Now that I have had more of a chance to really drive on these tires, I am starting to think they might be stickier than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. I haven't gotten them to break traction yet. They just stick and go. The rubber seems softer to the feel and seems to kick up even more debris than the Michelins did. These Continentals seem to have better rain traction over the Michelins too. Even when the Michelins were new, any tiny amount of standing water would cause the car to pull, and I am not running into that issue with these Continentals. It is difficult to judge on the highway how fast I can go in the rain with these Continentals since it has the on center feel issue. It makes it so that I can't tell if it is beginning to hydroplane or if it is just the tire's on center feel.
I am also convinced that Continental has more than just engineers working for them. I think they may have witches and warlocks too, as I am convinced black magic was added to these tires. It's the only plausible explanation as to how such a low profile tire rides like a comfort tire and has extreme performance. If comfort is the primary or one of your top tire criteria, then this is for sure the tire to get. I don't know how it is physically possible to get a more comfortable tire in the OEM 235/35/19 size. I actually prefer a sporty/firm ride (not to be confused with a I feel like it's just a metal wheel touching the road), so for me the Michelin had the perfect feel for me. These Continentals make me forget I am in race mode with how soft they ride, and I kind of miss that sportier riding feel. However, that is just purely a personal thing. I did notice nothing rattles when I hit bumps on these Continentals. On some occasions I used to get a tiny rattle here and there hitting bumps with the Michelins. The Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 definitely made the car rattle on every bump though. I so disliked the ride of those tires. If given the choice all over again on tires, I would still choose these Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 tires again. The dry traction, wet traction, road noise, and comfort have all been the best that I have come across. I still only have one complaint, and that is the highway on center feel of the tire, everything else is exceptional. The fact that these are priced good too, is just extra icing on the cake.
For the last few years I have been rotating through the various sets of 235/35/19 OEM wheels and tires that I have. I have driven on OEM Continental ContiSportContact 5P, Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, and Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 (W-Speed rated version). I was bouncing between summers, all-seasons, and winters throughout the year, hence is the fun of Chicago-land weather. The tire shop has warned me that my Sottozero 3 tires are low on tread, so I don't know if they will put them on next winter. I haven't gauged them, but they don't look that low to me. Granted, you do need more tread depth for snow traction. I'm also tired of starting each calendar year on winters, going to all seasons, going to summers, going to all seasons, and then going to winters. It's a lot of wheel swapping. I've mostly been going through the hassle since I was trying to use up the all seasons and save as much tread as possible on the winters. We have been getting some silly weather the last few years where it will be 70's one week and a snow blizzard the following week. Also, if these winter tires are as worn as the tire store says they are, that means they lasted only about 8,000-9,000 miles. That's a pretty hefty cost for such few miles, and that's with being diligent about only having them on in cold weather. My current plan is to go Vredstein Quatrac Pro+ to replace the either the all seasons or winters, assuming the winters don't have enough tread left. The all seasons are down to just being dry weather safe at this point, as they have lost most of their wet traction. The Vredstein Quatrac Pro+ is a grand touring all-season with a severe snow service rating. This way, at least for the weather I deal with, they should work for winter and the crazy weather months. They will also be a lot cheaper to drive on and have a 50,000 mile warranty, unlike the winter tires. Speaking of warranties, I think my Continental all-seasons have a 50,000 mile warranty. At best they maybe have 20,000 miles on them, and they are already almost at the treadwear indicator bars. They probably wore out so fast because they broke traction a lot. I could easily over drive the fronts and slide out the rear with them on. At any rate, the current plan is Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 for summer and Vredstein Quatrac Pro+ for winter and everything else.
... Ended up fixing the bumper and few other things, so its been at the shop....
