whiteout11

OK need new tires and have done lots of research, are the Michelin's worth the extra $? Looking to go with 245/45/17 and am a big commuter 100 miles a day . So Long life is important the Michelin's have a warranty of 45,000 and Continental ContiExtremeContact DWS has 50,000. The price diff is big Mich $173 at tire rack and Con DWS are $113 at tire Rack. Does anyone have Picks of the new Continental DWS on there car? Do you like the tires?

Bearcat94

$173 for the Mich is a pretty good price for that line of tire.

Looks like the Mich is better balanced all around, but did get it's ass kicked in the wet by the Conti.

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

Conti is very new (ever newer than Mich Plus) so it's hard to say if it will live up to it's potential. The GY F1 AS absolutely did NOT.

At $113 per tire, I'd be very tempted to try them out.

whiteout11

Ya for $113 almost to good to pas up. Has anyone put these on there tl yet?

whiteout11

Just read this on dws



http://www.sub5zero.com/project-car/...i-wheels-tires

calgary2800

So which are you going with? The Pilots are expensive, I probably could not turn down the Contis if I had to do it all over again at those prices. My Pilot Sports are quieter and smoother than my Old Pilot Exalto A/S.

whiteout11

I have an interesting story when it comes to tires. I guy I work with bought a TL and weeks later i did to . After 4000 miles he decided to replace his tires and he said you want them (YA). So when I needed tires the first time i walked out to the shed and BAM same tires put on . Now 100100 miles later I am ready for my first real tire experience. At this point I am leaning toward the dws.

LiquidLunch

I just found out today that three of my Continental tires are defective and the model I have was just discontinued so they are going to replace all four at no charge. I am having the new Continental ContiExtreme DWS tires installed on Saturday.

I will report back.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

I recently installed a set of Conti DWS's in a 245/40/18 and I am extremely happy with them thus far. The tirerack review along with some other sites pushed me to go with them. I'll try to post some pics this weekend.



Liquidlunch: what kind of issue did you have with the tires? They weren't the DWS's were they?



.

LiquidLunch

The tires were Continental ContiContact Extremes or something like that.


Vibraton issues at different speeds. After replacing three rims, two dealers diagnose and one tire shop diagnose, I went to another tire shop that came highly recommended. They found that I had three tires so far out of balance that they were beyond normal specs. I worked with Continental today (via Tire Rack where I got the tires) and they agreed to replace all four since the tire is no longer manufactured.

whiteout11

Thanks looking forward to the review.

TLAwesome

Also ranked high in that review was the Pirelli PZero Nero A/S. Funny, no company has reviewed the new A/S Nitto NT850, which is W-speed rated in certain sizes and also has a 50K warranty:

http://www.nittont850.com/tire-sizes

SouthernBoy

The DWS Conti's look very interesting and are getting good reviews on TireRack. I bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus's last March (to replace a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires). The Plus version is quieter and seems to be a better tire than the previous version. However, next time around I believe I will be going for the DWS Conti's if the reviews continue to be good.

whiteout11

Well I ordered the DWS today should be in late next week . I couldn't whate any longer it rained today and can only drive 55mph and that is scary!

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

IMO the DWS have great lateral grip. I had the older contiExtreme tires and they squeeled through turns. These new ones are so quiet around the curve and grippy and I can actually go a little faster than I used to. My only complaint is that they don't seem to hold tire shine very well. Must be the compound. I'll take a pick in a minute.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

Picture sucked. I'll have to try later.

whiteout11

OK just got great news Acura has agreed to do a free alignment in conjunction with the service bulletin 05-050 (Bump stops). I bring the tires pay for install and done. very cool. Now I need the tires to arrive. And just ordered cabin air filter and will do that myself they want $200 to do it NOT.

whiteout11

what kind of tire shine have you tried? cant waite to see the pics.

Jaco

iTrader: (1)

I just got a set of DWS's put on today, I agree they arent as 'black' as the el42's I had on before. So far they are quiet at 65 mph. I'm taking a slight road trip this weekend and ill see how they perform.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Hate to say, but in this day and age you are going to get what you pay for, meaning a $115 tire isn't going to perform like a $190 UHP tire. The DWS tire weight is only 22 lbs, so that in itself states that the construction isn't nearly as heafty as other higher quality tires. Some have complained about the "weak" DWS sidewalls that allows the vehicle to sway more that with other tires, but time will tell.

watson6505

did anyone look closely at the test results that tirerack posted?

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

Is it possible that the DWS had a faster slalom time in the wet (4.05) vs. the dry (4.11)? That says a few things to me:
1. The DWS is amazing on wet surfaces
2. The DWS not so good on dry surfaces
3. The DWS wet performance on slalom matches the other 3 brands on dry

Can someone clarify this for me?

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

I noticed that the car did have a softer ride and was barely a bit more bouncy. I'm used to it now and can't tell the difference anymore. But that was when I drove home and the shop only put 35 psi in. The next day I put 42 psi in each tire. It helped and firmed up the ride.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

Still not a very good picture. As you can see the sidewall is pretty plain, but the tread pattern is awesome.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

I use Meguire's Hot Shine tire gel. I use to use the spray on foam by Black Magic, but I found that that stuff wouldn't stay on the tires I had at the time (not these Contis) and sling stuff on the side of my car. Strange. The tire gel can be applied as many time as you want, and then you wipe off the excess. Doesn't sling. I want to try the other tire gel by Meguire's that is purple. Tire gel is way more work than a spray on. Ya'll have any suggestions?

By the way, I still use black magic for the gas tank plastic cover under the car. Looks incredible for weeks. I also use it on all the plastic fenders and steps on my mom's Wrangler. It gets rid of that faded grey look and it looks brand new afterwards.

whiteout11

A soft (er) ride is OK with me I just drive so much that longevity is important . My commute is 25 miles highway speed and 25 stop and go. I drove a loner Tl-s for two days and found the ride stiffer than i expected. I think it was that I was just so used to my standard Tl. and thanks for the pic.

whiteout11

Ya i did think about that. On a side note I bought expensive tires for my wife Sequoia and they did not last I got more miles out of the OEM's . This time I went with a mid priced tire for her truck will see. If I can get 50k + out of the dws I will be happy. I got over 50k on the OEM's twice I did push it but.

Jaco

iTrader: (1)

I bought the DWS because they were 'high performance.' If i was ever going to tray or autocross my TL I probably would have gone with the Pilot Sports.

I have to agree on the way home the pressures were about 32 as set from the tire shop I bumped them to 38 up front and 36 in the back. The sidewall is a little thinner but so far the tires seem fine. I have a 160 mile journey tomorrow ill update if anything odd pops up.

gilla_monster

iTrader: (2)

You're right. The tire shine goes on very steaky and "spins" off pretty quickly.

Overall, I am quite please with them. They grip pretty well for an all-season and are quite good in the rain/standing water. Hoping they are good in the snow, as this is my first winter with them and the TL-S is my only car.

SouthernBoy

Hey there Turgonut.. how's it going for you?

I saw this lighter weight and thought that was a good thing in terms of less unsprung weight and less mass to be turned by the engine. But then I pulled up this tire on Conti's website yesterday and noticed they say it weighs 25.4 pounds! So either they or TireRack has this wrong.

While I am always interested in hearing what others have to say about tires they have installed, I suspect the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus is about as good as it gets for the TL, and in particular the manual version. I just completed a nearly 1200 mile trip last week and these tires were superb. Quiet, sure-footed, and very predictable with excellent turn-in and response, the Pilots are probably as good as it gets for this car. The only downside is lower fuel economy.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for asking, doing great!
I just looked on the Continental site, now I'm really confused. They do have 25.4 lbs listed for the 235/45-17, but 24.3 lbs for the 245/45-17, and 19.7 lbs for the 225/45/17. Based on the above, I'd say that the 22 lbs seems more realistic.
I believe the factory tire weight is @ 24 lbs, and yes, lighter wheels/tires are a good idea, especially in an all out performance vehicle, but not too many of us would notice a 2 lb difference in the weight of each tire when comparing performance or fuel mileage. I may be wrong, but even the W4s is 26 lbs and you probably didn't notice a performance or mileage difference in the wife's TL when they were installed.

whiteout11

Lower Fuel millage for the sports (huh) didn't know that. what kind of difference? Those with the DWS's notice any change in fuel economy?

whiteout11

I like shiny tires so this is a bummer have you tried different shines does one work better then the other?

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

Just went to the auto parts store and bought some different kinds of shine. I'll let you know how it goes.

whiteout11

Awesome thanks

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

So basically trying to shine these Continentals is a big FAIL. Here's what I did.

I got Black Magic Tire Foam clean and shine. Meguires Tire Foam clean and shine. Meguires Tire shine gel. And for cleaning I got Purple power Degreaser. For the first tire I did not clean it. I sprayed the right side with Meguires Foam and the left side with Black Magic. Results were . Black magic sucked the most still leaving some foam in the letters of the tire. Both B.M. and Meg. failed to shine the tire and left only splotches. Proof...


On another tire I cleaned the tire with regular car wash, rinsed, and dried. Then I cleaned the tire for about 20min with the P.P. degreaser. Tons of dirt and brown grime came off. In theory this would provide a better surface to shine. I used the Meg. foam on the left and the Meg. gel on the right. Both products bear the same name except that one is a foam and the other is a gel. Once again the foam left splotches but nowhere near as bad as on the previous test. The gel had better results. It wasn't splotchy but the tire still seemed to resist adhesion of the gel. Still both were unsucessful at giving the showroom shine.



Conclusion is that these tires cannot be shined. Just for this I won't get continentals again next time. I know for a fact that Kumho's shine nice.

SouthernBoy

Weird, isn't it? I rarely drive my wife's TL, but I did on a 1000 mile trip shortly after having the W4S's installed. We were both so pleased at the quiet from those tires compared to the Goodyear F1's they replaced that we didn't notice anything else. Mileage appeared to be the same as she had been getting.

SouthernBoy

Yep. The higher performance tires have more rolling resistance when compared to the touring tires the TL is usually shipped with. In my case, my manual TL came from the factory with Bridgestone EL42's. Great fuel economy but poor in all of the other areas. Best I ever got on a road trip with those was in September '05. With the A/C running the entire time, I managed to get 33.94 MPG, manually calculated.

On my trip last week, my mileage ranged between 31 to 29 MPG, depending upon which road I was on.

calgary2800

This is the first time I've ever read where tires cannot be shined. There is always a first. I wont be getting these Contis in the future too.

whiteout11

I will say just in general I never liked the foam stuff. I usually use black magic tire wet spray. So when I get them I will try it out. Just a crazy thought I wonder if you called Conty what they would say. They have had to have them shine to show them off. Also I wounder (Crazy thought) if you were to use a Brillo pad first. The non foam looks better in the pick

whiteout11

Come on we as a community will figure it out.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

The gel does work best however the convenience level is a 2-3 out of 10 with 10 being super convenient and 1 being " I would rather perform my own apendectomy."

Simply, the foam is the most convenient. Just spray and walk away. And it has worked beautifully for me in the past on other tires. I've had Kumho's. My mom has Pirelli. General. And the old ContiExtremeContact tires I had shined fine with the foam along with the rest. Just these DWS don't shine.

I do have a can of B.M. tire wet in the garage that I can try. My hopes were for the foam to work. Which it just won't. But that is why I only tested the gel and foams. I bet though that the Tire Wet spray would sling off these tires and still, in my book, not be worth it.

I read that the DWS has a new compund for the company. It is even a different compound from the old ContiExtremes. Which makes sense because they held shine and the DWS don't. It must be more resistant to liquids making it better in the rain.