Cowhorn

I currently have the older Contact DW tires and like them, but I cannot stand the sidewall on the tires! The sidewalls are very convex as opposed to straight, and they have a strange surface texture compared to other tires I have owned. Can anyone tell me if the Contact Sport has the same sidewall as the DW?

RudyP

I happen to have both. They do look a little different. The DW (on the silver 993) has more of a lip than the Contact Sport (Red Ferrari). See pictures below:

Extreme Contact DW:


Extreme Contact Sport:

RudyP

Let me know if you need any other pics or info. I'm working from home (like everyone else) so the two cars are 30 ft away.

Edward

Nothing to add as I own only the Conti DW, and like them. But fwiw, I think that little extra bit of "lip" on the DW is an additional margin of "rim protection" in my mind. Not that any of us really smack our cars into curbs when parking, but a bit of sidewall above the plane of the rim isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Sidenote and somewhat OT: I think lots of folks have gotten accustomed to the aesthetic of a "wider" rim fitted with a slightly "narrower" tire such that tread width is narrower than the rim's width (if you're looking at the entire wheel facing the tread squarely). It's an aesthetic "trend" that I've anecdotally observed for years now, but that's the "norm" folks start with. The First pic Rudy posted suits me just fine, as does the second one too. It's a pretty close aesthetic choice here and I'd rather choose based on performance

That said, to Rudy, what are your impressions of the new Contis? I'm up for a replacement of the just the rears and would like to know what you think of them, especially since you own both sets? ...TIA, sir!!

Edward

il pirata

I had the DW and now the Sport on the C4S. The sport is much better handling wise due to the stiffer sidewall, etc without giving up handling in the rain or adding additional road noise.

RudyP

It's a nice tire, I like it a lot. I can't really give it a great direct comparison because the DW's on my 993 are quite a bit older (7 years IIRC and I will be replacing them soon) and obviously they are on two very different cars. The rear suspension on the Ferrari is original and sucks compared to the 993's more modern setup so it's not apples to apples. But in general, it is a nice evolution of the DW. Great grip -not that far off from PS4S, predictable, decent feel and reasonable noise and comfort (on the latter, I can't really compare against a comfort-oriented tire as my other cars are on Pilot Sport 4S and another continental high performance tire). I really like Continental tires in general. I always have at least one set of Michelin's latest and greatest as well but honestly, I'm often just as happy with Continentals.

Edit: I can't comment on wet grip because rain is pretty rare here in San Diego

Cowhorn

Thank you, Rudy.

If you don't mind, would you take a couple more pics of both showing the entire tire sidewall?

Edward

That's awesome, Rudy, Thank you! I'm in the greater LA area, so you and I share the same great weather. I appreciate your opinions, man, thanks!

Edward

LPMM

I'll echo Rudy's comments and I would prefer a more squared sidewall but I am very happy with the ExtremeContact Sport for performance/price ratio. Here are some pics, front 245/35 on 8.5J and rear 285/30 on 10.5J

Cowhorn

^^^Thanks for those pics, Laurent. Just what I needed.