So it finally snowed here in Chicago and I got to see how my tires perform in the snow. There was about 4" of snow on the ground and I was on the road at about 5:30 a.m. so there wasn't alot of traffic on the road. I was on a narrow, 2 lane road out in the country heading to work and I was pretty impressed with these tires. I've been spoiled with snows on my old Mini the past 3 winters so I wasn't sure how the conversion was going to be but it was fine, another thing these tires do well...go through snow. I've got almost 10k on these tires already and have done 1 rotation since getting them. I've got 2 trips back home to Detroit, a trip to the Dragon and another trip where I put about 400 miles on the car on Labor Day. My calculations have me at about 80% treadlife right now, so they've got many more miles on them and with proper rotation, I expect to get atleast 50k worth of "usable" mileage. I've never been one to run tires all the way to their max, its just not smart IMO and these tires are "rated' at about 50-55k.

So far these tires have kicked serious ass on the Dragon and Cherahola Skyway, look great compared to the OE tires, have a smooth sidewall, something not very common on today's tires and for someone who likes to keep his tires looking good, this is a good thing as its easy to apply tire dressing and now have took on some snow. Now, will they perform in heavier snow, we shall see....well, I hope not actually but if I get into some of that, I'll let you guys know.

I give these tires 5 out of 5 possible stars

 

More snow coming this weekend, round #2

 

Half way through winter and I must say these tires are most impressive, my buddy with a Mazdaspeed 3 with 3x's the power and torque of my Fit has them too and can't get over hwo good these tires are in the snow and when the snow starts to melt and its slushy or just pure wet roads, they get even better. I can't say enough good things about these tires, Continental really did their homework on these for sure. I never thought an all-season could be so good in the snow as I've used to pure snow tires for the past 3 seasons but now I'm convinced as they've handled the Dragon (318 turns in 11 miles), standing snow of about 6" and rain covered roads

 

Two more Mazdaspeed 3's have joined the DWS club, a 2010 and 2007 and they really, really love them

We're supposed to get hammered Tuesday night/Wednesday morning but I don't think the tires are going to make a difference though. Sounds like a Pinzgauer will be in order

These tires have a done a great job so far this winter and on the days where we've had a thaw and the road was very wet, these tires REALLY excell! I've personally tested them in every condition so far and all I can say is W0W

 

ive just swapped out my tired and worn out stock dunlops to continental dws'. since i live in so cal all i can rave about so far are the increased comfort and decreased road noise.

ive yet had a chance to drive though rain or snow but when the occasion arises i know ill have confidence from your positive winter driving feedback.

 

Just drove through the "Blizzard of 2011" here in Chicago and they kept me true and straight! I even sent Continental an email/comment about them via there website. I wanted to tell them inperson and hope they call me, they need to hear it right from me. Now I've really driven in everything possible with them, A+ across the board.

BTW, what size did you end up going with?

 

i got the 205/50/16 on my stock sport wheels. they do buldge nicely and imo look better than the stock dunlops.

 

...and out perform them, last longer due to the higher treadwear number, have a smooth sidewall (looks better IMO) and don't have a rep for broken belts producing bubbles in the sidewall....just sayin'

 

I am planning on the DW version.

sounds like they are worth the penny.

jjin, where did you buy and how much they run you for?

 

well... i work for an auto parts warehouse/distributor and i have a client known as USA Express(goodyear tire/repair shop franchise) and i get deep discounts on tires.

i cant disclose the price i got but ill just say this, i only paid for parts and i get free lifetime alignment.

as for the conti extremecontact DW, if you are not sourcing from tirerack, good luck finding them in 205/50/16. all tire warehouses even adjacent to cali are out of stock until spring, i heard (march or maybe april).

 

hot tire huh...

 

I almost got the Conti DW and was going to use my stock tires/wheels for winter duty but when I got a quick, for sure offer on my stock tires/wheels, I decided to go with the DWS' on my aftermarket rims and glad I did. I'm sure the stock tires wouldn't have been nowhere as good as these DWS'.

As far as the Conti DW goes, well, I can tell you this, a guy from FLA ran the Dragon with us last fall and had them on his 350Z and said they gripped VERY well and he too was impressed with the perf of the tires.

More thumbs up for Continental

 

were there any other candidates like bridgestone or yokohama to consider?

 

If I had kept my stockers for snow duty I was considering the Star Specs from Dunlop (yeah, yeah, I know, they're Dunlops) Those are the new "hot" tire everyone's going to and have gotten great reviews. The Falken 615's were also on the list but those would've been more of an indulgence and not really financially smart or driving in the rain smart either

The Conti DW is the tire to go with if you've got snow tires or other tires for duty in the white stuff. IMO Continental is going to be THE tire for many enthusists out there.

 

hmm..

i have a 4runner for the white stuff.

discount/american tire is the way to go i guess.

 

Thanks for your review! Sounds like we'll enjoy the set of Conti DWS's in 205/50-16 we just ordered. We have Blizzaks on another set of wheels for the winter, so these will be a 3-season tire for us. We get a lot of varied weather and wet curvy roads, so these should be right at home.

 

The first thing you'll notice is how they ride, the feel is great and the sound....much quieter than the stockers for sure. I can't say enough about these tires, probably the best set of tires I've ever owned, the only thing I can't talk about yet is tire wear, time will tell on that one but with 12k and 2 rotations already, they'll seem to be holding up that end as well.

Keep us posted here about your initial reviews and comments, thus helping others find these great tires!

 

I had the DSW's on my HHR and while they were absolutely great in the snow the aggressive tread pattern took a bite out of my mpg and they seemed to follow every groove in the road. Blew one out about a month ago (picked up something that flattened the tire at 70 mph) but I was able to pull over without wrecking so kudos to them for that. Put my OEM Firestone Firehawks back on and while they sucked in the snow my mpg went back up and ride smoothed out a bit.

Brought tire back to Town Fair Tire but the sidewall was too trashed from me riding on the flat...as of right now this tire in the size I need is on national backorder. Not a huge deal as the HHR is now gone replaced by the MR Fit so will just sell rims and tires once it does come in


Good to hear they are working well on the Fit! Maybe diff results from different vehicles

 

Did you go to a completely larger tire/wheel size? New wheels?

I have 1" wider wheels than stock and 20mm wider tires with 5% less aspect ratio but the same basic overall height and my mileage hasn't gone down one bit. I know the tires are a little heavier but it shouldn't really affect the mileage that bad, maybe its something else

 

bringing back an old thread because im thinking about getting a set of DWS's as my cold weather set for my GE, would you let me know if you guys are experiencing accelerated blooming (browning of sidewalls) say after driving in rain/snow?

i have this issue on my DW's on a set i have for my other car. luckily i dont drive this car in the wet much so it's not a huge deal, but my GE will be driven in wet weather.

i hate brown tires. lol

btw, klass act- thanks for the review.