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Thread: WARNING: Continental Extreme Contact DWS

  1. #1
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    Thumbs down WARNING: Continental Extreme Contact DWS

    This is what happened to me earlier this week, right rear tire completely came off the wheel. On the freeway, 60 mph on a right hand turn curve. My radio was turned up when I heard a loud pop, fish-tailed, if I wasn't quick enough on the steering the damage could have been so much worse, my life would have possibly been jeopardized at that speed. Thankfully, there aren't any damage other than the tire itself. Tire pressure was 36 psi cold, measured the day before this happened.

    I took off all the wheels and put on my auto-x set up instead, I am in no way intending to drive on these tires anymore at all. Regardless, there isn't a valid reason or excuse for both the sidewalls to shatter like they did at the same time and cause the rest of the tire to completely come off the wheel chasing the car.

    These tires along with the K1's were bought early January this year from Tire Rack, it hasn't even been 2 months and I've only driven a little more than 3,000 miles on them. I'm yet to speak with Tire Rack about this, I'll keep this thread updated.







  2. #2
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    that sucks...I have never heard a bad word about dws'....hopefully everything gets worked out for you

  3. #3
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    I was looking forward to purchasing these in a few months, yours is the first bad review I've read. However considering the seriousness of the issue, I'd like to hear what happens in your case.
    Cyrus Mistry

  4. #4
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    You know what, before I purchased these tires I searched and read a lot of positive reviews. But there was one post from a guy saying he wouldn't buy them because of the very soft sidewall and that he knows a guy who had this very same thing happened to one of the tires. That guy replaced it with the same tire thinking it must not be the tire that was the problem but then another tire had the same thing happen not too long after the first one had gone. He then replaced the whole set and threw the DWS's away.

    I didn't take that post that seriously since it didn't come from the actual owner of the tires and there were many positive reviews. I've been trying to dig and find that post with no luck, wouldn't come up on google neither... It's gotta be somewhere, though...


  5. #5
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    With the stupid names Continental have for their tires, reason enough to steer clear nowadays. The ones I got in Australia were made in Malaysia or somewhere.

    Wonder where these ones were made.

  6. #6
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    glad to see you are alright, I had some problems with the dws, but some of it could be attributed to the fact, that I had summer tires in the front. Once I went to all seasons in the front, the tires calmed down.

    The problems I had were things like the traction control going on when I was taking sweeping turns, even at less than my normal speed. I didn't feel like they gave me the traction, whether wet or dry I really expected. But it might have been a bushing going bad in the back. Now I will say that I would test the boundaries to see how far I can push them.

    When it comes to tires, I would recommend the Sumitomo HTRIIIz ahead of the most tires. I gage tires on a couple of things, do they give me drama, when I first get them and do they feel like I have gained or lost traction. The Sumitomo's have a great sidewall, when I switched out some old Yokohama's, I felt like my car went from understeer to neutral.

    I know the new BFGs are supposed to be very good.
    My 528 is a German Tank..
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    Always teaching now getting paid for it.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by ezbmr View Post
    glad to see you are alright, I had some problems with the dws, but some of it could be attributed to the fact, that I had summer tires in the front. Once I went to all seasons in the front, the tires calmed down.

    The problems I had were things like the traction control going on when I was taking sweeping turns, even at less than my normal speed. I didn't feel like they gave me the traction, whether wet or dry I really expected. But it might have been a bushing going bad in the back. Now I will say that I would test the boundaries to see how far I can push them.

    When it comes to tires, I would recommend the Sumitomo HTRIIIz ahead of the most tires. I gage tires on a couple of things, do they give me drama, when I first get them and do they feel like I have gained or lost traction. The Sumitomo's have a great sidewall, when I switched out some old Yokohama's, I felt like my car went from understeer to neutral.

    I know the new BFGs are supposed to be very good.
    You're comparing apples and oranges. Sumi' HTR's are a summer tire, and a crappy one at that. The DWS are an all season tire with good snow traction if anything. If anything the DW's would be a better comparison.

  8. #8
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    I took a friend's E46 M3 with DWS's on track at road atlanta, they were the worst performing tires ever. Just a performance statement.

    Level8Drummer

    Driving instructor for: BMWCCA, PCA, SCCA, Chin Motorsports, and Hooked on Driving.

  9. #9
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    Sorry to hear about your issue.

    I am one year into a set of Continental DWS tires. They have been fantastic on my 550. I have yet to add air to them, I have curbed my wheels and hit curbs with the edges all with nothing more than a scuff.

  10. #10
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    OP,
    that's definitely a manufacturing defect or some other failure from use...I'm leaning toward the former.

    Two guys in my dept at work have each over 30k miles on theirs (one on a 2008 Civic Si and the other on a 2012 Civic) and they've had no problems at all..........I'm curious after more investigation what the failure could have been.......
    Be frank, OP....did you overdrive these tires relative to their intended purpose?

    Quote Originally Posted by Level8drummer View Post
    I took a friend's E46 M3 with DWS's on track at road atlanta, they were the worst performing tires ever. Just a performance statement.

    Level8Drummer
    well, that's rather surprising (rolls eyes)...Who would have ever expected an all-season tire biased to snow performance be good on track?

  11. #11
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    I never over drove the tires AT ALL. I am a very conservative driver on the street. I barely even pass 3,500 rpm, personally and I dont even go past 65mph on the freeway. I strongly believe there's a right time and place for that and its not on public roads. I drive aggressively on auto-x/track but on another set of wheels and tires (Z1 Star Spec's on CCW's).

    I called TireRack, lady I talked to said she's gonna contact Continental and get back to me in an hour.

    Sent from my iPhone using BF.com


  12. #12
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    3,500 and 65mph?

    listen, if you're going to tell this to tirerack and continental they are going to think you're full of crap and lying.

    i exceed those specs in my corolla on a daily basis on 93 in boston just to keep myself from getting run over.

    i am not saying any of this is your fault, and my assumption is that it is a manufacturing defect, but at the same time, at least be honest.....no disrespect but i don't believe you at all about the speeds etc. you can go fast(er) and not be driving insane.
    Last edited by camdinans3; 03-04-2013 at 03:15 PM.
    Andrew:
    1995: Avus

    ///Supercharged 95 Club

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by camdinans3 View Post
    3,500 and 65mph?

    listen, if you're going to tell this to tirerack and continental they are going to think you're full of crap and lying.

    i exceed those specs in my corolla on a daily basis on 93 in boston just to keep myself from getting run over.

    i am not saying any of this is your fault, and my assumption is that it is a manufacturing defect, but at the same time, at least be honest.....no disrespect but i don't believe you at all about the speeds etc. you can go fast(er) and not be driving insane.
    I don't need you to believe me an I dont need to lie about any of this at all. And I think you're full of crap with all your assumptions and accusing me of being dishonest. Do you know the speed of traffic during rush hour on I-5? Do you know what rear end gear I'm running? Hell I drive faster on my beater corolla, too!

    Sent from my iPhone using BF.com


  14. #14
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    Good luck getting a new replacement in good time. It took 4 months to get my DW tire replacement under their 1-year road hazard warranty when one of my rears had a flat. Had two flats within the year. A shame really since I liked how quiet and smooth they are.

  15. #15
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    I'm looking at your stance and set up and to me it looks like that tire has been rubbing badly and cut the side wall because that is not the weakes point of the tire and it is a clean cut. Maybe you have something that have gone wrong in your suspension to allow side ways movement. Like you said you had your music loud and maybe didn't even notice that is rubbing.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Puppeli View Post
    I'm looking at your stance and set up and to me it looks like that tire has been rubbing badly and cut the side wall because that is not the weakes point of the tire and it is a clean cut. Maybe you have something that have gone wrong in your suspension to allow side ways movement. Like you said you had your music loud and maybe didn't even notice that is rubbing.
    How are you looking at my "stance and set up"?

    "Something may have gone wrong in my suspension that would have allowed sideways movement"? of the tires? Like what?

    As I mentioned, the tire pressure were read the day before this happens. No sign of anything that may have lead to this. I have gone through everything underneath the car as I swapped the rest of the wheels. Everything's rock solid


  17. #17
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    I can only say what I see. You can go and get the worst tire in the shop with the weakest side walls like Nankans and they won’t go like that unless there is some reason like a sharp edge of a fender. I’m not there to see what you have under the car but I can see a cleanly cut tire and my guess is the edge of the fender. Those tires are speed rated to a much higher speeds that you would do. Looking at the pictures you gave for us it is very unlikely that the tire is in fault. It would be the first one I ever heard going like that unless it is a retread and even they only lost the tread not the carcass. That side wall has worn so thin on those pictures that I think you must have been driving flat for miles to it wear like that and break from both sides. Maybe that is the reason a simple flat tire that got driven till it fell apart. Seen that before.

    More I look at the pictures I think you had a flat and didn't notice it till it came free from the wheel. Seen people do that in rush hour trafic because it is harder to feel your car when there is low speed. That just don't happen without reason.
    Last edited by Puppeli; 03-05-2013 at 01:40 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  18. #18
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    dude thats freaking crazy. i've had my DWS's on my M3 for near 20k miles and its just now time to start looking for another set of rubber. and my drivers side rear tire rubs like crazy and the fender well has cut the sidewall all to sh*t and i've never had a problem out of them.

    as far as performance goes i have at times wished they had a bit more grip. but for an all season radial i think they've been great. i would look into any batch numbers you can get off the tires and see if there has been a recall or something. tires rarely just do that for no reason, but i'm not saying that its impossible


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  19. #19
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    This problem is not limited to Continental tires... I have seen this problem over a dozen times unrelated to tire brand.
    Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by hundreds of engineers that get paid thousands of dollars for something you bought at Pep Boys because your buddy who doesn't have a job told you it was 'better'?!?

  20. #20
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    Hey Blink21Me, that sucks and i believe Kevlar. You may have gotten a bad batch. What size were you running? That could have an impact of where they were manufactured, and that could affect the overall quality of the tire.

  21. #21
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    Glad you're ok, must have been a hell of a ride. I don't like Conti's at all. I have two on the back of my 635. I bought a set of wheels/tires from a guy last year. On the front were Michelon's ?, worn about 50%. On the back were Conti's worn about 20%, except that the rears had a bubble on each sidewall. I did'nt think much about it at the time, but when I brought them to the tire store, he said it was from driving over a pothole. Well, the front two went over the same roads, the same potholes and they were fine. I don't like Conti's and never will buy them. He gave me 50%off in replacement, but I still think it was the construction of the sidewall/tire that's the problem.
    Lets get the party started before it's my bedtime.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by das borgen View Post
    well, that's rather surprising (rolls eyes)...Who would have ever expected an all-season tire biased to snow performance be good on track?
    Right... However I see people with them at the track all the time. This past weekend at VIR I saw 2 cars running them.

    Level8Drummer

    Driving instructor for: BMWCCA, PCA, SCCA, Chin Motorsports, and Hooked on Driving.

  23. #23
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    I just found this thread after having the entire sidewall on my -1000k DWS blow out. And conviently it's when Im a couple hundred miles from home, in the woods. I'll be going back to my meager Toyo Proxes 4s. These have been good up until this. But this happened with my wife and 1 yo daughter in the car.

    Bucket

  24. #24
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    Never came across a problem this serious while researching the DWS which I was considering purchasing this fall. But it doesn't seem like it's an isolated incident(albeit still rare). My friend had them on his a4 and loved them but I did hate how soft the sidewalls were. Will now be looking at the Nitto Motivo and Goodyear F1 asymmetric for a decent priced high performance all-season tire.

  25. #25
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    Same thing happened to my wife on Friday with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS which were installed earlier this year. She was driving on the onramp (turning the steering wheel right) to 295N in New Jersey and heard a pop then the car began to shake badly and then she pulled over. The AAA tow truck guy said she was fortunate she was able to pull over because the damage was so severe. She was with our 9 year old heading to a birthday party. Thank God they were safe, but terrified sitting on the shoulder of the highway during rush hour. Trying to figure out how to post picture. (rear right side tire exploded). https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...hint=folder%2c
    Last edited by SportyWagon09; 12-06-2015 at 09:24 PM. Reason: Included link to picture

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