Tire Review - Continental ExtremeContact DWS

[JNoSol]

Thank you for sharing the videos, great info.

[ndabunka]

Originally Posted by JNoSol

Thank you for sharing the videos, great info.

My pleasure. They helped me and I think they would benefit anyone looking. My next effort is to find one of the spare tire kits for a reasonable price

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by ndabunka

However, I do have a question for you... Where did you get your space saver spare kit from and how much did you pay? The dealer is saying that they have to "piece it together" as there (apparently) is no single BMW part number for the kit. I have seen them available on eBay for around $285 but also heard that the dealers price will likely be around $380 but they haven't (yet) given me a price for parting it together.

Check with some of the BMW parts vendors like Circle (and others in Roundel). I'm 95% sure there is a full kit available.

Originally Posted by JNoSol

Hi ndabunka, congrats on your new 35d. I don't have a space saver spare kit. I check my tire pressure twice a month and visually inspect them during fuel up. My experience is if you do run over a nail, it's usually a slow leak which the TPMS can detect. Once a leak is detected, you should have plenty of time to get it patched. Since the Contis are non-RFTs, your tire shop can patch them easily.

For long road trips I have a jack, a can of fix-a-flat, and 12v air pump with me. Tires don't just blow up on the highway like they used to. Just check your tire pressure regularly and avoid running over any road debris.

I was stranded twice in my M5 (once close to home once not so close). I'll do my best to either have run-flats or a spare in the future (have both now in the X6, neither in the 1M). Alas, my M5 wheels had a lot less sidewall (first time the rim was ruined as well). Still, I think if you don't have the 3rd row, you should really look into a spare kit.

[ndabunka]

Originally Posted by doug_999

Check with some of the BMW parts vendors like Circle (and others in Roundel). I'm 95% sure there is a full kit available

Due to them giving me the parts @ cost, I am restricted to using the dealership. However, they have given me a price under $300 which seems to be the least expensive option of all choices including all the resellers I have checked (so far). This is for all the pieces.

[blassy]

Given these reviews I decided to go with the Conti DWS and extremely happy. Much smoother ride than the Bridgeston RFT..also went up to the 20 inch set up but actually prefer the new rims/tires to the OEM's.

[hupchurch]

To jnosol - I did exactly the same thing you did - replaced front Dunlops with worn out outers with Continental DWS. Love the tires, but get this - BMW dealer wouldn't do the swap - mumbling something about going from RFT to non RFT, liability, blah blah.

[ndabunka]

Originally Posted by hupchurch

To jnosol - I did exactly the same thing you did - replaced front Dunlops with worn out outers with Continental DWS. Love the tires, but get this - BMW dealer wouldn't do the swap - mumbling something about going from RFT to non RFT, liability, blah blah.

My BMW dealership did it for me. Of course, they wound up with the more expensive Dunlops in the process so they made money since mine only had 50 miles on them. There is no "technical" reason not to do the swap. Only a financial one...

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by hupchurch

To jnosol - I did exactly the same thing you did - replaced front Dunlops with worn out outers with Continental DWS. Love the tires, but get this - BMW dealer wouldn't do the swap - mumbling something about going from RFT to non RFT, liability, blah blah.

Tell them to call Baron BMW in Shawnee Mission, KS. They were glad to do it for $100 (after tax and disposal), all 4 tires. I kept my 2 good rear ones and selling them for $200/pair.

There's no liability if the customer understood the new tires do not run without air.

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by blassy

Given these reviews I decided to go with the Conti DWS and extremely happy. Much smoother ride than the Bridgeston RFT..also went up to the 20 inch set up but actually prefer the new rims/tires to the OEM's.

Looking good. I don't see too many mSport around here.

[falconx5m]

I just installed conti DWSs on my X5M. The sound difference between the DWS and stock RFTs is significant. The DWSs are quiet at all speeds except for 76-78 mph. For some reason when i hit that speed, i heard a higher pitched hum from the wheels. The hum goes away at 78 and then pops back on at 83 mph. Very strange. Allegedly... it goes away again at 85mph and stays quiet until 110, but that's speculation on my part. Hopefully the hum will go away as the tire breaks in. All that said, i'd recommend the switch. Also pieced together the 19in space saver spare kit for piece of mind.
fx5m

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by falconx5m

I just installed conti DWSs on my X5M. The sound difference between the DWS and stock RFTs is significant. The DWSs are quiet at all speeds except for 76-78 mph. For some reason when i hit that speed, i heard a higher pitched hum from the wheels. The hum goes away at 78 and then pops back on at 83 mph. Very strange. Allegedly... it goes away again at 85mph and stays quiet until 110, but that's speculation on my part. Hopefully the hum will go away as the tire breaks in. All that said, i'd recommend the switch. Also pieced together the 19in space saver spare kit for piece of mind.
fx5m

Good observation. It does go away after 1k miles for me.

[mik]

got these the other day. as everyone mentioned, it is a much smoother and quieter ride than the stock bridgestones. but less responsive. i do like the look better than the bridgestones. seems like these are a little taller and fill the wheel well more

[Jacky]

I vouch for the DWS as well. I recently got them and the ride is much better.

[skalberti]

So the ride is better, but how do the DWS handle? Are they squishy as others have described on other forums? Any vibration issues? And some are posting a noise up until there's 1k miles on the tires. Has anyone had the noise after 1k miles?

[Jacky]

Well they are All Seasons so the handling will not be the same as the Summer Tires. Regular driving, the difference is not huge but i'm sure you will feel the difference if driven on track or very agressively. I have not experienced any vibration issues or noise.

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by skalberti

So the ride is better, but how do the DWS handle? Are they squishy as others have described on other forums? Any vibration issues? And some are posting a noise up until there's 1k miles on the tires. Has anyone had the noise after 1k miles?

The noise level is night and day compared to RFTs after the install. New Contis (and most tires) have excess molding rubber spots (it might be there so you know the tires are brand new), so there will be slight noise at high speed until they wear off. The subtle noise goes away after 1k miles or so.

The sidewalls have less reinforcement compared to RFTs, so they're not as responsive as RFTS. Overall, these are nice tires and worth the stiffness tradeoff.

[skalberti]

Does anyone know how the Conti's compare to the toyo proxes STII's? I took the RFT's off prior to delivery so I don't know how responsive they are compared to my toyo's now.

[95 Z/28 LT1]

Originally Posted by falconx5m

I just installed conti DWSs on my X5M. The sound difference between the DWS and stock RFTs is significant. The DWSs are quiet at all speeds except for 76-78 mph. For some reason when i hit that speed, i heard a higher pitched hum from the wheels. The hum goes away at 78 and then pops back on at 83 mph. Very strange. Allegedly... it goes away again at 85mph and stays quiet until 110, but that's speculation on my part. Hopefully the hum will go away as the tire breaks in. All that said, i'd recommend the switch. Also pieced together the 19in space saver spare kit for piece of mind.
fx5m

Had the same 76-78 mph noise issue when switching to the BMW 298M winter wheels with non runflat snow tires. Very frustrating and makes me wonder what the true root cause is.

[falconx5m]

Update report - put about 600 miles on the tires and the high speed whine/drone is starting to go away. Much quieter than it was right after install. As for ride, it does feel less firm during turns and aggressive driving but the quiet is worth it and the tires also soften road transitions and expansion joint slaps. Well worth the switch for me but i wish the RFTs weren't so noisy.

[doug_999]

Anyone have experience with these tires in the snow?

[Jfpx5d]

Anyone have experience or a guess what the life of the Dws will be?

[ndabunka]

Originally Posted by doug_999

Anyone have experience with these tires in the snow?

I will report in 2 weeks as we have a trip planned for a ski trip.

Originally Posted by Jfpx5d

Anyone have experience or a guess what the life of the Dws will be?

As with ANY tire, the driving and the maintenance of the tires will have impact. They come with a 50K mile warranty but there is a 50% reduction disclaimer if you are running a staggered setup that would prevent them from being able to be rotated so we will be "doing well" to get 25K miles out of a set which is basically the same as the Dunlop run flats that cost TWICE as much as the DWS's.