After three sets of KDWs, the last of which only lasted 14K miles, I decided to make the change to Continental ContiExtremes in the stock 205/55/16 size on my E0 CSVT. For the first week, the tires were much quieter than than the KDWs (of course), but in the following weeks, the tires have begun to develop what best can be described as a "soft howl" that occurs all the time, especially at speed. If I turn the wheel ever so slightly in either direction from dead center while cruising on the freeway at 65 MPH, the howl gets noticeably louder. This occurs on any kind of pavement: concrete, asphalt, whether new or old.
My question is: is this simply a characteristic of the tire (Tire Rack's ratings indicate that these are relatively quiet tires), or are they defective in some way? The performance is certainly adequate for everyday driving, as I haven't noticed a demonstrable difference in grip between the Continentals and the KDWs, but then again, I don't autocross the car.
Anyone have a set of Continentals on their cars and experience the same thing?
Lee K
