Kumho ecsta 4x VS continental contact dws

[cutter]

Have an 00 celica gts 6sp. currently have cooper cs4 touring on the front and traction t/a on the rear. Fronts have 60% life and rears have 30%. Both T rated and considered as standard touring tires.

I think I want Ultra High Performance all seasons to replace them. Which leads me to my questions: I'm deciding between the kumho 4x and the conti dws. Has anyone driven on them and can give me a verdict? Also, is there something else I should be looking at?

My order of tire desires is as follows: grip, quiet, enough grip in the snow to get me home in city traffic and it probably happens 5 times a year max. Don't care about mpg.

 

[randomhero439]

Kumho 4x is definitely more performance based on a dry surface.
While the DWS (while performance based), gives a cushier ride, with better rain and snow traction.
Dont get me wrong with the 4x is a GREAT tire and very comparable to the DWS. But overall the DWS is a better tire aside from the price and small sacrifice in dry grip.

Dry Grip: 4x
Wet Grip: DWS
Quiet: DWS
Comfort: DWS
Snow: DWS

 

[HTSS_TR]

I had DWS on E430 and just replaced it with 4X. DWS was very good on dry and wet road and very quiet the first few thousands miles. Performance/handling on both dry and wet and quietness went down hill fast after some thousands miles, tread wear is way less than 50k miles warranty.

We have good rain the last couple months here, so I do have some experience with 4X on wet road. We have no snow in So Cal so I can't say anything about snow/ice performance.

My rating:

Dry Grip: 4x
Wet Grip: 4X
Quiet: 4X
Comfort: DWS
Snow: NA
Tread Life: NA

In my case, I was looking for 235/45-17 and America's Tire had 4X at $100/ea last Cyber Monday with $125 online rebate, while DWS was $150/ea. So it was very obvious that I bought 4X for $225 which is less than half of $550 for DWS. Both set had $50 instant rebate last Cyber Monday.

Without knowing how long 4X will lasted, without rebate and with current price, I still buy 4X after 2 months driving it.

 

[Ibrahim]

I had DWS on my BMW, they were little cushy for my liking but their long life as opposed to other UHPT and phenomenal winter performance made up for that! I was able to drive in middle of the winter (a rear wheel drive car) up and down the icy hills (albeit very cautiously)!

 

[Sayjac]

I drove the 215/50-17 DWS's for 30 days on an Accord, worst flat spotting vibration I've ever had. Went back to DT for Michelin Primacy MXV4's, huge improvement. Just my experience.

 

[A_Harman]

I did a lot of studying on Tire Rack's website when I was looking for tires to run in the wet on track days. The tire that was best in the wet was the DWS. Since this was 1.5 years ago, the Kumho 4X wasn't out yet, so I can't really make a comparison. I have run them in the wet on road courses a couple of times on my Corvette and Camaro, and they are very good. On the street, they have a smooth, quiet ride, and good road feel. They are only fair in the snow, and are not good if there is more than 1" on the road. Michelin X-Ice2's are much better for deep snow. For ultimate dry grip, I run on extreme performance summer tires like the Ecsta SX. Yes, I have three sets of wheels and tires for my Camaro. I buy tires like women buy shoes: I have some for every situation.

 

[rjundi]

DWS was a nice quiet tire on my wife's Legacy GT wagon throughout its life. I did not notice any degradation over its life including noise.

The winter traction for what you asking for is perfect. Its a nice all around tire but definitely not a Ultra-High performance tire except in terms of speed rating. It is better than average in the winter traction department and will get you safely around with common sense driving.

 

[randomhero439]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
I drove the 215/50-17 DWS's for 30 days on an Accord, worst flat spotting vibration I've ever had. Went back to DT for Michelin Primacy MXV4's, huge improvement. Just my experience.


How did the tire flat spot with consistent driving?

Also i noticed the 215/50-17 size is for the 03-07 Accord 6-speed. You had one?

 

[cutter]

Some good information here, thanks.

As much as I would love to have two sets of tires for the seasons, I live in an apartment. So if the the extra set of wheels and tires can double as livable furniture, sure. But as of yet, I cannot have them.

My wanting to lose the standard touring tires I have on now is due to grip when lift engages. There is a sharp increase in torque at 6k that makes the tires chirp if the road isn't completely warm and dry. I think a UHP A/S should solve that and be safer if I'm passing on a highway.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Originally Posted By: sayjac
I drove the 215/50-17 DWS's for 30 days on an Accord, worst flat spotting vibration I've ever had. Went back to DT for Michelin Primacy MXV4's, huge improvement. Just my experience.


How did the tire flat spot with consistent driving?

Some tires have a tendency to flatspot after just sitting overnight. The rubber cools and becomes temporarily deformed and the tires need to be warmed up again for the deformation to go away. Depending on suspension and steering components in your car, this may be more or less pronounced. I can feel flatspotting on my 530i very distinctly, and it happened with both Dunlop SP Sport Maxx that I owned before as well as my current Bridgestone RE960.

Wife's C300 has the DWS and I don't really feel any flatspotting there, however.

 

[Rand]

I think certain tire sizes are worse than others.

my 4x's do have slight flat-spotting but its not bad

the dws on 2007 g6 dont have noticeable flatspotting.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Originally Posted By: sayjac
I drove the 215/50-17 DWS's for 30 days on an Accord, worst flat spotting vibration I've ever had. Went back to DT for Michelin Primacy MXV4's, huge improvement. Just my experience.


How did the tire flat spot with consistent driving?

Also i noticed the 215/50-17 size is for the 03-07 Accord 6-speed. You had one?

Actually the 215/50-17 OE size is for EX V6 AT, which I currently own since new. May be for 6 speed too but I wouldn't know as I've never checked.

Consistent driving? Driven almost daily after DWS installation. Purchased in January at grand opening of local DT, great GO promo deals on Conti tires. After sitting over night car would vibrate/shake for a substantial period, the colder the temps the worse the vibation and longer the duration, and it doesn't get super cold here. It was more than I was willing to live with, thus back they went to DT. Reading some other reviews of the DWS, I'm not alone in this experience.

 

[randomhero439]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Originally Posted By: sayjac
I drove the 215/50-17 DWS's for 30 days on an Accord, worst flat spotting vibration I've ever had. Went back to DT for Michelin Primacy MXV4's, huge improvement. Just my experience.


How did the tire flat spot with consistent driving?

Also i noticed the 215/50-17 size is for the 03-07 Accord 6-speed. You had one?

Actually the 215/50-17 OE size is for EX V6 AT, which I currently own since new. May be for 6 speed too but I wouldn't know as I've never checked.


Ah you must have 06-07 model? The 03-05 V6 Autos got 16in tires.

Sucks to hear about your tire issues. I usually have my tires pumped up 3-5psi over stock, so i think that would offset any short term spotting that would occur.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: randomhero439
I usually have my tires pumped up 3-5psi over stock, so i think that would offset any short term spotting that would occur.

It made no difference in my case.

 

[Rand]

the extra psi can actually make it more noticeable as they are "bouncier"

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Originally Posted By: sayjac
Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Originally Posted By: sayjac
I drove the 215/50-17 DWS's for 30 days on an Accord, worst flat spotting vibration I've ever had. Went back to DT for Michelin Primacy MXV4's, huge improvement. Just my experience.


How did the tire flat spot with consistent driving?

Also i noticed the 215/50-17 size is for the 03-07 Accord 6-speed. You had one?

Actually the 215/50-17 OE size is for EX V6 AT, which I currently own since new. May be for 6 speed too but I wouldn't know as I've never checked.


Ah you must have 06-07 model? The 03-05 V6 Autos got 16in tires.

Sucks to hear about your tire issues. I usually have my tires pumped up 3-5psi over stock, so i think that would offset any short term spotting that would occur.

Yes, an 07. And I usually run my tires 2-3psi over placard. I really wanted to like the DWS, got them for a great price and the reviews were/are generally excellent. Just didn't work out for me, perhaps because of the 50 series profile. Had to pony up a few more $$$ for the Primacy, but they've been worth it so far.

 

[FCobra94]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
I drove the 215/50-17 DWS's for 30 days on an Accord, worst flat spotting vibration I've ever had.

Agreed. I have them in 245/40/18 and they do in fact flat spot overnight as well. These are the most inconsistent tires I have ever owned in my entire life. I've had Michelin XGT-Z4's on my old Mustang that would sit on that car unmoved for over a year and they didn't flat spot as bad as these DWSs do overnight.

For my next all-season tire, I will be looking very hard at the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. If I had to buy a new set TODAY though, I'd probably end up going with the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS, or something.

 

[05lgt]

What temps is flatspotting occurring at? How long do you need to drive before it goes away? I'm about to buy these but now I'll reconsider.

 

[Quattro Pete]

All temps. It can take 5 miles or so of driving for it to smooth out.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Neither DWS nor 4X exhibits any flat spotting on the E430, may be because the mild weather in So Cal and/or the car is parked on carpet.

I got carpet remnants from my BIL when he replaced his carpet some years ago, I cut 4 pieces about 20"x24" and placed it under the tires, these carpets also reduce the paint fading on garage floor that was painted some years ago.