Tires Continental or Kumho

I find that I do notice that cornering gets more "spongy" on any of the Contis I have had below about 36-38 psi. The factory recommendation is a compromise with soft ride / comfort. To get better handling and mileage you can go way above 38 psi before the inside wears out faster - something like >45 psi, perhaps. I run my TDI at 40 psi, and the outside edges still wear out quickly (from the many corners in the hills, here). And yes, the Contis IMO do like to be inflated.

I went with the Conti's and couldn't be happier!

The Conti DW's are excellent, but I do find they tread squirm pretty badly until they wear a bit. I just did my first rotation after about 4500 miles and with the higher tread back on the front, I noticed it instantly. Other than that though, really good so far.

These tires are nothing short of amazing, i've never felt my previous gti or my new one perform the way it does on these tires. I can't recommend them enough, they're really *that* good.

The ride is very soft/smooth and quiet. Far superior in handling (obviously) and noise than the factory Michelin's were.

Contis are on the car now - awesome.

Mounted (4) Continental ExtremeContact DWS 225/40ZR18 = $587

Yeah, I think you can't beat the Continental Extreme Contact DWS in cold weather and heavy rain for the price, and they also last long, don't get hard or noisy, and hold up well also when it is 120F outside. I started on the third set in my Passat, very satisfied.

The GTI would have performed much better on the summer tires, those all-seasons really are terrible.

my conti-extreme got quite loud after they had worn a bit, although they were badly cupped.