Tire choices: Nitto NT05 vs Continental ExtremeContact DW

[te72]

As the thread title states, I'm in the market for tires, and have narrowed it down to the following two for summer tires:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...o?pc=40517&typ=Passenger/Performance&tmn=NT05

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...p=Passenger/Performance&tmn=ExtremeContact+DW

Seems to me the Nitto might be a little louder and shorter lived at the trade off of traction, and are well within the budget of the Conti's, but the Conti's have great reviews over on Tirerack's website.

Anyone running these tires or has run these tires, care to chime in with your experiences? I run different wheels/tires during the winter, so snow traction is a minimal concern. Car is probably laying down something in the neighborhood of 350whp/tq, according to the butt dyno. Won't know for sure what it's making until SILV...

 

[te72]

Hmm... seems nobody's used either or isn't interested. I was pretty happy with my Nitto 555's, think I'll go with the NT05's for summer (oh how fleeting it is in Wyoming ) and get a set of the Continental DWS's for winter... Let ya know how I like them when I get them.

 

[Asterix]

I have a pair of Continental DWS tires on the rear of my 350Z and I like them a lot (255/45-17). Now, they've not yet seen snow, but I do know that their traction in the rain is just about the same as in the dry. Dry traction is good, too, no matter the temperature. They've been quiet as well.

 

[supraman7mgte]

I have Nitto 555's on all corners.Except for thier ability to find nails on every road I drive on,the tires handle great.From what i've read,they are a dry season tire.

 

[te72]

I have a pair of Continental DWS tires on the rear of my 350Z and I like them a lot (245/50-17, IIRC). Now, they've not yet seen snow, but I do know that their traction in the rain is just about the same as in the dry. Dry traction is good, too, no matter the temperature. They've been quiet as well.

Good to hear about the DWS man. I would love to go with the Goodyear Tripletread tires for my winter setup, I've used them for many years and winters, but unfortunately the only sizes they have in 17's are over a 50 series sidewall, no thanks. Need to have 17's minimum for when I get the ARZ bbk for my car. So the DWS sticks pretty good huh? That's reassuring, we don't ALWAYS have snow during winter, but it happens often enough that it's too much a pain to swap out tires every time the roads get ugly. If the DWS has at least moderately good dry traction too, that should keep me happy until I can reasonably believe the white stuff has stopped for the season.

I have Nitto 555's on all corners.Except for thier ability to find nails on every road I drive on,the tires handle great.From what i've read,they are a dry season tire.

You know, you might be surprised... the 555's do alright on snow too. Can't say as much for the 555R's though, even in the wet those light up so easily it's not even funny. I suppose mine are likely beyond their service life.

 

[destrux]

It's not on your list, but it's similar..... I've used the Kumho Ecsta XS max performance summer tire and it works great, except for heavy rain.

 

[te72]

Appreciate the suggestions, but I sincerely doubt I will EVER run Kuhmo tires again if I can avoid it. In my experience with them, they don't tolerate moderate heat (canyon driving) well, which is something I look for in a dry weather tire. I suppose you get what you pay for to a certain extent with tires, no?

 

[destrux]

I use the Ecsta XS for mountain road driving... lots of sharp turns and heavy braking and acceleration zones. I never had them overheat and lose grip or chunk, same with the (now being phased out) Ecsta MX. I have overheated the less hardcore Kumho's though. Even pushed an Escta AST till it chunked, on a FWD car. The XS's are a really hardcore street tire though... they're in the same class as the Falken Azenis RT-615K and the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08's. They won't last really long, and they suck when it gets cold, but in the summer they are outstanding.

 

[te72]

Good to hear about the XS's. They're not really cheap enough to sway me away from the Nittos though. They do however offer them in a 335, which might come in handy eventually.

 

[SupraSean]

I'm Still running old school bfg Comp t/a's 245/45/16 on all four's. On warm days they are absolutely excellent. but cold/wet, forget it lol. I've always been a fan of BfG's

 

[te72]

Well, Wyoming is a strange beast. It's cold from September until about June. Only problem with the BFG's and Goodyears in the size I need is that they're quite expensive...

 

[te72]

Figure an update is in order. Went with the NT05, and they're quite something. I'm almost afraid of exploring what the traction limits of this car are with these tires on it. 275/40/17 on 9.5's all around, and this thing HANDLES. Ever been through the Virgin River Canyon in AZ? I made it through in ~10 minutes start to finish, keeping my pace well into the fun zone. Noise isn't too terribly bad either, which was nice on our way to Vegas. Also, for what it's worth, I managed to cut a 2.1 second 60' at LVMS on these tires, so they're not too bad for drag for a street tire.

 

[jrot]

ive got the conti extreme contact DWS and love them....i was kinda not expecting much as ive never heard alot of people using conti's and sure never see much advertising or see them on user cars....mine are great...i drive 43mi each way to work and im in the midwest so lots of rain....i think they do better in the rain actually....i really cant say enough good about them...these will be the tire that remain on my car as long as i have it....i had the khumo ecsta before and hated them ...these were just the improvment i needed....they are a long lasting tire at good economy.....they arent loud at all and ride smooth...the only real downside for me is that they pick up and hold rocks well so occasionally i have to pick them out...but i have a gravel driveway....also the sidewalls are soft which is good for handleing but do to mine being a 45 series tire they look like they ride the sidewall on the ground...they dont but it looks like it and people are always telling me my tires are flat....other than that they are the perfect tire for me in my area....

you can kinda see it in the background here

 

[te72]

I just put a set of 255/40/17 DWS on Mk4 17x8's all around, I've only put maybe 300 miles on them so far (if even that many). I agree about the sidewall thing, they are REALLY soft sidewalls, kinda sucks for steering response, but they do have pretty respectable traction for an all season tire. I even launched on boost last weekend with little squeal. That said... I kinda like how these tires behave. They have nowhere near the confidence inspiring behavior of the Nittos, but I didn't buy these to go canyon carving, I bought them to keep my car on the road when the white stuff starts falling. They do have a nice breakaway though, when you near the limits of traction, really easy to know when you're about to start sliding through corners, it's fun, I gotta say.

 

[jrot]

well and the sidewall thing is a bit of a bummer but it allows you to set up your suspension really hard.....which is my plan...so in that case the soft side wall will give the tire some movement before they break free....$0.02

 

[PureDrifter]

I just put a set of 255/40/17 DWS on Mk4 17x8's all around, I've only put maybe 300 miles on them so far (if even that many). I agree about the sidewall thing, they are REALLY soft sidewalls, kinda sucks for steering response, but they do have pretty respectable traction for an all season tire. I even launched on boost last weekend with little squeal. That said... I kinda like how these tires behave. They have nowhere near the confidence inspiring behavior of the Nittos, but I didn't buy these to go canyon carving, I bought them to keep my car on the road when the white stuff starts falling. They do have a nice breakaway though, when you near the limits of traction, really easy to know when you're about to start sliding through corners, it's fun, I gotta say.

the soft sidewall can be due to having such a fat tire on such a skinny rim.

255/40 should be run on a 9-10" rim (10 is stretching it a bit, 9.5 is a tiny little bit safer) for maximum sidewall reinforcement and steering response.

 

[te72]

I'll concede my mistake on buying wider tires than I should have for the rim I'm running, never ran the Mk4 TT fronts, I thought they were an 8.5". I'm NOT a big fan of how stretched tires look, so that's one thing you'll probably never see me running on my car. That said, the soft sidewall kinda makes for a nice plush ride. Not too used to that with my car anymore...