I haven't seen any reviews about this tire yet, nor have I heard of anyone running these tires in stock sizes, so I feel compelled to give some kind of review on them. I spend most of my time on here simply reading and researching, and rarely post. In fact, this is my 1st new thread. I hope it proves helpful.

The Continental ExtremeContact DW (not to be confused with the ExtremeContact DWS) has been out for some time now, although it's never been available in stock Z06 sizes until very, very recently. In fact, Tire Rack is the only site that lists them at this time. I went to my local Discount Tire to special order the tires. They didn't have a part number for them, but after some calls and emails to their corporate office and to Continental, they created some part numbers and pricing, and my tires were on the way.

The car:
'04 Z06. Stock, aside from a Halltech Venom. Lowered on stock bolts. Stock Z06 alignment specs.

My driving habits:
I daily drive the car, rain or shine. With that in mind, I wanted a longer-lasting tire with good dry and wet traction. I drive "normal" most of the time, with occasional aggressive/spirited drives. Nothing too crazy in regards to turns.

Previous tires:
Goodyear SCs were on the car when I bought it. They were already worn and hard. Traction was a joke, and they were LOUD. Holding a conversation in the car meant practically yelling at the passenger. I can't really compare anything to these, as I never experienced them as new tires.

Firestone Firehawks were next. Great daily driver tire, EXCELLENT in the rain. Fairly quiet when new -- I could hold a conversation with the passenger as long as we raised our voices a little. Dry traction was decent, but declined to "poor" as they wore out. They also became very, very loud. I had somewhere around 34,000 miles (and a little over 2 years) on the rear tires. Fronts had more life in them, but I went ahead and changed them anyway. Although a great daily-driver tire for the price, I felt like the new offerings by other tire makers would probably prove to be better overall tires.

Other considerations:
Bridgestone RE760s. The only thing that turned me away from the Bridgestones was a higher frequency of reviews (on Tire Rack) complaining about tread life. If the Michelin PS2s didn't cost so much, I would have considered them as well.

On to the review:



First, some minor specs. These tires are LIGHT. The rear tires are 6 lbs lighter than the Goodyears, 2 lbs lighter then the Bridgestones, and weigh the same as Michelin PS2s. This makes them the lightest available (tied with PS2s) in 295/35/18 that I've seen. Same deal with the front tires, although the weight differences are slightly smaller. The section width and tread width are also the widest (for stock sizes of course), as compared to the Michelins, Goodyears, Firestones, and Bridgestones. They look nice and meaty on the car...

Second, I'm amazed by how quiet the Continentals are. I can talk to my passenger without raising my voice at all, even on the loudest of surfaces. And, for the first time in owning this car, I can hear the stock Ti's while cruising at 70 mph on the highway.

Dry traction is much better than the Firehawks ever were. I was at a 90 degree right turn, and I was able to punch it from a stop and not lose traction at all. Not WOT mind you, but WAAAAY more than ever before. Before, the tires always spun, the car slid, and active handling kicked in. Oh no, not this time. Straight line traction is much improved, and I can punch it in 1st gear on all but the slickest of road surfaces. Definitely puts a on my face.

Hydroplaning resistance is excellent. Wet braking seems slightly better than the Firehawks (when new). I can't say much else though, as I almost never drive aggressive in wet conditions.

All in all, I couldn't be happier with this purchase. With road hazard, taxes, and all, it cost me a hair over $1k. I hope to get 30k+ miles out of these as well. (For what it's worth, they have a UTQG rating of 340 AA A.) The tread pattern and overall looks of the tire also get a big from me. When the weather clears up I'll try to get some pics of the tires mounted on the car.

EDIT - Added pictures with the tires mounted. My camera and I both suck at pictures. These were the only ones worth posting:

 

I just bought these too. I'm going to put them on tonight. I also had a tough time finding these. When you search for Z06 on tirerack, they don't come up. You have to search by size and then you can find them.

I'm thinking these will be the new standard for stock sizes. You can't beat the bang for the buck.

 

I ran Conti's onmy C4, great tires! I will run these when my Kumho's wear out.

 

I noticed the same thing about Tire Rack's website. Searching by car yielded maybe 1/2 of the tires available. Not sure why. I did the same thing as you, search for each size individually.

Enjoy the new tires! I love them so far.

 

How are you having so many problems hearing people in the car? That would be my first concern. I have the stock Goodyear Supercars on my 01 Z06 and before I put on the LG Pro Longtubes/B&B Bullets my passenger and I could lean away from each other and whisper and still hear each other. Are we exaggurating a bit?

Great review though, thanks for taking the time.

 

I don't think he's exaggerating at all. The road noise on my car was almost intolerable on some concrete surfaces. I just got Nitto Invos, and the improvement is very noticeable. In a heavily modded car, the road noise is considerably louder than engine noise.

 

Nah, definitely exaggurating. Heck, I live in IA where most of the roads barely exist and I'm rolling on 9yr old tires. Whatever works though, I could use some better tires myself. I've got my eyes set on the Toyo R888's. Different useage for the tires though...

 

In regards to having trouble holding a conversation inside the car, no, I wasn't exxagerating. About having to damn near yell, only the slightest bit of exxageration there.

Not all highways are that loud. The ones covered in asphalt are whisper quiet. Even some concrete surfaces are quiet. Most of the highways that I drive on, however, are concrete surfaces that create a large amount of tire noise. In any kind of car, they're loud... just not as loud as in the Vette. Of course, my buddy's stripped/gutted STi is even worse.

I suppose I should have been more clear about that. So just to be more accurate, the noise isn't that bad on ALL road surfaces. The road surfaces that I spend most of my highway driving on, yes -- they're that loud.

 

Quickshift, you are in Iowa... Ever head north on that stretch outside Omaha, north to Sioux Falls? Sheesh, I just drove my 02 back to Washington State. I was alone on the highway weaving the two lanes trying to find 'a good spot'. Mannnnnnnnn I was lucky to hear the tornado warning come on the radio! Yes radio... It was a good station for tunes Some surfaces are down right horrible.

 

Bought PS2's a few months ago, and couldn't be happier...yes they're pricey, but they were worth it in my opinion.

A couple weeks ago, I noticed these Conti's in a magazine ad in stock C5Z sizes! I asked myself why these weren't in my selection process...but I didn't realize they are new in our sizes. A few months ago, I might have pulled the trigger on these. Interesting about the weight of the tires...thanks for the write up. Post some pics when you can.

 

I have been thinking about getting a set of these tires as well. Have you had the opportunity to grab some pictures of them on your car yet? Thanks for the review. I think I am going to replace my Falken Azenis with these here in a couple months.

 

Actually, I did snap a few quick pictures the other day. I have an old point-and-shoot, so I'm not sure how well the pics will turn out. Sometimes they come out pretty good, other times pretty crappy. My current problem, however, is finding the USB cable so that I can upload the pics to my computer. Hopefully I'll have them uploaded later tonight or tomorrow.

 

The quality of highway pavement varies greatly from state to state. On long distance trips I've encountered pavement so bad in some places that the road noise was intolerable. Absolutely could not hear the radio or have a conversation. On one stretch of highway in Kentucky we rode a very long distance thinking we were being followed by a cop car with its siren turned on and there was no one behind us. This was with the original stock Goodyear Supercars on the car. The Michelin PS2's were unbelievably quieter. I've been thinking of looking into the Contis. They look similar to the Michelins and are possibly a lot less expensive.

 

I'd love to see these pics you speak of. I've been needing tires for a while now, and I've recently noticed this DW tire. What strikes me most is the similar tread pattern to the PS2s. The review was good, but it does seem a bit suspicious (I've heard of trolls working for tire companies in these forums). I'd love to hear more about this tire though because if its all it's cracked up to be, it'd make a great alternative to the fabulous but ubër expensive PS2's which I currently own. Tires, like most things, have their negatives as well. I wonder if this Extreme Contact tire leans more towards the Wide Ovals or if it's closer in performance to the PS2s. The website says they come with a 60 day customer satisfaction guarantee!

Please post some pics when you can. Thanks!

 

Sorry about the delay... I completely forgot about this thread. And trust me, I don't work for any tire-related (or even auto-related) company. I actually had a really hard time deciding between these and the Bridgestone Potenzas.

Most of the pictures came out worthless. My camera doesn't like to focus much anymore, and I'm far from good at photography. The following are about the only ones worth posting.









Hope this helps.

 

Just for comparison, this picture was when I still had the Firestones.

 

Thanks for the review. I have been considering these tires for my 04. Hard to tell from the pics but do these tires have a rim protector ?

 

No, there's no rim protector.

 

Thanks for the pictures. I'm definitely getting a set of these soon. I'd get a set now, but I just bought a cam.

 

Good review! I was looking at these to replace my Goodyear GSD3s, I think these will work for me.