Bridgestone vs Continental Tires: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Some tire companies are better than others. Who wins in a Continental vs Bridgestone tires comparison? What are the two companies best for? 

As a mechanic, I recommend both companies. They both offer tires that perform well on anything from dry pavement to the harshest weather conditions. 

If you want a tire that gives you better handling, a larger tread area, noise reduction, or better braking performance, either Continental or Bridgestone probably has it. 

Both Are Good Companies

You can count on either Bridgestone or Continental to never release a below-average tire. A lot of their tires are excellent, some are only average. The prices are also fair to very good for the quality. 

Both companies offer fairly expensive tires. They vary a lot in price and tend towards being expensive. 

Bridgestone vs Continental Tires

Advantages of Continental Tires

Some continental tires are better than similar tires from Bridgestone. 

For example, the Continental Premium Contact 6 is better than comparable Bridgestone performance tires. It isn’t cheap, but it gives you excellent grip, traction, and stability at high speeds.

Continental also offers tires in a wide range of sizes. Continental is mostly known as a premium sport tires company. 

Continental’s Tires Are Better for Racing

If you take your car to the race track, the best Continental tires are better than any Bridgestone tires. Continental’s ultra high-performance tires give you incredible grip and high-speed stability. 

Advantages of Bridgestone Tires

Bridgestone is an overall better company than Continental even though some Continental tires are better than their Bridgestone equivalents. This is because Bridgestone offers so much variety. Bridgestone offers many different tire families, with a few different tires in each family. 

Bridgestone may also be the best company out there for winter tires. They produce some of the best and most innovative winter tires you can get. They also offer eco-friendly tires that don’t cost as much as those from other companies. 

Is Bridgestone the World’s Biggest Tire Company?

Yes, Bridgestone is currently the biggest tie company in the world. They manufacture the most tires and make the most sales. 

Continental is not as big (seventh in the world) but they are still big enough that a third of new cars in Europe come with Continental tires. 

Bridgestone vs Continental Warranties

Both companies offer good warranties. 70,000-mile warranties on touring tires and all-season tires are standard for both companies. Both companies are about even.

Is Continental As Good As Michelin?

Yes, tires from Continental are roughly as good as tires from Michelin. A Continental tire is often better in some ways and worse in other ways. 

For example, Continental TrueContacts perform better on wet roads and Michelin Defenders work better on dry roads. Michelin is one of the better tire brands, but might not win a comparison with Continental. 

Bridgestone Tire Families

Since Bridgestone offers eight tire families, there are more options to choose from than with Continental. Arguably, Bridgestone is the world’s best tire company. 

Bridgestone Dueler

Reasons to buy

• Good in all seasons 
• Durable
• Puncture resistant
• On-road and off-road
• Quiet

Drawbacks

• The treads wear out fairly fast
• Average off-road performance

Bridgestone Dueler tires work well in all seasons and are for on-road and off-road driving. They have high-density sipes (slits cut in tires to make them perform better on wet/icy/snowy roads) and stiff sidewalls. The tires also use tread compounds that can resist sharp objects. 

Surprisingly, the tires are quiet, which is great if you are used to off-road tires being noisy. The tires are not the most long-lasting you can get. The treads will wear out and you will have to replace the tires. 

Another flaw is that these tires are pretty basic for off-road driving. If you want a tire that can handle light off-road use the Dueler is good enough. However, there are more robust off-road tires out there. 

Bridgestone Driveguard

Reasons to Buy

• Durable construction lets you drive on a flat
• Reinforce sidewalls hold up after a puncture
• You can easily drive 50 miles at 50 miles per hour on a flat Driveguard tire

Even if your tire is punctured, you can still drive a long way on a Driveguard tire without it falling apart. You can keep driving on a flat tire without the inner rubber or external tread breaking down. 

You can drive for 50 miles at 50 miles per hour with a flat Driveguard tire. A lot of the time, you can make it 100 miles on a punctured tire. 

Bridgestone is one of the most innovative tire manufacturers, so they make arguably the best run-flat tire in the business. 

Newer Bridgestone Driveguard tires are significantly better than older ones. The specially reinforced sidewalls can hold your car up even after they deflate. 

Bridgestone Weather Peak

Reasons to Buy

• Good for all seasons
• Meets industry standards for severe snow without being a dedicated winter tire
• Resistant to hydroplaning
• Good snow traction

The Weather Peak is a grand touring Bridgestone tire for SUVs, minivans, sedans, coupes, and crossovers. It is an all-season tire designed for comfort. 

Depending on how rough the winter is in your area, Weather Peak tires might be the only tires you ever need. If the winter is fairly light, you don’t need a dedicated winter tire – all-season Weather Peak tires will do. Bridgestone tyres designed the Weather Peak to be the only tire many drivers ever need. 

The tires have wide circumferential grooves that prevent hydroplaning so that you don’t lose control on a wet road. Arguably, the tire is a true all-season tire that works even in rough winter weath. Probably a dedicated winter tire is still better, but the tires meet industry standards even for severe snow. 

Bridgestone Alenza

Reasons to Buy

• Great performance in the summer, able to handle light winter conditions
• Very long-lasting
• Quiet
• Generous try-and-buy guarantee

Bridgestone’s Alenza tires are summer grand touring tires that can handle mild winter roads. In some places you can use them the whole year around, in other places, you may need dedicated winter tires. 

Alenza tires can keep you safe on the road, as they have great braking performance even on wet roads. They use QuietTrak technology to minimize noise.

The tires are very long-lasting because of how slowly the treads wear out. There is a generous 90-day try-and-buy guarantee, so you can try the tires out and return them if you don’t like them. 

Bridgestone Ecopia

Reasons to Buy

• Environmentally friendly
• Excellent fuel efficiency
• Long-lasting
• Impressive braking performance

Ecopia tires are built with fuel efficiency in mind. The less fuel you use, the less your impact on the environment. 

The tires minimize rolling resistance, which greatly improves your mileage. Rolling resistance is how much energy it takes to keep your tires rolling at the same speed. With low rolling resistance, you can drive at a constant speed with little fuel use. 

Ecopia tires also have other advantages. They are general-purpose, all-season tires with impressive braking performance including on wet ground. Ecopia tires are also long-lasting. 

Bridgestone Potenza

Reasons to Buy

• Good performance tires for their price
• Reasonably cheap as well as expensive options available
• Great handling

Drawbacks

• Not the most comfortable tires

Bridgestone’s Potenza tires are performance tires for sports cars. There are several different Potenza tires available, and they vary in price.

Many Potenza tires work very well in the summer months. The Potenza RE-71R is an expensive very high-performance tire that doesn’t work well in the winter. You can also get cheaper Potenza RE92 summer performance tires. 

Another good choice is the Potenza RE980AS, which works well on wet ground. It has the perfect balance between offering wet traction and focusing primarily on dry traction. Some of the tires may give you a bumpy ride. 

Bridgestone Turanza

Reasons to Buy

• Very quiet
• Very long-lasting with great warranties
• Perform well in wet weather

Turanza tires are exceptionally long-lasting and sometimes have 80,000-mile or better warranties. They are comfortable, perform well in wet and dry weather, and are resistant to treadwear. 

What makes the tires stand out is how quiet they are. These are some of the quietest tires you can find. 

Bridgestone Blizzak

Reasons to Buy

• Good braking performance on snow and ice
• Treads dig deep into the snow
• Effective on snow, slush, and ice

Blizzak tires are dedicated winter tires that work well in severe snow. They are designed for snow, slush, and ice performance. They have good braking performance on snow and ice. 

The tread design makes them above-average winter tires. The angular edges of the tread dig deep into the snow to make contact with the road.

Different Blizzak tires are for different vehicles. For example, the Blizzak DM-V2 is designed for trucks, sport utility vehicles, and crossovers. 

Continental Tire Families

Continental offers four tire families for cars. They also have other tire families for commercial trucks and motorbikes. They are best known for their ultra-high-performance tires for sports cars. 

These performance tires are expensive, but give you incredible control, so they are worth it if you can afford them. Their Premium Contact 6 tire is particularly impressive. The company also offers touring, winter, and all-terrain tires. 

Continental Ultra-High-Performance Tires 

Reasons to Buy

• Excellent performance on dry ground, wet ground, snow, and ice
• The Extreme Contact DWS gives you excellent handling
• The Premium Contact 6 gives you exceptional braking performance
• 12 total ultra-high-performance tires available

Drawbacks

• Expensive

What makes Continental stand out is its ultra-high-performance tires. They include the all-season Extreme Contact DWS, which is for passenger vehicles, crossovers, SUVs, and light trucks. The tire works well on snow, wet pavement, and ice, plus gives you responsive handling.

If you want exceptional braking performance, try the Premium Contact 6. The Premium Contact 6 can help you stop lightning fast even in bad weather. It is also comfortable at least for a performance tire because of its macroblock technology.

There are twelve ultra-high-performance tires available from Continental, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Most or all of them give you stability at high speeds. 

Continental Winter Tires

Reasons to Buy

• All tires meat industry standards for severe snow
• Innovative tread designs
• The Conti 4c4 WinterContact tire performs well in mud as well as in snow 

There are also twelve tires in Continental’s winter family. They include the Conti 4×4 WinterContact tire, which performs well in mud and severe snow. It uses innovative tread designs/patterns to maximize performance. 

All twelve tires use multiple circumferential grooves and flexible tread compounds. All of them have the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol that proves they can handle severe snow according to industry tests. 

Continental Touring Tires

Reasons to Buy

• Resistant to tread wear
• Excellent traction on wet roads
• Long-lasting warranties, especially for some tires

Continental’s touring and grand touring tires are very resistant to tread wear and have some of the best tread wear warranties in the business. 

They also use circumferential and lateral grooves for excellent traction on wet roads. I recommend the highly reliable TrueContact Tour or the CrossContact Lx25, which has a 70,000-mile warranty.  

Continental All-Terrain Tires

Reasons to Buy

• Works well on the road and off the road
• Works on dirt, gravel, grass, and rocks
• Great for bumpy country roads

Drawbacks

• Not all sizes are available 

Continental only offers two and not twelve all-terrain tires. The better-known tire is the TerrainContact A/T, which is in some ways an ideal all-terrain tire.

It works great for on-road use and light off-road use. It is a good tire if your drive down bumpy country roads, and it performs well on dirt, grass, gravel, and rocks. One flaw is that you can’t get it in larger sizes, which is disappointing. 

The other tire is the TerrainContact (as opposed to TerrainContact A/T). It is a large tire that is sometimes used on light commercial vehicles. 

Key Takeaways

• Both Bridgestone and Continental are two of the better companies in the tire industry. 
• Continental tires are also as good as Michelin tires for the price.  
• If you want racing tires, Continental is a better company compared to Bridgestone.
• Bridgestone is the largest tire company in the world, and Continental is only in the top ten.
• Bridgestone offers a wide variety of tires compared to Continental.