Continental Snow Tires

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
March 26, 2013

I replaced my Bridgestone Turanza Serenity tires with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. I am very impressed with how quiet the ride is (I can faintly hear the engine at highway speed now), and the ride is smoother than the Bridgestones too. What impressed me most about the tires is the snow traction. This is not a car made to perform in the snow. My wife and small child got home from the airport in a snowstorm recently with no trouble and I was very happy to have chosen these tires, which were better in the snow than the Bridgestones ever were. I have a steep lip on my driveway, and it is difficult without 4WD in the snow - I was very surprised that the Continentals had no problem getting the car into the driveway that night.

The only negative I can say is that maybe they seem to drift a little bit more than the previous set I had on at highway speeds, but well worth it for the above improvements. I have only had them a couple months, so cannot speak to the durability yet, but at this price and performance vs. the Michelins I was considering, I would be ok to replace at 40k instead of 50k.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
March 19, 2013

Purchased these to replace Bridgestone 960A/S that lasted 73000 and no longer had tread depth for any snow. The Conti DWS tires really offer a far superior winter experience. In icy slush last night I had no wheel slippage on fairly steep hills. Something the 960A/S could never have done even when new. The trade off is in dry handling: I notice more roll in turns and less on center feel. So far tire seems to be a little quieter. Overall very happy and after experiencing the winter performance would highly recommend.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 02, 2013

I purchased this tire to replace an aging set of Continental ContiProContact tires that were on the car when I bought it. Let me say first that these tires are an enormous upgrade over the Continentals. I commute 35 miles each way to work and the weather in Northeast Ohio is nothing if not unpredictable. These tires have given me a tremendous amount of confidence in every situation I've encountered. Wet and dry traction is outstanding but it's the wet traction that really stands out. I have never had more confidence at speed on slick roads. I enjoy throwing my car around as much as possible and these tires are an ideal compliment to my driving style. At highway speeds they are quiet, comfortable, and have a reassuring sense of straight ahead. I've made it through one winter now and although these tires are not particularly good in deep snow, they are passable. Performance in light snow is excellent. I would highly recommend these tires to anyone looking for a meaningful performance upgrade over a standard all season tire. In addition, with their combination of wet and dry capability, I think these tires are a tremendous value in the Ultra High Performance All-Season class.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
March 26, 2013

I've been a long time skeptic of all season tires. Having spent a decade switching between dedicated summer and snow/winter wheel sets, I decided to give the DWS a try. My previous set of A/S tires, RE960 AS's were a huge disappointment. The dry weather in early January gave ample opportunities to test traction and stability and although the DWS' are a little less responsive than say the SportContacts it's certainly enough for a small AWD sedan. The snow storms in February/March however have made me a believer. Braking on snow is as expected. Ice performance is as well (since nothing is "great" on ice, "OK" performance is acceptable. The light/heavy snow traction though is what impressed me. This does have something to do with the fact that I drive an AWD with a manual transmission, but the tires rocked the snowy roads. I actually found myself detouring down unplowed streets just to keep the smile on my face!

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
March 14, 2013

Amazing Snow and Ice performance out of these OE tires on my '13 Mustang GT. I had a CTS prior to this that I had equipped with Continental DWS high Performance All Season. The Caddy had to be parked if 2 snowflakes fell. I can drive the Mustang GT equipped with thes P Zeros all day in any weather (including light to medium SNOW) !

Initial Review, 100 Miles on Tires
April 02, 2013

Went from 205/45/17 run flats which are horrible tires. you feel every crack on the pavement and the ride is terribly noisy. i wanted to address the ride comfort first and foremost and put a bit more beef in the side wall by going to a 205/50/17. No exageration but the ride is like that of a Town Car. And very quiet. The steering feels softer but that should be expected. No rubbing on the wheel wells by going from a 45 to 50 profile. Can't wait to try it on rain and snow. If you hate the ride of your Mini Cooper S get these tires you wont regret it.

Initial Review, 11,000 Miles on Tires
January 26, 2013

I put these DWS after reading the reviews. They're comparable to the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S. Snow traction with the awd was impeccable. I just got rid of the Audi and threw these on my new Subaru WRX. They are all-around great performing tires.

Initial Review, 1,500 Miles on Tires
February 19, 2013

This is a preliminary review of the Continental PureContact with EcoPlus for the Mazda5. We have put 1500 miles of Pacific NW winter driving on these tires since our purchase. They are significantly quieter when driving on both concrete and asphalt highways, especially at freeway speeds. The Mazda5 is not a quiet, touring car, but these tires are a dramatic improvement over both the OEM tires and the Goodyear Eagles that we have previously had mounted. Our Mazda5 has a 5sp manual and so far, the Purecontacts have not lost their grip during normal 1st gear starts. About 80% of our driving so far has been in damp and wet weather and the Purecontacts track predictably at all speeds. Fortunately, the Mazda5 has not been in snow this winter, so no feedback yet on their snow performance. Only time and mileage will show how these age, but we are extremely satisfied with these tires so far.

Initial Review, 37,500 Miles on Tires
April 02, 2013

I bought these to replace the Continentals that came OEM with my car, and out of the box they were significantly superior and fantastic. Considering they are merely all-seasons, their performance in the snow was surprising. I drive mostly in the city, so the streets get plowed regularly in the winter. I wouldn't use these for my winter set if I lived out in a rural area. The dry and wet grip when new was excellent. Now that I have over 37500 miles (60,000km) on them, their dry and wet traction is starting to decrease, despite having lots of tread depth remaining.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
March 24, 2013

Fantastic tires so far. So much quiter than the goodyears that came on the car. Traction is great in all conditions. Just got 6in of snow drove around with no problems. Haven't had them that long but I am very happy with these tires.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
March 29, 2013

These are just an outstanding tire. They have improved the handling and ride of my Acura TL greatly. Traveling through the curves of I 64 on the Virginia and West Virginia state line I have to watch my speed. The ride and the handling in curves is excellent. In packed snow and light snow we had this year I had no slippage or loss of traction. In rain they slice through standing water with out pulling on the steering. I am glad the good reviews here lead me to buying the DWS.

Initial Review, 24,500 Miles on Tires
March 29, 2013

Nice tires resonable price. Good weather tires perform well but off road or snow they are lacking. Tread wear is very good and they stay in balance very well as they wear. There is no difference in mpg from the original Wranglers tho. In general I would buy then again.

Initial Review, 50,000 Miles on Tires
March 16, 2013

Update to previous 4,000 mile review. A phenomenal tire, and I can see none rated better that I would buy. Exceptional in dry and wet conditions, even heavy rain. Good in light to deep snow, but fair in icy conditions. Have maybe 5-10,000 miles of tread left now that I've put on 50,000. Quiet, smooth, what we all would expect a good tire to be.

Interestingly, I work in construction. My previous Continental Cross Contacts which I loved, had a number of flats from picking up nails, etc. None with this tire, which is either coincidence, or signs of better tire composition, which I believe it is. Continental has none in this size, so I will buy this tire again.

This winter, I looked at the tread and had concerns about winter driving on worn tread. But, decided to stick it out and tires performed SURPRISINGLY well.

My Toyota V8 all wheel drive limited has the best of everything, and these tires meet my expectations. Mileage in summer averages 18.4, and less in winter due to gas reformulation.

Highly recommended for those who appreciate quality, safety and consistency. But, if you live where ice and snow abound all winter, you may want to consider winter tires, but these are more than able to take on CT winters. Best to you all.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
March 05, 2013

Excellent Tires. Love it. Previously I had Continental Extreme Contact DSW. They were good enough tires but MXM4 are simply awesome. Quiet ride, excellent handling, good traction and its very comfortable. I have done 500 miles so far but I am happy that I chose MXM4. I have not tried this tires in snow so won't be able to tell how they would be like in that weather.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
February 16, 2013

I+ thought this tire can handle light snow. But today there is about 2 inches of snows, and I can't even stop! It slided about 3 cars length before it comes to a full stop from 40mph. But to be fair, 255 is very wide on snow.... Please use caution with this tire if yours are wide too

Initial Review, 1,600 Miles on Tires
January 11, 2013

Replaced OEM runflats with these tires. Ride comfort and wet traction improved significantly. Tires are fantastic in rain and light snow. Haven't driven in heavy snow yet.

As other reviewers have warned, the steering response of these tires is much slower than runflats. Entry into turns has lost a lot of precision. This does take some of the "go kart handling" fun out of the Mini. I considered returning them, but the improved ride comfort has been worth the trade off.

Initial Review, 7,500 Miles on Tires
March 20, 2013

Replaced the lousy Continental tires sold on the 2010-early 2013 outbacks. Those tires didn't hold balance, shook like wet dogs after getting curbed and by 25K one tire could no longer be rotated to the front. Too far out of round! Finally replaced them with the BFG Touring tires. Huge Improvement!!!!! No more wobbly shaky tires after getting curbed in SF Parking on hills where we get tickets if you don't curb tires. They have much stronger better built sidewalls giving a sharper better handling experience. Tread pattern is very similar so gas mileage was not impacted and traction has been more or less the same. However the BFG's do seem to have better dry pavement grip than the crummy Continentals. Wet road and snow they seem to be acceptable no surprises or issues so far. A couple of other Outback owners I know have switched to these tires also and seem to have the same feedback.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
March 13, 2013

Bought this tire anticipating the worst, but was pleasantly surprised all around. Don't expect it to handle the deep snow very well, however it's not a winter tire so that should not be a surprise. As long as you keep it off the unplowed road after a 5+ inch snow fall you will be good.
It was far quieter than the Continental's these replaced, but does seem a touch softer when cornering.
Overall, for the money, these are the best tires I have purchased.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
March 02, 2010

This is more a review of these tires on my specific car.



Great in the snow, absolutely great. The more snow the better, or so it seems. Braking is easily better than all-seasons, as is handling and acceleration. Wet snow is noticable more difficult to maintain control, however. Now for the bad news, seemingly terrible in the slush. Not sure if it is my car or the tires, but the car gets pushed around very easily by even small amounts of slush. I tend to believe it has more to do with my cars suspension, weight, and width to wheelbase ratio than the tires though. Easier to drive through 6 inches of snow than 1 inch of slush. Fun to have a car willing to rotate on dry roads, but not so much on wet winter slush.



Dry roads are mixed, as these things like to grab every little pebble and sand grain the road commission dumps on Michigan. Slip and control is well within tolerance though, and really only becomes an issue in spirited driving. It takes very little to spin the inside wheel accelerating through a tight corner if there is any sand, debris. Clean roads are great in the dry though. Some tire wandering above 65 mph, although determined mostly by road surface. Tires seem to move and stretch a noticable amount more above freezing temperatures, although this is only apparent driving back to back temperature differences.



Very quiet tire, almost as quiet as the non-OEM all-seasons that I had on before. (Coopers?) Much quieter than my father and bro-in-laws Blizzak Revo's. Stock wheels are 17", these are on 16", I notice more rebounding motion from the tires than stock, although small imperfections are slightly smoothed over versus stock. In retrospect, I should have gone with 17" as the extra sidewall can be felt in hard acceleration. Not sure on tread-wear yet.



In summary on my Mazda 6s, great on the snow, bad in slush, matches wet(rain) A/S performance, dependable dry weather performance and a very quiet ride for snow tires.