I replaced the stock MXM4's with the Mich. Pilot Sport A/T Pluses @ 45k miles. I love the ride and grip on the A/T's more than the stock MXM4's, however, I lost aboout 2 MPGs, no big deal though.

 

i just had these installed and i noticed that these tires vibrate

 

Had the Conti DWS installed back in November. I now have about 1200 miles on them here in NJ. As many of you probably already know, we've had a LOT of snow in the NJ/NY area this winter. These tires are worlds different compared to the stock tires.

However, 2 weeks ago I drove out to see family in Ohio. There was an Alberta clipper running due east across PA which we hit head on going west on I80. Eventually both lanes of I80 were completely covered with snow and I saw numerous accidents along the side of the road. SUV's flipped, cars spun out into guard rails, another car was on its roof, and saw an 18 wheeler lose control, plow through the guard rail and ended up in a ditch.

I was nervous at first seeing all these accidents with the road covered. After a while it got to a point where I was pushing the car more to see where its boundaries were with these tires and I couldn't find it. At one point, I was doing 75mph with the road completely covered and the tires wouldn't even flinch even after moving between lanes with slush in the middle. Eventually I backed down to a slower speed but was able to drive with a lot more confidence.

Now dont get me wrong, you can make these and any tire spin on snow, but I've noticed with these you have to give them quite a bit more gas so they break lose over the stock Michelins. I will definitely be buying another pair of these unless they come out with a newer version when the tread wears down.

 

They probably screwed up the balancing. Take your car back and have them re-balance the wheels.

 

Im in the same boat - I have had 2 sets of the GoodYear Eagle F-1's and they SUCK.. Fist set lasted 12,000 miles and Sears replaced for Free due to defects/feathering... Next set has lasted 25,000 miles and they also SUCK. Loudest tires I have ever had, cupping/feathering... cant wait to get new tires.. Replaced all my shocks a few months ago to possibly cure any suspension issues I might have had... so its good to hear people are Happy with the Conti's DWS...
I remember reading somewhere that some had issues with shining this tire ..meaning it was very difficult to gloss with Armour All --- anyone have input on this ?

 

If you experience cupping and feathering, especially on 2 sets of tires, you'll have the same result with any tire that is installed on the car. Get the alignment corrected first.

 

After the first set of tires were replaced, an alignment was completed by sears - after 10,000 miles the cupping/feathering was the same and the alignment was rechecked and was found to not be a problem... Sears stated it was most likely the tires and the Acura combination...
When changin the shocks the front left was blown and the front right was not very responsive... this was after 74,000 miles

 

You went 10000 miles without rotating? Do you have a copy of the alignment sheet from SEARS?

I'm pretty sure the SEARS alignment tech was clueless. Tires just don't cup on their own. I'll bet your rear toe was at or slightly beyond the negative limit and rear toe was out of spec....

 

Never said anything about rotating or not rotating - not sure where that question came from but Yes I always rotate tires every 5K miles and after 10,000 the tires were cupping with an alignment that was in check... I now have 25,000 miles and the tires are shot, reccomended air pressure, etc. Not sure what more I could have done to make the tires last longer or perform better... As I said this was the SECOND set of Goodyear Eagle F-1's...
Anyway, I am seriously looking forward to a new set of Rubber on the tires, and actually ordered a Set of the Acura A-spec pads this morning.. so I hope to give some positive feedback on those when the time comes

 

Sorry, you didn't mention rotation, so I assumed it had been 10K without rotation.

I'd go somewhere else and have the alignment checked (a second opinion). Consider signing up for Firestone's lifetime deal.

If you have had cupping on two sets of tires that have been regularly rotated, you have an alignment issue. It's not the tires. I sure would have someone else besides that SEARS store check the alignment before you put more new rubber on. And get a copy of the alignment sheet so you can post it here.

P.S. you should be able to go back to SEARS and have them print out your last alignment sheet. They store those, but don't know how long...

 

I put five thousand miles on my DWS's and loved the traction in the snow. Waaaaaay better than the Pilot Exalto A/S's I had before in the snow but not quite as good in the dry. I live in Idaho so I was more than happy to trade a little dry grip for significantly more snow traction. Also, they DWS rides smoother but give up a bit in steering feel.

 

i just got a set of brand new hankook v12 tires on my car and they are SO MUCH better than the sunny sn3800 i had on. the sunnys were making extremely loud whirring noises when driving, my friends said my car sounded like a 4x4 coming down the street. now my tl sounds as a tl should

 

That noise sounds like it could have been cupped tires. You might want to have your alignment checked....

 

Can't expect too much when the Sunny's are the least expensive new tire that I know of at only $66 new.
Sorry to say, you get what you pay for.

 

Unless you're talking about the DWS's... then you get MORE than what you pay for! So far....

 

Certainly is dependent upon what you're looking for in an A/S tire. More of a snow tire, yes, soft and comfy, yes, soft sidewalls, yes, narrow tread, yes, less steering response, yes. See I do agree sometimes.

 

Those things aren't exactly relevant to quality though, which the DWS seems to be a very quality tire (hence the "so far"). There are tires out there that possess all those features you listed and are crappy tires, and there are tires out there that are NOT good in snow, are firm, have stiff sidewalls, wide tread, and great steering response and are crappy tires as well.

So if you buy the DWS you get a reliable and quality tire for a (relatively) small amount of money. It's up to the individual to decide if the features of the tire line up with what they want. But the quality *should* always be there.

 

*Quality* has nothing to do with tire characteristics and any tire, even the Sunny, can said to be a safe tire as there is nothing deficient in the quality, it's just the characteristics each driver desires.

 

That's my point exactly. The expression "you get what you pay for" refers to quality. In the case of the DWS's you get MORE than what you pay for... regardless of the characteristics the tire does and does not have, in my opinion.

 

Sir, you seem to forget that the DWS treadwith is in fact WIDER than the OEM tires.....

 

Sir, you stated this previously and I agreed that the Bridgestone EL42's were made narrow, similar to the Bridgestone A/S line, like the 960's, smallest width tread available in the OE size, except for the DWS. Can't speak for the OE Michelin's as they don't list a width, but the DWS is smaller than:
Kuhmo
Fuzion
Sumitomo
Hankook
Firestone
Dunlop
BFG
Yokohama
GoodYear

This is one reason I suggested the 245/45-17. Not only to get the diameter back to OE height, .1" difference (before anyone corrects me), but to get the larger footprint.

We've been down this road before and to digress for a moment, the only reason I jumped back in is that some believe this to be a tire that is far superior to all others and have no equal, so let's be realistic for the moment. If it serves the operator well and exceeds all their expectations, nothing can be better, but there are deficiencies inherent with the tire and people seem to overlook these and focus on the positives, just human nature. I believe at that time, the TR test showed that the Pirelli P Zero was number one in the survey and also was the best when testing against the DWS and a few other tires, but now over time, the Pirelli has dropped to 6th and the DWS is number one. Tires didn't change, so why the drop to sixth and the DWS to number one on the survey that originates from the people that have purchased the tires? The replies on this thread will indicate the reason, for a DD most wouldn’t recognize or even care if there were less than optimal performance capabilities with the tire, as long as they can make it from point A to point B in comfort.

 

^ Well said, and I think that's exactly the point. Most buyers of the DWS's aren't concerned with high performance, and if they were they wouldn't buy this tire. I will say, from a performance standpoint they are not great, but they're not supposed to be. But for a DD who's concerned with comfort, longevity, and noise, they're great!

 

Geez, we agree. You're not too far away, although I'm a teetotaler, I'll buy you a beer, or drink of your choice when I'm in town.

 

Deal!

 

First of all, this thread is to discuss two different UHP all season tires, not UHP summer tires.

Second, the tirerack survey results clearly refute your statement. DWS owner's clearly recognize a slight compromise in dry cornering and steering response for this tire (excellent vice superior), but it bests the competition in wet/snow handling, comfort and tread wear. That's why folks buy an A/S tire, not for performance. It's simple, the DWS is ranked #1 because it's best overall in it's class.

 

First, have no idea where you've read about summer tires, nor where I've even mentioned that category, so that is beyond me. As far as the rest of your post, just like jsonkimz, I do agree, people purchase the DWS not for performance, but for it's all around capabilities can't be much clearer than this:
Second, just remember that the survey is based on the general public, to which I take a very dim view of their ability to recognize the positive/negative characteristics of a specific tire, so the answer to our debate lies in the above to which I agree.

 

Just an update the 245/45/17 are still on backorder, I have tried multiple places - Sears, Discount tire, Tire Rack and the small dealerships in my area and no luck with finding this size. When I talked to the guys at Discount tire, the salesman found 2 in California, 1 in Texas and 2 somehwere else that I cant remember. But the tires have already being forwarded to someone else. When Sears contacted Continental, the rep stated they would be on back order till April for that size.. The Sears salesman stated that the 245/45/17was a really popular size.
I ended up ordereing the Conti DWS 235/45/17 with out the door price installed of $639.00 - Install will be in 3 days Saturday - Have to give an update after the install.

As a side note having to get the wifes 09 Pilot a full set of Rubber - going with the General Grabber HTS per the pilot forums reccomendation and Tire Rack.. So looking at 1390.00 for 2 cars with an alignment on the TL..

 

Since they were out of stock I got my hands on 255/40/17...

pretty happy with them, they fit the rim great w/no rubbing.

Paid 125/tire from tirerack

 

the continentals are everywhere in dallas. its easy to get here.

 

loving my dws. being in nyc. potholes are well a huge problem.
the shop i got the original set.. we i have so far replaced them all cause of bubbles on the sidewall from the potholes.
apparently contis come with warranty for such problems.

 

I had to do a drive from Florida to North Carolina and then to SoCal last month. I was using Mich Pilot Sport A/S Plus's for over a year and loved them (not sure why I opted for A/S living in Florida, I guess for visiting relatives) for their feel and ride comfort.

Needless to say, I got to about Flagstaff, AZ when I needed to get my tires replaced. Bought the DWS's to try something new (and I got a free Flip video!) so I could broaden my horizons.... I almost couldn't tell I was riding on different tires. Ride is quiet; response--even in the snow I encountered at the Grand Canyons--was crisp; and, its all weather capabilities are formidable.

My priority for any mods is to make sure you can stop yourself and stay on the road--good tires and good brakes. With that being said, I actively recommend this tire to my family and friends.

 

Based on reading this thread and the reviews on the tirerack I bought the DWS yesterday and put about 60 miles on them in wet conditions. I'm very impressed by the quiet ride and solid wet traction. Paid $660.00 installed with free all wheel alignment at the dealership. Now let's hope they last at least 40k miles, which for me is about 5 years.

 

Are the 245's still on National Backorder?


2011 National AcuraZine Meet-Kansas City-June 12, 2011-Details Here!


.

 

I'm not sure, but I'm definitely glad I got mine when I did!

 

Were yours making noise on certain road surfaces? Mine have a little over 30k miles on them and hum quite a bit on asphalt, but are quite(r) on on concrete.

 

As of today, yes.



My Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus are shot. 3 of 4 at the wear bars and 1 showing a bit of cord on the inner edge.

Got 'em at 22,500 miles. Now have 49,700 miles. So, gone in 27,200 miles.

I must say, I beat the crap out of 'em early on. And I was getting some camber wear (I assume that's what it was) on the edges, but I did keep the toe in good alignment (aligned about twice a year and when otherwise indicated).

Not real happy with how fast they wore. Now lets see if they dick me around on the 45,000 mile tread life warranty.

 

Got credit of $60 per tire ($240 total), so something like $120 each (net) for Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus, 245/45-17.

Tax, mount/balance, state fees (aka hidden TAXES ) additional.

Basically, buy 3, get 1 free.

 

I placed an order for the Conti DWS 245/45-17 with TireRack back on March 3rd. All 4 were delivered last Friday, April 8th. Maybe I got lucky.

 

I probably should have said, "They are out of stock at Tire Rack according to their website."

Perhaps they are in or enroute to Tire Rack and just not updated in inventory yet.

 

I had Michelin Pilot HX MXM4's as OEM tires on my 06 Accord EXL V6. Tires were EXCELLENT where tracking was concerned! Made the steering feel very "heavy" which is good. They just stayed straight even when there were gusts of wind. Steering was very precise!

I didn't like the snow traction of them and when they wear down, rain traction is "interesting". Also, I felt they could corner a bit better too before losing traction, and they were kinda stiff over bumps...

So I went with DWS for my next tire... I don't know about some people, but when I put the DWS on my car and got an alignment (It was all in spec), on the highway I could barely keep the car in the lane it was wandering all over the place (slightly exaggerating but its not too far off). It gripped decently, but there was NO tracking, and the tires were soooooo soft that they made the car bouncy, and the steering feel changed to "softer". Not worth the extra comfort and rain grip... CRAP! So I took the DWS back!

Then I went with YOKOHAMA Avid ENVigors... Have them now. They seem even softer than the DWS'! You can see the tires give when you turn the wheel. This of course translates to feeling like driving on balloons, and a more wandery feel than OEM Mich's, but the dry "tracking" if you want to call it that, is still better than the DWS'.

My car is out of alignment right now so that is aiding in the wandery feel, but, by far, precision wise, The OEM Michelins were best of the 3! I will consider Pilot Exalto or Pilot Sport next as long as there is no "wander" anymore. If nothing else, I can always go to the lackluster OEM Michelins as long as they provide me with great precision steering again.