Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Review

[cp-the-nerd]

I just had my break-in oil change completed at a little over 1700 miles and finally swapped on the all-season Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 tires that have been sitting in my guest shower for a month (no garage). The factory equipment Bridgestone Potenza RE050A summer tires were sufficiently sporty and handled wet conditions well enough, but were loud with poor ride quality. Living in Maryland, all season tires are essential for daily driver duty because of fairly harsh winters.

Price:

I don't know how Continental sells some of the best tires on the market for the prices they offer, when other brands easily go for $50-100 more per tire. I got my whole set shipped to my house off TireRack.com for around $850 (Fronts: 245/40R19, Rears: 275/35R19, Y-rated). That price is so good, it makes you second guess the quality, but the online reviews are exceptional. A set of the factory Bridgestones run nearly $1400.

Tread life is expected to be around 35k miles, which is pretty great when you consider dollar-per-mile vs the stockers and other summer tires.

Performance:

I haven't really pushed these tires to the limit, but my initial impressions with some moderately aggressive driving would suggest I haven't lost an appreciable amount of acceleration and handling grip to the stock summer tires. This falls in line with the reviews I read. A short blast from 10-55 mph turning a corner ahead of traffic yielded no break in traction whatsoever. Wet performance is at least as secure as the factory tires, with which I never had issues anyway (because I'm not an idiot pushing a muscle car in the rain). I'll update the thread when I have more time with the new rubber.

Ride quality:

This is probably the greatest appeal of the tires IMO. Immediately after leaving the shop with the new tires on, I noticed a major improvement in comfort and road noise. I'll stop short of calling the SS a luxury sedan, because it lacks GM's acoustic laminated glass that gives many of their cars that vault-like quiet tuning on the highway, but the car has achieved boulevard cruiser status.

Conclusion:

Even with my limited experience so far, I highly recommend these tires as a 4-season alternative for any daily-driven performance car. They seem to give fantastic ride quality and noise control without significant sacrifice to performance, and the expected 35k mile treadwear with exceptionally low price is the cherry on top.

[A Horse With No Name]

Thank you for an excellent review.  I will consider this the next time I need tires!

[ykX]

Thanks for the review.  I actually was considering getting tires like that for my car next year.  I currently have max performance summer and another set of winter rims and tires but winter set will last me only one more winter and the summer set, well with the mileage I am putting a year plus occasional autocross, kills them in slightly more then  a year.  So I was thinking to buy UHP all seasons next time.  Seems these Continentals one of the best.

Keep us updated how they hold up.

[cp-the-nerd]

I should add that the ExtremeContact DWS 06 has a 50,000 mile treadwear warranty if your tires aren't staggered sizes and can be rotated front to back. Warranty is halved for staggered sets, I got my 35,000 mile prediction from other SS owners.

The other primary competitor is the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3, which is an excellent tire as well for about $50 more per tire. The A/S 3 is known for even better performance limits at the cost of harsher ride quality and slightly shorter tread warranty (45k mi).

[ykX]

Interesting.  My car has staggered size from factory as well but the front rim can take same width tire as rear so i put square setup now, mostly for slightly better traction at the front for autocross.  The only problem is when I put rear rims which are slightly wider and heavier on the front, it influences the steering, but not too dramatically.

[smk4565]

I got these a couple months ago, I actually bought through the dealer because they had $150 off any set of 4 tires deal and I think it was about $900 installed for a staggered size 18 inch low profile set.   I thought that was pretty good because the Michelin Pilot Sport and Pirelli P-Zero were around $100 more.

I think these tires are great, I had Hankook and Pirelli tires in the past, these ride and handle better, and surprisingly I think these do about as well in snow as the Bridgestone Blizzak tires I used to use in winter.  I'd recommend the Continentals for sure.

[G. David Felt]

Hankook I have always found to be really noisy tires in multiple different sizes from low profile to traditional. I have always had family and friends change them out. 

My only concern last time I looked at the Continental is that unlike the Michelin tires that have nature sipping all the way to the 10% mark of the tire by design, the Continental design of the tires as it is for Bridgestone also goes to 50% of tire life and then you actually lose tire traction and performance unless your in a dry climate.

Quiet tire and people seem to like them but I do wonder how at the half life part of the tire how well they will hold up.

Understandable all tires lose grip / performance as they wear out, but you have to understand some tires handle it better than others and the safety of my family is worth the extra money on the Michelin tires.

Please keep us updated as I would really like to know how they are doing at 15K and as you hit 30K miles on them.

Thank you for the outstanding review. 

[2QuickZ's]

I bought these tires for the Saab 9-5 I used to have.  They were a great tire.  Light years better than the noisy Falken tires that were on it when I bought it.  I liked them so much that when it was time to put new tires on the T&C, I switched it over to Conti TrueContact DWS tires.  I just replaced two of them tonight after about 30k miles but that was my fault due not fixing the alignment quick enough combined with not rotating them.   It wore out the outside tread blocks prematurely. 

The back tires still have the S even after 30k miles!  For those that don't know, Conti embeds a "D", "W" and "S" in the tread blocks with the idea that when the "S" is worn off, the tire is no longer good for snow, the "W", no longer good for Wet and the "D" ... well, its time for new tires.

[Drew Dowdell]

You can find them at TireBuyer.com

Continental ExtremeContact Sport Passenger Tire, 225/45ZR17, 15506470000

Product Description

Tested by professional racecar drivers and perfected by Continental's engineers, the Continental ExtremeContact Sport is a real-deal summer street tire for anyone who loves the thrill of driving. This ultra high-performance tire is designed for truly exceptional dry and wet traction and handling, and also delivers a quiet ride and enhanced treadlife. Continental ExtremeContact Sport Passenger Tire, 225/45ZR17, 15506470000.

And now till May 22, 2018 there is a $50 rebate.

[ccap41]

^ That is what replaced my Extreme Contact DW's. 

I like the grip of the DW's but they are not a very quiet tire. They are very noticeably louder than the OE ContiProContacts.