snagitseven

I've read quite a bit on the Continental ExtremeContact DWS all-seasons but have not been able to find very much info from A4 owners who have upgraded from the Pirell P6 which many 2009+ non-sport A4 owners received as stock. I just had a set installed last week and thought I'd share my observations after a few hundred miles.

Let me preface with some benchmarks: I have a 2009 A4 Prestige with the very cool (IMO) 18" wheels that came with stock 245/40-R18 P6 shoes. I had 26K miles on the P6's before purchasing the DWS with about 40% tread remaining. The review below only compares the two all seasons and since I don't run summer performance tires, cannot provide any comparison to those or dedicated snow tires for that matter.

Why did I switch early wear-wise? Well, let me start at the beginning...I had one of the B8's with the high speed steering wheel shimmy and one of the first to report on the control arm fix on the forum (I think my original thread still holds the all time post record on the B8 forum). That solved my wheel dancing the Macarena and I was happy. As time and the miles wore on, I started noticing a mild, high speed, general vibration that I couldn't really pinpoint. It kind of sneaked up over time. I decided to have my dealer rotate and re-force balance the tires during my 25K mile service. After they rebalanced (the highest result was 19 lbs on one wheel and below that on the others, well within max spec) and rotated fronts to rears, the vibration was disconcertingly worse. They re-rebalanced again and no change. I suspected moving at least one of the wheels to the front caused this. Especially at 65+ mph. My conclusion was becoming out of round tire(s) which all the road force balamcing in the world can't completely fix. (Been there, done that).

After reading the reviews extolling the wonders of the DWS tires, I decided I would go for a set from Tire Rack. I went back and had the dealer mount and re-re-rebalance.

As soon as I drove away and got on the highway and some twisty back roads, I observed the following:

1) all vibrations were completely gone. I mean COMPLETELY gone. Nada, zero, no mas, nothing.
2) ride quality was vastly improved - while I still feel the road imperfections on these 18" relatively low profile tires, all the Massachusetts broken pavement was markedly damped and provided a far more comfortable ride.
3) based on some reviews of the DWS, I was expecting a somewhat lesser handling experience due to supposedly softer sidewalls. To my delight, the DWS increased performance significantly. The car responds equally well to steering input and much more planted in hard cornering.
4) I had also read in a couple of DWS reviews that the car wandered from straight. I can report that crowning in the road does provide a bit more drift than the P6's but it's barely noticeable. Far less than other car/tire combos I've had in the past.
5) Noise - again, a small minority of reviewers complained about noise level of the DWS. I did hear more noise the first 50 miles or so but either I've gotten used to it or as they wore in, the noise has reduced to below the P6 (at 26K mi). I suspect the latter. Also, no "squealing" as one DWS reviewer reported. (Maybe it was his passengers reacting with delight)?
6) Tread appearance - with the variable tread design, I think they look pretty neat (personal preference, of course on this one). The tread section width of the DWS is about 1/4-1/2" less than the P6 by the tape but you would be hard pressed to notice this by eye.
7) Treadwear - obviously time will tell but the reviews indicate excellent longevity compared to most in the class.
8) Value - at $152 ea., they represent a terrific value compared to many other tires in the UHP all season category.

As for performance in the wet and on snow, well, it hasn't rained since I got them and it's too early for snow. Based on the glowing reviews, I'd say driving in rain and snow has been universally reported as excellent. I'll update my own experience as time moves on.

Bottom line - I'va had 15 or 20 brands/models of the so-called "ultra performance" all-season tires on dozens of cars over the years including Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and Yokohama W-drive and so far, these are becoming my favorite. If they hold up better than the other "ultra performance" all seasons I've had, I'll give them my all time numero uno rating.

The P6's, while doing an admirable job with tread wear, did not hold up well to staying round. Kind of important in my opinion, yes?. Not to mention the lesser performance compared to the DWS. I'm a pretty happy camper right now. My world is now a much nicer place.

JD15

Thanks for the impressions. I am going to have the ExtremeContact DWS mounted sometime next month. I likely won't be using them during the summer, so I am particularly interested in how they perform during the winter.

UmIsThisThingOn

I'm seeing it for $208/ea - not too bad, but I'd rather pay $152/ea.
Did you have a coupon or credit or something?

snagitseven

Are you looking at the same size - 245/40-18?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

UmIsThisThingOn

NM, I'm an idiot. I forgot that there's often a price delta between 18" & 19" tires.

Buckeye96

I have the 17" Conti's and echo everything that Snagit7 has said. The tires are great, quiet and handling much better than stock P6's.

Dads4

Have had the Contis on my 2000 S4, my 2000 Honda S2000 any my 2005 A4 and absolutely loved them. They are a tad noisy tho'.

joesky

While I can't comment on the Conti's, I will say that my 2010 A4 Prestige had HUGE issues with the Pirelli P6's with vibration, etc. I eventually convinced Audi to replace them and wanted the Conti's but instead got Michelin Pilot's. They made a world of difference and performed significantly better than the P6's, and one year on, I have had zero issues with vibration etc.

The Pirelli's suck and Audi should stop using them. Unfortunately some braniac in purchasing probably signed a long term contract that they can't get out of in order to save money....

Barrels41

I agree. That's the ticket. A bean counter's decision. My former Infiniti M35X came with Goodyear RS-As that were dangerous to drive. Lost them many repeat customers. Me included. Now they have Michelin Primacy tires on their new M37X.

I will stick with Audi as long as they don't stick me.

Glad I got the sports package with Pirelli P7s.

Lobby for a recall of those P6s.

Barrels41

For the winter I suggest reconsidering a winter tire. VT ain't Brooklyn.

Actually in Brooklyn you would blow those weak side walled DWSs once a month. My wife blew three on her B7 A4 when the snow melted in pot holed upper Manhattan near her job.