Everywhere I look says the sidewalls are soft, and turn in is average. Everything else is great.

Im worried that with the stiffer KWs I have, all of the loading will go into the sidewall of the tire and it will just be floppy and loose any time I corner hard.

Thoughts? Im considering either this tire or the Bridgestone Potenza S-04. The Bridgestones supposedly have a stiffer sidewall, but the Conti's can be had for a lot less money.

 

what are you looking for in a tire

I have conti DW, amazing daily driver tire.... great in the wet and ok in the dry


side walls are soft.....

I autox regularly and we used DWs during a test n tune event when we dialed in our dunlop z2 and didnt want to wear them anymore....

the DWs required tons more air and turn in was sloppy

but IMO the DWs are an amazing rain tire though, the dry grip is good enough. lets just say there was a 2 second difference on a 60 second course.

if your worried about daily driven grip... I wouldnt worry about it the DWs are perfect

I have DWs on my r53 right now

have raced in a r56 and rx8 on DWs autox...

 

My car is 90% daily driver, but I still want to be able to hit a backroad at will, and have the grip. DD grip is not an issue.

Ive driven on "soft" sidewall tires before, and I didnt like that wobbly feeling you got in a turn. On top of that, I feel like a stiffer suspension would just make things worse.

 

My experience is that they work well on R50-R53 but not as well on R55-R57.

I had Conti DW on a 2010 JCW and ended up removing them after a few K miles due to the softness. I prefer a firm ride and crisp steering response. Must say they are amazing in rain.

As an alternative, you may want to consider Michelin Pilot Super Sport.

 

The DW's will be more then enough tire for you from your reply. Yes the sidewall is softer but only after coming off Dunlop RF which are very stiff.
I track my car and this is my rain and street set up. On the street I also run very hard and the tire is more than enough. If the car was somewhere with little rain like Cali or AZ I run a pure summer dry tire. In rainy WA a good rain tire is a must. The car is just sick in the rain even with my X10 and X8 racing pads. Far exceeded my expectations and have had zero issues on the street. Just complete a round trip earlier this year Seattle to Scottsdale- 1500 to 1600 miles depending on the route. Did it in just over 18 hours and the car was a beast. It is nice when your wet track set up is your daily driver set up also. For the track on dry day I run Nitto NT01's. Both tires are very reasonably priced so not big deal when you need new rubber. I only have about 10K miles on the Conti's. I have had Conti's that I did not like. These tires are very predictable and you know what they are going to do. Sometimes in dry that will mean some wheel spin but you are expecting and drive accordingly. I can smoke the race tires also if you drop the hammer to hard.

 

I think the DWs are fine for a DD with spirited driving.

but everyone has their own sense on feel and how they want their car to feel

R56 on 500lbs springs seems to feel fine for DD and spirited driving on DWs ... more than enough as the previous poster put

I dont think your V2s are nearly as stiff as the Ohlins on the r56 I drive


but again its alll preference

But i maybe exaggerating about the soft sidewalls of the conti DW.... they are soft but they arent terribly soft.... soft enough to make the drive comfortable enough stiffness to play around corners.... they are very predictable

 

Predictable is perfect term for the tires. I would take that over more grip that communicates nothing before it gives up. I know and can predict exactly what this tire is going to do in most situations. In the wet is surprises me with what it can do.

 

You guys sure are making me want to get them. Eeeeesh...

 

I'd be more help to you, but the DW's are the first set I mounted after my runflats. I like them, a lot, and think that they hang onto freeway ramps and backroads like grim death itself, but admittedly I don't have experience with another summer performance tire to compare them to.

I've taken them autox'ing just the one time, I'm going again this weekend and with 12 runs planned (it's a Corvette event, I'm running in Guest class) I intend to fool with tire pressures, chalk, etc. and see what data I can gather on how to set them up best.

Still won't have a basis for comparison, though, until I try a different brand / type. They're wearing well, i.e. look like they'll last a while, I've run them 13k miles or so; still have the "W's" I should actually measure tread depth and see how they're doing at this point.

 

Thought you might find these helpful too:

Car and Driver: http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...omparison-test

Tire Rack: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ay.jsp?type=MP

Consumer Reports: http://www.consumersearch.com/tires/best-summer-tires

 

Yep, all those mention the DW and the S-04.

Im torn. Local promotion here in Atlanta could save me $144 off a set of DWs if the Braves hit a homerun in the 4th inning of a game . So I could get a set for $357 after the deal including taxes.

Or, I can go with the Potenza's of Tire Rack for like $520 after tax and shipping.

Is it worth me spending another $160?

 

It sounds like you are really set on the Bridgestone for whatever reason .... If that's case go with your gut

I think you have been given more than enough info on the contis, experience from people who have pushed them to the limits as well

Ultimately it's your choice

 

They're my favorite performance street tire. We have them on Algy, they've got more than enough grip for any reasonable use on the street (and some unreasonable use). They're very quiet and give a very comfortable ride.

 

They're also my performance street tire. The sidewalls are softer than some summer tires, which is actually a good thing in many cases. I find more grip in less than perfectly smooth curves than I did with the RE050a tires that I had originally, and the Ventus V12s that I had briefly after them. They're also quite a bit more comfortable over irregular surfaces than either of those tires.

vietnameeh hit the nail on the head. They have somewhat soft sidewalls, but you're not losing touch with their behavior because of it. They're every bit as communicative as any other summer tire I've run, and downright awesome in the rain.

--Matt

 

Right on! The ride is the advantage, and they are very quick in dry weather once your learn their turn in behavior. They were the benchmark wet handling tire for quite a while. In this test, bear in mind that DW has been on the market 3 years longer than S04 and SuperSport.

Michelin's are the hot ticket right now. I run Bridgestone currently, I like the connected feeling and turn in. In my current size the DW and S04 are only $7 different. I run a much larger size though.

 

Thanks for the feedback Alex, wish I could buy them both and then return a set after trying them out haha

 

I have them (DW) in 205/50/16, and while the turn-in is not nearly as crisp as the Bridgestone
S-03 tires I had several years ago, it's about the same as the Dunlop Maxxsports I
had one previously. Overall, it's a better tire than those Dunlops.
It helps to run them at 36-38 pressure rather than lower.
The DW is probably no-one's pick for a dry autocross tire, but its dry performance is
actually very, very good for such a comfortable tire, and they really shine in the wet.
They're quite light. The Bridgestone S-04 is a much heavier tire, but softer
in ride than the S-03s were, and only available in 205/55 for 16 inch sizes. If it wasn't
for the size and weight issue, I would have bought the S-04 instead of the DW.

 

I am looking at the 205/55/16 size. A tiny bit taller than stock.

 

The 205/55/16 will likely have just a little bit lower steering response than the 205/50/16
due to the slightly taller sidewall. Fortunately, the 205/55/16 is within a pound of the weight
of the 205/50/16, so it's still a light tire and that will improve handling on rough roads.
(20.1 pounds vs. 19.2 by Conti's website, both listed as 19 on TireRack's).
The S-04 is 24 pounds (205/55/16).

 

ljmattox,
I can offer two dry autox comparisons for the Conti DW. In 2011 my stock MINI on Dunlop Star Specs beat the fully prepped 5th place national championship DW-shod MINI handily. We proved it was not due to any superiority in driving on my part as said national competitor later in the day drove my car significantly faster than I had in the morning competition.

At Michelin's press event for the Pilot Sport AS 3 (all-season) they put it up against the Conti DW in identical cars on an autocross course and won.

It is however a very popular rain tire for autocross.

 

my .02

I am on my 2nd set of DW on my 04 MCS.

I run 16 inch, stock springs, Koni FSD, H&R sway, poly bushings, adjustable rear LCA, camber plates.
I used to run Bridgestone RE-01r, the DW do have a slower turn in but it's not like your going to miss the turn.
One thing I have noticed is that when driving aggressively through a rough corner on the street the DW's don't skip like the RE-01r's would.
The car stays planted.
Maybe the soft sidewalls absorbing the imperfections??
I run them on the track about 3 times a year during open lapping days.
Towards the end of the day they do get "greasy".

Don't ever run them in the snow though, i have a trashed rim to show for that mistake.

Very quiet, great in the rain, very little tramline, affordable, comfortable and a decent tread wear rating.
In my size they are less than a $100 a pop. An easy pill to swallow.

 

I've had 215/40/17s on a 17x7.5 wheel and I didn't feel any softness to the sidewall.
The tire is just amazing...the road doesn't even feel wet when it's raining, and the dry traction is just as ridiculous.
When I finally decide on a dedicated summer wheel, it will have the DW on it.

 

So Discount Tire is having a $100 rebate on the DW. The 205/55/16 is $108ea. but, the 215/55/16 is $98ea.

Is that sidewall height going to be too much?

 

I'm running 225/45-18 DW. sometimes when I part with the wheel turned into a curb, I think the tire is very low on pressure. Love the tires. They are almost full slicks now with 35k miles and still have good traction. When I first got them, I was blown away at the wet traction

 

I have the tires, waiting on a few bits and pieces for the new wheels before I can get them mounted.