diff --git a/test/null/test_winograd.py b/test/null/test_winograd.py
index 8f08a2ff8a..1530675828 100644
--- a/test/null/test_winograd.py
+++ b/test/null/test_winograd.py
@@ -15,12 +15,22 @@ class TestWinograd(unittest.TestCase):
     out = Tensor.conv2d(x,w)
     self.assertEqual(len(out.schedule_linear().src), 4)
 
-  def test_backward_kernels(self):
-    x,w = Tensor.empty(1,4,9,9).realize(), Tensor.empty(4,4,3,3).realize()
-    out = Tensor.conv2d(x,w, padding=1)
-    out.mean().backward()
-    backward_schedule = x.grad.schedule_linear(w.grad)
-    self.assertEqual(len(backward_schedule.src), 4)
+  def test_backward_counters(self):
+    # contiguous_backward on the pooled input keeps the input-transform adjoint out of the overlap accumulation, so
+    # winograd backward runs in a fraction of the direct-conv flops; NOOPT=1 keeps the raw flop ratio from drifting with the optimizer
+    IC, OC, H = 64, 64, 28
+    x,w = Tensor.empty(1,IC,H,H,device="NULL").realize(), Tensor.empty(OC,IC,3,3,device="NULL").realize()
+    x.requires_grad = w.requires_grad = True
+    def backward_ops(wino):
+      x.grad = w.grad = None
+      GlobalCounters.reset()
+      with Context(NOOPT=1, WINO=wino):
+        Tensor.conv2d(x,w,padding=1).mean().backward()
+        Tensor.realize(x.grad, w.grad)
+      return GlobalCounters.global_ops
+    ops_wino, ops_normal = backward_ops(1), backward_ops(0)
+    print(f"backward ops: normal {ops_normal} wino {ops_wino} ratio {ops_wino/ops_normal:.2f}")
+    self.assertLess(ops_wino/ops_normal, 0.35)
 
   def test_counters(self):
     IC, OC, H = 64, 64, 28
diff --git a/test/unit/test_multitensor.py b/test/unit/test_multitensor.py
index 2dbfbaedd9..5d48f5dfe5 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_multitensor.py
+++ b/test/unit/test_multitensor.py
@@ -227,7 +227,6 @@ class TestMultiTensor(unittest.TestCase):
       optim.step()
       out.numpy()
 
-  @slow
   def test_backprop_conv_wino(self):
     with Context(WINO=1): self.test_backprop_conv()
 
diff --git a/tinygrad/mixin/op.py b/tinygrad/mixin/op.py
index 4b0ba3ee4f..2a64b17995 100644
--- a/tinygrad/mixin/op.py
+++ b/tinygrad/mixin/op.py
@@ -1382,22 +1382,17 @@ class OpMixin(ElementwiseMixin, ReduceMixin):
     ret = (indices.reshape(bs,c,1,-1)._one_hot_along_dim(prod(output_size), 2).where(self.reshape(bs,c,1,-1), 0)).sum(3)
     return ret.reshape(bs,c,*output_size)
 
-  @classmethod
-  def _get_winograd_matcols(cls, mat, dims:int, shp:tuple[sint, ...], dtype:DType) -> list[list[Self]]:
-    return [[cls.cat(*[cls.full(shp[:dim] + (1,) + shp[dim+1:], float(m[k]), dtype=dtype, buffer=False) for m in mat], dim=dim)
-             for k in range(len(mat[0]))] for dim in range(dims)]
-
   # winograd conv 3 kernel f(4x4,3x3) see: http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.09308
   def _apply_winograd_matrix(self, mat, dims:int) -> Self:
-    # multiply mat_1 @ mat_2 @ t with foldable constants, where mat_i acts on vector t along dimension i; roughly kron(mat, mat) @ t
-    # due to realize-before-expand rule in lazy.py, we must operate in this order: reshape -> expand -> arithmetic
-    t_ = self.reshape(self.shape[:dims] + (1,) * dims + self.shape[dims:]).expand(
-      self.shape[:dims] + (len(mat),) * dims + self.shape[dims:])  # add output dims
-    # precalculate mat columns for each dim; prod(itertools.product(matcols)) gives the columns of kron(mat, mat, ...)
-    matcols = type(self)._get_winograd_matcols(mat, dims, t_.shape[dims:], t_.dtype)
-    # multiply each element of t_ by the corresponding stacked column of kron(mat, mat), producing only one view for each element of t
-    ret = sum(prod(col[idx] for col, idx in zip(matcols, mat_is)) * t_[mat_is] for mat_is in itertools.product(range(len(mat[0])), repeat=dims))
-    assert not isinstance(ret, int), "sum over empty winograd matrix"
+    # apply mat along each of the first `dims` axes: the separable transform kron(mat, ..., mat) @ self
+    # column k of mat is a stacked-CONST vector that folds into the arithmetic, so no constant is materialized
+    ret = self
+    for dim in range(dims):
+      ret = ret.transpose(0, dim)
+      ret = sum(type(self).const(ret.dtype, tuple(float(m[k]) for m in mat)).reshape((len(mat),)+(1,)*(ret.ndim-1)) * ret[k]
+                for k in range(len(mat[0])))
+      assert not isinstance(ret, int), "sum over empty winograd matrix"
+      ret = ret.transpose(0, dim)
     return ret
 
   # TODO: winograd can be a rewrite rule like split_reduceop
@@ -1417,8 +1412,8 @@ class OpMixin(ElementwiseMixin, ReduceMixin):
     # (bs, cin_, tyx, HWI)
     pads = [(pB, pA + (-(s + pB + pA - 2) % 4)) for (pB, pA), s in zip(flat_to_grouped(padding_), self.shape[-len(HW):])]
     d = self.pad(flatten(reversed(pads)))._pool(HWI, HWO)
-    # move HW to the front: # (HWI, bs, cin_, tyx)
-    d = d.permute(*range(len(d.shape)-len(HW),len(d.shape)), *range(len(d.shape)-len(HW)))
+    # move HW to the front: # (HWI, bs, cin_, tyx); contiguous_backward keeps the input transform's adjoint out of the overlap accumulation
+    d = d.permute(*range(len(d.shape)-len(HW),len(d.shape)), *range(len(d.shape)-len(HW))).contiguous_backward()
     tyx = d.shape[-len(HWI):]  # dim of tiling
 
     g = weight.permute(*range(len(weight.shape)-len(HW),len(weight.shape)), *range(len(weight.shape)-len(HW)))  # move HW to the front
@@ -1881,8 +1876,7 @@ class OpMixin(ElementwiseMixin, ReduceMixin):
     # https://keccak.team/keccak_specs_summary.html
 
     def ctensor(l: Sequence[PyConst], dtype: DType = dtypes.uint64):
-      # TODO: contiguous is here for compile speed
-      return type(self).stack(*(type(self).const(dtype, v) for v in l)).contiguous()
+      return type(self).const(dtype, tuple(l))
     rot_offsets = [44, 43, 21, 14, 28, 20, 3, 45, 61, 1, 6, 25, 8, 18, 27, 36, 10, 15, 56, 62, 55, 39, 41, 2]
     rot_offsets_v0, rot_offsets_v1 =  ctensor([0] + [1 << v for v in rot_offsets]), ctensor([1] + [1 << (64 - v) for v in rot_offsets])