Continental Extreme Contact DWS - Feedback anyone?

I am in desperate need of tires.  The stock OE Dunlops that came on my MINI have rediculously little traction, especially in this weather as they are Performance Summer Run Flat Tires.  Honestly, I have yet to really experience the HP/Torque the car has to offer because I can't get traction through 1st, 2nd, or 3rd (which I then give up...).  The other day I put it in Sport Mode going down the freeway at about 55mph, dropped it into 5th, and accelerated for a split second and the RF tire broke free.  It shocked me.  Needless to say, they need to go... quick.  It's a safety issue in my opinion.

Edited by Sanderskog - January/04/11 at 9:39pm

Wow. Was that on dry pavement? (55mph wheel spin). My MINI would never be able to do that even with rubbish tires.  I wonder if your car has a tune on top of all that JCW stuff.  

Tire Rack says 225 / 45 / 17's are in stock...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ExtremeContact+DWS&partnum=245WR7ECDWS&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

I've experienced the same issue with the Dunlops and have no confidence in the tires in the winter weather.  With the power in the JCW I hesitate to get on the throttle unless we have dry roads and even then can break it loose in 3rd gear. Came from a set of BF Goodrich KDW's on an Audi A6 and cannot believe the lack of traction with the Dunlops.  Hoping the tires wear out quickly so that I can replace them although I am hoping for a sepate set of wheels for summer tires and use the stock rims for winter tires.  Like your idea of sizing up which will provide more options.  Overall, if you can find the Continentals don't think you can go wrong. 

It's-a-MINI! wrote: Thanks, Jack, Pat says we need the 205/45/17's

Curious as to why.

1st here is a GREAT link to gather everything you ever need to know about tires & wheels:
Be sure to Bookmark it: http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?faq=faq_wheels_tyres#faq_faq_factory_wheels

I think the entire universe is out of the 205/45zr17's.  Tire rack does have the 215's and the 225.
So if you did find a 205 and then had a problem are you prepared to wait months if not years .....??

I'm hesitant on moving up to the 215 because that is a non standard tire size, it puts more rubber on the road and then what affect does that have on my warranty should I have an issue beside the affect on handling.  Could they say going with a non standard tire caused more stress on this widget etc etc etc... you know how it goes they always look for a way out!

Now I've been looking at other options.
The Conti DWS are rated 540 A  A.  I don't like the single A Traction rating.
Other options I'm looking at: Note:  I'm ONLY looking at All Weather Tires - NON RF 84W or higher.
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus: 500 AA A 88Y Price $154-$191
Dunlop SP Sport signature (W & ): 420 AA A 88W Price $131
Faulken ZE 912 UHP:  360 AA A  88W Price: $87- $120
General Exclaim UHP: 380 AA A  84W Price: $$105-$140
Hope this helps and I'd like to see other tire options also.

Pat
 
P.S. One thing I have learned that when you talk tires you must be very specific and include the tire exact name/model and size.  Just to say my Goodyears sucked is not good.  Every manufacture has good and bad tires and even within a tire model good and bad tires for different sizes.  I ran into this with Carlisle trailer tires.  Just because they had problems with one size and one model does not reflect all their tires are bad.






Edited by It's-a-MINI! - January/04/11 at 11:05pm

Your Proxes 4's are rated 280 AA A.  My original ContiSport Contact 3 SSR Run Flats were also rated at 280 AA A and I'm close to needing new tires at 14,500 miles.
It would be interesting to see if anyone has run 400 plus tires to see what they say.

Pat

I remember the tire shop found a bubble in the sidewall and quoted me a price, but it was nuts. I think something like $190 per tire. I can't remember, but I think I paid no more than $145 per tire and avoided tax as well! 

It's-a-MINI! wrote:   Pat   P.S. One thing I have learned that when you talk tires you must be very specific and include the tire exact name/model and size.  Just to say my Goodyears sucked is not good.  Every manufacture has good and bad tires and even within a tire model good and bad tires for different sizes.  I ran into this with Carlisle trailer tires.  Just because they had problems with one size and one model does not reflect all their tires are bad.

Sanderskog wrote: It's-a-MINI! wrote:   I'm hesitant on moving up to the 215 because that is a non standard tire size, it puts more rubber on the road and then what affect does that have on my warranty should I have an issue beside the affect on handling.  Could they say going with a non standard tire caused more stress on this widget etc etc etc... you know how it goes they always look for a way out! Sounds like a great question for the tech session on the 15th.  Although I can imagine they'd have much to stand behind since MINI offers so many different tires sizes and wheel weights from the factory. Todd

Exactly. Especially since a 215 tire was not an option for our build.

Pat


Edited by It's-a-MINI! - January/05/11 at 10:48am

Tire traction is rated AA, A, B or C, with AA at the top of the scale. This rating is based on the tire's ability to stop a car on wet concrete and asphalt.

Martin's got the rating correct....no AAA.  But the real unlined question is:  Is there a reason and does it matter that MINI uses only AA rated tires as OEM equipment?

Pat


Edited by It's-a-MINI! - January/05/11 at 2:05pm

I just got the DWS on our 2006 S today. We went with the 215/45/17s cause I knew that the larger size would still fit the stock 17 inch rims and I didn't want any other tire. Also, the increased diameter of the tire reduces the amount that the speedo is off from 2 mph to 1. We now have them on both of our cars and they are amazing. I highly recomend everyone just going with the 215s and avoiding the numerous months of back order time.

I think any fles that you are feeling from the 215s is probably just the fact that there is so much more tread on the new tires compared to the ones that were replaced or maybe if you are comparing them to run flats, cause the extra side wall height for the 215s over the 205s is only 4.5mm. Unless you truelly are one with your car.

Oh ok. Just thought that that might be the reason, I will see if I notice the same type of thing once I am able to get the full potential out of them (after the break in period).