AJHardee

I have put 1,000 miles on the new DSW stock size for my 2005 TL. Now that the nights have got down to the 50's here in Indiana, I DO get flat spots in the morning. Feels like riding on a bumpy road for about 5 mins, until they warm up.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

You're not the first to complain about this, but I find it amazing that others in cold climates never notice, or are oblivious to this condition, or just don’t want to admit this problem.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

yep, i have mentioned it several times on here and have yet to hear any other flat spotting complaints until now. i have a short commute, so i never get them completely worked out before arriving to work. I know it's not uncommon for lower profile tires to have this issue with colder temps, but these have done it throughout the warm months as well. Otherwise they are very quiet and comfortable compared to other tires i've had.

ocdp

Post me a picture of your car pleeeease!

nfnsquared

Not the first? Yes, he's the second. I believeAJS800 is the only other one to complain of flat spotting, but he also has admitted additional front end vibration problems which may or may not be the source.

Coming up on 2K miles on my DWS' and it's been down to 45 degrees here in ND. My TL has sat for 2 and 3 days without being moved and no flat spotting so far....

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

i will try to take a few on my lunch with my phone and post them.



What size are you running?

nfnsquared

Stock size, stock wheels (235/45/17).

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

You keep wanting to argue about what is posted, but I'll ask you, how can a few people notice a flat spot when others don't, just like the sidewalls, many indicate soft, but yours are fantastic? Also don't be so closed minded, look at other sites as owners have complained about flat spotting, but your tires must be unigue, or you might not know the difference.

nfnsquared

Turbo,

Facts are facts. And that's exactly what I'm posting:

So far, out of 7 pages and 248 posts in this thread, I only recall two people complaining of flat spotting and one of those has other front end vibration issues and is running non-OEM sized tires.

And I guess all of the rest of us posting in this thread without flat spotting issues must just be idiots...

smarty666

I'm just trying to keep the peace here but maybe the reason why some poeple have flat spotting issues with the DWS's and others don't is the surface on which they sit on when it gets cold during the day or during the night?

I mean, there could be a different if the tires sit on asphalt vs concrete vs stone or if you are someone like me who has a concrete gragage floor but all four of my tires sit on very thick rubber/cloth mats so that they are not directly touching the concrete floor.

Things like this can make a difference with flat spotting, though some tires and tire brands are more prone to this then others. I know some of the Yokies I have had over the years have had a slight tendency to flat spot more then the Michelin, Brigestone or Goodyear's I have had. Kumho is another tire I have found has a more tendency to flat spot a little. I'm not talking major here but a little bit.

I did a test a few years ago on one of my cars. I had it sit on the usual mats in the garage for a week and drove it early the next morning. Then for another week, I took away the mats and had all four tires sit on the cold conrete garage floor all night and then drove again the next morning. Luckily, both weeks, the temperatue stayed in the 40's.

I noticed on the week they sat on the concrete directly, there was much more flat spotting and rougher feel before they warmed up, then the week I had them sit on the think cloth/rubber mats. So it can make a difference what surface the tires are sitting on overnight.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If the shoe fits.....................

nfnsquared

Ah yes, always the gentleman when you can't refute the facts. Thanks for your worthwhile input on tires you don't own.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

it could related to the factory and slight change in materials (rubber) used...i purchased mine last july, not too long after they were released. There is someone that parks in my lot at work that recently put a set on his BMW 7 series and he states that he has yet to feel flat spotting and absoultely loves the tires...However, I don't know the guy and i have no idea how particular he is, but given what he drives, i think he would know and would comment after sharing my experience.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Just to wrap this up, exactly what facts are you speaking about? Facts that you write?
You can read reviews all day long about this tire from people that are what I call Motorheads and see that they complain about the soft tread and sidewalls as well as complaints about the flatspotting. This isn’t coming from me but from people that have the tires installed on their vehicles. I guess you might believe that they are all idiots, but I believe that they are just more informed than what the general public might be and therefore are able to relate to the inconsistencies of the DWS experience better.

nfnsquared

It's totally possible that Conti adjusted the original formulation/construct/materials of the tire. This could have been the real reason for the prolonged backlog, rather than demand, I don't know.

Flat spotting is most often (not always) associated with nylon in high performance tires. The OEM EL42 tires did indeed flat spot in colder temps, but a few miles down the road, poof, it was gone...

mcmanut

To those that question the quality of these tires, I just turned 40,000 miles on my DWSs. They are on my 08 TLS and the tires are holding up very well. I should be able to get at least another 40k out of them.

They are wearing very well and even on all 4 tires. The ride is still very good with no tire noise.

These are qreat tires in my book and I would buy them again

Hacura

Seems like the DWS is getting a bad wrap...

nfnsquared

Wow! Guess that tread wear rating of 540 is no joke!! Is the "S" tread wear marker still showing?

mcmanut

Yes, the "S" tread wear marker is still showing and there is plenty of tread life left on the tires.

Danronian

iTrader: (1)

As soon as the remainder of my grad program loan comes in I'll be picking up a set. Can't wait to get rid of my g-force tires that lasted a hugely unimpressive 30k noisy miles (well i will give it to them that they were the best all-seasons i've ever had for the snowy roads)... I saw that sears offers the DWS for nearly the same price as tirerack. Has anyone seen them on special anywhere else?

nfnsquared

Yeah, look at post #217.

mb1976

I also wanted to let you guys know that I too am getting flat spotting and I have the Kumho's Ecsta ASX on my 06 TL base. Flat spotting is not bad when parked in the garage overnight but, when left outside for few hours then I feel more of the bumpiness for few miles or so. I am not too concerned about it being that it smooths out real well

Bearcat94

It's been almost 2 years since I put on Michelin A/S PLUS tires.

The past several months (say, 3 or 4), I've noticed a definite increase in road noise - freeway and city. The majority of our miles are city mile and the road noise isn't too bad, but it's there.

I think traciton has fallen off too, but that might be because I beat the crap out 'em the first few weeks I had 'em.

smarty666

I'm having the same issues but with Ecsta LX Platinum's. It smooths out after a little bit but I haven't had them through the winter yet. If this is happening in the warmer weather I'm not looking forward to seeing what happens this winter.

mb1976

I think it has to do alot with car being outside vs garage. I mean when my car is parked overnight at my house in the garage and the next day when I drive it the flat spotting is not too bad sometimes non existing. Now when I go to work and the car has been sitting in the parking lot throughout the day or evenings whatever shifts I work when I get off work I definitely notice a flat spot vibration whether the temps are 90+ or 65 to 70's for the evenings. This all goes away after driving few miles and with stop and go type. I believe since our cars have a performance tires it is more likely to have flat spots vs the regular all season tires with H rated speed or less

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

not the best pics (taken with phone) but here are some that i snapped today. 15k miles on tires and they look as good as the day they were installed.

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Hacura

How are the Extreme Contact DW (no S) for us folks in Cali who might not need the snow rating? I've read good things about the Pirelli Zero Nero series.

prosmaster

I have 2006 AT with stock Micheline which worn down after 28k (plus alignment issue dealer never told me about until they found tire problem then recommended of new tires). I went to Sears auto and had chat with their rep. I asked of Conti DWS but since I wanted quiet ride and I am in So.Cal, he recommended either Micheline or else. Manager stepped in and recommended Falken Ziex ZE-912 which he has in his Civic Si w/ lot of mods. He is also a member for Falken racing drift team. It was also on sale, so I bite the bullet and put it on yesterday. So, it will take some time to see how will it be. Anybody has any experience with Falken ? Thgis is my first time using it.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

We're straying from the original post, but will reply, had one set of Falken's on our RX-7, never again, tire noise was terrible. It became so bad that one would think the bearings in the rear were gone as the noise actually changed pitch as the car's downforce increased/decreased when running over dips in the road. Checked the suspension, no problem found, then tried another make tire, no noise. Removed the Falken's and gave them away.

Hope you have better luck.

ocdp

Great. Went to sears Thursday and ordered continental DWS and they call me today and say they are backordered. Should I get the Michelin A/S Plus then? Do you think could play disgruntled customer and ask them to give me a discount on a more expensive set of tires?

calgary2800

I had 2 Falkens on my Accords, 1st time was the ST-115 which had horrific treadwear and than based on consumer reports #1 for the Falken Ze-512 I bite the bullet and tried them Falken again. Well the ZE-512 suck too. Both lasted 20-25k max treadwear with rotations. A joke to me, I read others like them though. If I was in your shoes, I would get something else before they come in, the odds are high you will get crappy tires. I usually dont blast products like this but I have to this time. I hate Falkens!!

nfnsquared

They may be BSing you, trying to sell you a more expensive tire that is on the showroom floor/ in house.

I'd call another SEARS and ask them. My local SEARS didn't have any problem getting a set in early August. They do have to order them from Continental and it takes about a week for them to come in. I haven't heard of them being on back order anywhere.

blkaspec

agreed. got mine a few weeks ago and they needed to order my size, but they were not back ordered. took just under a week.

CaDesertRat

Got the DWS's on my '04 TL 3 weeks ago and they are great. no noise, good grip and no problems here in the Southern California desert where our temps have been over 105 almost every day since i've had them. Way better than the stock tires that came with the car (they were $250/ea, DWS's were $125/ea at Americas' Tire).
Had Falken 512's twice on my old T-Bird, they were great too but got a better deal on these. (and a free GPS unit for my other car)

sddale

I'll probably get a set of these if the current tires I have are really bad in the snow. Treadepot.com has them for $122 per tire and $60 off a $400 or more purchase so that should offset most of the shipping.

blkaspec

On a side note, applied some Meguiar's High Gloss Hot Shine tire spray last night to my DWS's and it looks very nice today. Very even application, no blotching yet. Will report back in a few days to give the progress.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

to piggyback blkaspec's post...I am using the Tuff Shine tire clear coat and have only applied two coats the past 5months and they still look great.

Jackass

I couldn't find anyone local that carried the DWS so I ended up at Costco to pick up the Pilot A/S+. My EL42's had almost 40k on them and were in no condition for winter this year. Have only driven to work once so far so not too much experience. I really do not flog my car these days and prefer smooth and quiet over almost anything.

- A little more road noise than the EL42
- Minor road imperfections are felt a little more
- Does not spin nearly as easy on wet roads
- Sidewalls are without a doubt stiffer than the EL42

After looking at the Consumer Reports ratings between the Pilots and the DWS, I wasn't too concerned going for the Pilots since they had a better rating as far as tread wear goes. If I could have found the DWS locally, I would have preferred to save a bit of money and gone for those instead.

jsonkimz

iTrader: (1)

Just had the Conti DWS's put on in the 245/45-17 size. It's only been a few hundred miles but so far I'm in love! There is no comparison between these and the Yokohama's I had. I will NEVER buy another set of Yoko's again. The conti's ride great- they're quiet and smooth and I really enjoy the way they look in the 245 width. I haven't had any problems with the sidewall softness, but I'm not a super aggressive driver... maybe slightly above the average driver. I haven't experienced any flat spotting so far, but it's still not extremely cold here yet (MD). If the tires are proned to flatspotting I will definitely find out- it gets pretty cold here and I park outside. I will report back later to let you guys know how they do with more mileage and in colder weather.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

The sprays just don't work on my dws. They run and are splotchy. I have to use gel. Even then the shine isn't how I would like it.