Conquest History - December 10, 2003

Happily, I can say that the Continental ExtremeContact tires were worth the three month wait for their availability. At first, I thought surely the wheels were not balanced correctly, as there was pronounced trembling at most any speed. But as this phenomenon rapidly subsided while driving the car, I came to suspect instead that the treads simply need to wear in evenly.

As for the performance of the tires themselves, I have little or no trepidation. The grip is quite extraordinary under a variety of road conditions (the only surfaces not tested so far are a solid sheet of ice and an oil slick). Dry, wet, gravel or light snow make little difference to handling. Now, having disposed of the near-bald, mismatched abominations previously enveloping my rims, I look forward to cornering with greater confidence, knowing that the car will stay planted where I put it. The most troublesome aspects of handling for the immediate future will, I expect, be body roll and chassis flex. These I intend to address fairly soon with polyurethane sway bar bushings and a set of S&M strut braces.