Initial Impressions of Conti ExtremeContact DWS

[BlackNTan]

So had the 60K service (ouch), needed new battery (ouch) and then had the Conti ExtremeContact DWS tires put on the ZHP.

Wow, quite a difference. The car feels like a different vehicle. The ride is more comfortable but has as much grip as the previous tires (Falkens) and braking seems more efficient and less noisy. Acceleration is much improved and smoother.

Despite dropping over 2K today, I feel it was well spent and my car feels refreshed. I keep on prodding my wife to let me buy an M3, but that seems a lot lower on my list of to-dos after driving the ZHP home tonight.

[echo46]

Yea, every once in a while I lose my mind and crazy thoughts of a badass m3 creeps into my feeble mind. Then I find a cuuuurrrvey road and feel my ZHP bite into the asphalt and all is right in the world and I get my mind right.

[ryankokesh]

Love the dws's. Best tires I've ever had!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Washburn]

+1 Love my DWS tires also.

[danewilson77]

+1 Love my DWS tires also.

So far.... I do as well!

Sent from the HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA and USA

[BCS_ZHP]

DW, you're the mileage roller, 25K on the fronts & still 5-6/32nds remaining, 15K on the rears and same tread depth. Thinking will get 30K/20K life on these, maybe a little more.

[Rovert]

What are the main differences of DWS vs DW in non snow conditions? I feel that most describe their DWS feeling the same as i do with my DW's.

[danewilson77]

DW, you're the mileage roller, 25K on the fronts & still 5-6/32nds remaining, 15K on the rears and same tread depth. Thinking will get 30K/20K life on these, maybe a little more.

I achieved a rotated 28k mike's outta the RE970 A/S (could have gotten an easy 30k out of them) . I'm pretty religious about rotating tires.

Sent from the HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA and USA

[BCS_ZHP]

Yeah, you with the square set up & rotations, I suspect you're going to hit 35K or better.

[derbo]

DWS sounds like a contender for my replacement tires on the 135M. you guys have me convinced to try them out :D

[az3579]

DWS sounds like a contender for my replacement tires on the 135M. you guys have me convinced to try them out :D

But you get no snow... why bother with all seasons?

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD

[Tnhl1989]

I had the conti dws on my xi. I have to say that the only downside was the soft sidewalks. Otherwise amazing tires in the snow and wet. Dry was alright but not the greatest. Noise was decent too. I might consider the toyo proxes 4 plus as my next set to compare to the dws. Has anyone tried the proxes4plus??

[Crickett]

But you get no snow... why bother with all seasons?

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD

I'll be getting my second set of DWSs – despite living in Vegas – because they have a disproportionately great treadwear for how well they perform & for how much they cost. My 2¢.

[derbo]

But you get no snow... why bother with all seasons?

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD

Good point. Dw it is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[BCS_ZHP]

Another benefit, better mpg. On the wife's previous 330cic went from Yokohoma A/S to DWS, 2 mpg better. On her current car, Michelins to DWS and she can pull 30-31 mpg on the highway. The 2 coupes are 300 lbs lighter & on Kuhmos & Michelins, can't get either of them above 28-29 on the highway.

[danewilson77]

I believe the rise in gas mileage can be attributed to rolling resitance and tire weight.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/Tirecomparisonpage11.png (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/nicee46/media/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/Tirecomparisonpage11.png.html)
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/Tirecomparisonpage22-2.png (http://s1015.photobucket.com/user/nicee46/media/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/Tirecomparisonpage22-2.png.html)

[Mtnman]

^boss, dont think that image is lined up.... or maybe i need more coffee.

[danewilson77]

Fixed. I dunno what happened.

Moved to "Tires" as well.

[Rovert]

I haven't felt any sidewall softness issue on my DW summers. They feel nice and direct and they grip like a mother and her newborn in a tornado....in other words...NOT LETTING GO....LOL

[ranger]

We have the DWS on my wife's 2007 MB E350 and we like them too.

[BRGcoopahS]

These are the tires I'm getting very soon after my friend highly recommending me them. Good to know others have owned these tires. They seem like they are one of the best all seasons for the winter.

[Tnhl1989]

My impression since I'm in the northeast. I had them on my XI and they were great in all weather. My only concern with them is the sidewall being so soft. I had a set and three months later I had bubbles all over each tire. They got replaced due to factory road hazard. A few weeks later one tire had a hole on the inner sidewall. Again replaced by manufacture road hazard. All work was done at town fair tire. They honored the road hazard after I showed it to them. I think if I were to get another set it would have to be stretch a little over the rim so the sidewall doesn't stick out so far.

[danewilson77]

Great tires, but definitely flat spotted for first few miles of my drive this morning.

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[BRGcoopahS]

Flat spotted?

[ZHPRegistry.net]

Most high performance tires will flat-spot in the cold. It's just the way it is.

[Vas]

When I had dws, they got flat spots on them overnight. Went away after the tires warmed up.

I did like them because they were one of the best all season tired I had. But I prefer summer tires.

[HokieZHP]

Personally I had them and they were good tires. The Michelin pilot sport a/s I have now I feel are a lot better performance wise and in the snow.

[PirateZHP]

I just put these on the zetchpa, and I think they are great so far. Quiet, comfortable, but seem to have some good grip. Are they the best tires you can buy? No, but they are great tires for the price.

[Sockethead]

When we replaced the Michelins on the X5 with DWS, we noticed the soft sidewall as soon as we left the lot. We Had to replace 1 tire under warranty after hitting a nasty pothole.
Since installing a year ago, we've gotten used to the sidewalls

[Washburn]

DWS is a good tire - I am happy with them in most cases, but the amount of overnight flat spotting is atrocious.
And it happens even in warm weather, after sitting for a couple of days.
Then again, that is a side effect of having such good wet/light snow performance, probably.

How many miles (under normal daily driving conditions) would you guys say one should reasonably expect from a set of DWS (staggered)?

Although I like them, I am not 100% sure if I would buy again, due to the flat spotting; I was hoping the General G-Max was going to be a good AS UHP alternative, but it seems they're now being made in mexico and portugal and do not have the same quality as in the begnning when they came out. (Made in Germany at that time). I read somewhere, production was shifted to different countries due to poor demand...

If there's no decent alt. AS UHP/HP when time to change tires again come around, I'd still have to go with DWS but I am hoping we'll have a larger variety in this category in the OEM staggered sizes.

[HokieZHP]

I got just under 15k out of my rear dws tires and 25 on the front before I went to Michelin. I drive hard though.

[Washburn]

Hmmm...I think I have roughly 20k on the set.

[danewilson77]

Go with PSS A / S?

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[Washburn]

That is an option...They're super expensive, aren't they?
EDIT: do u mean Pilot Sport AS? I can't find a Pilot Super Sport AS on tire rack.

This seems to be a new Michelin UHP AS tire, but very little info right now...TR is impressed though:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+A%2FS+3+%28W-+or+Y-Speed+Rated%29

Beat 4 other AS UHP tires in their test, incl the DWS:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=177

[danewilson77]

Yes. The PS AS

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[MiniD]

That is an option...They're super expensive, aren't they?
EDIT: do u mean Pilot Sport AS? I can't find a Pilot Super Sport AS on tire rack.

This seems to be a new Michelin UHP AS tire, but very little info right now...TR is impressed though:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+A%2FS+3+%28W-+or+Y-Speed+Rated%29
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=177

The Michelin Pilot Sport ASs are awesome. Brand new too. I will never run another brand of tire!

[danewilson77]

The Michelin Pilot Sport ASs are awesome. Brand new too. I will never run another brand of tire!

Good data. Did you write up a review for these?

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[HokieZHP]

Yup I love my Michelin pilot sport A/S tires! Best tire I've used hands down and won't use anything else on the market unless something new comes out. The new ones, A/S 3 are supposedly even better. They will be my next tires come spring.

[ELCID86]

OK so the big M is back on my list of tires to consider. I used them for years but had moved away due to price and performance issue on other cars.

[brettbimmer]

+1 for the Michelin bandwagon. I swapped out my Yokohama S. Drives (which got incredibly noisy late in life) for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires, and they have been wonderful. My ZHP does sit sometimes for a week or two without moving, and I have not had any trouble with flat spotting on these tires. Prior to install this past spring:

11086

Decision came down to the Conti DWS's or the M. Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires, and I was swayed to them due to some of the concerns on the soft sidewalls with the DWS tires. First time I have had "no-season" tires on the ZHP, but they were chosen due to their longer treadwear rating (500) over some of the higher max performance tires. I haven't run them on the track yet, but after several long trips up the east coast as well as backroads cruising, they have proved themselves quite sticky in wet & dry weather. I would fork over the beans to buy them again, though they are a bit more money then some of the other options.

[trancenation]

I agree with Brett on this one. I recently purchased a set of Michelin PS 3 A/S and they are a far superior tire than some of the other brands I've had in the past. However, at the end of the day it really comes down to personal preference and what is feasible.

[Washburn]

Decision came down to the Conti DWS's or the M. Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires, and I was swayed to them due to some of the concerns on the soft sidewalls with the DWS tires. First time I have had "no-season" tires on the ZHP, but they were chosen due to their longer treadwear rating (500) over some of the higher max performance tires. I haven't run them on the track yet, but after several long trips up the east coast as well as backroads cruising, they have proved themselves quite sticky in wet & dry weather. I would fork over the beans to buy them again, though they are a bit more money then some of the other options.

What's the country of origin of Pilot A/s?
I am leaning tentatively towards the PS A/S3 right now for my next set. ..

[Crickett]

What's the country of origin of Pilot A/s?
I am leaning tentatively towards the PS A/S3 right now for my next set. ..

Tire Rack lists their origin as either US or Canada, depending on the specific size you pick.

[brettbimmer]

What's the country of origin of Pilot A/s?
I am leaning tentatively towards the PS A/S3 right now for my next set. ..


Tire Rack lists their origin as either US or Canada, depending on the specific size you pick.

After some research and breaking down the code on the sidewall of my tires, (4M), I believe this translates to their plant in Greenville, SC.

[Washburn]

Man this is going to be hard...
Just when I thought I had made up my mind for the AS/3, did some more reading on the G-Max AS03 and I am impressed again. (and TR now shows european production, which was not there a week ago...).
I mean considering bang for the buck, and the fact I drive in a 'normal' manner and only drive aggressively once in a while only, and never track/race, I think GMax is a great deal - I can get Road Hazard and still save about $200 over the Pilot AS/3...

But then I am afraid if the GMax, like the DWS might have too soft a side-wall/flat spotting, but reading the reviews, it seems to be less of a/none issue, unless people don't mention it....

EDIT: This thread clearly show that the GMax sidewall is stiffer compared to DWS, and no flat spotting reported...
I'd rather have more thread noise and a stiffer sidewall...
http://forums.5series.net/tires-wheels-52/general-g-max-as03-vs-continental-extreme-contact-dws-125776/

Reviews on other BMW forums are very positive...about 1% were negative but those reviewers seemed to have summer UHP expectations form a AS UHP tire, so...

They tested pretty well:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=173

[Sockethead]

The other question is how do these tires perform in the snow?
We haven't had any snow here in Jersey in two years so our DSWs are untested...

[HokieZHP]

I think the dws are better in the snow. I experienced about 6-8" of snow with both sets with relatively new tread and the dws seemed to have better traction. Just barely though. They're pretty similar honestly

[1 M Mike]

I'm on my second DWS set on the R32 with the first set returning 35k miles.

Very quiet tire for the first 30k miles..........confidence inspiring in the wet and brutally competent in up to 8 in. of unplowed snow. Look forward to huge snowfalls now.

Considered the Michie's, but at $148 for the Conti's vs. $181 for the A/S 3's since I was satisfied with the original set opted to go for what I know

[danewilson77]

I'm on my second DWS set on the R32 with the first set returning 35k miles.

Very quiet tire for the first 30k miles..........confidence inspiring in the wet and brutally competent in up to 8 in. of unplowed snow. Look forward to huge snowfalls now.

Considered the Michie's, but at $148 for the Conti's vs. $181 for the A/S 3's since I was satisfied with the original set opted to go for what I know
Very sensical Mike. Thanks for the confirmation that a "no season" tire can hold its own.

"No flamesuit required"

[ELCID86]

I've been waiting several weeks for DWSs for Nolan's Golf TDi. Still back-ordered.

[1 M Mike]

Very sensical Mike. Thanks for confirmation that a "no season" tire can hold its own.
No prob Dane. It's highly unusual for me to go with the exact same tire twice in a row. Kind of like buying shoes, it's fun to experiment with different styles and brands. But once you find something that fits your comfort zone, unless it's a serious bargain or head-over-heals better product I can't see the need to move off a good thing. My frau's E91 blew an RFT in late October, so I mounted the winter LM-60's a little earlier than normal. I'm seriously considering opting for the DWS, even though the DW's provide better performance and are about $20 per tire cheaper. While I might feel the difference between the two, no doubt the little woman wouldn't realize nor ever drive to exract out of it the difference.

[ryankokesh]

Man this is going to be hard...
Just when I thought I had made up my mind for the AS/3, did some more reading on the G-Max AS03 and I am impressed again. (and TR now shows european production, which was not there a week ago...).
I mean considering bang for the buck, and the fact I drive in a 'normal' manner and only drive aggressively once in a while only, and never track/race, I think GMax is a great deal - I can get Road Hazard and still save about $200 over the Pilot AS/3...

But then I am afraid if the GMax, like the DWS might have too soft a side-wall/flat spotting, but reading the reviews, it seems to be less of a/none issue, unless people don't mention it....

EDIT: This thread clearly show that the GMax sidewall is stiffer compared to DWS, and no flat spotting reported...
I'd rather have more thread noise and a stiffer sidewall...
http://forums.5series.net/tires-wheels-52/general-g-max-as03-vs-continental-extreme-contact-dws-125776/

Reviews on other BMW forums are very positive...about 1% were negative but those reviewers seemed to have summer UHP expectations form a AS UHP tire, so...

They tested pretty well:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=173

I can't say enough good things about the DWSs. Between my cars and my friends/family, I've purchased somewhere around 6 sets of them. They do a lot of things very well. They've been around for a while, but still have very little real competition (in my opinion). Admittedly I haven't driven the gmax though, so there's that. And I know other manufactures have been coming up with some solid products lately.

Also, keep in mind that Tire Rack started throwing in 2 years of road hazard protection. Not sure if that weighs in your decision, but figured it was worth noting since you mentioned purchasing it :)


Sent from my iPhone

[bshovers]

I like mine that's for sure! Saved my car once when I had come to a screeching stop because an oncoming FedEx truck thought a quick left was a good idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ELCID86]

I got a response back from Nick at TireRack about my back-ordered tires. I asked him why the delay.

"It's a combination of things. That tire is very popular and this size is very commonly used, so they do at times run out of them between production cycles. All it takes is something in their production schedule to be bumped back for any reason and it affects the production schedule of everything else they produce in that facility. They had some delays in production on other tires, which affected the production of these and unfortunately they didn't have supplies of them remaining from their last production runs. There's a few sizes of this tire that get affected like this at least once a year. Based on what Continental told us late last week, we're expecting them no later than February 6th. It's possible we see them a week before that."

[ryankokesh]

Bummer. They are pretty good at knowing when stuff will be in stock, though.


Sent from my iPhone

[UdubBadger]

I can't say enough good things about the DWSs. Between my cars and my friends/family, I've purchased somewhere around 6 sets of them. They do a lot of things very well. They've been around for a while, but still have very little real competition (in my opinion). Admittedly I haven't driven the gmax though, so there's that. And I know other manufactures have been coming up with some solid products lately.

Also, keep in mind that Tire Rack started throwing in 2 years of road hazard protection. Not sure if that weighs in your decision, but figured it was worth noting since you mentioned purchasing it :)


Sent from my iPhone

Would be 7 sets if my wife would get her act together and pick out a set of wheels


GoingHAM mobile

[ryankokesh]

Would be 7 sets if my wife would get her act together and pick out a set of wheels


GoingHAM mobile

:rofl


Sent from my iPhone

[ELCID86]

Update on my tires for my son's VW that are getting balder by the day:

"The date changing to backorder status isn't making sense to me. We were told there would be a few hundred of these delivered on a couple different deliveries to different locations of ours, but when we got the inventory lists from them today showing the product being delivered on those trucks, they weren't on there. Continental later told our purchasing department that they're on backorder now, without any explanation of what happened to the tires we were supposed to get, and that we won't likely see more until early March at best. I'm assuming they either had a major error in their inventory system, or they noticed an issue with those tires before they loaded them up on the trucks. Either way I'm extremely sorry about the news and quite frustrated about it myself. Let me know please if you have any questions."

[ELCID86]

After talking to Nick at T/R, I decide to got with Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology for Nolan's '12 Golf. They are in stock!

Also, thanks for the PM Ryan K.