Loving my new Conti's

JohnsZ

About a week ago I made the decision to replace the Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my '09 Z with Continental Pure Contacts which were recommended to me by my trusted service guy at my Nissan Dealer. I was not at all happy with the amount of miles I got from my PSS (around 20k with non-aggressive driving). Also, with winter approaching up here in CT, I wanted an all season tire. This has turned out to be the best decision I ever made. Even though I have not had the opportunity to test them in winter like conditions, I can honestly say that not only do they handle much better in highway and back road driving than the PSS, they're much quieter. I always felt that I had to muscle my way when takng a high speed turn in my PSS. Not anything like my new Conti's. It's almost as if my all season Conti Pure Contacts are the performance tire that the PSS should have been. Go figure! I'm anxious to see how they do when it snows but I'm so happy with the handling of these tires in dry condition, I don't even care. I'm sure it's better than what my PSS were like in snow. Bottom line....I could not be happier and with these new tires, I fallen in love with my Z again!

kenchan

LMBmikeZ

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alcheng

(one for each of you guys)



easy men...!! easy on the OP...!!


I somehow understand his point, I drive the Z til the very last day thus sometimes the temperature gets to very low and a set of all-season might give some peace of mind.

but.... to say an all-season is as good as the superior PSS..... ugh......

TXSpeedDemon

Glad you like them.

I've been much happier with my Continental DWSs than I was with my Pilot Super Sports. I wouldn't say they handle better (very close on normal spirited driving: 80-85% of the car's limit) but they are so much more comfortable, quiet and no flat-spotting any more. Flat spotting was a major problem with my PSS, occurring about 70% of the time I drove the car and since my commute to work is only 6 miles the PSSs never evened out in that short a drive.

I've had the DWSs on about a month now and don't regret the decision at all.

BeemaaZ

I had an opportunity to test my Continental DWSs at Ojai this past weekend, I must say they nailed those twisted roads pretty well! The tires have about 3k miles, 245 front, 285 rear.

Can't say anything about Michelin PSS but I heard they are nothing but the best.

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JohnsZ

Thank you for the support! I guess we're in the minority. I think I gave some people the wrong idea that I think the Conti is better than the PSS as a track tire or at least for a very aggrssive style of driving. I'm not talking about the Conti's as a track tire. I'll say it again...my Conti's are out performing the PSS in everyday driving situations and that includes cornering, overall handling, quietness, and smoothness. That's everyday driving conditions! Say what you want and believe what you want but you can have your PSS. My only regret is believing the "positive" reviews I read from people in this forum of how great the PSS are and then buying them only to have to go ahead and buy new tires in less than 10 months and 20k miles and worse yet, not even likng them. By the way, I started a Thread a few months ago asking for advice regarding why I felt I had so much understeer taking corners and that was when I had the PSS. I really felt I had to muscle my way around a turn. I no longer feel an understeer since I had my Conti's. Bottom line is if the PSS works for you and your style of driving, good for you. For me, I'll gladly take my Conti's any day! I hope that this helps others in deciding what kind of tires to get for their Z and that there are options out there. Also in regards to tires, what works for some Z drivers may not work for others.

homelessgdog

I almost got those tires for my wife's Z. I ended up with the Pole Position S-04. Nice to hear some good things said about them. Car is a commuter car. It will never be on a track or driven hard, sad to say.
I too wanted a little more miles out of the tires. Just seems like all tires in this category are not designed for mileage but for performance. I can live with that. Enjoy your new tires buddy.

Fountainhead

Yeah performance tires are wasted on me, I'm at 17K on original OE tires, so I guess when they wear down a bit more I'll get Continental DWS.
Would love less tire noise on the Interstate.

ssmoked

You got 20k miles out of PSS? Wow!

Shamu

I have been on these tires. At moderate speeds they are great however push the car and they show lack of sidewall stiffness. People should be aware that sidewalls are very soft. Soft sidewalls make for great ride but they get sloppy when pushed hard.

However for someone looking for a nice street tire they are very affordable and offer excellent ride quality.

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kenchan

i run DWS on my dd as my winter set. they are good tires for everyday use. not very good looking though...

DEpointfive0

John, can you update this thread as you have them on the car for longer. I believe the first 500 miles or so on any tire are always extremely quiet. I don't think any Continental will get loud, especially all seasons, but I'd like an updated review as the miles go on

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JohnsZ

An update on my Conti Pure Contacts: First of all, I saw some reference to them being the Conti Extreme Contact DWS. Not sure how different these are from my PCs but I think they are pretty much the same. Anyway, this is good timing because this morning I had my first experience of driving in slushy back roads from last night's snow/ice event. Results....No spinning tires=no problem. Tomorrow afternoon they are predicting 2-3 inches of snow in CT so it looks like I may get caught making my 50 mile drive home from work during the storm. So that may be interesting. I also put 2, 30lb bags of kitty litter in the trunk for extra weight and if I do get stuck, that would come in handy. I'm hoping I don't have to use it though.

But here's my up-to-date eval of my PCs so far. I have had them on for a little over 3 weeks now and put around 700 miles on them. I still love them! Handling is still excellent during normal driving conditions in dry or wet and no worries at higher than normal highway speeds. I can't say I've taken many corners very fast but fast enough to feel confident with them and I don't feel like I'm having to muscle the Z around a turn. As far as quietness is concerned, I can't imagine any other tire being much quieter given the fact of their size and let's face it, the fact that we are basically sitting in the trunk of a Z. There is one thing that I have noticed about the tires though and maybe you guys can answer this. Speed bumps that I would normally go over without scraping that rubber flange under the front grill I now hit with these tires. Not a big deal and we're probably talking about an inch but it is noticeable. The Z must sit a little lower to the ground with these tires. No air pressure warning lights are on so under inflation shouldn't be the cause. But other than that, this still was a great decision for me to buy these Conti's. We'll see how it drives in a little deeper snow and time will tell how many miles I get out of them but anything over the miles I got from my PSS is a plus!