As grand touring all-weather tires, both the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 and the Continental AllSeasonContact 2 offer a versatile blend of performance, comfort, and durability. But which tire is better for you? Well, you’re about to find out.
Table of Contents
Main Highlights
So overall, it all comes down to this.
The Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 excels in:
- Dry performance: Better braking and handling.
- Winter traction on ice.
- Noise reduction due to advanced design.
- Longer tread longevity with harder rubber compound.
Detailed Review of Goodyear’s Tire: https://tiredriver.com/goodyear-vector-4seasons-gen-3-review/
Whereas the AllSeasonContact 2 takes the upper hand, in terms of:
- Wet performance: Superior wet steering response and traction.
- Hydroplaning resistance: Thanks to its relatively more open tread design.
- Winter performance, particularly in terms of snow handling.
Detailed Review of Continental’s Tire: https://tiredriver.com/continental-allseasoncontact-2-review/
Info on Sizes
Continental AllSeasonContact 2 comes in 15 to 21 inches, with sizes having following specs.
- Speed ratings: T, H, V, W and Y.
- Load ratings: SL, and XL.
- Weight range: 20 to 45 lbs.
- Tread depth: 10/32″.
- All sizes have the 3pmsf and M+S ratings.
- Some sizes have ContiSeal technology, (ideal for electric vehicles).
The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 comes in 75 total sizes, in 14 to 20 inches, with following specs.
- Speed ratings: H, V, W and Y.
- Load ratings: SL and XL.
- Weight range: 16 to 26 lbs.
- Tread depth: 10/32″ on all.
- UTQG: 500 A A.
- Treadwear warranty: 5 year standard.
- All sizes have 3PMSF ratings.
Important to note: Don’t miss the expert advice and top tire choices on my main all-season tire page.
Dry Performance
On dry roads, a tire’s proficiency is predominantly dictated by its acceleration quality, braking power, cornering behavior, and steering sensitivity. Let’s look into these factors.
Directional Grip
Directional traction is significantly influenced by factors such as the rubber’s composition and surface area in contact with the road, the tire’s weight, and its rolling resistance.
And considering all these aspects, it makes sense why the Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 provides better results here.
Although both tires here feature aerodynamic, directional patterns and pretty adhering rubber compositions, the Goodyear still steals the show with its comparatively lighter weight and more biting tread design.
The reduced weight translates to lower momentum, enabling quicker and more effective braking. While with multiple angled-voids, acting as in-groove notches the tire not only provides superior directional grip, but a greater bite in almost all directions.
That’s why on my tests, the tire demonstrated its superiority by stopping over 5 feet shorter than the AllSeasonContact 2, when braking from 60 mph.
Dry Handling
Dry handling is the sum of a tire’s overall traction, (which combines directional and lateral grip), as well as its steering responsiveness.
Now, braking is a critical component of this, as tires with inadequate directional grip tend to decelerate more slowly and enter corners at reduced speeds during lap tests.
This slower entry speed not only impacts the overall lap time but also affects the handling characteristics.
Now of course, as already explained above, the AllSeasonContact 2 lacks here, and is also not able to provide you with as much lateral traction too (evident in lateral G-force tests).
In comparison, the Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 excels in all these areas. In fact, in my assessment, it ranks as the top overall tire in its category, showcasing fastest handling lap times.
That’s why I added this tire in my list of top grand touring tires, which can be viewed at https://tiredriver.com/best-grand-touring-all-season-tires/
The Goodyear’s standout performance is largely due to its quick steering feedback and more effective braking, facilitating faster corner entries.
The tire’s lighter weight and relatively stiffer rubber compound contribute to its lugs bending less and rebounding more swiftly from deformation.
This attribute is crucial because how fast the tire lugs revert to their original shape is directly linked to the delay in steering input and vehicle response.
Wet Performance
Essentially, a tire’s overall performance in wet conditions boils down to how efficiently it evacuates water (from its tread) while rolling. This ability is crucial for increasing resistance to hydroplaning and improving traction on slippery surfaces. Let’s take a closer look at both of these factors.
Resistance to Hydroplaning
The effectiveness of a tire in resisting hydroplaning largely depends on its ability to channel water away through its grooves.
So, if the grooves are compromised, a layer of water can develop between the tread and the road surface, causing tire to float. This phenomenon is known as hydroplaning.
Now here, both tires are doing pretty great, thanks to their V-shaped grooves, throwing water out from the middle towards shoulders.
However, with more extensive testing, the Continental tire still manages to edge out a bit more, showcasing faster float speeds comparatively.
And it makes sense because it’s design incorporates better inter-connectivity of grooves, thanks to its more open tread pattern.
Wet Grip
Now grooves are in charge of taking out a majority of water for sure. But there’s always some residual water left behind which poses the main risk of slippage, especially while cornering.
This is where sipes, small cuts in the tread, play a crucial role. They provide an escape route for trapped moisture, enhancing grip. And their flexibility is key to their effectiveness.
Now out of both tires here, the All Season Contact 2 comes out with better results, demonstrating superior wet braking and handling capabilities.
This superiority is attributed to:
- A higher density of sipes, which increases the tire’s ability to manage water.
- An optimized siping pattern featuring multi-directional structures. This design prevents the sipes from stiffening, unlike those in its competitor.
- Better groove structure: As already explained in the hydroplaning section above, the tire takes out more water through its grooves. And this means there’s less reliance on sipes to begin with.
In contrast, the Goodyear falls behind with its less effective sipe and groove structure. Simply put, its siping tends to reach out on flexibility limit sooner in comparison. So they aren’t able to suck up as much water particles as the Continental tire.
Winter Traction
For those in search of an exceptional all-season tire capable of adeptly managing winter conditions, both tires here emerge as leading choices in the grand touring segment.
Both of these boys represent a hybrid of summer and winter tire features, excelling in crucial winter aspects such as snow and ice braking, acceleration, and handling. They respond well to steering commands and offer impressive acceleration, a combination that has earned them both the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rating along with M+S (Mud and Snow) designations.
However, detailed testing reveals some distinctions between them ,where the Goodyear Vector demonstrates a slight edge on icy surfaces, while the All Season Contact 2 excels in handling powdery snow.
The Goodyear tire’s advantage on ice is attributed to its superior micro grip. This is because the tire offers sipes which work better in colder environments.
In contrast, the Continental ASC2 is particularly effective in light snow scenarios. Its design features more efficient lugs that effectively scoop and displace snow, resulting in enhanced forward momentum and acceleration.
Moreover, the multiple slanted voids in its swooping lugs provide the highly needed snow-to-snow contact (important because snow sticks better with itself, so the particles trapped in those in-groove notches bring out better friction with the snowy surface).
Ride Quality
Ride comfort is directly linked to how well a tire can absorb road irregularities and reduce noise. Let’s discuss these two factors.
Noise Reduction
Tire noise is generally proportional to the void-to-rubber ratio, which means a higher ratio typically means a noisier tire.
This noise is largely produced when air, entering through the shoulder voids, strikes against the tread walls.
Given this, it’s understandable why noise reduction is a weaker aspect for the AllSeasonContact 2. In testing, this tire registered an average noise level more than 1 dB higher (in comparison here).
Conversely, the Goodyear 4Seasons fares better results, thanks to its ingeniously engineered inner and outer construction.
I mean internally, it features a custom-designed polyurethane foam solution effective in dampening sound resonance. And externally, its superior pitch sequencing, combined with a less void-intensive design, helps. The slight variations in lug geometry create a range of tones that effectively cancel each other out, reducing overall noise.
Impact Comfort
In terms of impact comfort, both tires achieve same scores based on my subjective evaluations.
Both of them provide a balanced blend of comfort and control, with firm damping that smoothly handles larger bumps and effectively diminishes smaller ones too.
However, there is a notable distinction with certain sizes of the AllSeasonContact 2, particularly those featuring the Conti-Seal System.
Simply put, this system tends to stiffen the tire’s internal structure, which can occasionally lead to the Goodyear 4Seasons offering slightly better performance in terms of smoothness.
Wear Resistance
The lifespan of a tire’s tread is influenced by several key factors: its rolling resistance, the composition of its materials, and the depth of the tread.
But how do these affect overall tread longevity? Well, consider following:
- The composition of the tire plays a crucial role. Generally, tires made with harder rubber compounds endure longer because they resist wear more effectively.
- Tread depth is also significant. Deeper treads mean it takes longer for the tire to wear down to the point of needing replacement. However, ironically, excessive tread depth can increase rolling resistance.
Now consider all these aspects, it can be seen why the Goodyear 4Sesons lasts longer, comparatively.
This is because the tire comes with a lighter structure, which reduces the weight pressure on the tire lugs.
And yes, its composition includes a relatively harder rubber, which minimizes lug bending, reducing heat generation and thereby improving wear resistance with it.
In contrast, the AllSeasonContact 2 from Continental presents a different approach, where it utilizes a heavier build. Though this goes especially for sizes having Conti-Seal technology.
Wrapping Up
So, when it all comes down to it, comparing these tires isn’t straightforward as each has areas where they outshine the other.
The Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 excels in dry performance with better braking and handling, while the AllSeasonContact 2 leads in wet conditions with superior hydroplaning resistance and grip.
In winter conditions, Goodyear performs better on ice, and Continental is more effective in snow.
Moreover, the 4Seasons tire is quieter and more durable due to its design and materials, though both tires offer similar comfort levels.
