Type R Stock Tires/Wheels + Gravel Roads = ?

[Bodhizefa]

So... my parents-in-law live in the middle of nowhere. This was a known issue when I purchased the car (at MSRP-woohoo!), but I have yet to venture into the gravelly unknown in the 6 weeks I have owned the car. My wife is finally pushing me to figure out if my car can viably traverse the gravel terrain, and justifiably so since we have a 7-month-old whom I need to transport to the grandparents house from time to time.

This brings me to my point -- what experiences does anyone on the board have on gravel roads? We're talking about 0.25-0.50 miles of gravel road overall, but my experience on this road in other cars has been that it generally has fairly crappy sporadic bumps and hills and occasionally nasty potholes (depending on recent weather).

How worried should I be about the car on stock wheels and tires traversing this gravel road? I purchased the Tire/Wheel warranty from the dealer almost exclusively with the grandparents' road in mind, so I believe I'm covered. But still, I don't want to deal with a warranty claim unless necessary. The stock Continentals are so incredibly sticky with gravel -- does that become problematic on a gravel road for half a mile?

Let me be clear that I am not worried about what happens when I eventually change wheels/tires in the future. I'm only worried about what happens in the here and now with the stock set-up.

Thank you for any assistance and advice!

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[Driveitlikeuboughtit]

Drive slow, avoid pot holes and dips. Should be OK.

 

[WhatThePuck]

^ What he said. I'd drive extra slow just because even in comfort mode it's pretty dang bumpy on the 20s. If you plan on switching wheels soon, I wouldn't worry too much about it but still take caution; I'd hate for you to end up with a dented wheel or body damage cause the pothole was a sonofabitch.

 

[Dragnet]

Drive really fast to decrease the amount of time spent on the gravel road. Less time spent on the gravel road=less chance of jacking your wheels/car up.

Actually there's gravel roads at my parents' where I've grown up. I've had my car since late 2017 and have yet to take it down said roads. No way.

 

[Nanook]

The gAvel will drive you bonkers on the gravel road and when you leave! Get rock guards on now. Otherwise you’ll be throwing gravel like crazy all over the side of your car. Drive slow. Watch the potholes. Know this. The wheel protection is great, but can be slow and tedious. I’ve been waiting almost three weeks for a repair to be finished from a simple curbing. That’s another story.

Anyway, install rock guards, drive slowly, and expect horrible noises from rocks behind the brake heat shields and other places those sticky tires sling them.

 

[remc86007]

I stayed at a cabin last year in North Carolina that had a mile of gravel road to get to it. My CTR handled it completely fine, but I never went over 6 MPH. Most of the time I just let it idle in 1st gear in comfort mode. If it's just an occasional thing, I wouldn't worry about it, just don't get impatient and hit the gas because rocks will go everywhere!

 

[Learn2turn]

Control your wife

 

[VinRRR]

Stick stock tires will pick up everything on the road. Drive slowly, especially on turns.

 

[RedGiant217]

Soon after I bought the car, I was scouting out some new roads in an area I didn't know. Ended up on a gravel road. Thought it couldn't possibly be gravel for long so I just took it slow. Ended up being 10 miles before next pavement.
I was freaking out the whole time, but had no real issues. Kept it in comfort mode to help absorb any impacts. Lots of dust.