Continental’s ExtremeContact DWS06 and its updated version, the ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus, both provide you with very impressive features. Here, we delve into an in-depth comparison, evaluating both tire models on various parameters to determine whether the upgrade truly makes a significant difference.
Table of Contents
Quick Takeaway
- The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus demonstrated superior performance in comparison to its predecessor in our extensive tests.
- Enhanced dry traction performance is due to the new-gen compound and robustly built lugs.
- Wet traction improvements stem from the tire’s advanced siping design and wider lateral grooves.
- The tire provides a more comfortable and quieter ride, attributed to improved tread void design and prominent notches.
- The DWS06 Plus outperforms its predecessor in fuel efficiency, thanks to a streamlined design and lighter construction which reduce rolling resistance.
- Overall, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus represents significant progress in tire technology, providing an enhanced driving experience.
Design Similarities And Differences
Let’s start with the Continental DWS06.
- This tire’s central rib has more biting notches facing the shoulder blocks, and this rib has less sipes compared to it’s counterpart.
- Shoulder blocks on this tire, are uniform, with very little siping. And they contain alignment verification indicators, uneven wear of which indicates misalignment.
- All blocks form slightly more zigzag longitudinal grooves.
- The tire design includes more prominent snow biters. These tiny structures are found on the edges of shoulder and inner blocks.
Continental DWS06 Plus, on the other hand showcase following features.
- The central ribs come with more sipes added, and the notches now face inwards, which supply extra directional grip, in comparison.
- Shoulder blocks are slightly bulkier and contain more sipes. And these allow for superior handling. Though like its counterpart, these lugs also contain alignment verification indicators, uneven wear of which indicates misalignment.
- There is a slight variations seen on the circumferential channels, which are marginally wider than those on the DWS06.
Common Features:
- Both tires feature two main ribs in the center, where one runs parallel to the shoulder blocks, and the other is arrow-shaped.
- Both have identical arrow-shaped ribs (highlighted with red) containing blocks with chamfered edges and snow vices on the arrowhead, as well as X-shaped sipes.
- Both tires form three total circumferential channels.
- Both tires have the DWS indicator (for Dry, Wet, and Snow) and the alignment verification indicator on the shoulder blocks.
- Both tires also feature similar types of snow vices on the outer edges of shoulder and inner blocks.
Dry Traction
Dry performance is dependent on two key factors, grip and handling. And our rigorous testing revealed that the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus performed much better in both these aspects.
The tire’s new gen compound combined with its lugs having a thicker built, allow for greater contact with the road, where the overall wider section width of all sizes (seen on average), is also contributing to it a lot.
Moreover, same is the case seen with the shoulder lugs, which are mostly judged when it comes to handling, (because as the tire corners, the weight shifts towards the sides of the tread).
The DWS06 Plus showed faster handling lap times (on average), with more compacted up shoulder lugs.
Moreover, as these lugs aren’t that susceptible to bending, it also accounts for superior steering responsiveness on this tire as well.
(Lugs that are prone to bending, causes greater movement, as the tire concerns in each direction, resulting in over and under steering, and reducing steering sensitivity).
Wet Traction
The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus delivers outstanding performance when it comes to handling wet conditions. In fact, its superior capabilities even outshine other top-notch premium tires in the market.
But why? What factors contribute to such exceptional wet handling?
Well, wet traction fundamentally revolves around effectively dispersing water from beneath the tread, thus allowing the rubber to make proper contact with a comparatively dried surface. This “road drying” process hinges on the tire’s sipes and grooves, which are the two elements where the older model was somewhat deficient.
Notably, the predecessor tended to wear rapidly and lacked full-depth sipes.
These sipes, the thin slits within the tread, play a significant role in clearing water away, and they essentially clear off water particles into their voids, permitting the rubber to grip the surface securely.
However, the DWS06, lacking full-depth sipes and wearing off swiftly, suffered a steady decrease in its gripping effectiveness over time.
In contrast, the DWS06 Plus does it better, utilizing a marginally harder rubber compound and an enhanced full-depth siping design, and with those features, it guarantees improved longevity and wet performance.
Moreover, the DWS06 Plus features wider lateral grooves separating all lugs of the tread, allowing for superior hydroplaning resistance, compared to its counterpart.
Road Comfort and Noise Levels
Airflow contributes significantly to noise production.
This is because air particles enter the tread (mostly through shoulder grooves), and that air then collides with the tread walls, creating unwanted sound-waves.
So it makes sense why the Continental DWS06 Plus with a slightly more closed up tread voids (on shoulders), keeps its noise production at a minimum.
In comparison, the older model with greater tread voids gets to be louder, allowing air particles to move around more freely and hitting the tread walls with full force, resulting in louder tire.
Furthermore, the absence of siping and less prominent notches on DWS06, also impacts the overall comfort performance.
With less of those biters, basically, the tire gets to lack the needed flexibility, so the tire feels a lot more jittery on bumpier pavements.
Whereas on the newer tire, you not only get those features, but you also get a new gen compound, which gives you the better combination of flexibility, elasticity and hardness, allowing for a more comfortable ride in comparison.
Fuel Efficiency
Fuel consumption is tightly linked to the rolling resistance of a tire; they have a direct correlation. But, what factors lead to greater rolling resistance? Primarily, these are weight and tread composition.
Now comparing both tires, it can be seen why the newer tire is superior.
The DWS06 plus demonstrates slightly lower rolling resistance and consequently, better fuel efficiency, with its more optimized structure.
It although may not seem so, just by looking, but its design gives you a more streamlined design, with firmer lug contact.
This limits the excessive movement of the lugs as the tire curves, brakes or accelerates.
In addition, the tire also features a relatively lighter construction overall, which means less energy is required to keep it rolling.
All these factors make this tire perform superior even in fuel economy.
The Final Verdict
Through extensive testing, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus has showcased a significant performance improvement over its predecessor across various key parameters. It consistently excelled in areas such as dry and wet traction, road comfort, noise reduction, and fuel efficiency.
The tire’s enhanced dry performance is largely credited to its new-gen compound and robust lugs, while improved siping design and wider lateral grooves augment its wet traction abilities. It further ensures a quieter and more comfortable ride, thanks to its cleverly designed tread voids and prominent notches.
Moreover, the newer tire also offers slightly better tread life, and fuel economy.
