Continental ExtremeContactSport (DW) vs. ContiSportContact 5

So… I had pretty much decided on trying out the Sport/DW on my daily driver next spring… until I went on Tire Rack and found that this similar looking SportContact 5 model was also available... for about $100/set less.  It sounds like the 5 is an OE tire for Mercedes that is well liked in that application, however I haven’t been able to find much in the way of direct comparisons.  The one “con” about the Sport/DW that I’ve read many times is “soft sidewalls”… so I am really curious if the 5 has sidewalls that are stiffer, softer, or about the same.

Anyone here have experience with both? These would be going on a 2010 Mazda 3 with mild suspension upgrades, tire size 225/45R17.

There is probably a reason that the CSC5 is at the bottom of the customer survey data while the ECS is at the top.

I don't have experience with these two, but the original DW was night and day better than the CSC3/4.

red_stapler said:

There is probably a reason that the CSC5 is at the bottom of the customer survey data while the ECS is at the top.

After reading through some of the reviews it seems to be LOADED with people whining about tread life.  Basically… people who were unrealistically expecting to get 50K miles out of their OE tires.  Therefore, I’m not sure how helpful the consumer reviews are as a data point.

Related question – when does continental usually do a rebate/sale?

No idea about the rebate, but I ran CSC 4's on my E46 330ci back in Kuwait and absolutely LOVED them.  Worth every penny (wet or dry) IMHO.

(People were crying about treadlife back then too)

The CSC-5 are sort of a previous gen tire, they've been out since 2011. That said I do not have first hand experience with them.

If you want to consider a couple of excellent performing, cheaper options, check out the Falken FK510, or the Firestone Indy 500.

Edit: Those two tires are $113 and $110 respectively at tire rack. If you drop to 215/45/17 in the FK510 they're $100. Unless you're running 8" wide wheels, I'd do that. :)

In reply to Snrub :

I made a similar post in a FB group of car nuts and found some folks with first hand experience with both tires.  It sounds like the ECS/DW is the hands down winner if pitted against one another.  Although $100/set more expensive they apparently really do last ~30% longer, which more than cancels out the extra cost.  Plus, they are also the better tire in the dry and wet.

I have some DWS06 in 215/45R17’s on my stock 7” wheels now.  My new summer wheels are 17x7.5, however they are somewhat rare these days in 5x114.3… I figured the slightly taller sidewall would help keep them safe from our terrible New England roads.  In my area they haven’t even finished patching the pot holes from last winter soooo… yeah.

That's interesting/good news. Everyone seems to love the ECS and GRM's test of them was really positive. If you want to go with a top tier tier, it's the way I'd lean based on the available info, but lack of first hand experience.

225/45/17 vs. 215/45/17 is a 1/6" of an inch of extra protection, which is not a lot. :) 10mm wider isn't a lot either, so we're talking about small differences. For mostly-street use, I prefer the feel of a tire which is closer to the wheel width.

If you want to go with something with slightly lower performance (pretty similar to lesser tires in the ECS/PS4/PS4S class), for less money, I'd do the FK510.