Continental ExtremeContact DW Tires, anyone using them?

I have to change my tires again and I'm thinking of using these. They are priced pretty good and so far using Kumho Escta SPT, Pirelli P Zero's and Sumitomo HTR Z III has not been good. They are all noisy. Has anyone tried Continental ExtremeContact DW?

They were on a set of BBS rims I bought last winter. I could not get them off soon enough. They were LOUD and had radial pull. Plenty of threads out there on various tires. Do a search and your decision process will be easier.

You do know that 285-series summer ultra high performance tires are going to be fairly loud no matter what the brand, right? Quiet is a relative concept in a 911' particularly on some highway surfaces.

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Maybe. My new Michelin Super Sports are great across all road surfaces. And this includes a 2600 mile round trip to Bretton Woods, NH for an Early S event last weekend.

I wish I understood what characteristics make a tire quiet. I learned the Porsche does not put directional tires on the cars when they are new so they can be rotated right to left and vice versa. I've read so much and cannot get 2 opinions that agree. The car is loud no matter what but the tire noise just makes it ridiculous. I'm not a new 911 owner so I know what to expect, I'm just trying to avoid another expensive tire mistake, I've made a few already and the P Zero's were the worst. After 5K miles the rears were so loud it sounded like a semi. Putting Kumho's and Sumitomo on the car are like taking a really sexy girl to Kmart to buy lingerie. Been there with both of those brands and the quiet wears out even faster than the Pirelli's, and I don't drive hard at all. The Arizona heat wears the tires out even quicker. The pavement can get to over 150 degrees in the hot summer months.

This is not really a direct comparison but I put the Conti DW's on my 88 Targa replacing some old Yokohamas, and the Conti's were extremely smooth and quiet. Dry performance was excellent. They were the top performance rated tire at Tire Rack when I bought them and I had to wait about 4 months due to them being back ordered, which I took as a good sign.

I had these on my 135i, they were fine. BUT I came from runflat tires which are equivalent to having rocks for tires.

Absolutely love them! I have always liked Conti tires and will buy again and again!

Love them. Ran them at AutoX and DE @ Road Atlanta and they did fine there too.

Has anyone tried Continental ExtremeContact DW?[/QUOTE] I had a very good experience with the Conti EC/DW on a Shelby GT; the car was a DD and occasional DE event participant. These tires did very well. Good luck and please share your results after you have some miles on them.

I went with DWS for the wife's car due to the slightly softer sidewalks, more quiet treads, almost double life rating. All season rating only factored in afterwards since we already have dedicated snows. So far I'm pleasantly surprised as it seems to have the same or better grip than previous Sumis and Khumos without the ride harshness or noise.

DWS are good if you are street only. Might get a lot more mileage compared to the DW's. DW's offer better traction if you push your car occasionally. Interesting feature...there is an impressed D and W on the tread signifying the "DRY" and "WET" capabilities of the tire. When the "W" disappears - it signifies that the tire is only suited to "DRY" only and not the "Wet" anymore.

Because I work for a dealer I managed to get 2 Conti Sport Contact2 for the front of my car that have 8/32's left on them, they have 10/32's on them when new. They came off of a 911 Turbo that we sold to a guy that wanted New Michelin Pilot Sport's. I grabbed the tires and tomorrow morning I'm having those put on the front with the new Continental ExtremeContact DW put on the rear. It's my budget way out of the noisy crappy Kumho Escta SPT's that are on my car. Its a shame because the fronts have 7/32's left and the rears have 6/32's left. The tires are crap, so noisy I have to play the radio loud to drown out the noise. The thread design of both the Conti Sport Contact2 and the Continental ExtremeContact DW is close enough that it wont look odd. I'm getting the 2 rears mounted and speed balanced for $580.00 including tax and $30.00 to mount and balance the fronts. Conti Sport Contact2 Continental ExtremeContact DW --- Cannon 1000, there's that D W you mentioned in your post

I have both the DW (on a 968) and the DWS (on my C4). NO complaints with either tire for noise. Both are good ride quality for my tastes. These tires are great in our rainy Northwest conditions and that was an important purchase choice for me.

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Since you have both types, have you noticed any perceived differences in the sidewall stiffness and noise between the two?

I have the DWs on my M3 and have found them to be great tires - excellent handling and very quiet.good luck!

I had the tires put on the car today and I cannot get over how quiet the car is now. I work for a dealer and had the front pads changed and the rear rotors and pads done today as well. The tires are night and day compared to the CRAP KUMHO's that were on it.

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Great news! I found the DWs to be so quiet that I started obsessing over wind noise because there was nothing else to hear in the car - it was very odd.

Funny you mentioned that because I heard wind noise from the drivers side I never heard before. Amazing the difference these new tires make.

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Yeah, it allowed me to find a loose wheel well cover that was only apparent at speed >60mph. I have been very impressed with the tires. I hope they work out well for you. There is a difference in the top and second or 3rd tier suppliers, so it's worth sticking with the brands that work hard to innovate.

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I find that Asymmetric tires are less noisy than directional in general, you can have noisy asymmetric's and quieter directional's but in general I find asymmetric's the quietest. One of the biggest benefits to an asymmetric tire, and the main reason that you find performance euro cars using them is because of tire wear. With many Euro cars coming with fairly agressive camber and toe they wear on the inner edge of the tire very hard which can be compensated with an asymmetric tire with a harder more solid inner side of the tire. My cousin has an E92 M3 coupe. He runs an asymmetric Bridgestone RE050 that he has worn fairly evenly, in the summers. He runs a Directional Dunlop Wintersport 3D and a Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 both of which suffered terrible inner tire wear and cupping because of the agressive camber and toe. On a side note I have found that the Dunlop Sport Maxx GT's to be some of the more quiet tires I have run on my porsche.

I replaced the fairly new Eagle F1s that came with my '04 Cab with a set of Conti DWSs. I did the rears first, then the fronts. Huge difference in noise, which is important as the car is my daily ride. Unfortunately I need to take calls in it from time to time. I did notice that the grip overall went down slightly - most noticeably in the feel of the steering wheel. However - the car still stays stuck going around corners. The tires do not look as nice as the slab-sided F1s, but that's a minor consideration. I do not track the car, but when there are no other cars around, I push it hard on the twisties near my house. I would be interested in a comparison between the DW and the DWS. I get absolutely no snow down here, so I'd have preferred the DW. Over all - great tire for the money. I've also had very good experiences with Contis on the other cars I own.

There will always be tire noise, but noise on tires is mostly a function of tread design. The more irregular they make the tread design, the more it generates white noise which is less discernible to the ear. More regular tread patterns make more noise.

directional definitely is more noisy. they can generate a howling noise at highway speeds. this is hard to correct when you can't rotate side to side. my friend switched from michelin pilot sport to DWS. he said it was much quieter. not fair to compare worn to new tires though. i would go with DWS over DW. another tire to consider is the Bridgestone 960. Both are great tires.

I think the DW is a more sporty tire than the DWS, but everyone I know has been happy with both. It was recommended by Tire Rack over the DWS. I did end up with some cording on inside of a rear tire...but my girl has a big butt and it happens. :-( This was also before my new suspension as my original suspension sagged quite a bit under acceleration. I also had 1 DE and several AutoX on those tires...not just street driving. As soon as my free tires wear out..I'll go back to them (I kept the fronts).

The general consensus I came across when deciding on DW vs DWS would be one's priorities on what they were after. Longer life, quiet, more comfort would be traits that DWS would be more suited for. Ultimate handling, grip, better turn in and steering response would be DW's forte. Now it would be hard to quantify or measure the two to see how much of a negligible difference any one of those attributes had the advantage over the other unless someone had both sets on the same car. I would be very curious of the outcome.

Alpine.... Hard to answer your question but ....Having Both Tires on two very different Porsche - Front engine RWD and Rear engine AWD, I would say the DW's are a bit quieter but that comes from actually having first put the DWS set on the 968 and after a few months (and winter coming ) I swapped the set of DWS to the C4. I felt the 968 was quiet and had good handling response with both... but a bit better ride with the DWs. Now the Handling judgement is comparmised by the fact that the DWS set is 225's in the front (205 for the DW's) and the C4 is on PSS-9 Coilovers - while the 968 is stock. Either way I will say they are a good quality tire at a great Price and the choice is more about the Weather/Climate you drive in.

Is there a reason people are recommending an all season tire for a performance car in Arizona? I think that a proper summer performance tire would be more suitable.

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Not sure I would put any all season tire on my 911, regardless of climate.

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Thats what I mean, I have winter tires for the time between october first and june 1st. I have summer tires for the time between june 1st and october 1st, and a set of R compounds for track days. I buy tires for a specific purpose. I dont think All Seasons really have a place, especially on a performance car

Well, on my '77 3.0, I have gummy summers. But on my '04, which is my daily, I have "quiet" tires. I like to drive Porsches every day, so I'll sacrifice the performance degredation of a quiet all weather tire in order to drive perfection on a daily basis. So I guess there is a reason, at least for me.

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I would agree with that 100%. All season tires are fine on a Honda Civic, not a 911.

Lol, people are thinking hardcore here. Yes if you do DE or track events or want maximum street performance for say canyon carving experience, then I would 100% agree that summer tires would fit the bill. Although personally, I do have summer only tires on my 911, I see absolutely nothing wrong with guys that use their cars as daily driver that sees close to 100% street driving going with all seasons. If you are turning street corners, how much of a performance increase are you actually going to notice between the two?LOL. What most WILL notice though on majority of high performance summer only tires is road noise, harsher ride, and decreased tread wear. It all depends on one's priorities and preferences but I do believe there is a place for all seasons until they can develop some magical rubber compound with no trade offs.

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Ahhh - the voice of reason

I currently use 18" summer tires in the summer and 17" all-seasons in the winter. I just picked up my car this morning after installing the Extreme Contact DWs to replace some old Conti ContactSport2s. I run Michelin PS A/S in the winter since I can't find any appropriate snows. I'm very pleased with the DWs so far but it's only been about 50 miles.

Yes ... a voice of reason. Porsche are ALSO made for Every-Day use. Even Porsche USA has a new slogan "Not just 0 to 60 ... but 0 to the store...: Yes my Porsche is an Evert-Day driver Rain (Life in Seattle :-) and shine, and a "Z rated" all season tire makes good sense. I love Spirited driving on Club Tours and an occasional Auto-X, and see 7000 RPM often where the road allows, but I do not need a $300 per copy Tire to give me a 10-10ths lap time to the Safeway. Even Porsche recommends a SNOW tire for winter, so why not an All Season - quite - better wearing - great rain tire for us folks that drive in "all seasons"? I do not own a 911 to win races - I own it to enjoy the journey - often & everywhere.

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Exactly! a snow tire, maybe familiarize yourself with the differences between between all seasons and winter tires, there is a reason that many provinces in Canada are pushing through legislation that states that one must have winter tires from Nov 1 to March 1. Because M+S tires are much different than tires with a mountain snowflake rating(hense why Porsche recommends having 2 sets of tires one for warm months one for cold, proper tires for the conditions, not an all season). Having my own tire shop, and my family having been involved in the tire industry before I was born, I would consider myself pretty knowledgeable in tires, there is a reason behind the saying, "All Seasons, alright at everything, not good at anything" That being said if your P-car is just a grocery getter, and you dont push it or drive it like a P-car is meant to be driven then maybe all seasons is a good solution, or if noise is a problem, maybe get a lincoln town car? I hear they are very comfortable and quiet. For me free tires are free tires, I don't pay for 1 set or 10 sets, but there is a reason I have 2 sets of rims and 3 sets of tires and it is not because I enjoy bringing my car into the shop, putting my car onto a lift, removing the wheels, dismounting tires, mounting new tires, balancing the wheels, and reinstalling them on my car. It is because I know the difference tires made for specific conditions and the benefits they have. My father said he used to drive through winters on bias ply tires and if he can do that then he can drive through all conditions on all seasons. Sure he can, but it is easier and safer to driver on a tire suited for the conditions you use it for. Why use a hand drill when you have access to a power drill?

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Actually, Porsche has approved both Summer and Winter tires but you'll notice they've never approved an all-season tire. An all-season is just a compromise. I wouldn't run them if I could get snows in the 17" fitment.

I've been using Continental ExtremeContacts and simply love them. I use them year round. I live in the NW its wet, but even in the summer, no complaints. Ideally one would have two sets of wheels with summer on one and winter on the other but for city and country road twisties the all season Contis are fantastic. I've never had a problem with road noise until the tires are nearing the end of their life of course.

Personally, I'm not a fan of all-season tires on a 911. I run Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s on my summer wheels and Pirelli Winter SnowSport 240s on my winter wheels. This combination works very well for me. I typically put my winter wheels on around October 15th and keep them on until around May 15th. I do run Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires as the "summer" tires on my Cayenne. They are quiet, reasonably priced and they offer decent tread life. I switch to Michelin Latitude Alpin tires for the winter on the Cayenne.

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Dude, keep the wife off the sidewalks. This will make your premiums higher.