klingon

The reviews on these tires seem to be very good overall, so I bought a set from Tirerack to replace my original Conti Sport. I have the 18" AMG staggered wheels. After a few months of driving, I find these tires to be very "skittish" especially when going across those gaps in the road during cornering. Feels like the car is losing grip whenever I take a corner fast and hit those gaps/joints in the road. Not sure if its just my car or something is amiss since everyone raves about these tires. I have them inflated at 35 psi front and 41 rear. Never had this problem in my old Conti Sports.

Glyn M Ruck

Does this happen loaded or one up in the car? Your rear pressure is too high for one up.

Sportstick

My C is on 17", but our E has 18" DWS, so I am familiar with the tire. That behavior is not typical of the tire. However, I note you have significantly over-inflated your tires (at least compared to the 28/33 on the door jamb label for my 17s), and the behavior you note is consistent with over-inflation...hopping sideways on turns on road imperfections. A bit over the label may feel better, but 41 cold is over doing it and the first suspect, as I would guess you feel more oversteer than understeer (rear stepping out, not the front losing grip and sliding forward). DWS is a highly rated tire in the Ultra High Performance All Season category. It offers superior wet and light snow capability (and some live on it all four seasons), but does trade off dry weather steering response and handling to some degree as compared to, for example, the Pilot Sport A/S Plus. However, in all aspects, it would respond better than the OE Contis, and should not behave as you describe, once you inflate them properly.

VividRacing

Definitely need to drop a few PSI in the rear, and I'd suggest dropping a little in the front as well. The general rule of thumb is to subtract 2-5 psi (I go with 3) from the MAX Pressure indicated on the sidewall. If you're going to have the car loaded with passengers or a lot of stuff in the back seats/trunk, then go back up to the max pressure on the tires sidewall. Unless you're running the same tires the car came with from the factory, ignore the door jamb. Too much tire pressure can cause abnormal tire wear, less grip, and a host of other issues as you've noticed.

Glyn M Ruck

Our Family W204 runs one up most of the time & we run 33psi all round. 2.3bar

MBRedux

I agree, DWS's are very "skittish", and not a road friendly tire. I had them on my BMW and sold them a few months later. The rubber compound is rather squishy and they do need to wear down a bit before they'll feel more secure and predictable. Playing around with your air pressures for now should help for sure... But many people confuse this tire with Conti DW's, so don't believe every review you read, especially on TireRack. Sadly DWS's are NOT DW's.

I believe they may be over inflated if you are lane drifting over irregularities!:thumbup:

Yes DWS's are a so so tire! .... but NOT the DW's seen here! This is a summer tire which I fully recommend, bar none!



Love this tire....^the one and only Conti-DW Summer Rubber... :thumbup:

And here's the squishy Conti All Season DWS or Dry, Water, & Snow tire... no comparison :thumbdown:

Sportstick

Here is where the subjective element must be considered. I would also not pick the DWS for a BMW or someone who also has a GT-R. This is not the most consistent tire for a driver with those expectations for the driving experience. Even for a MB, I chose the higher performing Pilot Sport A/S Plus for my C. But, for many MB applications, such as on my wife's E350, DWS is consistent with the move toward comfort/luxury and away from the BMW athleticism. DWS can be a great choice for a balanced set of capabilities, especially if wet weather or light to moderate snow is a concern. There is no basis for considering them "so-so" from either objective testing or large sample owner reviews. But, they are for someone with different expectations than you. However, none of the All Season tires will perform like the Summer Only tires, among which we find the DW. Those tires satisfy a separate set of requirements consistent with the cars you've owned, or someone who will change to winter tires when the temps drop below 45 degrees F.

MBRedux

Correct... the BMW was my wife's daily driver before I bought her the GLK. She needed a good AS tire, but the Conti DWS's failed to meet our expectations in an all season tire, so they were jettisoned. I run with the DW's on my summer wheels for the GT-R. They are extraordinary, even when tracked. The only reason I mentioned the two was that TireRack reviewers often confuse these two models because DWS are often confused with DW's!

klingon

Thanks for all the responses. Typically one driver situation. Listed PSI on the door is 33 front, 38 rear. I added a few more PSIs as the DWS do not have "curb" protection and due to the low profile - 225/40 and 255/35. Reviews also indicate its prone to flat-spotting, so over inflating apparently helps. Never had this problem with the old Conti Sport at 35/41 PSI. Will try going down to 33/38 and see how it goes.

RXBENZ

Bought the DWS about a month ago for my e550 no issues....been very stable in the rain and some light snow...I was conti pros before, also had an alignment done as well

Sportstick

Here is another thought to consider. Flat spotting usually suggests a softer tire. When Continental developed the DWS handling characteristics, they would have done so to optimize performance at the recommended specs, so the tire may be more sensitive than others to overinflation. Then, consider the OE Contis. Consistent with all OE tires, the compound is harder than what is found in the aftermarket, as that is one method for car manufacturers to get the EPA CAFE mpg benefit of reduced rolling resistance. So, your OE tires, being stiffer, were likely less relatively susceptible to the effects of overinflation. This may help explain the difference you are observing. But, the flat spotting tendency does not suggest that you should overinflate. It just means the first couple of miles may be a little "lumpy" until the tire warms up.

klingon

All responses point to over-inflation. I had the same thinking as well before I posted. Any recommendation for "optimum" tire pressure for this setup - 18" 225/40 and 255/35 or trial and error? Thanks.

Sportstick

Leave them where they are today. First thing tomorrow morning, carefully bring them down while cold to the door label values (unless you have a compressor at home to correct an inadvertent underinflation), and see how you like them. If you are satisfied, the OE specs are usually optimal.

Glyn M Ruck

On the W203 - The DWS is one of the few Continental tyres that people are happy with. All the rest are crap due to noise generation on that chassis. The SC2 & SC3's are the worst.

My CLK is on it's original under half worn SC3's & they are going. I can't stand the noise & grittiness under braking. PS2's are waiting.

Carsy

Maybe the" noise & grittiness" is a sign that they are doing their job well ??. They may be outperforming the quite achievers ?

Glyn M Ruck

No - they don't even do that well. PS2's & Exalto PE2's are in a different class. Quiet, great grip & turn in. Better in the wet. The downside is shorter life with the PS2. Exalto will match Conti SC life.

LILBENZ230

You'll have to excuse Glyn. A tire that makes any noise whatsoever brings back not fond memories of his early days of driving - when wheels were made of wood.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes - I'm fussy about tyres. Tyres, brakes and dampers are required to safely stop a car in trouble.

Conti Summer tyres are a curse on the W203/204 chassis & their derivatives. In the words of my Service Manager - "why does Benz persist in fitting them to this chassis"? The answer is they get them cheap.

jctevere

Hm, everyone seems to think that 41PSI is over inflated. I ran 31PSI all around and stepped it up to 41 PSI, and I am happy with how it rides... But with all your feedback I am second thinking that now. Should I bring it down to like 35 PSI all around? Or is that still too high?

Glyn M Ruck

You might find 35 a good compromise. Our family 204 350 runs 98% of it's time one up on Michelin PS2's. any harder than 33 all round gives center wear on the rear tread. The correct pressure for one tyre design might not be correct for another. Some experimenting is always required. Manufacturer of vehicle recommendations are nothing but a very rough guide & trying to cover too many situations.

ltcinf

All, I bought the DWSs based on a bunch of reviews after not being very happy with the OEM tires. My rear tires were burned down the the wear bars at 23K miles.

I have been playing with the tire pressures to see what worked the best and just couldn't get it right. I drive in the Washington DC area so anyone you know its liking drving in the Gran Prix during the morning commute only with pot holes and construction barriers everywhere with every other driver trying to put you into one of those barriers just so they can stay ahead of you.

Anyway the point is that I drive with a rough crowd with less than perfect roads that also turn into a mass crash site everytime it rains or god forbid, it snows. I had the tire pressures higher on the DWS based on a few posts I read. Then after reading this one I took my tires back down to the OEM setting (29,33) on the door. turns out this is the best ride I have experienced out of them all. When it rains I can confidently ride at 80+ MPH and have complete control. On dry payment the tires are completely quiet and a soft ride, even when I hit the rough stuff. I can easily drive down the back curvy roads at high speed with true confidence and out on the freeway at 100+ without feeling any loss.

Granted these are not summer high performance, it would be a waste to have them here unless you like spending your weekends at the chiropractor and are willing to change your tires every time the weather changes. My son drives a 2004 GTI 1.8L Turbo that is dropped and running the pilots. While he loves the handling but he is already looking at different tires becuase he gets pounded when driving on less than perfect roads.

I am very happy with these DWSs as an all season high performance tire.