountains for some snowboarding. Have been looking at these Continental Terrain Contact H/Ts, and also the Falken Wildpeak AT, BFG Trail Terrains, and Toyo Open Country At3s. What would you recommendation for the best option, and best value? Thanks!
Hello Jeff,
Sorry for the late reply.
It depends on what you expect. Conti and Toyo are my favorites among these.
If on-road manners are more essential for you, you can go with Continental TerrainContact. However, it’s a bit behind the competition regarding winter performance.
From my point of view, Toyo AT3 is the best option for you.
Sorry for the late reply again. Let me know if you need any further support. You can also reach me via Instagram if you’re in a hurry.
I have a 2022 Honda Ridgeline with stock 2456018 H Rated Tires
Is it an issue to go down to a T rated tire such as the Continental HT, wondering why the AT has a H Rating ?
Hello Stuart,
We generally do not recommend go down on Speed ratings because it’s the maximum speed limit that tire still can provide secure driving to you. However, in my point of view, it isn’t that important if you don’t push the limits of your vehicle.
I mean probably you never reach that maximum speed but H rated tires probably you gonna experience a bit increase on MPG. Is it secure? Unless, you don’t go over 118 mph.
Besides that, for this tire, you have exact match of load index which is way much important
In short, feel free to buy it.