Anybody have experience with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS?

"Biased Plies" (biased-plies)
11/21/2013 at 12:34 • Filed to: Tires

I'm considering these to replace the all-seasons currently on my car. I live in Ontario and in winter our roads are typically well cleared and fairly dry, most of the time. Based on the tread pattern, these look like they should handle slush and water well and be decent in the snow. Online reviews are fairly mixed, they range from seeming like exactly what I'm looking for to being called useless in snow and having no treadlife. So, does anyone here have experience with these tires? Recommended? Stay away?

Oh, I should also not that I won't actually be doing a whole lot of driving in the winter in this car. When I go skiing I typically take another vehicle.

Alternatively I'm considering the Hankook Optimo 4S. These are also all-season but are technically certified as a winter tire as well. These are fairly well reviewed as having good winter grip but are noted for a significantly shorter life.

Thanks.

Side note: My notification count is now up to 477. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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DISCUSSION (37)

Biapilotaceman > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:39

While I have no experience in the snow, I can say that I have had good experience with them here in southern Louisiana as a long-lasting, all around performance tire. Unfortunately, I have no experience in snow... snow my input probably isn't what you're looking for. All the same, I've been really pleased with them. Pretty good dry and wet grip.

Agrajag > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:42

No experience with these particular ones. Just helping you with your cause.

getFuckedHerb > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:43

Had them on a Jetta- when they were new they were pretty damn good in the snow. When the summer came around they were pretty damn good on pavement. When the next winter came up they had enough wear that they were not worth a shit in snow. 25,000 miles from "pretty damn good" to "Not worth keeping on" bought a set of winter tires and wheels and the tires lasted me 2 more summers.

Biased Plies > Agrajag
11/21/2013 at 12:43

:) Thanks.

ColoradoTaco > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:44

One of the most recommended tires I see on Audizine as good all around, all season tire. No personal experience with them though

Biased Plies > Biapilotaceman
11/21/2013 at 12:44

Wet grip is probably my main concern so I definitely appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

UserNotFound > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:44

I had the DWS on my old Cougar for a short while (before I sold it). I never drove them in the snow but they performed well in the wet and dry.

Tom McParland > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:45

I've run the Extreme Contacts on 3 different cars 95' Prelude (this was before the Conti's had that unique tread pattern) '04 Cooper S and a '05 Subaru LGT wagon. I found them to be surprisingly good in light snow and really good dry traction.

Biased Plies > getFuckedHerb
11/21/2013 at 12:47

Thanks. That's not a scenario I'm opposed to actually. I may get a different car within a year so I could deal with those results. Otherwise, I'll consider grabbing a different set of wheels so I could put winters on those next year if I do keep the car. Thanks for the feedback.

Biased Plies > Tom McParland
11/21/2013 at 12:48

Excellent. Thanks for the feedback.

Stevo777 > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:48

I had them on my 09 C300 4matic Mercedes. They were great in the rain, slush and snow but I personally didn't like their dry characteristics, at 75-80 mph the tires feel a bit squirrelly. (but no one does that because the max speed limit in NJ is 65) It gets bad if you have to make an immediate lane change and I wasn't confident with them in dry conditions.

-They perform excellent in inclement weather but the tread is soft and wont be a good performance all season IMO.

Tom McParland > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:49

Also take a look at Tire Rack's user reviews, you can get a good idea on what people drive, where they drive, and how they drive to get a sense of what this rubber is all about.

dogisbadob > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:50

I have the DWS's predecessor on my car right now (the ContiExtremeContact). Of course, my tires are directional; luckily they fixed that with the DWS. (the new ones are not available in my size though)

Snow traction isn't bad for a high performance tire.

Tread life 25-30k

Party-vi > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:51

Kinja'd!!!

/thread

parkingking > ColoradoTaco
11/21/2013 at 12:51

First winter with em on my B5 wagon was incredible. I can only imagine what proper snow tires + Quattro is like.

They're excellent tires for the price - it's hard to find a better deal. I paid $106/each for 205/55/R16. That's cheap for a tire that's decent in snow, good in wet, average in the dry, and has a 50,000 mile treadlife guarantee.

Ben Franklin Ice Auger > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:53

I have these on my 2007 Mazda3, and have only good things to report. They're entering the end of their life now, but will probably last around 60,000 miles easy. The traction was great on dry and wet. Not much snow experience to speak of, but I didn't notice anything alarming. Would buy again. Hope this helps!

Biased Plies > Stevo777
11/21/2013 at 12:54

Hmmm, interesting. I had read similar things elsewhere (softer tread and sidewall, making it more comfortable but not great for handling), but not the point of losing some confidence in them. My cruising speed on the highway is usually right around the 75-80mph you mentioned so this does concern me (amusingly, most people do this speed in Ontario, even though the limit is ~60).

Thanks for your feedback.

Biased Plies > Ben Franklin Ice Auger
11/21/2013 at 12:55

This is also for a mazda3 so that's very relevant to me. Thanks very much.

Sn210 > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 12:57

I've had these on my Civic for 20k miles. I haven't had a problem in the 2 or 3 New England winters and they've been fine in the rain. The reviews off Tirerack were very positive from what I remember. My only complaint was that they felt soft and kind of lumpy when it got cold, but I added a couple more psi's of air and they were alright.

Biased Plies > Party-vi
11/21/2013 at 12:59

Great tire, I'm sure. If this was anything other than my lowly Mazda3, I'd be all over these but I'm just not sure I can justify the expense and I do feel these are a bit too lacking in snow prowess.

Biased Plies > dogisbadob
11/21/2013 at 13:01

Hmm, that tread life expectation is quite low, they are apparently rated for 80K km (50k miles). I guess if they don't go as long as advertised, I'll just get a prorated cost/refund towards new tires.

Thanks for the feedback.

Biased Plies > Sn210
11/21/2013 at 13:02

This soft feeling has been echoed in a few places that I've read reviews, here as well. Thanks for your feedback.

Biased Plies > Tom McParland
11/21/2013 at 13:03

Will do. I hadn't checked them yet but I did go to what pretty much amounts to a Canadian version of Tire Rack, 1010tires.ca. Thanks.

getFuckedHerb > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 13:08

No problem, good luck in the snowy days ahead!

ColoradoTaco > parkingking
11/21/2013 at 13:09

Let me say, quattro + plus proper Winter tires is damn near unstoppable in the snow, and I don't even bother turning my coilovers up to make more clearence. Drive at this height all year:

Kinja'd!!!

N/A POWAAAHH > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 13:10

My dad had the extreme contacts on his car, and were pretty good in my opinion

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 13:11

I put these on my wife's A4 Quattro this fall. We've not had snow yet so I don't know how well they'll do in that. But so far they are comfortable, quiet and have had good traction in the wet. For her performance doesn't matter and we've not had the car up to 75-80 MPH yet.

That's all I got!

Biased Plies > parkingking
11/21/2013 at 13:12

Where did you pay $106 for 205/55r16? That's exactly the size I need and I'm looking at $150-$160 here. It might just be the fact that I'm in Canada but it shouldn't be that bad. I'll have to look around more.

Sn210 > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 13:15

No problem. Here, have another notification.

Walfisch > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 13:26

My brother have these in his daily driver (Audi A4) in MA. They are pretty good as all-seasons. Still running strong with 30k miles on them, although his daily commute is not heavy (20-25 miles daily) on paved roads. I'm actually thinking of these as my replacement tires for my car as well.

Party-vi > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 13:59

If you're worried about snow then I would definitely get some winter tires as opposed to all-seasons, but the Extreme Contact DWS does have good snow traction (or better than most other all-seasons) but I have heard it's a bit noisy.

dogisbadob > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 14:33

Hey, at least they have a tread warranty now! (My tires had no such guarantee at all)

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Biased Plies
11/21/2013 at 17:45

I have a set of these on my SVX and Legacy GT.

Great tires, but, like any tires in that class, as they wear down, they get louder on the harder lower layers of rubber.

But the traction and behavior is good. I would buy another set.

I tried, but ended up putting General Tire's competitor to this tire on the Miata, because I couldn't find a set of the Continentals in the US at the time I needed them.

DocWalt > Biased Plies
11/22/2013 at 00:19

They have soft sidewalls, so there's a noticeable mushy feel when you turn into corners. Otherwise, they're superb.

Jeremym19 > Biased Plies
11/22/2013 at 08:54

I had those conti dws on an A6 and they held up pretty well and handled the snow better than an average tire the couple of times it had to.

parkingking > Biased Plies
11/22/2013 at 14:27

Tirerack. It was also around $45 shipping, plus about $60 total after tax for mount+balance+valvestem from Walmart.

Biased Plies > parkingking
11/22/2013 at 14:30

Hmmm, I should check what their shipping to Canada works out to. Maybe (hopefully) it actually turns out to be cheaper. Thanks.

Edit - damn, it is cheaper, even with $128 for shipping.