New tires, but not sure if we like them... Help!

Hi everyone!  Sorry we haven't been around much - the new baby keeps us busy and he doesn't like to nap! I am hoping once he's a little bigger, I can cart him around in the mini instead of the outback :)  His 6 months already - I can't believe how fast time flies!

Edited by Dizzy_Jenny - October/10/11 at 8:53pm

The Continental DWS will be my next all season tire.  I have Bridgestone RE-960(on my MINI "S") and they are OK.  We have General Ultimax All Season HP tires on our Cooper and they handle OK but are noisy.  We switch back and forth when it is going to get cold and icy/snowy and put on Bilzzaks on the Cooper(I REALLY LIKE THEM!)and on the "S" I use Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3's and they are OK but the Blizzaks work a little better on ice otherwise I like the Dunlop's very much.

Les Schwab?  It depends on which one.  Our local one I would not trust with a wheel barrow tire!



Edited by SMOG - October/11/11 at 4:48am

How quiet are the DWS compared to what you drove before(and what were those?)?.

Sounds like the DWS would be great for the around town roller and for long trips, but not lead footing it around corners.

My RE-960, 215x45x17 Bridgestones don't seem to flex.

Tire pressure and rim width can make big differences...

Maybe it is the extra weight/length of the Clubman?

We have the Continental DWS on our 2006 MCS and absolutely love them. We have done a couple of track days with them (including Mary Hill Loops Road) and they were amazing. When people talk about how soft the sidewalls are, most people are comparing them to the stock run flats which have a very stiff sidewall because they are made to run with no air in them. Compared to a normal tire though they are probably still a little softer but still perform very well. Comparatively the Bridgestone Ultra High Performance All-Season tires (mentioned above) are also very good tires and also very quite (I had these on a previous car) but they are significantly more expensive and I honestly like the DWS way better and the cost savings doesn't hurt. I know lots of people that have the DWS on their cars and everyone loves them.

I just got a set of bridgestone potenza RE960AS RF to replace my goodyears.
They are softer than the goodyears but fell like they hold up in the corners. I have not really tested them yet. They definalty do better in the wet than new GY's. They also have a 40K tread life warranty, something Gy does not offer. 76K miles and 3 sets of GY. They are however noisy in a tight, slow corner. Something the GY's would only do when they were close to the wear indicators.

The DWS's are really not much louder than the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec tires I took off but they are 2 totally different tires.

I live in western Wa. I too ditch the run flats, replacing  them with Michelin Pilot Sport AS. I didn't care for the hard ride of the RF... I found them to be rather squirrelly.

This is affectionately what I call a "Zombie post" since the last post, before today, was from October '11 and now the thread is back from the dead. But, since we are talking ultra high performance tires and I've been researching those and I have a question for CORNERS I'll feed the Zombie.

The GPII comes with Kumho Ecsta V700's. You actually sign a waiver to drive the GP off the lot with these things mounted. They are DOT approved but are essentially an autocross tire. You can read more about them Here. Now, the V700s are a lot of fun (or should be, it's not really be warm enough to "test" them). But, rumors abound that using these on the street will give you a lifespan of about 5000 miles and that's expensive. So, I'll be replacing them very soon. I actually want to pull them before they wear completely down. That means I'm researching ultra high performance summers.

My current summer tires of choice are the Bridgestone RE-11s and I love them. They are good on the dry, they exceeded my expectations in the rain, and they provide predictable performance down to about 40 degrees so I actually get to use them more than 6 months around here. I'd get a set of RE-11a's for the GP except Bridgestone does not make them for the wider 215/40R17 GP wheel.

So what does come in that size? It just so happens the updated Dunlop to CORNER's favorite Direzza ZI Star Spec, the Direzza ZII, is available in that size. Mr. CORNER's is your opinion of the Direzza the same after a few years? The TireRack review of the ZII says it's a much better tire then the ZI.

Hi Ryan,

I've been leaning for the Direzzas for HUNKA, but that would mean I have to get some winter tires on my X-lites. I still think it is a win, but that means 2 sets of tires this year.