 The Continental ContiCrossContact Winter. Now with bigger snowflakes.. Click image to enlarge |
The corner of Sadler and St. George in Sunny St. Vital may not have the appearance of a notorious intersection. Truth be told, it isn’t even on the radar for the top five crack-up centres in the city. Nevertheless, these simple suburban crossings tend to get the most amount of polishing for ice, and the least amount of sanding. The goal for the braking test was to determine the maximum speeds where braking could occur with the Conti’s, without engaging the ABS. Like any intersection, these passes would occur on the tracks with the most amount of ice, and the off-centre tracks of sand and grit, where the seasoned winter drivers tend to wander.
Approach speed to the intersection was kept at about 35 km/h, slowing first to a speed of 30 km/h within a reasonable stopping distance, best described as where any reasonable Canadian would start to apply braking pressure. On the icy tracks, ABS kicked in almost immediately, as it also did at 25 and 20 km/h. Remember to keep your foot firmly planted on the pedal, and the Mazda stops in time. Lowering the approach speed to 15 km/h was the key to minimal ABS intrusion. Don’t forget; this is on sheer ice. Move the Mazda off of the ice tracks to the grit, and the story changes considerably. With 10 passes in the grippier tracks, the Mazda could be finessed to a stop at a maximum 25 km/h approach speed, with no ABS mitigation (your Sadler and St. George may vary.)
Now wait a minute, you’re probably asking yourself. Shouldn’t there have been no ABS mitigation with the wonder that is silica/polymer compound and sipes-a-plenty? Hardly. Winter tires stop better on snow and ice than an all-season skin, The End. They do not re-create summer driving conditions. To prove the point, The Roadtrip added another simple test; cross the intersection by foot, carefully. If you’re fighting the urge of Nature to send your hiney over tea kettle, so are your tires. A little bit of ABS input can be both a gentle caution, and simply required.
Testing the Dynamic Stability Control system was a little more involved, and is just plain not recommended for the novice. Using a low-traffic dead-end service road, the CX-7 was brought up to a speed of 45 km/h. To engage the DCS, the steering wheel was cranked through a series of rapid half turns to the left and right. This is where the inner tread block pattern of the Conti’s really shines. With all-seasons, this manoeuvre can get dicey in a hurry. The braking inputs from the DCS were not overly harsh, even comfortably predictable. The exclusion of a DCS alarm chime was most appreciated.
Traction control systems can sometimes feel like the Throttle Pedal of the Living Dead. The CX-7 system allows one to press down with considerable force, working more as a limiter than an outright throttle cut. What you get is best termed as sensible wheelspin, on a straight line of travel.
The question for many in harsh winter climates is the benefits of studded tires. The Roadtrip’s tester was first fitted with the Gislaved Nord*Frost 5, equipped with an irregular pattern of studs. These will be the last set of studded tires used on the tester for the winter months, as the search continues for compounds, tread blocks, and proprietary technologies that can rival the performance of a studded tire on ice. In the case of Sadler and St. George, the Gislaveds still encountered ABS input during braking, albeit far less than the non-studded Conti’s. Why? The roadbed ice is currently about two to three inches above the road base. Experience has proven that studded tires work best on thin layers of ice, where contact with the roadbed is imminent. Then there’s the noise factor. You will never forget that you have studded tires, with a constant low hum from beneath on hard road surfaces. If you live in an area of ice and corners, (Lucky Dog) go studded. And turn up the radio.
A factor that seems to be in contradiction to winter tire performance is the issue of aqua, or hydroplaning. If you’ve ever experienced this phenomenon in the summer months, it most likely occurred during a torrential downpour, at a higher rate of speed, and with knuckle colour set on Bright White. Aquaplaning happens in the winter too, though with far less water, and far less speed. A thin film of water between the tire and an icy road surface is all that it takes to start slipping. Continental and Gislaved speak volumes about their water evacuation abilities. Get rid of the water, get back the grip.
Canadian winters are anything but simple to predict, so it is important to assess your daily driving needs when choosing the tire that is right for you. One should also remember that winter tires will not always mimic a summer tire’s performance. For the arena of Sadler and St. George, The Roadtrip recommendation steers towards aggressive tread patterns, which may not always be the quietest, but offer the highest abundance of traction-grabbing block edges. Lastly, slow waaaaaay down.
