From the perspective of a Continental ExtremeContact DW owner.

I've bought Conti DW's for probably the last 3 sets of tires. Before that I had Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs. The Dunlops tram-lined like crazy and wore very quickly, and were very loud, although they were very grippy. The Conti DW's (not the DWS) wore very well, lasted a lot longer than the Dunlops, were quiet and comfortable, and gripped like crazy. I knew they had a soft sidewall but I had no idea how much this was killing my driving experience until I ponied up the dough and tried the Michelin PSS.

For starters, the car drives like its on rails. The steering response is incredible, and the road feel is fantastic. Grip seems very good in turns during "spirited" driving. Off the line, after 400 miles or so on the tires, I still think the Conti DW's might have had very slightly more grip. Or I've got more power now that I've got my TS2 kit running really well, so, hard to say for sure. But the grip in the turns is definitely there. The car is SO fun to drive with these tires. And they are quiet, and they don't feel harsh over bumps either.

They do slightly tram-line on crappy roads.

And oddly, I get a slight amount of rub occasionally if I hit a real deep dip in the road. I'm running OEM style 135's, stock staggered sizes, and 10mm spacers front and rear. I had zero rub with this configuration with the continental DW's and even the crappy bridgstone Turanza's that I bought for hooning (and hoon I did). So the PSS must have slightly wider tread width, or maybe the tread blocks are more "square" on the edges, because the tire size is exactly the same as the others.

Regardless, I'm very very pleased with these tires. I can't believe how much difference a good sidewall can make. I highly recommend. Best tires I've ever had.