Lot's of people jumping on the DW train. I'm at about 3/32" myself, and I'm going to be going with the DW's as well.

Is tirerack still doing that promo where you get the Flip video camera when u buy 4 conti tires? I should be gettig mine in the mail pretty soon.... given that they ship before everyone leaves the failed division... :icon14:

The Flip promo ended about a month ago. Continental tires are very rarely discounted; I've been watching them and waiting for a year. It would have been nice getting a hundred back via rebate, but OTOH the tires are priced more reasonably to begin with.

Also, FWiW ... when I finally pulled the trigger, tirerack had just sold out of my fronts. They said restocking was >30 days. So I called Discount Tire and they price-matched that pair (but the tires took an extra day to get here from Ohio, and the date code wasn't as fresh as the rears I got from tirerack). Coincidentally, Discount Tire had sold out of the rears, so this was the only way to get a complete set of 4 Contis. You might have better luck with summer treads instead of all-seasons.

Anyone notice the dws has no rubber lip to protect the lip of the wheel like the oem tires has? The oem tires saved my wheels from being scratched a couple times.

I ordered my tires oversize (20mm front, 30mm rear) in order to get a matched pair that would fit the 18" (base) rims. That gives me a wider rubber contact patch and slightly better curb protection (from where the rubber flattens in ground contact).

However -- I know from Michelin Pilot Plus A/S and Bridgestone Pole Position A/S tires, both of which we've had on my wife's Acuras, that the little rubber lip isn't as much protection as you'd like to believe. If you have to park next to a curb, stay 8 inches out or consider buying a "curb feeler".

In addition, the weight of these two very good A/S alternates is 2-3# more on each tire (that is, more unsprung weight), while the wear stats are significantly less. (Check out tirerack.com and compare the detail specs for the same size tire.) I don't know how they did it, but this Continental tire is both sportier and (supposedly, hopefully) longer lasting, for less money.

I've had 2K of warm-weather driving on the DWSes now, and frankly don't think about them too much. They stick to the road. They're quieter than the OEMs, although it's not a fair comparison between new rubber and old. I was able to wet-hydroplane for one split-second instance, and they came back down to the pavement smoothly and safely.

But the best feature I've had might not be a result of the tire construction (or maybe it is): they've been perfectly balanced since they were installed. No thrumming at speeds, no harmonics, nothing affecting braking or tracking. Either the mold these were cooked in was a precision job or I got the world's best Hunter balancing job on the install. (Since the guy who put them on is restoring an original 240Z, it might have been his dedication to all things Z.) I would buy the Continental DWSes again in a heartbeat... even if they cost more.

I just got these on my car...so far a definite noise reduction, they're somewhat slippery now but I probably only have 200 miles on them. I will update the thread with more detailed information once I get an alignment (new wheels and springs as well) and do over 500 miles with some aggressive driving.

I've had 3 sets of DWS' on previous cars and they are an EXCELLENT tire. I think I will likely go with Vrdestein Sessenta's or the Hancook Ventus V12's. The DWS' sidewall is just a little to soft for me... but they are great in rain and snow and if you don't really push your car very hard they are great all year round.

Let me add to my above statement as to not scare people away... the DWS' WILL perform in dry weather. They are indeed a performance tire... they just aren't a typical summer tire. I have not owned a RWD car since I had my old 93 LX 5.0, but I can tell you that my Z won't be seeing any winter driving. My Fiancee' has the DWS' on her car after I talked to her about them (her stock tires were PATHETIC in the rain). I have had that car which is just a FWD Mazdaspeed 3 in 8 inches of snow with more POURING down in one of the storms we had last winter here in Md. and the car went right through the snow with very little issue. It just cuts right through snow and rain like it's not even there.

On my Evo X vs. my stock Advans I couldn't take turns quite as fast and you can feel that the sidewall is soft in comparison, BUT push the tires and they WILL hold a lot more than you think... but you have to be a good enough driver to know when you are at that limit... also in an AWD car you have a little bit more handling ability with Mitsu's Super all wheel control too.

Anyway, I would rate this tire as probably one of the best ones on the market... maybe ever if I am to be completely honest. Excellent balance of handling, more comfortable ride, and is just downright nasty and the claws seem to just come out of it when the weather gets bad.

I actually thought I had ordered the DW and when I was getting a bunch of stuff installed on the car I noticed that they were the DWS, I didn't pay it much mind even though I hadn't done a lot of research on it. The price is about the same but I'm in socal so I don't REALLY need the snow tires unless I'm going snowboarding in the winter for which I have a Toyota FJ. So I'm mostly going to be using these tires on dry roads or in rain, I like that the tread ware is more than the DW even though the DW is already way up there in comparison.

I'm planning on doing quiet a bit of canyon driving and they're not broken in yet but they already show that they have pretty good feel on limits.

I'll update again after some aggressive driving in the canyon.

I'm also coming from the base 18 wheels to the sport rays so the noise reduction from that switch is amplified since the base 18s are quieter stock.

Yeah the "DW's" vs "DWS" thing has been confusing all along. Unless you plan to drive your Z in snow, get the DW model. They're great tires in terms of both grip and treadwear, especially considering how cheap they are.

Too late for me, not one to complain to the vendor or anything cause it could have been an honest mistake.

Sorry you'll have to make do with such a longer-lasting tire. ;p

Since my install I've put on 4-5K. The last week we've had "interesting" rain patterns on the Jersey shore. Not as a purely scientific test, but these tires avoid hydroplaning just shy of 80mph. If there's standing puddles, I recommend you slow to 72. Either way, you'll plow right through. (True even with the +1 sizing I put on stock 18" rims.)

Of course, the larger limit is set by minivans and Camrys hugging the left lane at 55. :(

That's good to know considering I totaled my Acura TL because I hydroplaned at 60mph on the freeway :) ...and yeah, I'm not really complaining because of the tread ware. :tup:

I'm around 2500 miles on my 285 DWS rears now, and they're pretty good. The absolute limit doesn't seem as high as the stockers, but they break loose much more predictably. Enough so that it's basically not an issue, you can slide the rear of the car around with ease and control. It breaks loose on the shifts if I'm doing the shifting, but not enough to make the traction control step in and ruin the fun.

Not as impressed in the snow though. Night and day vs the stockers, but still not what I'd call good. Again, controllable at least, but we've got some big hills around here and the snow tends to be wet and snotty and they're just not quite enough to make it a confident drive.

The stockers couldn't make it up the big hill near my house at all, and I actually spun the car going down the small hill the next day (thankfully I timed it right and there was no drama, just drove it back and parked it to wait another day). With the DWS it made it up the big hill but it was pretty twitchy, enough so I didn't want to try the small hill (which is downhill, where it spun on the old tires) until conditions improved.

Here's the car, on stockers, where I left it when it couldn't make it up the hill:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3..._2425798_o.jpg

So much for "it never snows in Seattle." :icon14:

PS: Here's the rescue vehicle, which absolutely pwned the snow even when it was 6" deep, despite being on "all season" tires.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...h_P1000583.jpg