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Just put the new Conti ExtremeContacts on my '09 GL550
This is my fourth set of tires (58k miles, original owner). Options have always been limited to the Conti CrossContact (stock tires) that usually ran about $2k or the Pirelli Scopion Zeroes for around $1,500. The reviews were always bad on the road noise for the Pirellis so I grudgingly ponied up for the Contis at 20k and 40k miles.
Glad to see a lot more options on tirerack the 4th time around and the reviews for the Conti ExtremeContact DWS 06 tires were phenomenal, although I didnt see any GL owners post reviews as of yet. Funny how now that the options are greater, the CrossContacts are being sold at a steep discount now ($356 per tire vs list price of $479 on Tirerack). But despite the discounted pricing, the ExtremeContact are still cheaper at $322 each with the better reviews to boot, so it was a no brainer to roll the dice on these.
I've only put a handful of miles on them so far, but zero road noise and they are just as smooth from a comfort perspective as the CrossContacts, if not better. Just wanted to provide some feedback in case anyone else is looking for options and recommendations. The tread on these babies looks much deeper as well, so I'm hoping they will last more than 20k, but only time will tell. Also anxious to see how they hold up in snow/ice as the CrossContacts were basically sleds (yes, I know they are summer performance tires).
(sorry my GL is so dirty, been raining a lot here).
THANK YOU for posting this. We are still a few months from needing a new set of tires(2010 GL550 with 21" wheels). Like you, we have been married to the CrossContact. Crappy tread-wear and too expensive. I noticed on Continental's site that the DWS was now available in 21" sizes and was wondering what they would be like.
What's interesting is that the DWS option didn't come up when searching Discount and/or NTB last week. I wondered what excuse I would hear from them, but never made contact. The DWS has the same load rating as the CrossContact. Also, if you search Continental's site for tires that fit our vehicle, the DWS option is NOT listed. If you search by tire size, there they are?!
Now for the good news, Continental's website clearly states that the DWS has a 50,000 miles limited warranty.
I counted 9 different types of tires in your size on this site. You may want to check it out next time and try another brand and see if it fits your needs. Onlinetires.com
Last edited by BlownV8; 05-01-2016 at 09:46 AM.
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I recently put a set of the Extreme Contacts on my 08 550 after 4 sets of Pirellis. So far so good - we'll see if the higher treadwear rating translates into more miles. Nice to have another option in tires for a size that doesn't have many choices.
Next up - replacing the other front shock for the second time.
I recently put a set of the Extreme Contacts on my 08 550 after 4 sets of Pirellis. So far so good - we'll see if the higher treadwear rating translates into more miles. Nice to have another option in tires for a size that doesn't have many choices.
Next up - replacing the other front shock for the second time.
how many miles before your front shocks went out time #2? I had fronts go out first (I believe around 40k in) and rear shocks go out no long after, all replaced under warranty. I'm nervous about time #2 happening now that I have to cough up the costs to fix out of warranty.
Fronts went in the 60-70K mile range the first time and were replaced under warranty with OEM shocks. Rear air bags went at ~110K and I replaced those with Arnotts. Replaced the LF shock with an Arnott @ 150K and am going to do the RF @ 157K
How are these holding up? I'm about to pull the trigger on these for my 550.
The UHPs wore out at 14K. Terrible tire, same thing on my old LR LR4 and Range Rover Sport.
I also found the UHPs (at this width) to be very sketchy in the rain - never felt comfortable going over 60 mph. On my LR4 and RRS, they were quite good, 80 plus.
The UHPs also, even though classified as summer, they do say M+S. And again, they were fine on the Land Rovers... but on the 550, sleds as noted above.
Anyway, I have DWSs on my Mini Cooper and they're unreal in the rain. Best rain tire ever!!
I'm hoping the DWS are also amazing in the rain for the 550.
Snow would be good too.
Last edited by Count Laszlo; 02-05-2017 at 09:04 PM.
6k miles in and they are holding up quite well. I haven't noticed any significant improvement in terms of performance on wet roads, but I guess I never thought the UHPs were that bad in wet weather. There is definitely no degradation in performance at all compared to the UHPs. The tread is holding up nicely and I am definitely pleased with the DWSs so far. We have not had any winter weather [yet] to speak of that would allow me to test them out on snow or ice.
As a side note and a kudos to Continental, I was going through some pics on my ipad a few months ago and found a snapshot of my receipt/paperwork that I took to submit my online $70 rebate form. I had completely forgotten about it and I know 100% that I never received the actual rebate debit card. I was able to go and find my online submission and the status showed "mailed". The card expires 6 months from date of issue which was about 2 weeks out from the day I started looking into it. I assumed I was SOL but decided to email customer service advising that I never received the card (and asking if they could check the balance to verify as if it got lost in the mail or thrown away by mistake it should still be at $70). They replied and said they would mail me a new card, verified my address, and within 4 days I had a new card (with a new expiration 6 months out). I was pleasantly surprised.
Originally Posted by Count Laszlo
How are these holding up? I'm about to pull the trigger on these for my 550.
The UHPs wore out at 14K. Terrible tire, same thing on my old LR LR4 and Range Rover Sport.
I also found the UHPs (at this width) to be very sketchy in the rain - never felt comfortable going over 60 mph. On my LR4 and RRS, they were quite good, 80 plus.
The UHPs also, even though classified as summer, they do say M+S. And again, they were fine on the Land Rovers... but on the 550, sleds as noted above.
Anyway, I have DWSs on my Mini Cooper and they're unreal in the rain. Best rain tire ever!!
I'm hoping the DWS are also amazing in the rain for the 550.
How are these holding up? I'm about to pull the trigger on these for my 550.
I put a set on at 147K miles. At 166K miles, they're close to the wear bars. Despite the higher treadwear rating, they seem to have similar life to the Pirellis I've used up to this point with mostly stop and go city driving. I was hoping for better. They do seem to be quieter at least.
Since a first hand review can help, here goes: My 2011 had gotten a set of LionHart (can see them at http://www.onlinetires.com/user/vehi...allbrands.html that BlownV8 mentioned in a prior post) tires put on it. Based on when Carfax recorded the installation (5k miles prior to me purchasing) of the tires they have made it roughly 13k miles total. This 13k miles is with about completely smooth rear tires and almost smooth fronts. I rotated them when I first got the car (based on the carfax install mileage) and then during an oil change 6k later. Seemed to make no difference though.
Just wanted to say I believe these tires to be complete junk from what I have seen with my eyes.
Another thing about these tires is the terrible road manners they have. They make the car really wonder around the road when you drive. I noticed this the entire ownership so far and it really saddens me to the point I don't like driving it. I don't drive much, as it is primarily the wife ride, so this is not such a problem.
Since they are now bald, I am going to be getting a fresh set in the next few weeks. Extreme Contact seems like the ones to get from all the input above.
I got to thinking about tires after I posted my message and before I bought my new ones.
Back up in the list I don't see many great reports on tread wear for anything. I missed it initially, but EWT only got 19K on a set of extreme contacts. It looked like Franman was only getting around 20k or less on his cross contacts. I reported right at 13k on the LionHart tires from my first hand experience. One of my downfalls I believe was running too much air in them and it balded the middles early. I got some tread still on the fronts, so they could have possibly hit 16k miles I bet.
I really started looking at that site BlownV8 posted up and began to compare costs for expected miles driven. I soon realized that I could probably drive roughly 6k more miles on two sets of LionHart tires verse buying a single set of extreme contact. So now I am thinking, why spend money for nothing. I would buy better tires if they gave me something better, but these reports say I just get a lighter wallet and nothing to show for it.
Having personally had the LionHart tires and hating how they tracked and also the fact they were ridiculously terrible in wet made them a no chance to buy ever again. All that to say I just got a set of the Lexani LX-Twenty 111V that you can see on the site mentioned above. They are the next notch above the LionHart ones that will be getting swapped out shortly.
I will reply here to let everyone know the installation mileage and then when they are bald we shall see what they did. I don't expect any more then 16K miles, but at $158 per tire (walmart online), they were worth a test. Walmart shipped free, so yea that was sort of nice.
Quick update since my last post about these tires in March.
Just got my new set of Lexani replacement tires installed over the weekend. I was able to hit 15,300 on the first ever set I ran. The rear tires were almost bald in the centers while the front two were above the wear bars. I have identified the primary reason for this as running the wrong air pressure in the rear and my lack of rotation.
My best wearing tire ran around 28-29psi while the most terrible wearing tire was around 33-34psi. I ran something like 28-30 in front and 31-34 in back. This new set will be having 28-29psi across the board and I will also try to rotate them every 6k miles. Not rotating the tires combined with not knowing the optimum air pressure really caused my ~15k mile results.
So hopefully this real life testing helps someone out there in making a decision to get these tires. They were good enough to get a 2nd set, so take it how you will. I am pretty confident that I can get over 20k miles out of this new set based on my learning and such.
Oh, I also got this set from Walmart again. They had gone up $3 per tire since the last time I got them. Shipped free once again to my door.
I just replaced the UHP’s on my 550 this am with DWS06’s. You get used to your tires, and then realize how bad they are when you put new shoes on. I really like the feel of these, although they may be a little more subdued than the UPS’s. Hopefully they last more than 10 months.
04-28-2016, 01:18 PM
