I changed the front 1000 miles before the rear (hair line cracking on the tourance). The conti was a proper tubed version. I did not feel any changes in terms of the ride getting harsher.

The rear conti is however a tubeless one with the original inner tube and bump absorption is worse at the rear!

Checked the dates, the rear is late 2014.
suspension compliance is important to me on the XT as I bought it as an antidote to my sports bikes (with firm suspension).

So I guess I will have to change to a softer tyre once the conti wears out. Maybe I can try dropping the rear pressure a bit to see if it helps

CCA:
what did yo not like about the tourance?