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Continental WinterContact TS 860

Dry Grip 95%
Wet Grip 98%
Road Feedback 92%
Handling 92%
Wear 88%
Comfort 93%
Buy again 93%

The Continental WinterContact TS 860 is a Premium Touring Winter tyre designed to be fitted to Passenger Car

This tyre replaced the Continental WinterContact TS 850

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Tyre review data from 19 tyre reviews averaging 93% over 122,730 miles driven.

Reports

Latest Group Test Results

2018 51 Winter Tyre Shootout - 1st of 52 tyres

2018 AMS Winter Tyre Test - 1st of 11 tyres

  • Positive - Good on snow, outstanding in the wet, safe in the dry.
  • Negative - Slight understeer on snow.
  • Overall - Test winner.

7 of the best all season tyres for 2018 - 4th of 10 tyres

Size Fuel Wet Noise Weight
185/60 R14 82T   C B 71 6.95kgs
155/65 R14 75T   E B 71 5.58kgs
175/65 R14 82T   E B 71 6.31kgs
185/65 R14 86T   E B 71 7.87kgs
165/70 R14 81T   C B 71 6.44kgs
175/70 R14 84T   E B 71 6.98kgs
195/55 R15 85H   E B 72 7.35kgs
195/60 R15 88T   E B 72 7.71kgs
185/65 R15 88T   C B 71 7.55kgs
195/65 R15 91H   C B 72 8.08kgs
205/65 R15 94T   C B 72 9.60kgs
205/55 R16 91T   C B 72 8.28kgs
205/55 R16 94H XL   C B 72 8.17kgs
205/55 R16 91H   C B 72  
215/55 R16 93H   C B 72 9.43kgs
225/45 R17 91H   E B 72  
225/50 R17 98V XL   E B 72 10.36kgs

Questions and Answers for the Continental WinterContact TS 860

2016-10-30 - is this an RFT (Run Flat Tire) ?

There are currently no runflat sizes of the TS860, however there are 5 planned runflat sizes due for introduction in winter 2017.

2017-10-10 - How noisy are the tyres?

The Continental WinterContact TS 860 was recently tested by Auto Bild and found to have mid-pack noise characteristics, but still quieter than the summer tyre on test.

2018-09-15 - Hello, I have watched your videos regarding Winter tyres recommendation and also the latest one talking about All Season tyres. I own a Mercedes E 350 CDI fitting 245/45/17 in winter. I was looking forward to try the Conti TS860 or TS860S but they don’t make them on this size. My other alternatives are the Dunlop WinterSport 5 or the Goodyear Ultragrip Performance Gen 1. As I only use them from October to March, am I chosing a good tyre ? I wanted to try the Contis but they are not available. Where I live it rains a lot during the winter and we eventually have snow. Thanks in advance!

Both the Goodyear and Dunlop are good alternatives, as is new Michelin winter tyre. Expect a full winter tyre video in the near future!

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Size Price Range  
185/65 R15 £55.80 - £67.38 (15 Prices) Compare Prices >>
195/65 R15 £50.90 - £75.56 (23 Prices) Compare Prices >>
205/55 R16 £71.30 - £109.10 (37 Prices) Compare Prices >>
Available in 44 tyre sizes - View all.

Top Continental WinterContact TS 860 Review

Given 100% while driving a Audi A4 2.0 TDi 170 S Line (215/55 R16 H) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
went on this tire after Michelin PA3 and I was amazed at how this tire is better in all aspects then my previous Michelin PA3 tires!
190 - tyre reviewed on October 12, 2016   

Latest Continental WinterContact TS 860 Reviews

Have you driven on the Continental WinterContact TS 860 tyre?

Please help millions of other drivers make an informed tyre choice and pick the correct tyres for their car by submitting your review of the WinterContact TS 860.

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Given 86% while driving a Mercedes Benz C180 (205/55 R16 T) on a combination of roads for 2,000 average miles
Bought these tires last year as winter-tires and I now using them again for the winter.
Surprisingly good performance on dry roads even at temperature up to +20 C, very stable and good handling, comfortable and low noise-level.
The grip on dry roads in corners and turns are very good for a winter tire, not exactly as firm as a good summer tire but it is not at all far away.
Very good in wet and heavy rain, very safe in the wet regardless of temperature.
Regarding snow and ice conditions, my car is a 2013 Mercedes C class with a rear wheel drive, it is not a very good car for snowy and icy roads, I can only give my review based on this type of car, I have never driven with these tires on any other car.
The snow and ice performance on my car is most likely significantly reduced compared to basically any front-wheel drive car.
On this car the Continentals are, with reservation, acceptable on snow and ice conditions, but not more.
They are obviously much better than worthless summer-tires in the winter but it is obviously important to be aware of their limits.
On soft and relatively deep and dry snow , they are capable of climbing a 4 km long steep uphill curvy road without too much problems.
On wet and heavy snow and also in heavy slush these tires have huge problems on this car, on that same uphill road I have a very difficult time even to get halfway to my home and while my car gets to a complete standstill when my anti-spin effectively stops any spin, but also consequently any forward movement, my neighbors with their front-wheel drive cars in any shape and sizes are just sailing by me without any problems.
On pure icy roads it is better to leave the car in the garage, certainly if you are going up or downhill, basically no grip at all.
I must always be very careful in any corner and turns when there is snow and/or ice, the car slides very easily.
I can recommend these tires for winters with only occasional snow and ice conditions, but always be aware of their limits, and be aware of your cars limits.
For real lasting winter conditions I strongly recommend so-called "Nordic" winter tires if you can get them, they are usually far better for snow and ice although with reduced dry performance, maybe even reduced wet performance.
Continental, Goodyear, Pirelli, Nokian etc have "Nordic" winter-tires as options, much better for long lasting winters especially if your car, like mine, is not very suitable for winter conditions.
1 - tyre reviewed on November 24, 2018   
What's better in the snow, a 4x4 or winter tyres? Watch the video to find out!
Given 86% while driving a Renault Megane II Break 1.5dCI 105Hp (205/55 R16 V) on a combination of roads for 8,700 spirited miles
Been driving them for 2 winters for around 14000 km-8700 miles. Thread left is 5mm, so for another winter. Drive is great, when new there was a little wobble in corners, now there great,,, good on snow, especialy good on wet road. Will buy again even thou i think the wear is avarage.
12 - tyre reviewed on April 1, 2018   
Given 94% while driving a Mercedes Benz SLK 200 (205/55 R16) on mostly motorways for 3,900 spirited miles
Never had better winter tyre. Grip in wet, dry and snow is perfect. Wear is also good, after 6000km they have worn for 1-1,5mm. And they are quiet.
There are only two downsides. Sidewalls are pretty soft so car will loose a bit of steering response but not handling and because of thread design they pick up sand and stones so much that i have no color left on side skirts and rear bumper.
If roads in your country are sanded during winter you should consider buying mudflaps.
9 - tyre reviewed on March 24, 2018   
Audi (195/65 R15) on a combination of roads for 2,000 average miles
for my tyresize, 195/65r15, the prices of budget vs premium tyres didnt differ to much. A full set of these cost me about €200,- as opposed to something like €150,- for a B-brand tyre. Also, from seeing the test results, these just seemed like the best tyre money could buy at the time of purchasing.

Dry grip: When i went from a 225/40/r18 section UHP summer tyre to these winter tyres, I didnt expect much in terms of dry grip. However, scince those summertyres were the absolutely dreadfull Ovation VI-388's, the dry grip on these was about equal to the ovations, which was astonishing to me. I still can get wheelspin on agressive acceleration though, but this is only when i do an all out launch, and it is very minimal. For a winter tyre, the dry grip is amazing.

Wet grip: After breaking in the tyres, I decided to test the wet grip a bit. I made a few emergency stops to test the ABS interference, but there wasnt any. Considering i have 280mm (11") disks at the front on a 1100kg car, I was quite impressed with this. On hard acceleration however, the tyres do light up. This for me, drops the scrore to "only" an eight, but scince they are so safe during braking, i still find these tyres great in the rain.

Handling: Running about 2.3 bars of presure on the fronts, and 2.5 in the rears, these actually handle quite well. Ofcourse you cant expect a 15" wintertyre to handle like a low profile uhp summer tyre, but flex from the sidewalls is not bad and corneringgrip seems good. All in all, for a winter tyre, these are quite enjoyable to throw around.

Wear: I can't yet comment much on the wear, scince ive only done about 2000 miles on these. However, the small little groofs on the surface of the threadblocks is still mostly there, suggesting to me they have worn maybe about 0.3 to 0.5mm over 2000 miles. This would give them an expected lifespan of about 25.000 to 40.000 miles, which is inline with some test results. All in all, the wear seems quite good.

Comfort: This has been amazing for me. My car has been lowered by about 5cm which should result in a jarring harsh ride. However, these tyres absorb the bumps and behave great at motorway speeds, requiering little ajustments. Also, they are very quiet, being near to inaudible leaving only the wind noise to be heard. This has transformed my car from a bouncy hot hatch into a comfortable motorway mile muncher (considering its a A3 and 19 years old that is ofcourse)

All things considered, i'm amazed by these tyres, from the grip they offer in both wet and dry, to the handling, and most of all the comfort. Definite buy again for me!
7 - tyre reviewed on January 17, 2018   

See all 15 customer reviews of the Continental WinterContact TS 860 (newest first) >>