# What tires came on your Atlas?



## stevehayes01 (Aug 5, 2005)

So I was curious what tires everyone has on their Atlas from the factory? 

Mine came with Continental TerrainContact's on my SEL 4Motion ... but I have 3 different tire pamphlets in the owners manual sleeve. Also wondering if you have a different tire what is it rated for A/T , A/S etc... just wanting to see what all the option VW used are.


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

stevehayes01 said:


> So I was curious what tires everyone has on their Atlas from the factory?
> 
> Mine came with Continental TerrainContact's on my SEL 4Motion ... but I have 3 different tire pamphlets in the owners manual sleeve. Also wondering if you have a different tire what is it rated for A/T , A/S etc... just wanting to see what all the option VW used are.


Models I saw had Continentals. That is good since VW used all kind of cheaper tires. I got Kumho Ecsta on my CC when I had that. If one is not religious, it will become once it rains. 
No reason for VW to go with A/T tire. Atlas lacks any serious off road capability and 99.99% of drivers will never attempt any off roading. So, why putting tire that will inflict fuel penalty and increase noise. 


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## stevehayes01 (Aug 5, 2005)

I realize the Atlas is not a serious off-road vehicle by design
....but I would still like to see if capabilities actually tested. So far I have seen 1 video on tfl.com where they took it off and did some decent testing on it.


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

My LE has Continental TerrainContact's


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

stevehayes01 said:


> I realize the Atlas is not a serious off-road vehicle by design
> ....but I would still like to see if capabilities actually tested. So far I have seen 1 video on tfl.com where they took it off and did some decent testing on it.


Well, I did try bunch of stuff with my Tiguan. It has 4th generation Haldex which IMO should be better off road and in snow then 5th generation that decouples rear axle completely. 
I tried Tiguan on dirt bike trail with 235/50 R18 Continebtal DWS’s, and that was first and last time I did or will do that. I got out, but was not fun. And it was dry. 
In winter I ski a lot. So both my X5 and Tiguan have second set of wheels with winter tires. X5 runs on minimum size, 255/55 R19”8 and Tiguan runs on minimum size too, 215/65 R16. 
Huge difference between those two vehicles. Tiguan goes thru snow and slush with gusto. You feel like it is Mountain goat. X5 doesn’t feel that composed due to wide tires. However , I tried to stuck both vehicles and there you can see limitations of Haldex. Once Tiguan is stuck, that is it. Only experience will get you out. X5 on otger hand has much more sophisticated AWD and very fast finds tire with best traction. 
So I wouldn’t expect anything better from Atlas, especially since 5th generation Haldex is more tuned to save fuel. Still IMO Haldex is better then what you will find in Highlander or Pilot. So to compensate for shortcomings of Haldex I think you need serious A/T tire if you want to do off roading. In winter, it doesn’t matter what kind of AWD you have, without snow tires you cannot do much. 


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## stevehayes01 (Aug 5, 2005)

edyvw said:


> Well, I did try bunch of stuff with my Tiguan. It has 4th generation Haldex which IMO should be better off road and in snow then 5th generation that decouples rear axle completely.
> I tried Tiguan on dirt bike trail with 235/50 R18 Continebtal DWS’s, and that was first and last time I did or will do that. I got out, but was not fun. And it was dry.
> In winter I ski a lot. So both my X5 and Tiguan have second set of wheels with winter tires. X5 runs on minimum size, 255/55 R19”8 and Tiguan runs on minimum size too, 215/65 R16.
> Huge difference between those two vehicles. Tiguan goes thru snow and slush with gusto. You feel like it is Mountain goat. X5 doesn’t feel that composed due to wide tires. However , I tried to stuck both vehicles and there you can see limitations of Haldex. Once Tiguan is stuck, that is it. Only experience will get you out. X5 on otger hand has much more sophisticated AWD and very fast finds tire with best traction.
> ...


I completely agree... on off road tires and clearance are your friends. I am expecting decent performance on light duty offroad and sand..but I will be buying a 2nd set of rims to mount better tires on for it too. 

This is the one offroad video that is out there that does any real compares on capability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKEh__wVjn0


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

stevehayes01 said:


> I completely agree... on off road tires and clearance are your friends. I am expecting decent performance on light duty offroad and sand..but I will be buying a 2nd set of rims to mount better tires on for it too.
> 
> This is the one offroad video that is out there that does any real compares on capability.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKEh__wVjn0


Yeah I saw this. It doesn’t say much about Atlas as about Pathfinder and ridiculous CVT. 


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## stevehayes01 (Aug 5, 2005)

edyvw said:


> Yeah I saw this. It doesn’t say much about Atlas as about Pathfinder and ridiculous CVT.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



The CVT does not belong in any car... INMHO ..... We will see in time what people get up to with them as more and more show up in the wild.


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## gab3c (Apr 29, 2018)

*Kumho tires?*

I have just got my new Atlas SEL 4Motion yesterday.
And it is was delivered on Kumho Crugen Premium tires 
I thought all Atlases are delivered on Conti but upon checking TireRack shows these Kumho tires as O.E.

Is there anyone else who also had his/her Atlas delivered on Kumhos instead of Conti?
Maybe the newer builds has Kumhos? (mine was delivered to the dealer in 03/13/18)
Hard to believe that VW choose the cheaper tires for SEL trim


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## Atlas53 (Jan 29, 2018)

The Kumhos may not be a bad thing. I just put my summer tires and wheels back on today. The OEM Contis have about 4k miles on them. The winter tires - Michelins - got about 10k put on them. The Contis are actually noisier then the winter tires, I found. Maybe the Kumhos will be better. However, the '16 GTI we have came on Kumhos as well. They were terrible in the rain, aquaplaning at the mention of moisture. Put on a set of Nokian summer tires - which resolved the issue- and sold the Kumhos on Craigslist. The GTI gets Michelin winter tires as well, and they have saved our bacon a couple of times.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

I tried kumhos on my gti and x3. Not happy with them. After some wear they get really loud and feel un balanced


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Manufacturers can change tire specs at any time and often have multiple OE tires on their vehicles. What is the issue? I had a set of Kumhos one time on an old MK4 Jetta and they were excellent.


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## sheaffer (Jun 25, 2003)

kuhmo tires are pure garbage. friends don't let friends ride on contis either. pirelli or goodyear is the way to go.


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## DuckMuck (May 1, 2018)

My Atlas 2.0T S came equipped with the Kumho's that you mentioned. They seem okay for what they are, but I do not have many miles on them. I will probably replace them with a decent set of Michelin's when the time comes.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

To each their own. I have several sets of GYs over the years and they have been complete garbage in terms of wear and ride quality - I would never buy any tires from them again. So it's all about personal experience.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

KarstGeo said:


> To each their own. I have several sets of GYs over the years and they have been complete garbage in terms of wear and ride quality - I would never buy any tires from them again. So it's all about personal experience.


GY makes and sells lots of tires, good to bad. If you want a better tire, you don't just shop by price.


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## Pnvwfun (Jan 22, 2018)

Most OEM tires are crap. The manufacturers put cheaper tires on new vehicles to save money. If you go to Tire Rack, you'll see that these particular Kumho and Conti models that they use on this car don't rate very well, but both companies have tire models that do rate well.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Pnvwfun said:


> Most OEM tires are crap. The manufacturers put cheaper tires on new vehicles to save money. If you go to Tire Rack, you'll see that these particular Kumho and Conti models that they use on this car don't rate very well, but both companies have tire models that do rate well.


Precisely - I wouldn't say "crap" but just "average" for average day-to-day use in a family vehicle, they are just fine. I certainly don't push the Conti's to the limit and my main concerns with tires on the Atlas are that they are 1) safe and 2) quiet. They are both.


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

i have Contis - basically have noticed that anything over 19" the manufactures go with them .. i had many benzes same.. 
i hate Contis.. expensive to replace and no benefits..

i am a Michelin man - all my previous VWs had them - loved them.. a few of the Benzes i have had came with P Zeros or P scorpions they were nice.. 
I would run as fast as you can from GoodYears..


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## Pnvwfun (Jan 22, 2018)

KarstGeo said:


> Precisely - I wouldn't say "crap" but just "average" for average day-to-day use in a family vehicle, they are just fine. I certainly don't push the Conti's to the limit and my main concerns with tires on the Atlas are that they are 1) safe and 2) quiet. They are both.


You're right they aren't horrible. I would say they do have average performance, but they will probably wear faster. The UTQG rating on the Conti OEM Crosscontact LX Sport is 480 AA, but their aftermarket Crosscontact LX 20 has a 740 AB rating, and better all around performance. Similar numbers between the OEM Kumho Crugen Premium tires at 440 AA and the Crugen HT51 tires at 720 AA. The OEM Contis even have no treadlife warranty, so I expect them to wear fast, as the reviews would indicate.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

AudiVW guy said:


> .....i hate Contis.. expensive to replace and no benefits.......


Based on what? How have you evaluated them?


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

sheaffer said:


> kuhmo tires are pure garbage. friends don't let friends ride on contis either. pirelli or goodyear is the way to go.


Funny... The 2 brands you love are some of the brands I will never buy again.

I had Pirelli P6 4-season on the B6 Passat, which were garbage in terms of dry grip.

My family had Goodyear tires on the Caravan, also garbage. And when VW was equipment their cars with the Eagle LS-II, the wear was so bad, VW had to issue a TSB on it.

I've had cheap Kumho ECSTA AST's. That you get what you paid for, when money is tight. Their ECSTA Platinum LX was a much better tire, and actually didn't have wear issues which the PQ46 chassis is known for (feathering). Decent grip. Have to be a little careful in the rain with APR Stage 2 and a 6-speed manual.

Though, while I like Michelin, I don't feel like paying Michelin prices. And their Latitude Tour HP are not that good in the winter, even on a AWD vehicle. Not to mention they rob you of 1.5/32" of tread depth... where you get 8.5" tread depth instead of the usual 10/32" or 11/32" of tread depth.

Also on the list of brands I don't like is Dunlop. I had the D60 A2's in college. Completely horrible. The Pep Boys brand Futura tire were a much better tire than the Dunlops that commanded a price premium.

Friends don't let friends ride on Conti's? Does that include the legendary ExtremeContact DWS?

Back to Kumho. The Crugen Premium? Well, TireRack doesn't like their winter performance
"Similar to the strength found in wet conditions, the Michelin Premier LTX delivered good overall traction and handling in the snow, and led every winter test parameter and subjective rating for this group. A big step behind was the Yokohama Geolandar G055, which struggled to provide modest snow and ice traction.* The Kumho Crugen Premium exhibited a disconcerting combination of modest acceleration and braking traction mixed with very poor cornering traction. Drivers of all-wheel drive vehicles should take care when driving in snow on this tire, as the all-wheel drive system's aid to start-up traction can cause a false sense of security when it comes time to turn*"

The next set of 3-season tires are going to be some Nokian Z-line A/S, it was that versus the Entyre C/S (with Aramid reinforced sidewalls), and the next winter tires to replace the Nitto's will be the Nokian WR SUV 4 (G4 SUV).


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

BsickPassat said:


> And when VW was equipment their cars with the Eagle LS-II, the wear was so bad, VW had to issue a TSB on it.


I believe these are what came stock on our 2000 Jetta and yes, they wore out at 20K and I seem to recall a TSB on it. To me, a good all-season tire on a family vehicle should last 40K, not have uneven wear/feathering with 5-7K rotations and good alignment. I shouldn't hydroplane. I should be able to drive in light snow. They should be quiet. They should hold nicely at 45mph in a highway off-ramp. If they do that, I'm good.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

KarstGeo said:


> I believe these are what came stock on our 2000 Jetta and yes, they wore out at 20K and I seem to recall a TSB on it. To me, a good all-season tire on a family vehicle should last 40K, not have uneven wear/feathering with 5-7K rotations and good alignment. I shouldn't hydroplane. I should be able to drive in light snow. They should be quiet. They should hold nicely at 45mph in a highway off-ramp. If they do that, I'm good.


My MK4 got Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus.

They still came on B6 Passats, the LS-II were one of the factory options, along with Michelin Pilot MXM4 (which was my spare tire). Port-installed Akiros wheels got the Pirellis.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

BsickPassat said:


> My MK4 got Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus.
> 
> They still came on B6 Passats, the LS-II were one of the factory options, along with Michelin Pilot MXM4 (which was my spare tire). Port-installed Akiros wheels got the Pirellis.


My MK4 GL (only 15s) had the Eagle LSs on it for sure b/c after that I swore never to buy GY tires again.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

You could have a Porsche Macan with a Korean tire no one has heard of.

http://www.tirereview.com/nexen-selected-oe-porsche-macan/


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

I have had good luck with Goodyear BF goodrich Michelin Pirelli continental and Dunlap . Although the Perelli's did not have the drug rep that I hoped for . I think overall best bang for the buck is BF good rich… They are owned by Michelin which are excellent tires but overpriced . The only real bad experience I have had with tires is with the kumho


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## cgvalant (Nov 14, 2005)

*Stock Tires for 20" Wheels*

So my Atlas came with the OEM 20" black wheels, but they were actually installed by the dealer as an 'added option'. The tires on it are 255/50R20 Continental Cross Contact LX Sports. Is this the tire that everyone else is getting on their OEM 20's?

-Chris

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## johnxkrn (May 30, 2017)

I think every Atlas used to come in Continentals but now they are Kumhos.. I got a Kumho  haha but Im not tire expert so I cant really tell.


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## DFWatlas (Jul 13, 2018)

My 2018 R-Line, SE-Tech, came with those exact same tires brand/model, with stock R-Line 20" rims.


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## jayin0507 (Apr 5, 2018)

My SEL 4Motion R-Line came with those exact tires on the Trenton wheels also.


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## cgvalant (Nov 14, 2005)

Thanks for verifying!

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## tbgti (Oct 23, 2017)

Our SEL with the 18” wheels came with the Continental CrossContact LX Sport. 

I pulled the OEM wheels off, bought the 20” black Mejorada and put on Continental ExtremeContact DWS06!











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## sacherel (Dec 3, 2000)

*OEM tires - 2.0t*

What brand OEM tires did you all have in your 2.0? I see continental but some latter build cars in Sept/Oct with Kumho. Just curious if Vw changed supplier.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Yes.

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## ChimneyJim (Jul 25, 2012)

Continental 


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## idrw (Nov 22, 2018)

My Sept 2018 build came with Kumho Crugen Premium.. IMHO better than the continentals..


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

sacherel said:


> What brand OEM tires did you all have in your 2.0? I see continental but some latter build cars in Sept/Oct with Kumho. Just curious if Vw changed supplier.


They might use a different tire brand every week. It is not some fixed deal.


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