Continental DWS all season tires

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double vanos

double vanos

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Back in Arizona. Finally
Thinking about putting these on my 2013 Speed 3. Keeping stock tire size of 225/40/18.
Getting them because the Dunlop SP 2050 that it came with absolutely suck. Also need a tire that will allow me to use the car all year in comfort.
Anybody using these, or care to weigh in on them?
TIA
 
I do not know about those Continentals per se. I have had no luck with Continentals. I have bought 4 vehickes new in the last 20 years or so and I couldn't have been happier to get them off my vehicles. I have. Had much better luck with Michelins and Bridgestones. Good luck with what you decide.
 
they are ok but they really shine (for an UHP tire) in snow.
they also have somewhat mushy handling as you can see from their tread pattern.

probably not an optimal tire for texas.

with the risk of sounding like a broken record

I'd go for the michelin pilot sport AS/3

another really good tire to consider the bridgestone re970as
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
they are ok but they really shine (for an UHP tire) in snow.

Meh, I found them very disappointing when it comes to snow performance. Granted, this is Illinois/Michigan levels of snow, not Texas levels.


Quote:

another really good tire to consider the bridgestone re970as

Good as in 3-season tire. Their winter performance is even worse than DWS. If you want any sort of usable winter weather handling, stay away from the UHP all-season category altogether. Their winter capabilities are a joke.
 
Just considered them because on Tire Rack the Speed3 owners seem to give them good reviews. I drive the Texas hill country quite a bit and in the winter there are occasional surprises, ie in February it's 65 one day, the next 30. Got caught in that trap years ago in my 330ci and it wasn't too cool. Put A/S tires on it from then on and there were several times they came in quite handy. Which is what I want to replicate with the Mazda. So any suggestions are appreciated especially if you have my tire size.
 
I would agree. Note my ""(for an uhp tire)""

But the turbocharged 3 could easily do with better tires than the DWS.

so something like the pilot sport as/3

which has grip at near max performance summer tire level, yet doesnt suck in winter(cold/light snow). Seems Ideal for texas.


Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Rand
they are ok but they really shine (for an UHP tire) in snow.

Meh, I found them very disappointing when it comes to snow performance. Granted, this is Illinois/Michigan levels of snow, not Texas levels.


Quote:

another really good tire to consider the bridgestone re970as

Good as in 3-season tire. Their winter performance is even worse than DWS. If you want any sort of usable winter weather handling, stay away from the UHP all-season category altogether. Their winter capabilities are a joke.
 
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If your planning on winter driving on a UHP all-season. The DWS or the Pilot Sport 3 A/S is the only way to go.

But lets be real, dont put all-seasons on sports hatch. Do it right and get a dedicated set of summer & winter tires.
 
I'm new to Continental tires. . .I just put a set of the CrossContact EcoPlus A/S on my Hyundai Santa Fe and have about 3000 miles on them. I've done one long trip and so far I'm very impressed--they're the quietest tires I've run on this vehicle and the snow performance was impressive (in Maine after a 12" snowfall). I realize you're not interested in the exact tire, but Continentals do deserve consideration IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
so something like the pilot sport as/3

which has grip at near max performance summer tire level, yet doesnt suck in winter(cold/light snow). Seems Ideal for texas.

Are there any independent winter tests for PS AS/3 out there yet?

Do we know if they're actually any better in that respect than RE970 or DWS?

I really wanted to try the PS AS/3, but Michelin kept delaying the release date, and I needed tires, so I ended up with RE970 instead.
 
Does Consumer Report test count?
Snow traction:
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 - good
DWS - poor
RE970 - fair

Krzys

PS DWS rating is very strange, I asked CR guys and they claim they verified the results and they were the same.
 
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Originally Posted By: krzyss
Does Consumer Report test count?
Snow traction:
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 - good
DWS - poor
RE970 - fair

Sure. In lack of any other evidence, I will accept CR.
smile.gif


Do you know what their snow testing methodology entails, by any chance? I'm trying to decipher the underlying logic/data for their 'poor', 'fair', and 'good' ratings.

Regardless what it is, it seems like Michelin has found a way to improve upon its competitors.
 
You can find Nov 2014 CR in a public library, I think.
Their snow test is very limited and tests acceleration on snow from 5 to 20mph and measures the distance needed.

Not as thorough as handling test on snow.

Krzys
 
Originally Posted By: randomhero439


But lets be real, dont put all-seasons on sports hatch. Do it right and get a dedicated set of summer & winter tires.


To be real, we don't have that kind of sustained winter weather in South Texas. Snow and ice happen perhaps once every ten or fifteen years, and when it does, everyone stays home until it goes away. So the summer/winter tire concept is a non-starter. What the poster is referring to are anomalies that it would be nice to be covered for, not regularly occurring conditions.
 
Originally Posted By: TooManyWheels
Originally Posted By: randomhero439


But lets be real, dont put all-seasons on sports hatch. Do it right and get a dedicated set of summer & winter tires.


To be real, we don't have that kind of sustained winter weather in South Texas. Snow and ice happen perhaps once every ten or fifteen years, and when it does, everyone stays home until it goes away. So the summer/winter tire concept is a non-starter. What the poster is referring to are anomalies that it would be nice to be covered for, not regularly occurring conditions.


WHY do you even need an all season over a, good in the wet weather, pure summer, UHP/Max performance tire in Houston?? (DEEP standing puddles during monsoons, steady, sub 40*F ambients???)
 
We have a set of Conti DWS's on our Fit. They handle well in all temperatures when the road is dry, stick like glue when the road is wet, and most importantly for that little box on wheels, do okay for all-seasons in the snow (we have winter tires for the winter). The ride is on the comfy side and they do like to roll over onto the sidewalls when run at much less than 40 PSI, but do they ever stick to the pavement.
 
My experience with them has been very bad in the snow, they've worn very quickly, and they got excessively noisy after we put about 15,000 miles on them.
 
I'm pretty sure the dws experience is dependant on expectation also.

for example I just wanted a good all-season with decent winter performance.

They delivered.. this was also 5 years ago.. better choices now.

thats why tire research for your application is important
 
Originally Posted By: D189379
My experience with them has been very bad in the snow, they've worn very quickly, and they got excessively noisy after we put about 15,000 miles on them.


I have them on 2 cars 2007 A6 and 2008 X3. Both cars are AWD. They have gotten me through 12 inches of snow without issues but remember both cars are AWD. I have 10k miles on the A6 and 35k miles on the X3. Plenty of tread left on the X3 BTW. Both cars seemed to ride better with them. They came with a free 1 year road hazard also! You should be ok with them in Texas
 
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Originally Posted By: double vanos
Thinking about putting these on my 2013 Speed 3. Keeping stock tire size of 225/40/18.
Getting them because the Dunlop SP 2050 that it came with absolutely suck. Also need a tire that will allow me to use the car all year in comfort.
Anybody using these, or care to weigh in on them?
TIA
Do you get any snow, or is it just cold temps and an occasional ice patch you are facing?

Do you do any Autocross or other competition with the car? That's really where an A/S loses out to a dedicated summer tire.

If not the DWS might work out really well for you. They are quite forgiving in that their breakaway at the limits of adhesion is pretty gradual: they may not have the highest grip, but they give you plenty of warning and the slip angle increases pretty linearly.

My summer tires are DW's because they aren't the stickiest in the dry, but they are good, and they are very good in rain.
 
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