I picked up a set of Continental ExtremeContact DW for my 40th Anniversary RX-8 this weekend in the 225R45/18 size. These tires replaced the balding OEM Dunlop tires. I will preface my thoughts by saying that I have owned my RX-8 only since October and for the majority of that time the car has been on winter tires. I've only driven on the OEM Dunlops for about 3 weeks and have no experience with more extreme performance tires on the RX-8 like the Bridgestone RE-11 or the Dunlop Star Specs. I also don't have a lot of experience with performance tires in general with the most aggressive tire I've ever run being a Toyo T1-S on a Miata.

In terms of tires I was looking for a tire that had good treadwear, comfortable to use and good grip in the dry and the wet. In short I wasn't looking for an exteme performance tire but something a little more middle of the road suitable for spirited daily driving. In addition to the Continentals I considered the Bridgestone RE760, the Hankook V12 and the Yokohama S.Drive tires. I ended up going with the Continentals based on various reviews on Tirerack and the recommendation of my local tire shop.

On the day I got the tires changed it was quite cool in Toronto, around 6 degrees Celcius with a lot of mist. When I first started driving the car after the tire change I thought the grip of the tires felt good despite them being brand new and the car had a nice planted feel in comparison to the balding Dunlops, no surprise there. The tires were quite comfortable on the highway and do a nice job of not pounding the backside going every little bump.

One concern I had with the DW tires was the complaints people had about the soft sidewall, I like the responsiveness and sharp handling of the RX-8 and didn't want to disrupt that. On the first day I thought the car felt somewhat heavier on these tires and was initially disappointed, however on Sunday it was a sunny day and the temperatures warmed to about 20 degrees and everything felt really good at that point with the car feeling much more responsive and the heavy feeling largely dissipated. I drove about 200 km over the weekend so I'm not sure if it was feeling better because of tires breaking in, increased pressure in the tires due to temperature change, psychological or a combination of all three. Regardless, the car felt much better on day two then it did on day one.

So at the moment I'm quite happy with the Continental DW tires, I think they provide a good compromise between treadwear, comfort and performance. I don't believe these tires would be a good fit for someone used to an extreme performance tire like the Star Specs, however as tires for a daily driver who does some spirited driving I'm pleased with them so far. I'll post another update in a few weeks when they get more broken in.

 

Good info.

 

I purchased a set of these tires based on consumer reports review of having above average traction in the dry. think it was in fifth place after the usual front runners Michelin pilot/ goodyear F1 etc.

The certainly look like serious tires,,, the large gap between treads concerned me a little as it is quite large and more than appears in pictures. anyway

I put them on replacing 2 dunlop sport sp's on the front at 40% and 2 relatively new toyo proxes 4 on the rear,,,, reason i decided to change was because i felt the car was trying to drive where the road surface was going and not where i wanted it to go... mistracking ... when i put them on i tried to evaluate only straight ahead tracking as i knew they would take a few kilometres/miles to be worth checking out the cornering grip. etc

ok so pulling out of tire place i now am spinning tires where i wasnt before but slick ture , no surprise lol.... hit the on ramp to highway,,, major understear after about 80km/h but again no surprise on fresh tires.... heading straight down the road was impressive,,, low noise,,, dead straight tracking even beyond 130km/h ,,, so i decide to change lanes at about 150km/h ..... WAKEY WAKEY !!!!..... holy sh*t .... wiggle wiggle lmao... uh best i can explain is like driving on four balloons.... not good at all.... so kept everything to a sane level for 500 miles/ 800 km/s then try testing them out again....

traction has improved in cornering but constanly feels like its on the edge as you accellerate not a good feeling at all,,, must be the soft side wal rolling under.

straight line traction did improve a little from a dead stop but still rather easy to spin the tires , which Ive never had an issue with any tires before with the lack of low end torque in the rx8 you'd think that would be an issue for any decent tire.

the worst felling is when you do a quick left turn then a right turn. the car still feels like your riding on balloons you get this really unsettling wiggly feeling ,,

so handling, cornering, precision driving does not exist for these tires lol

they should not be rated as UHP tires. nor even HP tires.... maybe performance...
they are fairly quiet and drive well in a straight line so if thats what you are looking for they might be for you..

if you drive your rx8 more than just putting around town then you will be sadly disappointed in these tires..

they belong on a Cadillac or something

thankfully there is a 60 day trial guarantee on them and you can upgrade to another continantal tire at no charge other than the difference in tire price.

I am going to try the contisport contact 3 or 5 next and see how they work out.. without that soft sidewall they certainly cant be any worse !

 

^I keep hearing these too soft complaints after the tire was rated pulling 1.01 g on dry skid pad in Tire Rack test on BMW.

How can that be?

I ran Hankook V12's which have the same soft complaints, and found that 46 psi hot was the right pressure for them when new running on the track at 150 deg f.

After a year and a half, I discovered that the tire hardens up some, and 42 psi hot was the best.

What hot or cold pressures are you running?

 

I'm through a full year with these on my 8... Hardly even noticeable tread wear ... having come from Yoko Advans I don't care how soft the walls are... these tires are fuggin awesome on the pocketbook.

According to TPMS -- I'm 32 psi cold and 40 ish hot... but likely not as hot you'd get on track, 40w8.

 

I posted the original review, I'm still happy with these tires and was surprised by the second review. As I stated in my initial review, these are a great tire for the street but you are not going to get the same grip you would from a tire like the Dunlop Star Specs. The DW is a comprise tire that sacrifices some ultimate grip for treadwear and comfort.

I find a higher PSI does help with the turn-in response, I'm currently running 36 PSI.

 

I think Gerald Nunn's review is spot on. C&D tested the tire and it finished midpack with a positive review. Great wet and noise/comfort characteristics. Dry was very predictable and good, but not great compared to the leaders. Michelin Pilot Super Sport (whatever their name is) blew away all the tires.

This is the perfect tire if you are looking for a daily driver tire that you can still take out on curvy roads. If you track your car, move right along.