Continental DWS did great in snow! :)

[reyxlp]

Was hoping to find one tire to run all year round on my E53 4.8is w/OEM 20s. Based on combination of reviews and price at TireRack, I installed Continental ExtremeContact DWSs a few weeks ago.

Took her out last night to test them out in the snow. Drove from NYC up to CT and back, looking for the least plowed highways and roads.

I could not be happier with these tires!

No problems 6"-12" of fresh snow driving conservatively on local, unplowed side streets, including sharp k-turns and decent inclines.

On the highway in slush plus maybe 2" of unplowed fresh fall, no problems whatsoever.

To be clear, these did not glue me to the ground like smaller sedan-sized Blizzak LM-xx dedicated winter ice/snow tires, but I did feel as in control of the car as can reasonably be expected for an all-season tire in the wide, staggered 20" OEM setup.

I got the sense that the tire would have done even better in a narrower size, as should be expected.

If you are in heavy snowfall areas where people measure snowfall in feet instead of inches, and the snow stays on the ground long enough to harden and get packed, I don't know if this tire will get you through that time and time again.

But if you want one tire you can run all year around in all-season weather, with enough traction to get you home in the occasional heavy, fresh snowfall -- like what you normally get in NY/NJ/CT -- I can't say enough good things about this tire, especially for the price!!!

I found dry traction only slightly less than (and wet traction slightly more than) the Diamaris.

Also, and I'm sure this isn't news to most, but it was an interesting discover for me -- sitting on the ABS did not stop me nearly as well as human discretion on the brake pedal with immediate release then reapplication upon lockup, in snow. Anyone know if this is also the case in rain? Never tried...

Hope this helps - thanks!

[xrandy]

Do you still like the Continental DWS's?

I have a 2006 X5 3.0 sport and the OEM Michelin tires are about gone. DWS's are on back order. I live in NJ and (as you know with the NJTP/GSP) handling/braking is more important than noise.

I put the DWS's on my wife's Mercedes C240 4matic and she really likes them.

[reyxlp]

Yeah, I'm still very happy with them.

It is an all-season tire so, again, don't expect the summer performance of the Diamaris nor the winter performance of a dedicated ice/snow setup, but, I'm very happy to have a set I can run all year around that will allow me spirited driving in good weather and enough control to get home safely in bad weather.

[xrandy]

Thanks!
I'll be happy long as the DWS's are as good or better than the OEM Michelin tires. I love the way my ton-o-fun X5 handles the highway ramps :-)

[06E53]

Great post...i'm currently contemplating what to do when i step up to 20's from my stock 18's on my '06 4.4i. Obviously, choices are to keep the 18's and strap on winter tires on those and put good summer tires on the 20's. Seems like a lot of money and aggravation though, on top of that, once i get the 20's on there i'm not going to want to take them off!
I live just north of Boston, so we have similar weather.
Thanks for the info!

[hawkeye12345]

I have the same tires and love them on my '03 4.4i. Phenomenal traction during wet conditions and way above average (8 out of 10 in my opinion) dry driving. The sidewalls are a little weak and tend to roll just a little during turning or I would give them a perfect 10 in dry as well. I drive very aggressively. Just over 3k miles on them and still love them.