Conti ExtremeContact DW

Are they any good? Tirerack has a killer price on them and I'm soon to buy new tires for the WRX summer wheels. I trust you guys much more than I trust the wildly differing reviews on TR's site, lol...

My experience is that they are very good. I actually have Contis on all my vehicles now. They perform well and are very quiet. I have also auto crossed them on occasion. I just bought a 2015 WRX and will be putting them on that too once the winter is over. Over the years I have tried just about every brand of tire out there and prefer the Continentals above all others. I do not think you will be disappointed.

Continental is also a sponsor of the Rolex/GRM experience so it's nice to help support companies that help support us.

Got em on my E46 and love em. They work great 9-10 months of the year, and they're really good in the rain. I've got 25000 on them and probably 50 autocross passes, and they are past their prime but have plenty of life left. I'd recommend them, especially if they're cheap.

Thanks. The only thing I had really heard about them is that they don't have very crisp steering response - but I would think that also has a lot to do with the car they're on and the size.

Great street tires and great in rain.

They came up in an earlier thread and a few people mention having good luck with them in autox/track. I have not. I found them to have too soft a sidewall and they chunked as well. Not fun for motorsport IMO - YMMV etc. etc.

That's my year round tire on the Saabaru for the past 20k miles. I also like the Michelin super sports, but it is hard to beat the Continental for the balance of price and performance.

Anyone have a comment on the DWS for ay ear round tire in ohio? Am I gonna get stranded in the snow?

irish44j wrote: Thanks. The only thing I had really heard about them is that they don't have very crisp steering response - but I would think that also has a lot to do with the car they're on and the size.

I'm sure you will be thrilled to know that we had a "problem child" A8 that would eat tires every 5-10k, so we had plenty of opportunity to try different brands for his car, and these Contis would easily last 30k.

bigbens6 wrote: Anyone have a comment on the DWS for ay ear round tire in ohio? Am I gonna get stranded in the snow?

I run the DWS on my CooperS,but I use it as a 3 season tire. I wouldn't be able to get out of my subdivision on them in a real snow storm. For occasional driving on an inch ,or two of snow they might be OK. They're great tires IMHO and I'll certainly be buying more.

I've been running Conti DWS this fall and winter on my Miata. As with any all-season tire, they are a compromise all the time. They did great on a longer highway trip with good grip in the rain at speed. Snow? I've only tried them in 1" with no ice, and they were just OK. Better than a summer tire, nothing like a true winter tire. If you're only going to run a single tire all year, I'd recommend. Otherwise, go for the extreme summer/winter tires.

In reply to bigbens6:

I'm on my 4th set of DWS on SWMBO's Fit. I'd say they offer ~80% of the winter traction of a true snow tire...or about 200% better than all-seasons. They wear well too.

Had the DW on my Malibu for track use. We're good at VIR and NJMP in the rain but second day NJMP was dry and the soft sidewall even at 40 psi hot caused enough roll onto the shoulder of the tire that they chunked. When they chunked they chunked all the way down to the cords. This was with about 2.5 degrees camber.

Would not buy them again unless I starting bringing a second set of wheels and tires as dedicated rain tires for the track.

Tires had been heat cycled by a couple thousand miles of road use before going to the track.

Would have lasted longer if I had the tires shaved down and the shoulder rounded a bit more. More camber could have helped them but other tires were fine with current camber.

bigbens6 wrote: Anyone have a comment on the DWS for ay ear round tire in ohio? Am I gonna get stranded in the snow?

I love the DWS as a 4-season tire. I have had a set on my wife's TSX for at least 4 years. Here in Delaware we don't get Buffalo-level snow, but we've had some 6-8-10" snows over the past few winters, and the DWS handled them very well. They're not dedicated snow tires, but they ARE the best all seasons I have ever driven on. If I had them instead of the DW on my E46, I probably wouldn't bother with snows.

petegossett wrote: In reply to bigbens6: I'm on my 4th set of DWS on SWMBO's Fit. I'd say they offer ~80% of the winter traction of a true snow tire...or about 200% better than all-seasons. They wear well too.

What size are you running on the fit? Ours is due this spring, and I'd love to get some halfway decent tires on that thing for a change

I've got a set on the G8. Never tried them in the snow, but haven't had a problem in the rain. I didn't notice any fuzzy steering as some suggested. But they are also on a 4100lb car. They seem to be wearing well through 10k or so miles. I really wanted PS2s, but couldn't justify the price.

In reply to cmcgregor:

They don't have the stock size for our '09, I think I had to go from a 185-width to a 195, but the profile is the same as stock. So it's a slightly taller tire, but not by much at all. There actually aren't many options in the stock 16" size anyway.

I run the DWS on both my Focus and the Transit Connect year round. Have not had any problems.

I'd say my DWSes new had at best 50% of the traction of my ExtremeWinterContacts in snow/ice. Tire Rack has published snow traction numbers for both that back up that impression. I do like the DWS as three-season tires on my Sienna. I have found they require considerably more air pressure than the stock tires to wear evenly, but they seem like they should last quite long--purchased 3/11/2011 and haven't worn the "W"s off yet.

I had the DW on my last BMW 330 and loved them. Great tire.

for yrs they were the go to rain tire for a-x'ers (that could get them in their size )

DWS on my wife's Acura TL. They've never seen snow, but three-season performance is excellent and they are wearing very well.

Extreme Contact DW on my 325is have been great on the road and one track day, again showing moderate wear. Good tires.

I have the ExtremeContact DW on my 91 Camaro, and they're great. They are quiet, ride well, and handle really good on dry and wet pavement. They are a good, not great autocross tire. It's hard to get Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s when these are much less, if not half the price for maybe 80-90% of the dry performance.

Good street tire, but not durable enough for track or heavy autocross use. However, they're so good in the rain some serious autocrossers keep a set as their rain tires.