Quick Review of Conti Extreme Contact DWS 06's in winter

[r26372]

I swapped the summers for these tires after Thanksgiving. Finally got some extreme cold and lots of snow in Chicago. My garage requires a drive through an unplowed alley during the week. The tires have zero issue getting through the icy and snowy alley and no trouble with control, acceleration, and stopping during the 6-8 inch snow storm. Excellent option vs a dedicated winter tire. My thoughts on the all-seasons were they would be much better than snows when the temps are above 40-45 which is the case most of December and certainly by March, and perfectly capable in all but massive blizzard conditions; and they are cheaper and will last much longer which is a side benefit, but not really a factor in my buying decision. Thought I'd share.

[Brian@Unitronic]

Loved the dws06's in the past.

However since I drive a lot I can't rely on them like a true winter tire for heavy snow. I'm sure in most situations the dws06's is the better tire

[cam0719]

I wonder what has better dry traction in cold temps - a tire like DWS06 or performance snows?

[nothingbutspeed]

In my Mk7 Golf R, here in south florida, I was able to use LC on street and track. Cut 1.7 60's at track and 11.8's which is inline with what stage 2 R's are supposed to run. Very happy with the performance, and although I beat on them quite a bit on the street they held up for about 15,000 miles which is way more than other tires I have used PSS, NT555 etc. At the end of ownership of tires though, traction was way less, both in wet and dry conditions. Can't comment in snow, because fortunately in some cases and others unfortunately we don't have snow here, and I didn't travel up north in this car.

[blknytro]

Have them, love them. Great alternative to snow tires.

[S4BB]

I have the DWS 06 on my car now and I am happy with the tire, but in snow, I do not believe it is nearly as competent as an actual snow tire. I have had snow tires for the last 16 years, but this time I decided that based on the total number of snow days each year, that i could live with high performance all season. It did force me to be less aggressive (less fun, less fear) which I guess is a good thing.

[r26372]

I have the DWS 06 on my car now and I am happy with the tire, but in snow, I do not believe it is nearly as competent as an actual snow tire. I have had snow tires for the last 16 years, but this time I decided that based on the total number of snow days each year, that i could live with high performance all season. It did force me to be less aggressive (less fun, less fear) which I guess is a good thing.

Correct, they won't be able to match a true winter tire and if I lived in Wisconsin, MN, or God forbid Buffalo, I'd still be on winters, but they are more than good in the snow relative to 95% of the A/S tires out there. My X3 had A/S tires from the factory and that thing struggled to get over the alley ruts that I had zero issues with in my RS3. The X3 was also a much heavier car. I took an Uber last Friday night when we got about 4 inches of snow and the massive Yukon was sliding all over the place while my car just before this was driving straight and without drama. I will also say the snow tires I had, Blizzaks, seemed to last about 2 seasons, by the end of season 2 they were pretty worn after about 10k miles. Hoping to get 4 seasons out of the Conti's.

End of the day, you can't beat winter tires for snow/ice performance assuming they are under 10k miles, but if you want a longer lasting alternative that are good, not great, in the snow and want a tire you can put on in November and keep on through March, this is a solid option.

[Brian@Unitronic]

Correct, they won't be able to match a true winter tire and if I lived in Wisconsin, MN, or God forbid Buffalo, I'd still be on winters, but they are more than good in the snow relative to 95% of the A/S tires out there. My X3 had A/S tires from the factory and that thing struggled to get over the alley ruts that I had zero issues with in my RS3. The X3 was also a much heavier car. I took an Uber last Friday night when we got about 4 inches of snow and the massive Yukon was sliding all over the place while my car just before this was driving straight and without drama. I will also say the snow tires I had, Blizzaks, seemed to last about 2 seasons, by the end of season 2 they were pretty worn after about 10k miles. Hoping to get 4 seasons out of the Conti's.

End of the day, you can't beat winter tires for snow/ice performance assuming they are under 10k miles, but if you want a longer lasting alternative that are good, not great, in the snow and want a tire you can put on in November and keep on through March, this is a solid option.

the problem with this theory is that the S in DWS tread will be worn in around the same amount of time that the winters will last. this will leave you with a tire good for all seasons but snow, while the winter tire would be retired all together

[r26372]

the problem with this theory is that the S in DWS tread will be worn in around the same amount of time that the winters will last. this will leave you with a tire good for all seasons but snow, while the winter tire would be retired all together

We'll see. I had these same tires, 18 inches vs 19, on a car 5 years ago and they lasted 3 full seasons and did just fine in the snow that last season. So maybe 3 years vs 4 of useable winter traction. The real issue I had with winter tires in Chicago is the fact they suck when it's above 40 and that's really why they wear out so fast. So I would always wait until nearly Christmas to put them on and then eager to take them off early March at the latest. Up until this week the winter has been very mild with many 40-50 degree days in December/January. But then there are years where we get cold temps and/or snow in November and the same in March, so the Conti's give me a lot more flexibility of use. I'll get at least 4 months of use from the Contis and only a bit over 2 for the winters each year. To each their own, just sharing my experience with both options and my current preference. I've done both routes and see the pluses and minuses of each. I may have a different opinion if these wear a lot quicker than previous experience.

[Mops@Nemesis]

I've had them in 6-10" quite a few times. They did very well, even here in the mountains. But, I'm very experienced in the snow and for any sort of emergency maneuver/input, they're not going to do well at all. So for someone that is not buttery smooth in snow, they're not going to cut it at times.

[andru1313]

I have these tires have run them on all my cars. I like them but the sidewall sucks. If you hit a pot hole they pop and bubble really easily in my experience. I still run them just have to be very careful of any bumps or potholes.

[r26372]

I have these tires have run them on all my cars. I like them but the sidewall sucks. If you hit a pot hole they pop and bubble really easily in my experience. I still run them just have to be very careful of any bumps or potholes.

Tirerack has a 2 year road hazzard warranty. But I've gotten bubbles on numerous tires with low profile in the city. There just isn't much rubber between rim and road and Chicago streets are in about as good of shape as the state budget.


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[CG05]

Drove around on these tires today in ~6” of snow with no issues. Turned traction control off and had some fun.