Anyone Auto-x or track day on all seasons?

[flypenfly]

Thinking about getting the CONTINENTAL EXTREMECONTACT DWS tires next time I'm due for a new set. They would replacing the Sumitomo HRT Z III on my 987.2 S. Has anyone ran these category of "Ultra High Performance" all seasons before at an auto-x?

[ttweed]

I have never used them and would never buy them for autox based on the reviews I have seen. They are a good all-around tire and excellent in the wet, but San Diego isn't Seattle. If it rains hard, our club doesn't run for time, anyway. No all-season tire will match grip with the current generation of extreme performance summer tires, and the rap on the Conti is that the sidewalls are too soft for good response in rapid transitions as well.

YMMV,
TT

[marcus981]

Aside from just performance, Jerry Bumpus just told me yesterday that the all season tires he was using were completely destroyed after only two autocrosses. Of course, this is Jerry we're talking about, but he still doesn't go through his other tires that fast.

[c4s4pcs]

A couple of personal experience notes and an opinion - I have an '06 C4S and live in Idyllwild at about 6200' elevation - we get significant snowfall and I frequently commute to San Diego. I use the DWS for my winter tires, and I love them. Between them, AWD. and PSM, I have never had a problem getting to work or back home again. In addition to having excellent snow traction due to tread compound and design, they seemed to work as well dry conditions as the Hankook's that I run for summer tires. I did run them in the Instructor session at the last PDS, they did not feel terrible and I saw no noticeable wear - not a very real test but...

Having said all that, I would not recommend them for anyone serious about AX, let alone big track - with the cold weather rubber compound and extensive siping, I believe that they will not respond well to heavy use on asphalt in warm weather. On a side note, they are a tire of choice for Rallycross, which always sounds like it would be a blast...

[Old Guy]

Good idea to ask the question. We happen to have this exact tire on our Volvo V50; they've just passed 30,000 miles and still have some tread left. Great tires...for all around use. Installed them while in Virginia with 4 seasons; now we're here.

Autocross? You'll destroy them, thus defeating the basic purpose of buying these tires in the first place. With all due respect, with aftermarket wheels relatively "cheap" for your car ("regular" wheels vs the $5-10 grand wheel sets (not including tires) our GTS requires) it has to make sense to have a separate wheel/tire set for autocross use. Trust me. You will SAVE money by putting the DWS Contis on for daily use while also going to Tire Rack or where ever and getting a wheel/tire set just for autocross. The Contis will go almost forever with daily use, including cold/snow in the mountains. Money in your pocket. The autocross wheel set will need tires eventually (might get you a full season or so - longer if you miss some events)...as expected. Not to mention that you'll better-enjoy your autocross days.

Summarized in my own words: For what it will cost you to keep replacing an A/S tire you're autocrossing, you can "invest" in an autocross wheel/tire set that will pay big dividends for the future.

[ttweed]

Jerry Bumpus just told me yesterday that the all season tires he was using were completely destroyed after only two autocrosses.

Hold on! Jerry told me he was running on snow tires. Maybe that was just on the front, though....


TT

[jbrennen]

I trophied at an SCCA ProSolo event (a national level event) on snow tires.

Granted, that event was held in non-stop rain, temperature near 40 F, and actually had standing water at least a half inch deep on some parts of the course:



The choice to switch from my autocross tires to the snow tires was a choice made from desperation, not from inspiration. It worked well though.

I wouldn't recommend autocrossing on all-season tires on hot dry pavement.

[flypenfly]

Thanks guys.

Realistically I'll probably be doing two or three autocrosses and a track day a year.

Probably the wisest course of action is just sticking with normal summer tires and sucking it up on the more frequent replacement schedule. I think.

[Jad]

From my experience, there are two possible outcomes:
1. they work fine, but are SLOW.
2. they overheat and pieces of tire start falling off.

I have had both happen, neither is much fun

[LUCKY DAVE]

A number of years ago I ran on all season M/S tires and got fourth TTOD. In my Suburban!
Whoever says it can't be done is WRONG!!!




(disclaimer) It was the "alternate car" December AX and raining so hard there were INCHES of standing water .

[Dan Chambers]

M&S tires don't like auto crossing at the Q. The biggest problem … Jad eluded to it … chunking of the tread. After a couple of events, the outer edges of the tires on a typical alignment setup get severely abused, causing significant chunking of the outer most tread block. Of all the cars I've had to reject/fail in Tech, tire chunking from All-Season/M & S tires has been the #1 reason.

I don't like failing cars in Tech, and I know the Drivers don't like coming all the way down to the Q that early in the AM just to get a "Fail" on their Tech Sheets. So, please, no M & S tires for performance driving, especially at the Q.

[JayG]

Jerry Bumpus just told me yesterday that the all season tires he was using were completely destroyed after only two autocrosses.

Hold on! Jerry told me he was running on snow tires. Maybe that was just on the front, though....


TT

I thought Jerry stopped at Home Depot and bought a few cans of plastidip and made his own retreads