What i Like;
- Looks
- Much increased Off Road capabilities
- No compromise on highway mannerisms
- Increased Aquaplaning resistance
What i Don't;
- The tread width seems less than OE (Open shoulder design to blame IMO)
- Deep tread design attracts small stones getting stuck on them
Just love the side wall ridges, does give it so much more
rugged look
Looks/Aesthetics;
Transformation can be best phrased as:
The day the Fortuner became a TRUCK
This is where the Contis score very well over stock Dunlops & i believe this is the most aggressive tire you can buy in the market today if you are looking for an upgrade for the Fortuner.
The Cross Contacts posses an
"Open Shoulder" design (like seen in truck tires).
This design primarily helps in tricky Off road conditions & soft and slippery surfaces.
Also the side wall ridges make the tire look very tough.
A closer look at the
tread pattern;
A closer look at the
footprint the Fortuner now leaves;
Some
WIP pics;
^ I bought these tires for
Rs 12,000/Tire from Super Tires (Mulund)
Also traded in my old Punto rims & Tires (Lensos + Yoko es100's );
^ I got Rs 6000/- for the set & hence the final amount was Rs 42,000/-
Conti v/s OE Dunlops;
^ Yes the Cross contacts are
taller, in fact i remember at our last OTR expedition BHPian
Ahmed measuring them as about an 1" difference.
Shall report on the same very shortly
Myth about Stock OE Dunlops;
Toyota provides Dunlop Grandtrek AT20 as stock fitment on the Fortuners in India & majority in foreign nations too.
The myth / confusing part is the AT20 bit, where people misinterpreted these Dunlops as All Terrain tires, but these are
ALL SEASON type, heres are the links for reference;
1)
Dunlop Website
2)
TireRack Website Ride Quality;
The ride quality i had been expecting to be going a bit rigid, & yes it did.
Initially after running in a couple of 100 kms i did feel the ride quality magically improving and in the meanwhile the marked improvement was noticed past 500 odd kms of running in where i felt the low speed ride quality was if not better but equally acceptable as the OE Dunlops.
But the
turning point was reducing the tire pressure by 1 psi & running 29 psi all round, this significantly turned tables and it surely is the sweet spot for now.
The high speed ride quality remains unchanged.
Also another point i'd like to mention here would be the bumpiness ride which was observed in the OE Dunlops over the bad/uneven patches of broken tarmac is better absorbed with the Contis & hence better performing than the OE's.
Also the noise levels are pretty much on the silent & acceptable side.
Highway Performance;
I have a frequent usage of 2 highways namely the Expressway & the NH8
For people who have used both will know the difference of the road texture as one being smooth tarmac & other being the long lasting concrete type so the vehicle road behavior will be different on these highways & hence here's a comparison of the two;
Mum-Pune Expressway;
^ On Mum-Pune Express way the car behaves predictably well and have not lost any sort of confidence in high speed runs.
High speed "planned" lane changes are a ease and havent tried anything " on the edge yet ".
To quantify speeds of say about 3-3.5k RPM in 5th gear can be handled easily with much confidence though these are AT Tires havent felt any much difference in high speed handling yet.
NH8;
^ The NH8 has always been more joy for me to drive on, than the Expressway specifically because of the smooth tarmac & now 6 lane roads.
Evidently the road grip here is much better because this being TAR road.
Also note this is monsoon time, will get a better judge of the same in pure dry conditions.
Braking;
Technically switching from All Season or Highway type to AT the braking will be going down a bit, but i haven't felt much of a difference yet also i quite frankly haven't tried something stupid yet in terms of testing the brakes for emergency stops, but in practical real world there isn't any noticeable difference.
Aquaplaning Resistance;
The central tread pattern exhibiting deep groves offer very quick water evacuation & the aquaplaning resistance is supreme.
Rough / Gravel Road behavior;
^ This reference image is more like lose gravel n small cement stones which are laid out before laying down fresh tarmac.
On travelling on road such the car has been performing a lot better and the grip offered is truly phenomenal.
Especially the aggressive tread pattern grips such trails very well & one can actually feel the small stones being thrown out through the treads & some violently hitting the wheel well.
Off Road / Trail driving;
This is where the tires stand out & really one major advantage over the OE Dunlops.
For reference i am showing one pic for reference from my recent OTR outing;
^ This was the same slushy patch where most of the Fortuners were stuck & even an Land Rover D4 had got stuck.
With these new tires i crossed this
slushy up-slope with ease. I remember i had started in HL mode & also stopped midway to engage LL (& that's the time i clicked this pic) , so after losing momentum also the car picked up without any drama & cleared the patch very smoothly.
^ Also note the
tread design is such that it is always pushing & channelizing the mud out & not letting it form a layer on the tire.
Rocky Terrain;
Haven't done much of rock crawling per say but terrain such as this can be such an ease to clear & is certainly confidence inspiring as the tires really feel tough.
^ Sometime you actually want to go over certain rocks just because
you can
Thanks for reading !