djgiron

Anyone have an experience with these? I am looking for a good All Season (live in Colorado) that is as close to a summer tire as possible. I have read the Conti's DWS are better in the snow and not as good in the dry and cornering and the A/S 3's are opposite. I have a winter driver (Xterra) but in Colorado the weather can be 70 in the morning and snow on the drive home so I just want a tire that is as close to a summer perf as I can get for the occasional drive during the winter months that won't kill me when the whether changes during the day. I bought it with Dunlop SP 2050's so if anyone knows how they compare to those (during the summer) that would be better.

gwilliams6

The newer Conti DWS-06 are even rated better in all areas than Tire Rack's top-rated ultra-performance all-season Conti DWS

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Contact+DWS+06

[http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

RX8ualiv

iTrader: (7)

I ran the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus tires on my RX 8 and they were awesome in the rain, sleet, and dry conditions. They were discontinued, so I ended up going with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3s on my 2011 Mustang 5.0, and they do great in both dry and wet conditions. they catch traction quick, even with all the torque I have.

lowen12

I always hear good things about the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. Conti DWS is another good contender.

djgiron

Thanks for the input, think I will go with the Michelins

gwilliams6

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

If you are in Colorado and are planning to drive in any snow, without dedicated snow tires, then you should know the Pilot Sports are not the best in the snow and ice, compared with other ultra-performance all-season radials. I have driven into Colorado (visiting friends in Greeley) , and even up the trail ridge road ,as far as it was open in winter, and had no problems with the DWS. A lot of it is knowing how to drive in the snow, which you know if you live there, but better snow and ice traction is important also. Don't just fall in love because of the summer tire Pilot Sport's well-deserved rep. You are looking for the best All-season rubber, and the Pilot Sports are good, but not the best for that utility.

djgiron

No I am looking for the best summer performance version of all seasons. I drive my xterra during the winter. But it has been known to happen during spring and fall that it could be 70 in the AM and blizzard on the way home, in those instances I just need to be able to get home safely those few rare times I could get caught in that weather. Weather forecasts don't catch it all the time. If it was my daily all year I would get dedicated winters and summers.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Fwiw, I have Potenza AS that I had to drive in snow when my water pump went out on my 4WD last year.
They aren't good at all on snow.
It was scary how ineffectual they were, and they were practically new.
They should call them 3 Season tires.

gwilliams6

Ok all is good then. Cheers !

djgiron

Just an update, got the tires installed and they are nice. My stock Dunlop 2050's were almost bald so going from those in that shape, these tires grip better and are much quieter and ride smoother. I haven't done any shenanigans with them yet (other the driving too fast around a round about) but they seem to be what I was looking for, a good summer performing all season that won't get me killed for the occasional winter drive I may take.

gwilliams6

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

New Conti DWS-06 now top-rated Ultra-Performance All-Season tire. Outperforms all others tested, including Michelin A/S 3 in BOTH dry and wet, snow and ice !!

My choice for my RX8 !!

djgiron

Those are consumer ratings, the actual test ratings show the AS3's still better in dry and wet. I have no doubt the conti's are great tires though.

gwilliams6

Show me your AS 3 ratings against the new Conti-DWS-06, or else go home. I know you just bought the AS3 so you would want to say it is so. Show us all your source of what you say. Folks on this forum like evidence to back up their points of view. Tire Rack does its survey ratings after its own testing ,PLUS hundreds of thousands of miles of actual owner use and feedback , not only some track test. For my money I want to know how the tires have actually performed in the real world, in all the conditions that they are intended for. The AS3 finished in 12th place overall. The new Conti DWS-06 finished first overall , Not even close overall. The new Conti DWS-06 scored higher in each category than their previous DWS, the former top-rated tire here, which still scored second best, and that was with over 46 million miles of owner use and feedback.

Cheers. It really is ok if you love your AS3s. The driver matters as well as the tires. I just think the Cont-DWS-06 are the best overall, by a wide margin, in this category now. With many drivers' experiences and feedback saying so , and some experts agree on that as well !

After a million rotary miles driven in all kinds of weather, all across America and Canada, (and having owned and driven just about every top summer, winter and all-season tire for my seven RXs) my money now is on the new Conti DWS-06 in this category.

Use what you like and be happy. I will buy a set of the DWS-06's as soon as my current DWS are done. They have 40,000 miles on them now and are still great.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

djgiron

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=201

This is the actual test from tire rack, not customer surveys.
"What We Liked: Nimble handling and impressive ultimate grip, especially in the wet
What We'd Improve: Soften the ride a little
Conclusion: Dry and wet handling leader in the category"

Directly from their site, also overall rankings, 7.91 -AS3 and 7.72 DWS. The Conti's are good, best in the snow. If this was my daily I would have got those. I have an SUV for winter driving so I wanted the best dry performer with the best grip, the AS3's are those. That is why I said to look at the actual comparison rather than the user reviews. User reviews are great, but most ppl, me included, don't get to test similar tires back to back across multiple conditions.

gwilliams6

Tire Rack got further feedback since May. Your result here was May. At that time they had only 10,000+ miles of customer input if you look at their first singular report on the DWS-06 from March testing. They did not change their overall ratings (as I posted) until last week. Now they have reports from drivers on over 110,000 miles of driving the DWS-06. As I have stated repeatedly in my posts, the DWS-06 is the overall champ here ,scoring the top 100% overall, outpacing the Michelin AS 3's which scored an 84% overall, down in a tie for 12th position overall.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

Let's break it down by category for an ultra-performance all-season tire: Would buy again: DWS-06 8.2, AS3 7.2; Hydroplaning Resistance: DWS-06 9.3, AS3 8.8; Wet Traction: DWS-06 9.4, AS3 8.9; Cornering Stability: DWS-06 8.8, AS3 9.0; Dry Traction: DWS 9.2, AS3 9.2; Steering Response: DWS 8.5, AS3 9.0; Light Snow Traction: DWS-06 9.2, AS3 6.1; Deep Snow Traction: DWS 9.0, AS3 4.6; Ice Traction: DWS-06 8.0, AS3 4.6; Ride Quality: DWS-06 9.1, AS3 8.3; Noise: 9.2, AS3 7.8; Tread Wear: DWS 9.3, AS3 7.3.

I personally have owned top summer tires from Michelin, Pirelli, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Yokahama, Goodyear and some other Japanese and German brands (long gone) on my RXs through the decades for both street and track use, so I hold no bias against Michelin. Each of those brands had the top performing street and/or track summer tire at one time. If I was strictly using a summer tire for my RX8, my choice would most likely be the Pilot Sport summer tire. I have also used various brands' dedicated winter tires and other all-season tires on my RXs. Some of these I loved, some didn't measure up to their hype.

But since I have decided to use an ultra-performance all-season tire on my daily driver RX8 which has been driven in all types of weather ,on all types of roads across the US and Canada, I wanted the best overall tire my money can buy. These DWS are the first Conti tires I have ever used, and after 40,000 miles with them, I can honestly say they put to shame, for all-around great performance, any other tire maker's ultra performance all-season tire I have used on a sports car. And now that their new DWS-06 are testing and being reported by drivers to be even better than the DWS, I see ample reason to go with them for the next 40,000-50,000 miles in my RX8.

Hey you just bought those AS3s , so nobody expects you not to defend your purchase and driving choice. I just will choose the better tire for me, for year-round RX8 driving in all weather.

Cheers !

djgiron

First, I agreed the DWS were better in the snow (the only place they are better).

Second, how do you not understand the difference between the SURVEY you keep posting as opposed to the actual TEST done in a CONTROLLED environment? One is done by professionals back to back, same car, same place. The other is joe blows opinion on a tire, a good tire, compared to who knows what. The actual TEST (which I linked after your panties got in a bunch about proof etc) shows the AS3's as the top choice. You keep linking OPINIONS from random people, hhmmm wonder who I trust more? I could add to the AS3's survey stating they outperform all other tires in the snow if I wanted, would you believe it? From what you keep stating you would. If I compare my last tires on this car (Dunlop SP2050's) to my new tires, my ratings in all weather conditions would be higher than anything because they are superior in every way. That is the reason there is a difference between a survey and a comparison, most people can't test 4 different types of tires on their car before they purchase them. Their survey ratings are based on their experiences, not a back to back comparison. Do you get it?

Third, pay attention now, you bought the DWS's so we all would expect you to defend your purchase, sound familiar? That is a pathetic argument. Since you are so big on PROOF, link the actual comparison TEST that shows the DWS are rated higher than the AS3's. Not the survey, the actual comparison test, done by professionals, in a controlled environment, with the same car, on the same track. Link that. Because what Bubba thinks about ANY tires I could give zero ***** about.

Finally, I am glad you are happy with your tires, that is all that really matters, I am happy with mine. I usually respect you opinion, but when you come into my thread with a bunch of incorrect BS implying I am lying and demanding proof, you come off as an punk kid who lives in his parents basement son.

IamFodi

iTrader: (1)

Oh wow. Now I see what the fuss was all about. lol

I completely agree that Tire Rack's controlled tests are a MUCH better resource than their consumer reviews.

I also think we can do without the personal attacks. I know gwilliams6 personally and he does come on strong, but if his comments seem like he's actually attacking you, let me assure you that's probably just typical Internet miscommunication/misunderstanding. No need to try to up the ante on him.

Regarding the tires, here's my $0.02. I have some friends who run nothing but the Pilot Sport A/S 3 and Pilot Super Sport in summer (Pilot Alpin PA4 in winter). They also used to run the old Pilot Sport PS2 when it was current. They say the AS3 has dry grip like the old PS2, and MUCH better NVH and longevity than the PS2 or PSS. The PSS is still the best summer performance tire, of course -- remember that it's at least one step up from the PS2 in literally every respect. But the AS3 definitely is a friendlier balance of performance with NVH and longevity. And the AS3 is their favorite in wet conditions, which is saying a lot.

They hate the AS3 for snow. No surprise there, no need to rehash the reasons. Doesn't bother them because they all run winter tires in winter, but YMMV.

One of the above friends picked the AS3 over the PSS for his daily driver. He wanted better grip in the spring and fall, and felt it made more sense to go for better NVH/longevity than to pursue greater-than-PS2 levels of hot-and-dry grip. Another friend picked the AS3 over the PSS for his old school sports car. That car was designed when only race tires could provide the PSS's grip level, and he didn't want the car to end up undersprung with its stock suspension. Both of them use the PSS for their legit go-fasty cars, though.

As I recall, the PS2 was Michelin's equivalent of the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, which was the stock tire for the R3. The PS2 (or at least versions of it) was also the go-to tire for... pretty much any really fast car that came out around that time (Carrera GT etc.). So you gotta figure, if the AS3 grips anything like that, it's pretty serious. For my car, I chose the PSS because it just seemed to be a better fit for the character of the R3. But it was a VERY tough call between that and the AS3. And either way, I could easily see the AS3 being a better choice for an RX-8 that doesn't have the R3's firm suspension.

Long story short, you bought a great tire. Remember that the biggest test of a tire is what happens as it approaches the wear bars, so please keep us posted as the miles pile on!

djgiron

That might be awhile, not even 20k miles on my 09!

gwilliams6

Thanks to Iamfodi who knows I am not into personal attacks. Michelins have been a part of some of my best RX driving experiences over the decades, especially on the track. I have just about tried all the top brands at one time or another.

Continental, a great German tire company, has been pushing the bar consistently lately with their latest street and racing tires. Reviewers, experts and drivers have taken notice, including a bunch of RX8 drivers. My reading of the latest data (from more than one source) says the newest Conti DWS-06 have just matched the strong points of the A/S 3 , passed them on some points and have increased their advantage in snow and ice.

Drive what you like and be happy! My goal was not to put you or Michelin down, but only to let other RX8club drivers know that there is a real choice at the top of the Ultra-Performance All-Season Tire ladder. For me, the better choice is the DWS-06.

Cheers! Thanks for the lively discussion, it keeps this forum from being boring.