the kia forte is probably better for daily commutes in traffic too. Tires are tires, you can compare whatever you want. I'm not saying they're superior or better in any way, just saying the DWS are great in the rain from experience. I haven't personally had RE11s or used them in the rain but I would assume dry performance compound might not do as well in the wet then an all-season compound.

I was disappointed in the stock tires in the rain. Feel like they come up pretty easy. Even with only a few thousand miles on them I was getting moderate hydroplaning at 65 mph on roads that were only puddled - not solid water. Or maybe I'm just accustomed to my 6,000 lb. truck...

I've been looking for tires for a quite long time, and choosed the RE11 for its dry performance. But at the same time I don't feel spending $1300 in some fancy tires that in a year will give me the same hydroplaning issues I had with stock.

So any opinion is useful to me. I Also Looked at the Potenza S-04 Pole Position, ADVAN S4 and the Ventus V12 (One of my top choice)

What I'm looking for is basically
-Must exceed dry performance of the stock sport tires. I dont do track or anything extreme.
-Much better stability and grip in WET.

Apparently I'm not the only one that thinks DWS might be better than RE11s in the rain...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8018/7...21f6d2da_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7213/7...81edb270_b.jpg

I never said they were bad tires, it's just compare to the re11 from grip point of view. You are not in the same ball park, no where close matter of fact. You have never driven on them (or most reviewers on tire rack). When I was 16, I thought my 100hp protege was quick. Now my 330hp z feels slow to me.

Stock tires do suck, I got rid of them at 800 miles. If you don't track, just get yourself some s04s orw Michelin, trade a little grip for tirelife. Almost anything is better than the oem tires.

btw, do you really want to use tire rack stats when their test report show the re11 being 2.5 sec faster in both dry and wet in an older 328?

Feel is subjective, lap time isnt

What about the continental DW?

The ExtremeContacts has better ratings, but the majority of the people that bought a set said that they would only "probably" buy it again. RE11's got a def. from the majority! I know this doesn't mean much, but I'd go with the one that gets the best feedback.

Better than stock or dws, but no re11. You are now stepping up to a rx8

Re11 grip great, but are you prepare to replace them in 10k miles? If yes, buy it. If not, buy the next tier

Where'd you see this? Not bashing, just really curious. And like I said, for the money and tread life, the Continentals are great tires, everyone here loves them and so do I from experience. Judging from reviews on this site of the RE11s and tread life, I'm confident without having drive time on them that they are amazing, superior tires. But like you said, if you can afford them, by all means.

Also, I don't give those ratings on tire rack much weight, but they are what they are still. I'm sure not EVERYONE going the distance to rate these tires is a complete moron.

Aside from all that, from an engineering perspective, rubber compound that is built for extreme dry performance usually lacks in other categories.

You're not saying the DW is better in the rain than the DWS right? I'd have to disagree with you on that.

:shakes head::shakes head::shakes head:


back on track..... take out the fact that one is a all season and another is summer only! You still are trying to compare a tire in a lower performance class to a much higher one with the dws or dw to the re-11 respectively.

Go to full test report and read the data on each tire. I am sure there are variables to them since they were done at different times, yet the difference iS too great to ignore.

Yes dws is slower thaan dw rain or dry. (by a lot) The dw is a softer tire, the softer compound allows it to stick while the dws has sipes that allows it to work in light snow. Its a 540 treadwear tire!

This is not a knock on the dws, they are just built for different purposes.

I think I'm going for the Potenza S-04 Pole Position after reading several negative reviews of the continental DW about the steering response, and the low mileage of the RE11 used as DD.

What about the michelin PSS vs. RE-11? which is the better dry/wet performer?