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Lets talk tires, a review...

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Mark K 
#1 ·
Earlier this week I replaced the OEM all season Pirelli P7's with all season Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tires. These are go flat tires. The DWS model for Conti is their "Ultra High-Performance" all season tire. I ordered these from Tire Rack for $151.00 each plus shipping and had them shipped to a local installer that I know and trust. Total cost for 4 tires shipped, mounted and balanced was approximately $740.00.

My Pirellis had 39,000 miles on them. The rears were toast and I kept the fronts and will reinstall them along with 2 others at lease end. The front tread depth is enough that BMW will have no issue.

The DWS 06 is the newest version of this tire. My knowledgeable installer tells me there were issues with the soft sidewalls on the previous model and this has been addressed on the 06. Online reviews say they do everything better than their predecessors.

Now for my review after about 700 miles. The most impressive feature is the ride. I attribute this to the softer non-RFT sidewalls. Impact harshness is much more muted and the ride in general is smoother. It poured rain yesterday and the tires remained firmly planted. Feel just off center is in a different world than the Pirelli's which were designed more for fuel economy than performance with a hard compound for low rolling resistance. This translated into a lack of feel and a lot of slop off center. The car required a lot of correction just to go straight down the road. I didn't pay attention to this but am now aware of how much I had to work. I have not had much chance to flog the car through many twisty roads yet but on and off ramps show more grip and the added compliance helps keep the tires planted on our pockmarked Midwest roads.

To be fair to the Pirelli's they were at the end of their life and I can't remember if they performed better when new.

Last, the rough winters in Michigan and the horrible road conditions have done a number on my Sport Line wheels. All 4 have some damage according to the installer and 2 are in need of repair but not cracked. They want $125.00/wheel for this so I will shop around.

In conclusion, if you don't like the ride of your car with RFT's, as we all know, go flats are the best remedy. If you live in a climate where all season tires are your choice, the Conti DWS 06 is a great choice.
 
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#2 ·
I'll be curious to hear how they hold up. My choice was between those Contis and the Michelin Pilot Sport AS3. I went with the Michelins as they are supposed to be better in rain while the Contis were said to have the edge in snow. Contis were also said to have the better ride and be quieter but the Michelins better performance when pushed. Rain was most important for me.
 
#3 ·
Square setup?

I have square all seasons, and I think the setup is under-rated from a "fun" perspective. You can break the rear tires loose on a ramp at will, and get a little powerslide going (keep stability control on if you don't want to end up in a ditch!).

From what I hear, staggered summer tires push the F30 toward understeer. I don't think I've ever experienced understeer with my square all-seasons (just oversteer). Overall grip is low of course, but that's half the fun :)
 
#5 ·
Square setup?

I have square all seasons, and I think the setup is under-rated from a "fun" perspective. You can break the rear tires loose on a ramp at will, and get a little powerslide going (keep stability control on if you don't want to end up in a ditch!).

From what I hear, staggered summer tires push the F30 toward understeer. I don't think I've ever experienced understeer with my square all-seasons (just oversteer). Overall grip is low of course, but that's half the fun :)
Yes, 225/45-18 on all 4 corners.
 
#4 ·
Earlier this week I replaced the OEM all season Pirelli P7's with all season Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tires. These are go flat tires. The DWS model for Conti is their "Ultra High-Performance" all season tire. I ordered these from Tire Rack for $151.00 each plus shipping and had them shipped to a local installer that I know and trust. Total cost for 4 tires shipped, mounted and balanced was approximately $740.00.

My Pirellis had 39,000 miles on them. The rears were toast and I kept the fronts and will reinstall them along with 2 others at lease end. The front tread depth is enough that BMW will have no issue.

The DWS 06 is the newest version of this tire. My knowledgeable installer tells me there were issues with the soft sidewalls on the previous model and this has been addressed on the 06. Online reviews say they do everything better than their predecessors.

Now for my review after about 700 miles. The most impressive feature is the ride. I attribute this to the softer non-RFT sidewalls. Impact harshness is much more muted and the ride in general is smoother. It poured rain yesterday and the tires remained firmly planted. Feel just off center is in a different world than the Pirelli's which were designed more for fuel economy than performance with a hard compound for low rolling resistance. This translated into a lack of feel and a lot of slop off center. The car required a lot of correction just to go straight down the road. I didn't pay attention to this but am now aware of how much I had to work. I have not had much chance to flog the car through many twisty roads yet but on and off ramps show more grip and the added compliance helps keep the tires planted on our pockmarked Midwest roads.

To be fair to the Pirelli's they were at the end of their life and I can't remember if they performed better when new.

Last, the rough winters in Michigan and the horrible road conditions have done a number on my Sport Line wheels. All 4 have some damage according to the installer and 2 are in need of repair but not cracked. They want $125.00/wheel for this so I will shop around.

In conclusion, if you don't like the ride of your car with RFT's, as we all know, go flats are the best remedy. If you live in a climate where all season tires are your choice, the Conti DWS 06 is a great choice.
Mike excellent review, really appreciated. I did the same thing on my 2013 335i and loved the Contis DWS. didn't have the 06 however so to make a tire already better than it was sounds awesome. i will be getting this tire in the next two months on for mine. Just a question, did you go with the 245s (you can with the sport rimms) or just the 225s? I went with the 245s on all 4 wheels and even though I loved them the treadware was not very good, lasted about 25K.
 
#6 ·
Thanks, Michael. I just went throught this for my other car in 225/45 R17 size and after long back and forth, I went with Michelin Pilot AS3. I can safely recommend that tire to anybody as far as dry and wet goes. We will see how they hold up in light snow later.

Just in passing ... it is my opinion (and nothing more than that) that tires in general shouldn't last more than 30,000 - 35,000 miles, especially if you drive less than 10,000 miles per year. I also think that tires lasting more than should not be mounted on a BMW car (SUVs are a different story). Tires that last longer than that almost completely negate the advantage that BMW has over other brands in feel and handling that I see no reason to mount them on a BMW car. Again, just IMO.
 
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