Continental DWS 06 vs Good Year Eagle RS-A
 

2013 G37x Sedan. Stock 17inch.

I was wondering if anyone had a comment on the noise level of Continental DWS 06 in comparison to the default Good Year RS-A s.

Although I seem to think they are noisy, I read in multiple forums that they aren't that bad. Maybe I got spoiled by my previous car's no name tire (I couldn't recall) which was nice comfy ride while deadly in snow with barely any grip (lots of slips and slides).

I am having them installed today. But want to hear some output and opinions before I go by the shop and commit an expensive mistake.

There's only one suitable place for the RS-A's.. In the trash.

I've had the DWS's on two cars now, and I think they are pretty quiet, especially for how long they last. I went from the stock tires to 255/35/20 and 285/30/20 and the noise increase was minimal. But of course wider tires with thinner sidewalls are going to be noisier...

I have also had the continental DWS tires several times, but not the newer 06 model. They are great in the wet, snow, and all conditions while still being very quiet and wearing well. I currently have them in 255/35R20, and as previously mentioned, they are impressive. :biggthumpup:

I'm running the new DWS on my sedan and I absolutely love them. Road noise is tolerable but the responsiveness and grip is great. You should never consider getting the RS-A's ever again if you're getting new tires. I would rather ride on wooden wheels than use them again

A little extreme but made me lol :icon17:

Never made sense why they would use a tire made for a prius or a camry on a G37

My answer:

http://i58.tinypic.com/sdpx1y.png

The Conti's are like night and day compared to the RS-As. I had 9000 miles on the Goodyears and couldn't stand them a minute longer. I bought car with 5600 miles on it so you can probably guess how crappy a ride they produced. Have had them about 750 miles.

I'm surprised people say the Conti's are noisy. That hasn't been my experience. I find them smooth, quiet and grippy. Great in the rain...haven't had them in snow yet. I am not, by any means, a tire connoisseur. So others may have a more refined review.

Sean

I bought my G with 29k on them. 4 year old RS-A's with 29k miles = hell on wheels. Drove them until about 33.5k. Knew I had to get new tires when my back end started kicking out in the rain going about 55. Probably one of the scariest experiences of my life.

Just installed a set of DWS06, only about 200 mi on them so far, they are pretty quiet and seem to have similar grip to the OEM summer tires (Potenzas). That said, I typically don't try to test the absolute limit of tires, so YMMV.

The DWS and DWS 06 are different tires, so DWS opinions aren't really credible anymore. I have had both tires and currently have the DWS06s. They are more comfortable, quieter, and better wet traction than the DWSs. I never notice road noise. Your stereo should be on anyway :) I can floor my X from a stop, the AWD kicks in and the car takes off. It's scary being able to drive on wet roads almost as hard as on dry. Tread life is great too. I don't think you will be disappointed with them :)

Got them installed and drove a 680 mile trip the same day. The ride was smooth and buttery in comparison to the RS-As. Gone is the dreaded road noise and vibration that drowned out my stereos, even at higher volumes.

Not kidding when I say this, but I can finally hear the bass on my bose system with equalizer being in neutral. I had to keep it 3 notches up previously to hear it. Music sounds incredible (in comparison to before) and I am liking my stereo more and more. Added bonus of the new set of tires.

The ride was comfortable at all speeds, however they did not communicate as well as the RS-As did with my hand. Maybe I thought RS-A was more road connected due to it's harshness. I do wish the DWS are a bit more stiffer on the corners, however I am enjoying the balanced road feel and grip (heavy rain pours yesterday) as well.

Also, the DWS are not a great looking set of tires in my opinion. The workmanship is poor on these tires as there are soft thin film rubber circle hanging on the sidewall which should have been sanded or scraped before it was shipped. I am wondering if there is a way for me to clean this out.

Update - Giving up on DWS 06
 

I have tried diving everywhere that I can with the DWS and they seem pretty good. The ride is very quiet (unbelievable coming from an GY Eagle RS-A quiet) and buttery smooth over bumps.

I did notice a bouncy feeling to the tires though. The usual parking ramp that goes in circles use to be a fun drive up or down 5 stories every day of work. I usually push my car around (safely that is, when no one is on the lot) and the GY RS-A gave a good feel, however these DWS tires give a bit squishy, bouncy feel and makes me wonder if I have a balloon in place of tires. Out on the road, they are very comfortable and amazing to have on a road trip. I did enjoy every moment of these tires, however I wish to have a bit more feedback and direct steering feel than a numb feel; which breaks the point of a sporty sedan. Dare I say, the Conti DWS are more of a touring all season tires in my opinion than a sporty tire. They provide the luxurious, pampering feel of a touring tire and I was able to enjoy my G37 as a different animal with these. I am not sure how TireRack has classified this set under the UHP All Season category.

Discount Tire's generous 30 day return policy is going to be handy on this one.

I am looking at Good Year Eagle F1 Assymetric All Season. Reviews seems to be great on this set and it is one of TireRack's best sellers in 225-55-17 config. Any feedbacks? Suggestions from fellow G37 owners will be great.

The tire guy also suggested Pirelli Cinturato P7 Plus. Not a huge fan of how it looks, but I will definitely consider it if it means a better ride. Another reason I said NO to this set is because they are categorized as High Performance Tires on TireRack rather than UHP.

Have you considered the pilot sport a/s series? That's an all season high performance tire (if such terms can even be used together??).

You'll never get the same response from an all season tire vs a summer only. I'm not a big fan of anything good year. Their rsa's are crap. At one time I had f1 gs d3 tire on my camaro. It truly drove like a balloon with poor feedback and very slow response (this was considered a summer only tire).

If you want the utmost in performance, run a dedicated winter wheel in the winter and summer in the summer. Get the best of both worlds.

I am sure you are 100% correct and can't beat the dedicated tires for the season. Unfortunately, I do not have a garage to house another set of wheels or have the absolute need to drive on a heavy snow day. Although it is a nice to have, I can avoid snow at times if it is too much at all. Having said that, I am still scared to take a summer tire just because of the very same fact. I want to be able to have the mobility to go out if I have to or make it home on a snow, or downpour evening from work with less risk. I want the best performing All Season tire on Dry, Wet and some Snow capability to keep my AWD sedan moving.

I did explore the Michelin A/S 3 and they have good reviews. But I am just not sure if they are worth the price difference though.

Tough call. I have minimal experience with michelin car tires. We put a set of primacy something or other on dad's grand prix. It was an ok tire, but inline with his driving style.

I've tried a wide assortment of tires on my motorcycles over the years. The michelin tire was one I kept coming back to (michelin pilot road series). It was the best tire for longevity and handling for a sport touring bike. Going to give the pilot super sport a try next spring on the G, hopefully it lives up to the hype.

FWIW, I have the straight continental DWS and I have loved them. Ive had a lot of different tires on this car and my other ones. For daily driving, I am very very happy with the DWS. Ive heard the 06's are even better.

I can relate to your thoughts. I am driving on a DWS 06 as we speak for the past 2 weeks and have over 800 miles on them since installation. It has become a bit less spongy or bouncy over this time. I have been cornering hard on ramps as I almost cant wait to take one every time I drive. It is a fantastic driving experience for sure. However, the extreme quietness and less road feedback is whats bothering me. These are great tires for sure and one cannot go wrong with them. Ramps that are 25mp/h, I have been hitting them at 60mp/h and came back home alive each time. Quietness and the ride quality is similar to a 2013 MB C300 that a friend of mine owns. This tire makes my G37 feel more premium (in pampering) than sporty.

I continued to study and research on this tire and it seems there is a cult following the DWS and defending it, while another labeling it as the best grand tourers alone and would not consider it a UHP tire.

I have 2 more days to live with this tire, and then I am hopping onto the Good Year Eagle F1 Asymmetric All Season which is known for better road feel but less snow grip (not worse by any means). I think that's a trade off that I can live with.

Positives of DWS 06 that I notice are,

1. Super quiet. I hear more bass without equalizing my Bose system and hear a lot of details, like I've gotten a premium set of headphones. Its that quiet.
2. Ride quality is soft and pampering. Very smooth over bumps and did not bump steer when hitting smaller potholes or other road imperfections in my experience.
3. I am able to corner harder than the Good Year RS-A I had previously.

Negatives that I see are,

1. Not as aggressive as it looks on pictures or online tire vendor demonstrations. Looks balloonish and stretches outside of rim (or does not sit flushed along the rim lines). Take this with a grain of salt that this is for informational purposes only. Some may find this appealing while others may not. Tire size also dictates the appearance. Mine is 225-55-17 - Default.
2. Too spongy. Extremely quiet ride and bouncy feel at first. (Did reduce with time, at least on my set. This maybe fixed with later revisions? as I got a fairly new batch).
3. Workmanship is terrible. Tires come off a press and yes they can't be perfect. But this one leaves lot of thin films hanging on the sidewall. An eyesore that I cant remove without sanding the tire. All 4 tires have the same imperfection. I do not want to sand the tire and mess with it, so I am taking the easy route of exchanging to the GY F1 A/S.

I will update my feelings about the F1 All Seasons in a week or so after I get them installed. Hope someone can find this thread informational if they are considering the DWS 06. Opinions and tastes vary, but having them can help us make better choices I guess.

Good Year Eagle F1 - Asymmetric All Season
 

So, got my Good Year Eagle F1 - Asymmetric All Season installed on Saturday. It has only been 2 days and I have put roughly about 200 miles on this tire now.

vs DWS
Ride is a lot firmer, rougher and noisier in comparison to DWS. I sort of wish this new set had the quietness of the DWS and keep the ride quality of itself. A combination of this two would be a sure winner.

Although I miss the DWS a bit for its quieter ride, I am enjoying my car again as I did previously. On dry and wet, I feel the grip is phenomenal in comparison to the loose riding DWS.


vs RS-A
In comparison to Eagle RS-A, this tire is pretty similar in characteristics. Although not as noisy (RS-A had 33k miles and this could have been the reason), the firmness and ride quality are roughly the same I think from normal driving (local/highway). Based on reviews from TireRack, the ride will get a bit better with break in and the tire will get a bit quiet as well. Not sure if I am going to be holding my breath on it. But I am a happy camper as it is.


Verdict

If you don't like the way RS-A was sounding (the deep hum noise), if you don't like the way it felt on the road, do not get the Eagle F1s. If you did like it, but wanted to quiet down the ride a tad bit, then this is the tire for you. If you love a little less sportier feel and more luxurious ride with a quieter cabin, and less road impact on your steering feel, then go for the DWS. You cannot go wrong with either one of them.

Great wrap-up!!:biggthumpup:

I'm glad you got the tires that make you happy. These toys are far too expensive not to have exactly what you want.

Sean

Appreciate your review, kinda puts my own experiences in perspective.

One odd thing, not sure how a tire can be spongy but good at cornering? Maybe I'm not well versed in how tires are described (which for me is hard to articulate).

Also, as you mentioned, looks is greatly dependent on tire width and a/r. With a wide tire on a narrow rims, along with relative high a/r, nearly any tire will look puffy and un-aggressive.

I went with a slightly wider-than-OEM tire up front, and at most I could describe the tire as looking "boxy" but not at all like a balloon (which I've dealt with in the past) ... best photo I have at the moment.

Attachment 137115

That is one great looking car right there.

As for the tires, if thats a DWS it looks whole a lot better than mine did. My tire was bulging out and had a curved sidewall similar to a balloon's sides, which looked terrible.

By using the word spongy, I was referring to the tire's personality of absorbing bumps extremely well, and often times feeling of bouncing back without noticing much of an impact on steering wheel. Your car would literally go down and come up at times which you had no road feedback of on the hands. Its a strange feeling at first. But I did get used to it a while later. Pardon my way of explaining, as I am not that well versed in tire terminologies as well.

Also, one thing I like to add is, as far as the cornering goes with the DWS, it was great. I was able to twice the speed limit at entrance/exit ramps without feeling any less confident. The tires felt loose, kind of like I am in the air and the road below me did not matter.

In contrast, Eagle F1 All Seasons, constantly reminds me that I am on ground. Keeps on giving me the road feed back for every nuance of the road (could be annoying for some). Also, puts out a deep hum noise which kind of cancels out your stereos bass notes. I did not know this was possible until I tried the DWS 06 myself.