Bridgestone Tires vs Continental Tires: Which One Should You Go For?

Bridgestone and Continental are premium tire companies that have earned a distinguished name for themselves in the marketplace. Their tires stand out from the competition because of their superior ride quality, great road manners, and exceptionally long treadwear warranties.

These companies have the availability of many options. You can rely on Continental and Bridgestone to have a pair of tires that will satisfy your needs, no matter what type of tires you wish to put on your vehicle (high-performance, all-terrain, all-season, etc).

What do you think about Bridgestone and Continental tires? In this article, we have come up with a comparison of Bridgestone tires vs Continental tires and we’ll be focusing on the most important ways in which these two tire companies vary from one another. But before we get into that, let’s take a look at the history of these premium tire brands and their families.

Continental Tires: How it Started?

The fact that Continental wasn’t originally a tire manufacturer is a truth that many people will be surprised to learn. The company began manufacturing rubberized fabrics and soft rubber goods after it was established in 1871 in Hannover, Germany. The production continued for more than three decades.

The first tire was manufactured by Continental in 1904. This tire featured a tread that went all the way around its circumference as well as a groove in the tread area itself. Because of the groove, the tire had a degree of flexibility that had never been seen in tires before, which made it easier to maintain control of the vehicle in wet circumstances.

A number of years of toiling away in South America were finally rewarded to Continental in the form of an official entrance into the tire market in the United States in the year 1987. Continental General Tire Corporation came into being as a result of the successful acquisition of General Tire from GenCorp by this corporation, which caused a stir in the market.

At the time this article was written, Continental was the fourth biggest tire maker in the world. The well-known tire manufacturer creates tires for a diverse array of vehicles, including motorcycles, passenger cars, and commercial trucks, as well as bicycles and motorbikes. However, the majority of its success may be attributed to its passenger tire lineup.

Continental Tire Families

The tire lineup of Continental comprises four families. These are referred to as ultra-high-performance, touring, all-terrain, grand touring, or AT tires, and winter tires. These tires are offered for use on a variety of vehicles, including passenger cars, crossover utility vehicles, light trucks, and sports coupes.

Ultra-High-Performance

The UHP series from Continental consists of a total of twelve tires. Because of their improved steering responsiveness and outstanding high-speed stability, each one of them provides a wonderful driving experience. The acceleration in dry and wet conditions and their lateral tracking, make them the preferred choice of enthusiast drivers.

However, there are several aspects of Continental’s UHP tires that are less than perfect. Take, for example, the Premium Contact 6, which is Continental’s premier ultra-high-performance tire (UHP). This particular model does, in fact, provide dynamic handling, and it brags about having extraordinarily low stopping distances. However, the price that they are demanding might wipe away all of your savings from your pocket.

Touring and Grand Touring

The touring and grand touring tires offered by Continental are great examples of why drivers like each of these categories. These come with warranties that are the best in their class for tread wear. Because of the abundance of circumferential and lateral grooves, these tires provide unrivaled grip in both dry and wet conditions.

Winter

Any tire that comes with at least three of the following four features—the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake sign,, flexible tread compound, the M+S symbol, and many circumferential grooves—has what it takes to securely take your car from point A to B in severe weather circumstances.

The aforementioned four characteristics are present in each and every one of Continental’s 12 winter tires. Therefore, regardless of whether you choose the Winter Contact TS 860 or the Conti 4×4 WinterContact, you will be able to enjoy a surefooted and dependable performance in the snow.

All-Terrain

Continental’s all-terrain lineup consists of only two different tire options. The first one is the TerrainContact A/T, which is the most popular all-terrain tire offered by the brand. Whatever you choose to call it: rocks, soil, grass, gravel, dirt, etc. The tire can transition effortlessly in any circumstance.

Nevertheless, despite its many positive qualities, this tire is marred by a single fatal defect. There is no large truck version of the TerrainContact A/T currently available. Therefore, if you drive a commercial vehicle, you may benefit more from the TerrainContactTM, which is designed specifically for light-duty commercial vehicles.

Bridgestone Tires: How it Started?

The foundation of Bridgestone was the concept that the only way Japanese firms could compete with their international rivals was through constant innovation. However, the corporation was unable to put this goal into action during the first twenty years after it was established in 1931, as forces were actively attacking its facilities.

Bridgestone persevered in its efforts to stay in the tire manufacturing industry despite the fact that several of its plants were being destroyed. In 1946, one year after Michelin had manufactured the world’s 1st radial tire, Bridgestone came out with its own radial tire. This tenacity paid off, as the company went on to become a market leader in the tire industry.

The competition between Bridgestone and Michelin, which began as a result of this, is still going strong. Additionally, competition has been a driving force behind many significant mergers and acquisitions in the tire industry. In 1990, only 2 years after Bridgestone had completed its purchase of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, its competitor Michelin moved ahead and completed its acquisition of BFGoodrich.

The most recent year for which figures are readily accessible is 2021, and Bridgestone reported an operational profit of £2.5 billion in that year. When compared to the year 2020, this is a 90% increase. When looking at these data, the fact that Bridgestone is presently the second biggest tire producer in the world shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Bridgestone Tire Families

The tire catalog offered by Bridgestone is broken down into eight different lineups, or families. Bridgestone’s Potenza, WeatherPeak, Blizzak, Ecopia, Driveguard, Dueler, Turanza, and Alenza are some of the variants in its family. There are tires in each of these categories that are designed to perform in a variety of climates.

Potenza

The Potenza line of tires from Bridgestone is designed specifically with high-performance automobiles and sports cars in mind. Despite this, each and every one of these Potenzas is distinct from the others, allowing you to choose the one that caters to your preferences and needs the most.

WeatherPeak

Every member of this family has an abundance of these four characteristics: dependable performance throughout the year, a ride that is both quiet and comfortable, responsive handling that provides a great grip, and an exorbitant asking price.

Alenza

This lineup consists of a number of different models, some of which include the Dueler HL Alenza, Alenza Plus, Alenza Sport, and the Alenza A/S . All of the tires are designed to cater to a variety of driving types.

For instance, if the only thing you ever do with your car is drive it about town and do errands, you may want to consider giving the Alenza A/S a try. If you desire sporting performance without breaking the bank, the Alenza Plus is well worth your consideration. On the other hand, the Dueler H/L Alenza is the way to go if you drive a light-duty commercial vehicle or any light truck.

Turanza

The Alenza family and the Bridgestone Turanza range have several characteristics in common. Members of both families provide a ride that is very pleasant, regardless of whether the road is dry or wet. Both of these companies have tires that are covered by long treadwear warranties, some of which extend beyond the 80,000-mile mark.

However, there is a single factor that puts the Turanza ahead of the competition. On the highway, the sound produced by its tires is hardly audible. When you travel with the windows pulled all the way down, these tires will ensure that you do not need headphones for noise-canceling.

Dueler

The Bridgestone Dueler range of tires finds the perfect balance between off-road performance and refinement. On the one hand, these tires are equipped with everything that is necessary for a safe and dependable off-roading adventure. A few examples of these would include puncture-resistant tread compounds, stiff sidewalls, and high-density sipes.

Moreover, comfort is not compromised in order to achieve off-road performance with these tires. The use of their flexible rubber compound helps to ensure that the amount of noise generated by the road is kept to a minimum.

DriveGuard

The Bridgestone DriveGuard is regarded as one of the most reliable run-flat tires available on the market today. Not familiar with a run-flat tire? Even after receiving a puncture, a vehicle equipped with these tires may still go up to 100 miles before needing to be replaced. In addition, there is no possibility that the inner rubber or the tread will get damaged in any way.

When compared to other run-flat tires manufactured by Bridgestone, the DriveGuard Plus has a number of advantages. Bridgestone’s sidewalls have been strengthened so that they may continue to carry the weight even after the tire has been deflated. The potential for bust ups is reduced by a one-of-a-kind cooling fin technology.

Ecopia

Recently, the concept of sustainability has gained popularity across all spheres of human endeavor. The tire business is not alone in this regard; several companies have recently launched products that are marketed as having a reduced impact on the environment. The Ecopia family also includes environmentally responsible tires.

The H/L 422 Plus by Bridgestone is our pick for the best model in the Ecopia series for a multitude of compelling reasons. This tire has one of the best fuel economies of any environmentally friendly tire that is currently on the market. In addition to this, it comes with an outstanding tread life warranty that is good for 70,000 miles.

Blizzak

The Bridgestone Blizzak range includes a variety of tires that are developed specifically for use in severe winter conditions. This series also includes the Blizzak WS-80, which is widely considered to be one of the best snow tires currently available. Because it provides such a streamlined performance on snow, the WS-80 is our top choice when it comes to winter tires.

The accessibility of Blizzak tires is just another facet that sets them apart from their competitors. These tires are available in a wide variety of forms and dimensions, a feature that allows them to be used on almost any vehicle that you could drive.

Continental Tires vs Bridgestone Tires: What’s the Difference?

The following is a list of the primary differences between Bridgestone tires vs Continental tires.

Performance

When compared to their Continental equivalents, Bridgestone tires just cannot compete with the performance offered by Continental tires.

Take, once again, the instance of the Premium Contact 6 as an example. Bridgestone is yet to produce a tire that we could see competing with the Premium Contact 6 when it comes to high-speed stability, steering responsiveness, dry/wet traction, and grip.

It is true that this tire is not inexpensive, but that can be said of nine out of ten high-performance and ultra-high-performance tires.

Availability of Options

In this area, Bridgestone has a significant advantage over Continental.

In contrast to Continental, which provides tires in a total of four distinct classes, the Bridgestone tire family has an impressive eight distinct lineups. Bridgestone offers tires that span the gamut of performance categories, from all-terrain to all-season, as well as winter to severe summer conditions.

Warranty and Price

Regarding the cost and duration of the warranty, there is no obvious winner.

It’s possible that by this point you’ve realized that Bridgestone and Continental tires are not for those with a limited budget. Both of these manufacturers provide tires that have the ability to completely deplete one’s savings.

The same may be said of the warranty. On average, the warranties that come with the purchase of touring, grand-touring, and all-season tires from any of these two companies cover 70,000 miles. There are several differences in the warranties offered on winter and sport tires. However, the difference is not large enough to label one as the winner and the other as the loser.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to sporty driving, Continental tires are the way to go. Both the street and the racing track are suitable for Continental tires. Bridgestone tires, on the other hand, should be at the top of your wish list if you live in a region that gets too much snow or if you often engage in off-roading activities.