Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Branford, CT
    Posts
    16,055

    Review of the Continental ExtremeContact DWS tire

    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.



    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.
    BP
    2005 330i ZHP / 6MT
    Imolarot / Naturbraun
    2003 330iT / 6MT
    Orientblau / Naturbraun




    It's not the car you drive, it's how you drive it.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    2,292
    Great review BP!

    If it's alright, I'll tack on a little review of my own with the winter part since BP didn't have a winter apparently haha

    I have had them for ~10k now and am also happy with them. I got them staggered 235/40/18 in front and 255/35/18 in back. Beforehand I had Goodyear F1's. Car has 135k miles currently.

    I drove my car in snow ranging from 1"-5" of fresh snow as well as the next morning in the ice/snow mix on the road. The car did decently well I'd say. I only had trouble getting going once and it was at a red light on a slight uphill. They did grab though and I did get going, it was just a little slow. I can only compare to my old TDI jetta (FWD) and my dad's Audi a3 (quattro) but i'd say the tires do well in the snow for not being snow tires. I never got stuck, even when I was driving on un-driven roads with 1-5" of fresh snow on them on slight hills and such. Didn't get stuck.

    Overall, for AS tires, they are pretty good in my book. I'll most likely go to some performance summer tires next time but that's just because I prefer the benefits of a summer tire, performance wise.

    Both of my parents have Michelin Pilot Sport All season tires on their audi's and I feel the two are very very close to one another. The PS's have less tire squeal but other than that they seem pretty even from my experience. Can't comment much on tire life since it's comparing the DWS's on a RWD car to Pilot sports on AWD and FWD audi's.

    I would buy them again though if I was going to go with an all-season tire.
    -Chris-

    2003 ZHP Sedan - Jet Black on Sand - SOLD

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    European Auto Source
    Posts
    911
    Revival. My shop recommended this tire after I went through Pirelli PZeros and Toyo Proxes T1 Sport rears in about 10-15k miles each. Are you able to flip these tires side to side?
    Modification Thread
    Original Car: Silver Grey on Grey, A/T (1 of 186)
    As it sits: Silver Grey on Black, M/T (1 of 51)
    European Auto Source Tech
    Instagram: @CarbonZHP

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    22841
    Posts
    9,921
    There is a new replacement tire out now

    http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...ighlight=conti

    But do you need an all-season tire in California? I would look at the Conti DW or Bridgestone S04 for an affordable summer tire IMO.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    European Auto Source
    Posts
    911
    Quote Originally Posted by Vas View Post
    There is a new replacement tire out now

    http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...ighlight=conti

    But do you need an all-season tire in California? I would look at the Conti DW or Bridgestone S04 for an affordable summer tire IMO.
    My main goal right now is tread life. I need something a little harder to handle the little extra camber I have. I dont track at all and the most I do is spirited daily driving. The "Ultra High Performance summer tires" have just been going way too fast

    Edit: Treadwear number on the DWS is 540 vs. the DW 340
    Modification Thread
    Original Car: Silver Grey on Grey, A/T (1 of 186)
    As it sits: Silver Grey on Black, M/T (1 of 51)
    European Auto Source Tech
    Instagram: @CarbonZHP

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Branford, CT
    Posts
    16,055

    Review of the Continental ExtremeContact DWS tire

    The DWS will provide excellent tread life. I had 4 track days and about 35-40k on them before they wore out, and that was without rotating them.

    You can probably expect 30-35 if you have extra negative camber.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    BP
    2005 330i ZHP / 6MT
    Imolarot / Naturbraun
    2003 330iT / 6MT
    Orientblau / Naturbraun




    It's not the car you drive, it's how you drive it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    European Auto Source
    Posts
    911
    At my alignment I was at -3.1 degrees, but I told them not to change it. I needed the extra camber to not rub the fender. Since then I've done a little more shaving and have maxed out the stock camber arms to positive so I'm probably running between 2.5 and 3 degrees negative.
    Modification Thread
    Original Car: Silver Grey on Grey, A/T (1 of 186)
    As it sits: Silver Grey on Black, M/T (1 of 51)
    European Auto Source Tech
    Instagram: @CarbonZHP

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    22841
    Posts
    9,921
    Did your tires wear out due to camber or toe? Or they had an even wear pattern?

    His - 2004 Imola Red / Alcantara 330i | 6MT | ZHP |

    Her's - 2005 Black Sapphire Metallic / Black Leather 330i | 6MT | ZHP |

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    European Auto Source
    Posts
    911
    Honestly the camber I have should not give me the kind of wear Im getting, so I suspect another issue somewhere else. But I mean, toe should be fine too. New poly RTABs a year ago, and an alignment at EAS a couple months ago.
    Modification Thread
    Original Car: Silver Grey on Grey, A/T (1 of 186)
    As it sits: Silver Grey on Black, M/T (1 of 51)
    European Auto Source Tech
    Instagram: @CarbonZHP

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    European Auto Source
    Posts
    911
    Well, they're on. My first comment is that the steering now feels like mush, but I believe my FCABs are failed too
    Last edited by CarbonZHP; 03-25-2015 at 08:02 AM.
    Modification Thread
    Original Car: Silver Grey on Grey, A/T (1 of 186)
    As it sits: Silver Grey on Black, M/T (1 of 51)
    European Auto Source Tech
    Instagram: @CarbonZHP

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