Old Jun 24, 2010 | 11:07 PM
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JHM2K
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,349
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From: Murfreesboro, TN
Default re: Continental Extreme Contact DWS... a winner in my book

Originally Posted by mrphotoman
why did you go with 285/30/19 instead of 285/35/19 in the rear?

i have read a lot of good reviews on those, they seem to be good daily driver tires.
These are within .2" overall diameter of my OEM tires... OEM is 26" OD and these are 25.8"... So, I figured that was pretty doggone close.

The sidewall height looks visually identical to the front's sidewall height. So, aesthetically at least, it's spot-on.

I'm also running a one-dot pad in the rear with cut SRT springs... so it's already low and I had detected a hint of rubbing in the fenderwell with the OEM tires. That was also prior to the camber bar installation, however... the C-bars really seemed to help, and I still have yet to do the laser alignment. So, it will only get better.

And I agree with your observations. The reviews I have seen have been raving. Literally gets an 8.8 rating in light snow; higher than most devoted summer tires get for dry traction rating.

I was scared that I would lose a lot of feel and dry-pavement response with these tires... but I didn't. I'm thrilled.

Granted, these aren't going to give the grip of something like a dedicated "summer-only" tire. But, my car doesn't see "summer-only" duty... it has to tough it out when the roads are wet, dry, slushy, and everything in between. So, this was the most sensible route for me.

To wit, I have driven this car more times in the snow, than I have had the opportunity to do 10/10ths cornering. Sad, but true. And living in Tennessee, that's saying something.

Last February was downright SCARY in the Michelins. With body parts being so hard to come by, I figured this was a very reasonable and worthy compromise.

Chris L : Yes, these have a treadwear rating above 500. Guaranteed for 50,000 miles, and they're pro-rated if you happen to chew through them faster. They're also advertised to yield a few extra MPG, although that's a claim I'm not worried about observing in the slightest. Even if they DID, my foot is too heavy
 
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