"If your alignment's good"... is the telling line. You don't know until you get the alignment checked, and to do that, you pay for a 4-wheel alignment. Probably a good idea at intervals, but most people won't spend for it untiul they really feel something's wrong.

I just went through the OEM Advans on this car, 18.5K on the original alignment. The wear was even; the car didn't pull. The right rear wore out faster than the rest, which is typical for an open-differentialed rear-wheel drive car. But I'm paying for an alignment when I put the new tires on -- why?

Well, I'm plus-sizing (245/45-18 front and 275/40-18 rear) in order to get this particular brand tire. So the contact geometry is changing a little. Second, I believe the treadwear rating of 540, and don't want the tires to wear prematurely. Third, obviously, you have to do this for the warranty coverage. :)

But there's also an anecdotal piece of car knowledge I rely on, namely, my neighbor (who used to both race and own a car service station). His job now puts about 100K on the road every year. So every other weekend, he out there rotating his tires. He wears them down to slicks -- he says the handling is actually better -- and the fronts have modest negative camber for his driving preference.

I don't expect to set the Z up with anything other than pure-spec stock alignment, maybe zero out the toe-in if there is one. But I appreciate my neighbor's explanation that there's a lot you can do to keep your tires alive just by rotating them. The increased wear on the right rear, for example, is completely normal, but you can extend that tire's life by using the left rear as well. Most cars used as daily drivers in urban settings get more damage accruing to the right rather than left, from curbs, loose stuff on the roadway, and potholes.

Hope this helps. If you're running synthetic oil you might be getting around 5K between oil changes, so that's an easy time to rotate. If you change oil at 3K, then do the swap every other time.

god damn, this tire should never wear out with that treadwear

I'll chime in here and say I've been running the DW's (not snow) for several months now. Mine are 275/35R18 up front and 295/35R18 rear (on 18x10 + 18x11 Forgestar F14's). They've been excellent for me so far in street conditions in the Houston, TX area (snow is so rare here it's not worth considering. If it snows once a decade, I'll drive super slow and/or just leave it in the garage).

I was a big fan of Michelin's PS2 line in my previous car (a '99 Pontiac Trans Am WS6), but these have similar tread pattern and characteristics, and given the longer treadlife and much lower cost (and probably -3.81523% performance difference :p), the DW's just seemed like a much better deal for a decent grippy set of street tires.

i like my DW's functionally but cosmetically the sidewalls are ugly. :D

I am on 5/32"s on my rear. I plan to get Continental DW also.

Lot's of people jumping on the DW train. I'm at about 3/32" myself, and I'm going to be going with the DW's as well.

Is tirerack still doing that promo where you get the Flip video camera when u buy 4 conti tires? I should be gettig mine in the mail pretty soon.... given that they ship before everyone leaves the failed division... :icon14:

The Flip promo ended about a month ago. Continental tires are very rarely discounted; I've been watching them and waiting for a year. It would have been nice getting a hundred back via rebate, but OTOH the tires are priced more reasonably to begin with.

Also, FWiW ... when I finally pulled the trigger, tirerack had just sold out of my fronts. They said restocking was >30 days. So I called Discount Tire and they price-matched that pair (but the tires took an extra day to get here from Ohio, and the date code wasn't as fresh as the rears I got from tirerack). Coincidentally, Discount Tire had sold out of the rears, so this was the only way to get a complete set of 4 Contis. You might have better luck with summer treads instead of all-seasons.

Anyone notice the dws has no rubber lip to protect the lip of the wheel like the oem tires has? The oem tires saved my wheels from being scratched a couple times.

I ordered my tires oversize (20mm front, 30mm rear) in order to get a matched pair that would fit the 18" (base) rims. That gives me a wider rubber contact patch and slightly better curb protection (from where the rubber flattens in ground contact).

However -- I know from Michelin Pilot Plus A/S and Bridgestone Pole Position A/S tires, both of which we've had on my wife's Acuras, that the little rubber lip isn't as much protection as you'd like to believe. If you have to park next to a curb, stay 8 inches out or consider buying a "curb feeler".

In addition, the weight of these two very good A/S alternates is 2-3# more on each tire (that is, more unsprung weight), while the wear stats are significantly less. (Check out tirerack.com and compare the detail specs for the same size tire.) I don't know how they did it, but this Continental tire is both sportier and (supposedly, hopefully) longer lasting, for less money.

I've had 2K of warm-weather driving on the DWSes now, and frankly don't think about them too much. They stick to the road. They're quieter than the OEMs, although it's not a fair comparison between new rubber and old. I was able to wet-hydroplane for one split-second instance, and they came back down to the pavement smoothly and safely.

But the best feature I've had might not be a result of the tire construction (or maybe it is): they've been perfectly balanced since they were installed. No thrumming at speeds, no harmonics, nothing affecting braking or tracking. Either the mold these were cooked in was a precision job or I got the world's best Hunter balancing job on the install. (Since the guy who put them on is restoring an original 240Z, it might have been his dedication to all things Z.) I would buy the Continental DWSes again in a heartbeat... even if they cost more.

I just got these on my car...so far a definite noise reduction, they're somewhat slippery now but I probably only have 200 miles on them. I will update the thread with more detailed information once I get an alignment (new wheels and springs as well) and do over 500 miles with some aggressive driving.

I've had 3 sets of DWS' on previous cars and they are an EXCELLENT tire. I think I will likely go with Vrdestein Sessenta's or the Hancook Ventus V12's. The DWS' sidewall is just a little to soft for me... but they are great in rain and snow and if you don't really push your car very hard they are great all year round.

Let me add to my above statement as to not scare people away... the DWS' WILL perform in dry weather. They are indeed a performance tire... they just aren't a typical summer tire. I have not owned a RWD car since I had my old 93 LX 5.0, but I can tell you that my Z won't be seeing any winter driving. My Fiancee' has the DWS' on her car after I talked to her about them (her stock tires were PATHETIC in the rain). I have had that car which is just a FWD Mazdaspeed 3 in 8 inches of snow with more POURING down in one of the storms we had last winter here in Md. and the car went right through the snow with very little issue. It just cuts right through snow and rain like it's not even there.

On my Evo X vs. my stock Advans I couldn't take turns quite as fast and you can feel that the sidewall is soft in comparison, BUT push the tires and they WILL hold a lot more than you think... but you have to be a good enough driver to know when you are at that limit... also in an AWD car you have a little bit more handling ability with Mitsu's Super all wheel control too.

Anyway, I would rate this tire as probably one of the best ones on the market... maybe ever if I am to be completely honest. Excellent balance of handling, more comfortable ride, and is just downright nasty and the claws seem to just come out of it when the weather gets bad.

I actually thought I had ordered the DW and when I was getting a bunch of stuff installed on the car I noticed that they were the DWS, I didn't pay it much mind even though I hadn't done a lot of research on it. The price is about the same but I'm in socal so I don't REALLY need the snow tires unless I'm going snowboarding in the winter for which I have a Toyota FJ. So I'm mostly going to be using these tires on dry roads or in rain, I like that the tread ware is more than the DW even though the DW is already way up there in comparison.

I'm planning on doing quiet a bit of canyon driving and they're not broken in yet but they already show that they have pretty good feel on limits.

I'll update again after some aggressive driving in the canyon.

I'm also coming from the base 18 wheels to the sport rays so the noise reduction from that switch is amplified since the base 18s are quieter stock.

Yeah the "DW's" vs "DWS" thing has been confusing all along. Unless you plan to drive your Z in snow, get the DW model. They're great tires in terms of both grip and treadwear, especially considering how cheap they are.

Too late for me, not one to complain to the vendor or anything cause it could have been an honest mistake.

Sorry you'll have to make do with such a longer-lasting tire. ;p

Since my install I've put on 4-5K. The last week we've had "interesting" rain patterns on the Jersey shore. Not as a purely scientific test, but these tires avoid hydroplaning just shy of 80mph. If there's standing puddles, I recommend you slow to 72. Either way, you'll plow right through. (True even with the +1 sizing I put on stock 18" rims.)

Of course, the larger limit is set by minivans and Camrys hugging the left lane at 55. :(

That's good to know considering I totaled my Acura TL because I hydroplaned at 60mph on the freeway :) ...and yeah, I'm not really complaining because of the tread ware. :tup:

I'm around 2500 miles on my 285 DWS rears now, and they're pretty good. The absolute limit doesn't seem as high as the stockers, but they break loose much more predictably. Enough so that it's basically not an issue, you can slide the rear of the car around with ease and control. It breaks loose on the shifts if I'm doing the shifting, but not enough to make the traction control step in and ruin the fun.

Not as impressed in the snow though. Night and day vs the stockers, but still not what I'd call good. Again, controllable at least, but we've got some big hills around here and the snow tends to be wet and snotty and they're just not quite enough to make it a confident drive.

The stockers couldn't make it up the big hill near my house at all, and I actually spun the car going down the small hill the next day (thankfully I timed it right and there was no drama, just drove it back and parked it to wait another day). With the DWS it made it up the big hill but it was pretty twitchy, enough so I didn't want to try the small hill (which is downhill, where it spun on the old tires) until conditions improved.

Here's the car, on stockers, where I left it when it couldn't make it up the hill:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3..._2425798_o.jpg

So much for "it never snows in Seattle." :icon14:

PS: Here's the rescue vehicle, which absolutely pwned the snow even when it was 6" deep, despite being on "all season" tires.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...h_P1000583.jpg

Just a question for anyone with Continental extremes.. do you find them much quieter than the ones that come with the car? I thought they might be but the salesman at the tire store said there wasnt much difference..
Comments? Thoughts?

i find them to be quite a bit quieter

:iagree:

And my last tires were the stockers on the base 18"s that are said to be much quieter than the stockers on the sport rays because of the lower profile and less width. I went to 19s with sport rays on Continental DWS and they're quieter than the stock 18s.

New tires are almost always quieter than ones with little treadlife left. The rubber soaks up the vibrations.

If you read through a lot of tirerack comments, you'll see people noticing how loud their tires had gotten, shortly before switching. This might be almost as reliable as sticking a penny in the tread.

The DWSes are indeed quieter, but not so you'd really notice. Certain elements in the Z "tub" are deliberately detuned to make the car raucous, otherwise you'd be competing with the "luxurious feel" of a G37 couple which is supposed to sell for 5K+ more. So if the sound gets to you, throw a lot of money into sound-absorbent materials and undercoating the wheel wells (or carry a few thick blankets in the trunk space).

DW's on my car are about 2k miles old. they are quiet and grippy but i never really thought the stock RE050A's were that loud.

going try the mich's next time around since mr.onzedge is happy with them. :p

When I put the DWS on for winter, they were quieter than the barely used stock tires (dealer replaced tires when it was traded-in). It was not a lot, but noticeable.

I should negotiate a commission with Tire Rack. I know 4 people now who went with the PSS based, in part, on my recommendation and review.

I am about to pickup some Continentals DWS like you. You like them?

Your location says Miami! Do you really get snow that much? The DW version might be more suitable

I was having a hard to deciding between the DW and DWS. Being that I live in San Diego, and we see very little of anything but dry weather, I ordered the DW. But after doing more research and reading other reviews on the DWS, many have been quite happy with the performance of the DWS in dry locations. The tread wear is what really appealed to me. As much as I like performance and grip, I couldn't ignore the life of these tires, and from what I've read, the performance isn't so bad(with the additional quieter and softer ride). So I went ahead an ordered a rear set of the DWS. I hope I've made the right decision. Has anyone regretted the DWS over the DW?

I "accidentally" ended up with the DWS after originally ordering the DW. They're finally broken in and I gotta say, the grip is great and so is the noise. They're great tires.

I've had PS2's on my G35 Coupe and I've had DWS's on my G and currently on my Z. The DWS is an excellent tire and costs less than the PS2. It does decent in the snow though no where near as good as an actual snow tire. They grip very well for a M/S tire. My last set lasted for 36,000 miles. I probably could have gotten a few more thousand but winter was just a month away and I wanted the tread.

I agree with the noise statement. IMO all new tires are pretty quiet. They get noisier as they wear. It is hard to judge this across a forum though because every tire has different noise levels and characteristics based upon the type of streets a person drives on. The DWS may be noisy where I drive but not noisy where someone else drives....Just my opinion. It isn't noisy for me though.

I just got the DWS installed, and my first impressions are not good but since I only put like 10 miles on them, I'll give them a fair chance by staying open minded. The first thing I did was test its grip level by launching off the light onto the freeway. I can honestly say I am happy with the amount of grip considering these are all season tires. As for road noise, I can't really tell if they're quieter or not since I only got the rears replaced(I'm still hearing a good amount of road noise, probably because my fronts are going bald soon). This was a huge let down for me, but I'll have to see after when I put down more miles. The most common complaint of these tires is the softer tire wall. This one is my biggest gripe, the car's handling is really mushy now. I did a quick lane change on the freeway and I was surprised how much effort I had to put to stabilize the car. On the Bridgestones, you can flick the wheel and be done with it. On the DWS, the rear feels delayed and when it does come around I had to balance the cars weight as it swung back in the opposite direction. On a good note, the ride is a little softer which I like. But at this point, I've been rethinking my decision and whether it was worth the compromise.

yep, they are a VERY quiet tire... excellent in all areas IMO.

tires
 

Talk about two totally different impressions from the same tire!!! I am more puzzled than ever...Well I have about 13,000 on the tires that came with the car and so I guess I will stick with them for another year at least..and then some of the dealers offer to let you change whatever tire you buy if you dont like it...so that is the route i will go..

First you are comparing apples to oranges when putting an All Season tire up against a Summer only tire. The DWS is an excellent All Season tire. It is quiet. The poster advised only the rear were changed thus all the noise from the worn front. The DWS is a harder compound (wears longer) than a summer tire, so it would make more noise to some extent, but like was said in other posts, 4 new tires will generally be quieter than the previous tires because they have more tread.

I would argue that while the DWS may initially be slightly louder than a new Summer tire, the DWS will be quieter over the life of the tire as it wears much better than a Summer.

Of course these are just opinions and I have no facts to base this on other than the DWS will wear longer.

I know what you mean, I was really hoping to be happier with these tires. All the reviews from the discount tire site compelled me to buy them, 4.5 stars out of what looked like 100's of reviews. Anyway, the softer tire wall might be the deal breaker for me, I'm really surprised how much the car's characteristic changed. Then again, I haven't given them a chance, but that is my initial impression. I also forgot to mention how ugly they are...I never thought I would say that about a tire, but from the side it looks too busy and off road-ish.