evo_soul

Its no surprise that the Dunlop SP5000M tire isnt well liked. If you stand back and rate it, you may come to the conclusion that its the one of the worst tires you have ever owned. Many attack it from the position that you cant drive it in winter. Others are not happy with its tread life. One thing is for sure, its not the tire suited for Canadian Weather.

I have been talking for months with Dunlop to see if we could get a compromise and get a better tire, unfortunately, they felt that the Dunlop SP5000M "is a great tire" and dont see why a change would be necessary. I did how ever talk to a few other manufacturers who did believe as I did, the Lancer and Canadian RalliArt deserves a better tire.



One of the tires that has come to the top of the list (top 3) is the Continental Extreme Contact DWS . which is Conti's next generation Ultra High performance all season tire. This tire in my opinion is properly suited to be one of the best options available for us. It also is geared towards those who can not afford having a dedicated set of winter tires for what ever the reason is. These tires also come with a 50000 mile tread life guarantee. And if that was good enough, it comes with the following guarantees as well.....

Treadlife Warranty 6 Years / 50,000 miles
Uniformity Warranty First 2/32" of wear
Workmanship & Materials Warranty 6 Years / Free replacement first year or first 2/32" of tread, then prorated to final 2/32" of tread.
Manufacturer's Road Hazard Warranty One year or first 2/32" of tread
Manufacturer Special Warranty 60 Day Test Drive

60 Day Test Drive warranty is amazing. that said all should read what special conditions that includes.

As explained by Tirerack...

The ExtremeContact DWS (DWS for Dry, Wet & Snow) is Continental's Ultra High Performance All-Season radial developed for drivers of sports cars, sports coupes, performance sedans and sport trucks. The ExtremeContact DWS is designed to satisfy their year-round driving needs by blending dry and wet road performance with light snow and slush traction.

ExtremeContact DWS features an advanced silica-based, high-grip, all-season tread compound molded into a unique asymmetrical tread design with stable shoulder blocks and a continuous, notched intermediate rib on the outboard side to enhance responsiveness and cornering stability. The center of the tread features independent blocks separated by high-angle, criss-cross grooves to provide the biting edges necessary to deliver wet road and light snow traction while independent inboard shoulder blocks help disperse water to further enhance hydroplaning resistance and foul weather traction.

The ExtremeContact DWS features Tuned Performance Indicators — visible letters molded into the second rib from the outboard shoulder to alert drivers of the tire's performance levels. A visible "DWS" indicates the tire has sufficient tread depth for dry conditions, as well as wet roads and light snow. After the "S" has worn away, the remaining "DW" indicates the tire only has sufficient tread depth for dry and most wet road conditions. And after the "W" and "S" have both worn away, the remaining "D" indicates the tire has appropriate tread depth for dry conditions only.

The tire's internal structure includes twin steel belts reinforced with spirally wound jointless nylon cap plies to provide long-term integrity under high-speed conditions while reducing weight and helping to provide more uniform ride quality.

The indicators make it very easy to find out how good your tires are performing over time and also to let you know when you are pushing your luck. I have refered people to buy the Mitsubishi Lancer but the two things that always comes back to me is when these people ask me about the tires and the paint... The tires are terrible.... and I think Mitsubishi should consider phasing them out. Because these particular tires bring down the their name. They did a great job selecting Yokohamas for their lower trim cars, I have hear a complaint about them. I think stepping up their game for the GTS and RalliArt will go along way.

Get to the slight issue with this tire, and that is the tire spec size of the DWS. It is 225 / 45 / 18. Why this size? The OEM size of 215/45/18 is just not very common, if you look up the tires available you will see a very short list, and an even shorter list of performance all season tires. I have made calls to both Mitsubishi USA and Canada about owners upgrading their rubber. It will not void any warranties unless its found to be the fault of what ever non aftermarket part installed.

A slightly wider tire will not throw off your mileage by very much nore harm Fuel economy that much either. marginal for both. And when comparing all the tires, this is what I came up with. Now that I am replacing my OEM tires it is likely I am going to go with these or with the General Tire Exclaim tire for Summer Rubber. For those who are not cumfy with the 215 upgrade size but want something that is ok for the winter seasons, other alternatives will be posted as well.


As our local supplier, TireMag has stepped up and is putting together a pricing package for us. both for people who want a Rim and Tire package or just want to upgrade the rubber on the OEM rims. it will be posted shortly as soon as I hear back from them.


EDIT:
For Toronto Lancer Club Members the price is
$800 Installed (excluding Taxes and regulatory OTS fee)
Contact Ali At TireMag (905) 738-0710 or Ali@tiremag.ca Ask for the EVOSOUL / Toronto Lancer Deal

If you buy before Oct 30th Tire Mag will eat the OTS fee.

Tiremag
8241 Keele Street
Concord
Cheers

laksman91

iTrader: (4)

There is no substitute for winter tires. It's proven that all seasons can't come close to the performance of winter tires

evo_soul

you will get no argument out of me about that. you should have an Winter Tire, but there are some who either dont want or can not afford a dedicated winter tire. For what ever the reason, its much wiser to run on the best All Season tire possible as a compromise.

And being very blunt. Winter aside. Driving on the dunlops even in heavy rain isnt the best thing either. A tire that is capable of handing everything well is what the goal of this effort is.

Tirerack talks about this tire indepth when evaluating its dry and wet tracking, with winter reviews coming.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=119

evo_soul

Just got off the phone with them, if you buy before Oct 31st. Tire Mag will eat the OTS eco charge.

For Toronto Lancer Club Members the price is
$800 Installed (excluding Taxes and regulatory OTS fee)
Contact Ali At TireMag (905) 738-0710 or Ali@tiremag.ca Ask for the EVOSOUL / Toronto Lancer Deal

If you buy before Oct 30th Tire Mag will eat the OTS fee.

Tiremag
8241 Keele Street
Concord

laksman91

iTrader: (4)

So how sthe weight of the tire compared to others

evo_soul

Its better in almost every way, and even with the slightly wider track, it comes in as being 2 pounds lighter.

Our Dunlop Tire
215/45R18
89V SL 360 A A 1279 lbs.
51 psi
10/32"
24 lbs.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...irePageLocQty=


Conti DWS
225/45R18
91Y SL 540 A A 1356 lbs.
51 psi
22 lbs.
7-8.5"
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...irePageLocQty=

Gemms

Very good review Evo_Soul. I have a dedicated tire for winter driving for the mere fact that the Dunlops can't even provide driver confidence in the wet summer months, far more winter. My car vibrates so much down the highway that I don't even need to take paint cans to the local Canadian Tire to get shaken by their paint shaker.

Needless to say I am very excited about picking up my Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110 tires this weekend. Worth the drive to Buffalo.

suprPHREAK

I'd like to point out for others that the Exclaim UHP you mentioned does technically qualify as an all-season tire, as per DOT rules, but General elected to call it a summer-only tire as it's characteristics were designed with that in mind. It is also slightly cheaper than the Contis.

Choose wisely, but even if you can't afford them....winter tires are an amazing investment! Got mine for $400 mounted with steelies...and can easily have saved thousands in damage if i stayed with the SP5000M

evo_soul

i asked conti about the exclaim. its design is all season capable unfortunatly the compound selected doesnt go far enough in the way of ice traction. but if i had to choose i would go with the exclaims in winter vs dunlop sp5000s.

mykee

so if u buy the winter tire before end of the october u dont have to pay the OTS?

waroverjp

looking for winter tires? check my sig

evo_soul

yup Tire Mag will Eat the OTS.


Dealerships are not bound by this. This is purely Tiremag stepping up making things interesting. We are in talks to expand the line up.

mykee

i just bought my winter at tire mag and i paid for OTS.

evo_soul

thats ok, show me the invoice and I will get you satisifaction lol
pm me your number and I will give you a shout.

P.S. what tires did ya get ? WinterForce. If so, its a great tire, ya its a bit loud, but it kicks butt over snow.

mykee

pmd

i got winterforce...