az3579
05-05-2012, 07:35 PM
I purchased a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires in August 2011 with approximately 108k on the car. At the time of this writing, I have 127k on the car (May 2012), so approximately 19-20k miles have been put on the tires.
In the mean time, the tires have endured the 19k or so of daily driving, in addition to about (2) auto-x days and a track day in April.
The tires are relatively comfortable. As with other all-season tires, they're a harder compound than summer tires, so naturally they will be a little harsher. I am happy to report that these tires are no harsher than any other all seasons I've had (I've only ever had all seasons). When I hit potholes, I don't feel as though the front end is going to fall off; in fact any harshness that's there is caused by my stiffer suspension, not the tires. They are nice and comfortable for cruising on the highway, though minor bumps can be felt. Once again, this may be due to do my stiffer suspension, so take that with a grain of salt.
So far with 20k on them, they are not exhibiting any unusual road noise. Some tires get louder as they wear, but so far I haven't heard anything unusual from them. They are still relatively quiet for cruising. My previous tires, Pirelli PZero Nero All Seasons, were excruciatingly loud as they wore. I can gladly say these tires do not suffer from the same problem.
The wear so far is quite good for a car of this type. Our ZHPs are pretty hard on tires, regardless of driving style, so 40-50k can be expected from a set of tires if driven sedately. For comparison, my Pirelli's lasted approximately 30-35k, with three track days and maybe a couple of auto-x events on them. It's looking like my Conti's will outlast the Pirelli's by a long shot. I've got about 20k on them and they look only half worn, though that's with only one track day. I think with a couple more track days under my belt, they will be closer to the Pirelli's, though I hope they will stay quiet in the process.
Price-wise, these bad boys are up there, but then again, they should be. They are one of the best all season tires you can get, IMO. I had to get 235/35R-18 all around because I couldn't afford the staggered OEM sizes. The difference in price between 235's all around and 225/255 was a few hundred dollars! I have not noticed any performance difference between the two sizes (Pirelli's were 225/255's).
I can say that I'm rather impressed by the performance of these tires. For being all seasons, they handle corners like a champ. I did hear some tire squeal on the track, naturally, but they do have a gradual feel to them as they approach the limit based on what I felt that one day at the track. They were noticeably grippier than the Pirelli's. Wet track was okay, but I would have wanted a little better wet traction. I've broken the car loose one time when getting on the highway, and I wasn't even near half throttle (60mph) taking a light turn onto the highway. It wasn't a bad loss of traction, just a very minor bit of opposite lock. It was still enough to make me wonder though, had I been going a little faster; it was soaking wet, so I guess I can't complain too much other than about myself.
Stopping distance isn't something I noticed much of a difference with, and isn't a fair comparison. I have different brake setup now, so the brakes are a little firmer and as a result grab a microsecond sooner than my stock brakes did, so that would skew my perception of stopping distance.
We didn't have much of a winter, so snow traction can't be rated all that well. There was one minor storm that left a few inches on the ground, and the car performed well in that test with some smart winter driving. As long as you're not being an idiot, you can make it through some packed down snow without much drama.
Oh, and... the tires look pretty badass, IMO. :)
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/conti/co_xtrcontactdws_ci2_l.jpg
My personal overall score (for an all-season tire): 8.7/10.
Would I buy it again if shopping for an all-season tire?
Hell. Yes. I probably wouldn't even consider another tire; I'd just go straight for the DWS.
In the mean time, the tires have endured the 19k or so of daily driving, in addition to about (2) auto-x days and a track day in April.
The tires are relatively comfortable. As with other all-season tires, they're a harder compound than summer tires, so naturally they will be a little harsher. I am happy to report that these tires are no harsher than any other all seasons I've had (I've only ever had all seasons). When I hit potholes, I don't feel as though the front end is going to fall off; in fact any harshness that's there is caused by my stiffer suspension, not the tires. They are nice and comfortable for cruising on the highway, though minor bumps can be felt. Once again, this may be due to do my stiffer suspension, so take that with a grain of salt.
So far with 20k on them, they are not exhibiting any unusual road noise. Some tires get louder as they wear, but so far I haven't heard anything unusual from them. They are still relatively quiet for cruising. My previous tires, Pirelli PZero Nero All Seasons, were excruciatingly loud as they wore. I can gladly say these tires do not suffer from the same problem.
The wear so far is quite good for a car of this type. Our ZHPs are pretty hard on tires, regardless of driving style, so 40-50k can be expected from a set of tires if driven sedately. For comparison, my Pirelli's lasted approximately 30-35k, with three track days and maybe a couple of auto-x events on them. It's looking like my Conti's will outlast the Pirelli's by a long shot. I've got about 20k on them and they look only half worn, though that's with only one track day. I think with a couple more track days under my belt, they will be closer to the Pirelli's, though I hope they will stay quiet in the process.
Price-wise, these bad boys are up there, but then again, they should be. They are one of the best all season tires you can get, IMO. I had to get 235/35R-18 all around because I couldn't afford the staggered OEM sizes. The difference in price between 235's all around and 225/255 was a few hundred dollars! I have not noticed any performance difference between the two sizes (Pirelli's were 225/255's).
I can say that I'm rather impressed by the performance of these tires. For being all seasons, they handle corners like a champ. I did hear some tire squeal on the track, naturally, but they do have a gradual feel to them as they approach the limit based on what I felt that one day at the track. They were noticeably grippier than the Pirelli's. Wet track was okay, but I would have wanted a little better wet traction. I've broken the car loose one time when getting on the highway, and I wasn't even near half throttle (60mph) taking a light turn onto the highway. It wasn't a bad loss of traction, just a very minor bit of opposite lock. It was still enough to make me wonder though, had I been going a little faster; it was soaking wet, so I guess I can't complain too much other than about myself.
Stopping distance isn't something I noticed much of a difference with, and isn't a fair comparison. I have different brake setup now, so the brakes are a little firmer and as a result grab a microsecond sooner than my stock brakes did, so that would skew my perception of stopping distance.
We didn't have much of a winter, so snow traction can't be rated all that well. There was one minor storm that left a few inches on the ground, and the car performed well in that test with some smart winter driving. As long as you're not being an idiot, you can make it through some packed down snow without much drama.
Oh, and... the tires look pretty badass, IMO. :)
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/conti/co_xtrcontactdws_ci2_l.jpg
My personal overall score (for an all-season tire): 8.7/10.
Would I buy it again if shopping for an all-season tire?
Hell. Yes. I probably wouldn't even consider another tire; I'd just go straight for the DWS.