Well after 4 years of running CS3's (2yrs on the 197 and 2yrs on the 200) I had to make the decision between either switching brand, winter tyres, stick with the CS3's or go for the CS5's.
After coping with last years snow on the CS3's I thought I'd stay away from the winter tyres, mainly due to the added cost of changing back. I decided to stick with Contis due to the confidence they had given me over the past four years.
Rather than go for the CS3's I decided to gamble slightly and go for the CS5's and Im so glad I did. Obviously coming from the heavily worn CS3's to brand new (scrubbed) full set of CS5's the grip was off the scale.
Last night I thought I would go out and properly get used to the tyres , not a 'lets go quick in a straight line, or race around the urban streets' test (no point at all) but how quickly can the car stop from 70-60-50 etc or negotiate a tight roundabout before she starts to let go, in the wet. Much better to get your braking distances , entry and exit speeds using new rubber sorted out on a clear road than finding out later when its too late.
I can quite honestly say that the 200 has never come to a complete halt on a damp road so quickly before. The CS5's disperse the water so much better than the CS3's did (they were still good) and the road noise seems to have been reduced somewhat too. The grip the car had was very surprising , the tyres were still hanging on well after I had given in if Im honest. I expected the front to understeer but it never did , the car went where I asked it to and the back kept in check too.
Ill save any spirited driving for the warmer weather but if anyones looking to stick some new rubber on and are debating the CS5's capabilitys in the wet/cold then so far they seem to be top notch.
Im yet to try them in the snow but if I drive like a grandad as I did last year then they should be fine, all in all decent upgrade for a couple of quid more, well in my opinion anyway.
After coping with last years snow on the CS3's I thought I'd stay away from the winter tyres, mainly due to the added cost of changing back. I decided to stick with Contis due to the confidence they had given me over the past four years.
Rather than go for the CS3's I decided to gamble slightly and go for the CS5's and Im so glad I did. Obviously coming from the heavily worn CS3's to brand new (scrubbed) full set of CS5's the grip was off the scale.
Last night I thought I would go out and properly get used to the tyres , not a 'lets go quick in a straight line, or race around the urban streets' test (no point at all) but how quickly can the car stop from 70-60-50 etc or negotiate a tight roundabout before she starts to let go, in the wet. Much better to get your braking distances , entry and exit speeds using new rubber sorted out on a clear road than finding out later when its too late.
I can quite honestly say that the 200 has never come to a complete halt on a damp road so quickly before. The CS5's disperse the water so much better than the CS3's did (they were still good) and the road noise seems to have been reduced somewhat too. The grip the car had was very surprising , the tyres were still hanging on well after I had given in if Im honest. I expected the front to understeer but it never did , the car went where I asked it to and the back kept in check too.
Ill save any spirited driving for the warmer weather but if anyones looking to stick some new rubber on and are debating the CS5's capabilitys in the wet/cold then so far they seem to be top notch.
Im yet to try them in the snow but if I drive like a grandad as I did last year then they should be fine, all in all decent upgrade for a couple of quid more, well in my opinion anyway.
