Performance Car Tires

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 04, 2013

There was no snow for the first month of the tire use, so when we got a few inches, I took the Miata to a parking lot to see how the tires would perform. Donuts, quick stops, quick acceleration were all tested. It's a rear wheel drive roadster so there was fishtailing, but the Miata does that with the forecast of snow. I was really impressed with the Continentals. I was able to control the slides and was able to recover every time, no matter how hard I pushed the car. I have had all season/mud & snow tires from Pirelli (P Zero Nero's), Dunlop, Goodrich (Super Sport M/S)...the Continentals beat them all. We'll see how they do in deep snow, but so far, so good!

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
April 13, 2013

This is a very nice tire. I use a performance winter tire for 5 months each year so this tire is on my car about 60% of the year. It has lasted 3 seasons now and comfortably has another season remaining judging by the remaining tread depth. It is quiet and grippy at 7 tenths driving. I have full confidence in this tire at any speed and feel it is great value for the price as well as offering performance that exceeds my requirements. Is there a better tire out there for extremely aggressive driving? Well, maybe but you will likely pay more and experience quicker tread wear and less comfort. For most BMW owners this tire will not disappoint. M3 owners who need to tear up every piece of road they find themselves on? They are a fussy type of driver who might find something to complain about. This is a very under-rated tire and I would recommend it to anyone.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
April 02, 2013

OK....just purchased a set of these tires, replacing a set of Goodyear tripletreads. First impressions as I have only had them a week:

QUIET! Wow.....huge difference from the Goodyears. From day one the old tires were loud, which over time became monotonous. New tires are a nice change.

Responsiveness.....not so much. Most of my cars are shod with performance rubber. This is my first venture intot he land of "luxury touring". While not a deal breaker, these tires are soft.....you can feel the sidewalls squishing on sterring/cornering input. Cant feel the road through them either....as I describe it, like driving on marshmallows.

Fuel Economy.....on my instant average display, these are getting 3-4 higher MPG than the Goodyears. Nice. This wil save some serious scratch if it holds up over the life of the tires. Thats a 10% bump in mileage!

More to come in time, but overall....so far the tradeoff for my typical 60mile each wau highway commute is worth it. Im getting old as the quiet is actually more appealing on this daily drive than the performance handling.

Initial Review, 400 Miles on Tires
April 12, 2013

Initial review:

So far, I am very pleased with these tires. They are comfortable and quiet. I am still within the break-in period, so I have not had a chance to test any other aspects of the tires. They do seem less responsive than my previous Bridgestone Potenzas (which were almost completely bald) but that could be due to tread squirm on the new tires. I would definitely recommend these tires for any passenger car, but haven't tested their performance capabilities yet, so I don't know if I would recommend them for sports cars.

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 14, 2013

I got this new set replace the old one under milage warranty. They last 60000 out of 80000. Still feeling the new one. I love the old Triple Tred. Connering speed is incredible, I can took freeway off ramp and pass most of the passenger cars. They are surprice getting pass by minivan with crazy driver.

Snow performance is not good but ok. It is What I expect is all season tire.

Wet performance is good.

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, 8,000 Miles on Tires
March 15, 2013

Car: Honda S2000
Soft ride, nice tires, there are worse and better tires. Driver side and Passenger side tires can be switched unlike unidirectional tires. Kumho XS gives better dry traction. However, these tires are a standard extreme performance tire. Not bad for the price, you get what you pay for.

Street driving is comfortable, should be matched with a proper suspension setup to yield optimal results. These tires, like the XS, ADVAN AD08 & RE-11 will need a stiffer suspension to better manage the grip. If your not really into supreme handling then sports tires are a far better choice. Longevity is lost for performance gain; increadible performance gain, however, save the performance potential for the track.

Track:
displays good ultimate grip, should be careful will probably outdrive 90% of most drivers, meaning to fully maximize performance from these tires, they are a perfect blend of street and track use..

Might try a different set of tires, Dunlop should really design something that has a more durable centre section for regular driving and softer outer sections for higher grip.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 03, 2013

These came stock on the 19" x 8.5" rims of my 2011 Mustang GT. I drive 6-speed with 3.55 gears, so the rear tires get a bit more shock treatment than that of an automatic.

Brand new, the tires are great. You almost can't get them to break traction short of turning the traction control off and dumping the cluth after reving up to red line. But after doing that a few times, you will find the traction/stickiness of the tire will have depleted.

They are still good all-around tires, but after a few months of driving, they lose their launch traction.

I have already replaced two sets (four tires total) in the two years that I have had the car and am about to replace another set on the rear. That would mean that about every 10,000-13,000 miles, they need replaced. The tread is not down to the cords or anything, but you can feel a major difference in the performance at the 10k wear point.

Road noise is pretty minimal for a low-profile tire and the ride is comfortable as the suspension on the GT with these tires rides very well. There seems to be a bit of roll/softness in cornering, but if you know your car well enough, you know what you can and can't do and the tires stay fairly firm. I will buy them again for all year tires, but I will probably switch to something stickier for Summer track action on street tires.

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
March 12, 2013

Have these on my Mach 1 that sees a LOT of spirited driving. These tires HOOK!!! I've had M/T drag radials and these far out performe them for much less money. I was very surprised with how long they lasted as well, over 12k miles and they still hook. They are on my weekend car so havent seen rain with them but I think the tread design is good enough for a little rain.

At the track, these things are AWESOME! Very consistant launches and GREAT 60' times as well. My car makes 400rwhp 500rwtg on nitrous and these dead hook out of the hole on the bottle. Constant 1.5x 60's with minimal suspension and weight reduction mods. The sidewalls will even wrinkle like slicks. Will for sure be buying another set of these some time this summer!

Initial Review, 35,000 Miles on Tires
April 06, 2013

I've had the Revo2 'LT' version tires for my F250 4x4 Diesel for 35,000 miles now. They are an incredible all around tire, especially compared to the factory tires that came with the truck. They grip well in wet, dirt, and they are quiet on the highway. The steering response may feel softer compared to other tires in its category, but it's not something I would consider a negative in a big heavy truck. I've towed 10,000+ lbs for hundreds of miles and the Revo2 were completely stable and planted. I have decided to use the Revo2 tires for the life of the truck since they perform so well in all conditions (I never tried them on snow). They resist hydro-planing extremely well, 70mph in down-pours and the tires just destroy any water in its path while other cars are in the slow lane with their hazard lights flashing, this might be due to the heavy weight of the truck as well. They last 35-40k miles depending on driving style, mine are near the tread bars at 36k which is about what I expect driving a heavy truck that is hard on tires. I can honestly say anyone would be very impressed with the all-around grip and feel of the Revo2 on a full size truck, it's truely a do-it-all tire and it does everything very well.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
March 25, 2013

Used this tire on all my classic cars. Great price for the look and performance. If you have a late 60's or early 70's muscle car. . .these are the tires to use.

Initial Review, 30,000 Miles on Tires
April 01, 2013

I just went through a winter that delivered record snowfalls and the tires performed as I had hoped they would - excellent. I drive in deep snow all the time and despite driving a high performance rear-wheel drive car, I had no problems driving on ice and deep snow on a regular basis. I put them to the test while driving through the Adirondacks in a blizzard after a day of skiing Whiteface...the tires got me through 6-8 inches of snow on the icy roads without a problem...even the step hills and sharp turns...outstanding winter tire fit for my car. I know winter and I love winter driving..great recommendation Tire Rack

Initial Review, 38,000 Miles on Tires
April 01, 2013

I live in Florida, where the roads are pretty good.

At 38,000 miles, my back tires are nearly done, near the wear marks. Front tires still have the "DW" mark. Overall, I'm very happy with the treadlife; I've done suspension mods recently, driven the car hard and treadlife is still good.

For a summer performance tire, DWs are a nice balance of price, ride quality, traction, tread life, and wet performance.

When pushed hard, my car has plenty of grip and everything is predictable. Car feels very composed in the rain and we get plenty of rain here in Tampa.

I'm looking to buy replacement tires now and DWs are on my short list. Only reason I might pass on them would be to splurge on something finer like Michelin PSS.

***UPDATE - just bought them again today. They're just a great value with many good qualities. Mich PSS may have better responsiveness and traction but the DW's have longer UTOG, lighter weight and cost 25%+ less.

Initial Review, 270 Miles on Tires
April 04, 2013

An extremely comfortable "V" rated tire that is quiet and handles wet to dry asphalt without issues. Rolling resistance is excellent,not much pedal needed to get car going. Was going over 2 inch pot holes with NO drifting into the other lanes. Solid as expected but the sidewalls could be a tad tighter for unexpected corners. Overall I turned down the Avid s4 due to comfort, Michelin pilot sport no low profile on this heavy car and the michelin primacy MXV4 was not in the price these were for the same performance. The Bridgestone RE97AS is exactly what I was looking for in a Cross Touring tire. Will buy again in 2-3 years since they are priced extremely well.

Initial Review, 750 Miles on Tires
April 04, 2013

This is basically a fun HPDE / Autocross tire for me. I plan to switch to a different set of wheels/tires for daily driving. Last year I used Conti DW and Michelin Supersports for daily, autocross and HPDE use, howevever that was with a different car, so I can't make a direct comparison.

Ride quality is actually pretty reasonable given the "extreme" nature of this tire. Actually, ride has improved over the oem Dunlop SP Sport 2050 tires, however, some of that may be due to the smaller and lighter wheels. I'm sure a more recent max performance summer tire will ride better, and a gran touring tire better still, but these are quite reasonable for what they are, and not at the level of harshness of a run flat tire.

Noise is deeper and a little louder than oem, but still not bad. It is more noticeable at lower speeds (40-50mph) now. Smooth tarmac is still quiet, but rough tarmac, or concrete is where you will hear them.

OK, now for the performance aspect. So far I have just 2 days on track with these tires, 1 dry and 1 wet. I was very happy with them in both conditions. In the dry, these held up well for a 25 minute session. They did get slightly greasy feeling after a few hot laps, but much less so than the Supersports I last ran at this track and adjusting tire pressures helped dial that out. There is another comment on here saying that the traction is harder to judge for the beginner due to the lack of audible feedback. I did find it hard to judge traction in my first session, however once I had learned to understand the feedback after that first session, I found them to be very communicative and was able to push up to the limit of traction. I'm not a complete beginner, but neither am I that experienced yet. In the wet, they worked well on track and I also drove through some storms on the way home with no aqua planing.

Overall, I am very happy with these tires and would recommend them for anyone who wants an aggressive street tire.

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, 19,000 Miles on Tires
April 05, 2013

Not understanding all the hate for this tire. Most likely it's because they come standard on 2010 thru 2013 GTI's and drivers who never experience sub-zero temperatures and snow have no need for an A/S tire on a high-performance car. As a result, they compare this tire to either max or extreme performance summer tires.
However, comparing this tire to the Kumho ECSTA 4X A/S tires on my son's Mazda 3, I would rate them at least as equals, and probably a bit better when below zero.
Additionally, using a regular rotation period of 5k miles, these tires demonstrate fantastic wear resistance. Currently at 19k miles and less than 50% wear. Very quiet on the freeway as well. The only negative is the braking and cornering traction in the wet should be a little higher.

Initial Review, 100 Miles on Tires
March 05, 2013

This is an initial first impression review. Going from stock tires to these i have noticed a much quieter and softer ride which made my two trips to the office much better than my old loud tires.
Sidewalls i've found are MUCH softer than the OEM Yokohama's, which unfortunately makes cornering a little questionable. Even going down the highway, shake the wheel a little back and forth, you can feel the car floating around. Interesting how i didn't find any mention of the soft sidewalls here, but one i searched for that specific issue found a lot of forums with this complaint. Will post a followup review after i can test the performance in all conditions.