Povitica3

I find that summer tires are a huge compromise of overall ride comfort and longevity for better handling. This isn't a compromise I prefer, hence a choice to identify the overall best A/S high performance tire, which the DWS06 is... ditto the Michelin Pilot which is an equally awesome tire I'd rec altho not as highly as the Conti DWS.
I lived in the NE between 2014-2021 and we get plenty of wintery weather to deal with. I have had occassional winter driving of my RWD 172 pre-COVID when necessary and the car handled the wintery condition decently... won't say it is best surface for it, but decent enough if you know how to drive in winter. Here is my driveway with the RWD R172 in the middle of winter (Jan) as an example.



Due to the understeer in the RWD SLK, the tire does get squirelly sometimes, especially in turn-ins, but the tires are forgiving enough. They are not soft by any definition (don't even understand what that means...).

What the DWS06 gives is a quiet, super handling/compliant ride, and a somewhat long thread life... in my staggered configuration, I have had fronts for 30K+ miles, and rears for 25K+ miles... despite being a lead-footed driver

Hope the above helps address your questions.

YYC53

There are Firestone Indy 500's that are 10mm bigger than the E53 staggered sizes. They're the correct OD but run over an inch wider, fit the stock rims.

I had them on a Jag XFR and they are a bit meatier than Pilot Sports but are still quiet and great tires. Most of the difference is probably due to being a hair wider than the PS.

YYC53

By soft I mean that the tire isn't quite as responsive on turn-in. Basically a longer radius on the corner tread blocks vs being squarer. It's a personal preference thing. If you like it, and maybe I should have phrased it this way, you'd call it progressive turn-in. To some extent squarer shoulders contribute a bit to tram-linging or following irregularities in pavement.

This is very helpful!

I've driven a lot in the winter, I'm nearly 50 and before this I've never had anything other than a RWD car as my personal winter vehicle.

I had the DWS06 on a couple Mazdaspeed 3's way back. Wore quickly but I'm sure it has evolved.

TennesseeZ4

On our 2013 R231 and 2019 A238, when the OEM RFT became too harsh due to wear, we switched to Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4. It really transformed the ride of those two vehicles, both with 19" wheels. On our current S213, when it came time to get new tires, I elected to go with the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S ZP. Several of my car friends stated that this was a great tire, so I thought I would try them.

We have 18" wheels, and I can say that I am quite pleased with the ride, handling and noise level of these tires. The wagon calls for an XL tire, and this tire is only available in SL rating in our size; however after talking with the tire gurus, looking at weight ratings, comparing 'carcasses', etc., we made the move. Right now I have over 8,000 miles on the tires, around town, long haul 1,000 mile runs, and many trips to the lake. To each his own, but after this experience my perspective on RFT technology has been altered, now to see how long they last.