I don't remember the member that recomended that I consider Continental Extreem Contact DWS tires but I want to say thanks. Saved a bundle over the Pirelli $1200 set that I have had in the past and the Continentals should last double the life of the Pirellis I had in the past.

The ride is great, the handling is super and the tire tread looks cool. Cost about $859 installed and spin balanced for four 18" 245/45ZR 18 front and 255/45ZR 18 rear. Got them at American Tire via the website.

Thanks again for the suggestion. Love the Continentals.

 

nice of you to give a shout out to the one that guided you, one that may never be named

 

That would have been the Rev. Sam:

All season tires - needed for a winter road trip

Now, about the tires, I grew up in New Mexico. If you're going to do the long trip, you definitely need the all season tires. Northern New Mexico gets a lot of snow. And it gets really cold there at night. Temps in the single digits are not uncommon in most of New Mexico during the winter. The rubber on summer tires gets very hard in cold weather, and the hard rubber causes poor traction, even if the road is dry. I got a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires about a year ago. They are great. They have great reviews on Tirerack.com. On dry pavement with traction control turned off I have trouble breaking traction from a standing start. They are that sticky. But they are also all season tires, and they are supposed to be good in the snow, too. The tread design has the letters D, W, and S recessed into it. They show the tire wear and illustrate when the tires are no longer good for different conditions. In other words, when the S disappears, you should no longer drive in snow. When the W disappears they are no longer good for wet conditions, and when the D disappears you need new tires.

(Sorry I don't know how to do the neat quotes from people that everyone else seems to know the way to do that.)

Hope to get a set of the Conti's for mine as well.

cheers,

jj

 

I think several members are using them. I've got about 30,000 miles on the right rear tire now, and I noticed the other day that the tread is started to get a wee bit thin. I replaced the left rear about 8000 miles ago due to a puncture. I'm guessing I'll probably get another 10,000 to 20,000 miles out of the right rear, which would mean I got 40K to 50K total on the tire. I think that's pretty decent tread life considering how sticky they are. Stickier tires usually have a shorter life. I'm happy with these.

One thing I regret, however, is putting 275/35-19's on the front. I did that about 15,000 miles ago, and they are slightly too wide for the rim. It causes the steering to tramline slightly. It's not bad, it's just slightly irritating at times. The fronts are holding up exceptionally well, so they are going to have good tread when the right rear wears out. I'm thinking about just moving them to the rear at that point and putting some 245's on the front. Then I'll have an extra, slightly worn 285/35-19 I'll need to get rid of somehow.

 

I put a set of these on my 2001 XK8 about 5000 miles ago and am pleased. They seem to be quieter and softer riding than the previous Z rated Continentals, and I am confident that they will last much longer. I don't push my car, but I was getting annoyed with the cost of having to replace the high performance tires after only 10,000 miles.