Continental ExtremeWinterContact Snows

[cutlassvillager]

On Friday I got a set of 205/60/15 Continental ExtremeWinterContact snow tires (first set of snows) for my 3-series. They seem to drive nicely and are quiet for being snow tires. The ride is much softer than when I had these wheels with all seasons and of course my 17" set. These wheels are the ones that originally came with the car.

I used to drive a 93 Mercury Villager in the winter, but that became a money pit so I decided to donate it and just get snows. Years ago I had one winter with all seasons on my BMW and I'm hoping the winter driving will be much better now.

I chose the Continentals based on the good tire rack reviews, price and the DWS' that are on my Dad's WRX. I'm looking forward to trying them in the snow and comparing my RWD and snows to my Dad's AWD and all seasons. I'm guessing the AWD will still be pretty far ahead.

Tread (and comparison to the DWS' in 205/55/16)

 

[KrisZ]

I have Contivikings contact 3 snows and I am very happy. You will be as well, as these are similar design. They wear really nicely as well, I'm on 4th year and they're down about 3/16 and about 20k miles, with lots of city driving.

 

[oggb]

I have the DWS and a WRX and I have to say they do pretty amazingly well in the snow.

Based on what I've read/seen, though, you might be pleasantly surprised by your WinterContacts.

And keep in mind that the DWS+AWD don't help your dad (or me) stop any faster.

 

[Rand]

I have the conti extremewintercontacts.. they are really good.

Tirerack has them infront of the blizzack ws70 in the latest tests.

The important thing is to have a snow tire . there is some difference between snow tires but all are lightyears ahead of most all seasons.

Just be more careful in aggressive cornering etc.. the tire will roll alot more.

I have a set of 17" with kumho kh16's and they are way more capable on dry than the contis (195/60R15) but.. they dont get up my driveway with 3" of snow on it.. The continentals do fine up to my limit where the snow starts hitting the bumper.(in which case I go clear the driveway first)

As an added benefit the much larger sidewall makes the winter expansion joint hel in ohio much more tolerable

 

[SubLGT]

Originally Posted By: cutlassvillager
..........I'm looking forward to trying them in the snow and comparing my RWD and snows to my Dad's AWD and all seasons. I'm guessing the AWD will still be pretty far ahead.........


RWD + ContiEWC >>>AWD + All Seasons

C&D did some testing years ago on various combos of AWD, RWD, FWD with snows and all seasons. Snows on 2WD beat all other all-season configurations.

 

[Colt45ws]

Ill be watching this. Ill probably have to replace my WS60s after this winter. Hopefully those will wear good and work well. You have the same drive config I do. I didnt have any trouble winter before last with the RWD + snows.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: SubLGT
RWD + ContiEWC >>>AWD + All Seasons


Only if you want to stop or turn!

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Rand
As an added benefit the much larger sidewall makes the winter expansion joint hel in ohio much more tolerable

Yeah, I enjoyed the cushiness of my 205/55R16 winter tires on my last highway trip. It still handles well enough on those.

 

[Rand]

if you tend to get alot of nails you might want to snag a spare. Last year I hit some road trash and no one had the EWC as they are only manufactured for part of the year and everything was sold. The super grippy tread seems more likely to imbed trash than roll over.

I ended up buying 2 yokohama IG20's from discount tire direct they hooked me up with 50% off one tire and free shipping.

Tirerack did NOTHING for me.. and I purchased the tires there.

Slice over 1" in direction of rotation in a wierd shape = no repair possible.
I now have a spare tire.. but that just means I'll probably blow out one of my IG20's I refuse to run 2 different snow tires on the same axle.
Gratuitous photo

 

[cutlassvillager]

Ouch, Last spring I had one of my rear 245/40/17 Michelin Pilot Sports get a big chunk of metal in it (similar, but smaller than in your picture). It was non-repairable damage so I bought a new set of Pilot Sport Pluses and now one of those had a nail in the sidewall when I got my snows, leaving the tire non-repairable. It's frustrating having to replace so many tires from debris in the road. On the way to get my new tires I ran over some unavoidable wood in the road, so I'm guessing it could have came from there. I think I would've noticed a nail in the sidewall pretty quickly.


Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Originally Posted By: cutlassvillager
..........I'm looking forward to trying them in the snow and comparing my RWD and snows to my Dad's AWD and all seasons. I'm guessing the AWD will still be pretty far ahead.........


RWD + ContiEWC >>>AWD + All Seasons

C&D did some testing years ago on various combos of AWD, RWD, FWD with snows and all seasons. Snows on 2WD beat all other all-season configurations.


^^That's interesting and good to know. I have some friends with rwd/fwd and snows and I have always been impressed with their performance in winter. I also had a friend with a Saabaru 9-2X Aero that was awesome in the snow with snow tires. I'm excited for some significant snow to try these out.

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Ill be watching this. Ill probably have to replace my WS60s after this winter. Hopefully those will wear good and work well. You have the same drive config I do. I didnt have any trouble winter before last with the RWD + snows.


The WS60s were my other choice.


Thanks for everyone's input on these and similar tires. The weather has been odd in Michigan and we had thunderstorms and 60 degree weather today. I had a two hour drive (40% expressway/60% highway/2-lane) in mostly heavy rain. I agree with Rand and rpn the much softer ride is nice for a change. The tires felt a little vague at times at highway speeds, but overall felt confident in the heavy rain with what seemed to be little hydroplaning considering the rainfall.

I had one hydroplaning experience with the ASC going off while going through a pretty flooded lane at 65 mph with cruise on. Turning off the cruise stopped the ASC. So far I'd say the Michelins seem better in the rain, which I guess could be expected.

 

[Craig in Canada]

The Conti EWC was definitely on my short list last fall when I bought new snows for my BMW E39 but I was unable to get them in Canada. I also read great reviews saying that the EWC and the Michelin X-Ice2 were leading the pack with new compounds which firm up in warmer weather etc... making for improved performance and durability in the dry.