belcom

iTrader: (1)

About to purchase a set of new all season tires that will do well in winter as well as summer. Just curious how long it lasted for you, any balance issues, any alignment issues, flat spotting?

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Had them for most of a winter on HPT 19's they have a lot of thread and don't wearout quickly although I abuse them. Also they're backed by a 1yr warranty, if anyone of them (even all 4) get a hole, tit, are damaged, they'll replace them free of charge.


Disclaimer: this is what my tire guy told me, and he did just that at 0 cost to me 11 months into ownership.

belcom

iTrader: (1)

Called up one of the best tire shops in the area and it seems DWS is out of stock and being replaced by another model called Conti PureContact w/Eco Plus. He also did say that a lot of people have problems with DWS wear, alignment etc but only on german cars in smaller sizes for some reason.

In any case, I ordered the PureContacts and he said I might be the first one in Canada riding on those as Continental Canada does not even have a part number for them here so he had to order them from a US supplier. Going to get these installed next week. Followed by a set of Tein SS coils after the winter. Can't wait to get off the stock suspension as it just sucks.

whiteout11

Belcom how do you like your new Continental PureContact Tires? thinking about getting them.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

treadwear ok so far...only 7k miles on them. i do get flatspotting though. i'm running my PSI about +3 from stock on my 3G TL on aftermarket 18's.

belcom

iTrader: (1)

Its been a rollercoaster... I installed these at one of the best shops in Toronto. I had to come back 3 times to re-balance and still have some high speed vibrations around 120-140kmh. After a few months now my tire guy tells me that apparently there is a lot of people with the viration issue with these tires. I was like one of the first in Canada to get them ordered from US back then but I guess there is more people riding on these now and complaints started to show up.

These tires flat spot as well no matter what pressure. Leave the car for 3-5 days sitting and you have "wheelbrations" for about 20-30 minutes of driving but then it goes away. Not a big problem though if the car is driven every day.

Other than that nice tire. Comfy, a little bit sporty (not too much though), excellent wet traction, great dry traction, handles snow storms pretty easy (TL SH-AWD helps of course). Handling is well balanced and predictable but wish there was a bit more directional stability. When changing lanes quickly you can feel the car leans a bit instead of just staying flat and changing direction. Maybe sidewall a bit soft? I dunno... I have had some nice sporty tires before like Toyo Proxes 4 for example and those things just rocked on my previous 01 CL-S. However PureContacts have 140,000kms treadwear warranty... Proxes were done in 40,000kms. So there are always trade offs. Plus Proxes are downright dangerous in any kind of snow or winter conditions.

Anyway, I am thinking of contacting Continental to open up a claim to exchange these for the older DWS model. I can't stand the vibes. Especially on a nice car like the TL.

So you can see I have mixed feelings about them. If it wasn't for vibes and flat spotting it would probably be one of the best tires on the market for luxury sedans. And if tiny bit more directional stability added it would be perfect. I dunno why they do this much R&D on the tire to produce it and release to consumers when it still requires a lot of improvement in a few areas.

Capco

I had a set of DWS's with 20's on my M37 and loved them. I just got a set of 19's for my AWD TL. I've never had a issue with flat spotting and I live in Chicago. I think the Conti DWS changed the ride on my TL for the better over the stock tires, the ride is much softer more enjoyable while still handles great.

belcom

iTrader: (1)

I am going to call Conti Canada tomorrow and start the process. I wanted DWS originally but due to shortage around here at the time none were available. We'll see what they say and if everything is A OK then I'll be switching them over next week.

Capco, just curious what does living in Chicago have to do with tires flat spotting?

Capco

A lot of times flat spotting happens in cold weather when the car sits awhile. I've had my car sitting outside all night on zero degree weather and never experienced it. Discount tire in the states had my tires the next day, maybe you could contact them.

Edward'TLS

Slightly over-inflation will reduce the chance of tires flat spotting, especially that cold weather tends to reduce the effective tire pressure inside a tire.