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[Hooy]

Let me say first and foremost that I am no professional by any stretch of the imagination. I have no racing experience and only drive on the street.

So I mounted 225/45/17's Conti DWS on OEM 17x8's today. I have had them on my Kia Forte for a while, but I never push that car. My car is on ST V1 coilovers.

Tires I've owned or sampled:
1. OE Continental RFT's 17"
2. OE Potenza RE050A RFT 19"
3. Nitto NT05 18"
4. Nitto INVO 19"
5. Michelin Pilot Super Sport 19"
6. Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 18"
7. Goodyear LS2 17"
8. Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec

My day 1 impressions:
1. They are quiet. Really very quiet. You can't hear anything other than maybe a little tread growl, but only if you really pay attention.
2. They're VERY comfortable. The sidewalls seem very soft (set to 35 cold PSI) and float over the sharp bumps and cracks in the road.
3. Because of their softness, the responsiveness is dramatically lower than all the other tires I've run... but then again I have run almost exclusively summer tires. During a slalom, I felt like the car took a whole half second for the car to respond to my steering inputs. Having come from so many lower profile summer tires, the sluggish handling scared me a bit.
4. They seem to last forever. The tread on my Forte looks brand new and it's been many months.
5. They're ugly.

Overall, I'm pleased with their road manners and comfort, but am disappointed in the sluggish turn-in. I sort of wish they didn't last 50 years, but only last as long as it takes for the new Dunlop Z2 Star Specs to come out in the states. I will be taking them to a mountain course in 2 days and will update this if I have anymore input.

If anyone has questions about the tires I listed above, feel free to ask me.

[Dr. G]

Have you tested out the straight line traction from a stand still?
Some people go as far as saying that they stick almost as good as drag radials due to the nature of the sidewalls/compound.

[Hooy]

Originally Posted by Dr. G

Have you tested out the straight line traction from a stand still?
Some people go as far as saying that they stick almost as good as drag radials due to the nature of the sidewalls/compound.

They are not good, to be honest. I lit them up with ease (my traction control is broken) and starting in DS (2nd gear) with 1/2-2/3 throttle chirped them.

There's absolutely no way it's as good as a drag radial!!

[Rollo`]

I tried them on my G35 once and had to return them... they felt awful to me--like the rear of my car was floating around on balloon tires or something.

Straight line traction was amazing...but I couldn't stand that floaty feeling.

[VMRWheels]

Good review. Definitely not the best looking tire but as everyone says, they're VERY quiet. Road noise is more important than traction to some.

[anerbe]

Note that many review state to run them at higher inflation pressures get get the better response.

However, ultimately they are definitely not as aggressive as a full UHP summer tire, nor as responsive as runflats due to the softer sidewalls.

[Hooy]

Originally Posted by anerbe

Note that many review state to run them at higher inflation pressures get get the better response.

However, ultimately they are definitely not as aggressive as a full UHP summer tire, nor as responsive as runflats due to the softer sidewalls.

I will be running them at 38psi cold today to run a road course. I'm scared.

[Seminole]

Just putting in my input as well...

I bought the DW ones (no S since I'd have bigger problems then traction if it ever snowed in Florida). I think the grip is good, comparable if not better than my OEM Contiprocontact's. The wet handling is much much better. These things have tons of grip in the wet (came in 1st place in a Car and Driver tire test for wet performance). They are also quiet and much more comfortable then the OEM runflats. I even like the way they look (not sure what the DWS's look like).

Tread pattern:


Sidewall:

[BMWWW]

Originally Posted by anerbe

Note that many review state to run them at higher inflation pressures get get the better response.

However, ultimately they are definitely not as aggressive as a full UHP summer tire, nor as responsive as runflats due to the softer sidewalls.

+1
Give her a few extra psi's cold to stiffen up the sidewalls. Should give you a slight nudge in getting more feedback.

[WilliamS]

Ive had DWS on my STS-V and they were better in every aspect of the run flats minus side wall compression. They are quiet, smooth, and even on that heavy boat lasted me 50k miles. Straight line they are great, but no drag radial. What impressed me most is that they worked very well in the ice/snow in Virigina even with a 4.4 supercharged engine, and here in Florida you cant get them to Hydroplane. The wet road confidence changed the minuted I drove them in the rain and vowed to only use that tire from there on out. As soon as the Run Flats die out on my car, they will be replaced with DWS. They are so quiet I miss them over the 747 this car sounds like.

Hooy: How much louder are the Michelin Pilot Super Sport and Pilot A/S tires compared to the DWS? I do like how quiet the DWS is, but wouldn't mind something sportier the next go around.

[Hooy]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Hooy: How much louder are the Michelin Pilot Super Sport and Pilot A/S tires compared to the DWS? I do like how quiet the DWS is, but wouldn't mind something sportier the next go around.

The Super Sport is not loud or harsh. It is almost th perfect street tire IMO, but is very wide and expensive.
The AS was on a CLS500. It is very hard to compare the two because of this but I would say the DWS is quieter. The AS more responsive.

[Hooy]

So my impression of the DWS when pushed:

The sidewall is soft. Too soft. There's no way around it, even at 40 PSI. Increasing pressure helped, but the delay is still large and the rear feels like it's sloshing around. HOWEVER, I did not die and they ultimately gripped once settling. It is a respectable tire, truly, but I want a stiffer sidewall for my uses.