Continental DWS' and a dilemma...

[az3579]

So, my rear tires are dead. One is nearly bald completely, and the other rear is corded. Unfortunately, I won't have the cash until Friday to buy a set, and how easy it will be to survive 'till the next pay period ends depends on how much I spend on these tires.

I'm set on Continental DWS'. For once I wanted to get what I wanted instead of getting what's better for my wallet, because I've decided to make quality-driven decisions instead of cost-driven ones. Tires is the main thing that I don't want to skimp on.

So, I know what tire. The size is the issue I'm struggling with.

Ever since Tire Rack started charging tax, their prices are no longer feasible for my budget. With taxes and shipping costs, I'm paying easily $100 more for the tires than without any of those things. I'd diverted my attention to Tire Buyer, a ZHP Mafia affiliate.

Here are the sizes I was looking at (all prices in sets of 4 shipped):

225/35ZR-18 - not offered in this size (consider other brand??)
225/40ZR-18 - $617.72
235/35ZR-18 - $582.44
235/40ZR-18 - $676.44
245/35ZR-18 - not offered in this size (consider other brand??)
245/40ZR-18 - $714.88

OEM Sizes:
225/40ZR-18 Front
255/35ZR-18 Rear
$766.26

+ approximately $80 for mounting and balancing
+ approximately $120 for performance alignment

I'm thinking of going with a square setup. I'd love to have the stock setup of 225/40ZR-18 fronts and 255/35ZR-18's because it looks absolutely badass, but that would run me mid $700's, which is far too much money just for the tires. I would consider it, however, and isn't completely out of the running...

My beef is that I'd like to avoid going 225 all around if I can help it because it just looks a little too skinny for me, and I'd like more rubber on the road. I was thinking 235 all around or maybe even 245. The price sweet spot seems to be 235/35ZR-18's all around, which seem to be the cheapest. This does raise a couple of questions:

Why is the price difference so high between the 235/35's and the 235/40's? There isn't that much extra rubber there...

Would I be better off with a 35-series or 40-series profile tire? Does it make that big of a difference from a pothole perspective?



Things to keep in mind;
* I'd like to get at a minimum 35k out of these tires
* These will be track driven, approximately 3x a year
* These will be used year round, including in snow.
* These will not be autocrossed.
* I drive about 80-90% highway miles.
* I drive approximately 30-35k miles a year, depending on what's going on in my life.
* On the street, I do not drive aggressively. I get rolling softly, no wheel spin. Sometimes I go WOT on an on-ramp, but do not accelerate once on the highway. I almost always take exit ramp turns with some spirit, traffic permitting. No burnouts, no donuts, ever. I make damn sure that there is no wheelspin when driving on the street.
* I'm a cheap bastard, so I refuse to buy tires every 15-20k. Because of my driving habits, I will drive the tires 'till they reach the legal tread depth limit, so the tires must perform until then. I understand that winter performance is compromised with less tread depth, and don't care as long as I can safely drive in the rain or dry.
* I plan on rotating the tires every 2 or 3 autocrosses (I take my wheels off and switch on track wheels when autocrossing), or every 5k miles, if I get a squared setup.
* The car will be immediately aligned (all 4 wheels) at Kaizen Tuning in Acton, MA once the tires are mounted. Will be aligned within its breakin period of 500 miles.


So, input on what size you think is best, and answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you see something here that directly conflicts with my choice of tire, please let me know and say which tire you think is better for the job.


Thanks...

[danewilson77]

Things to keep in mind;
* I'd like to get at a minimum 35k out of these tires

Not gonna happen. Well maybe. Isn't a 540 UTQG gonna be kind of hard....and not sticky for the track?

[az3579]

Not gonna happen. Well maybe. Isn't a 540 UTQG gonna be kind of hard....and not sticky for the track?

I can most definitely get 30k minimum out of tires. My current tires have a lower UTQG rating (400) and have over 30k on them. If my car didn't have a bad alignment for most of the time I had it (and if I didn't spend one of these past Saturdays powersliding around a course) then I would have seen close to 40 on this set. Just so happens that the two fronts are defective (they're very noisy - were replaced recently), the left rear has some tread on it (not a whole lot, but some), and the right rear is corded.

I've had much crappier tires on the track before in my E30 and they handled the track well. I'm not concerned about losing grip whatsoever because I know it'll be difficult to do. I leave the traction control in the 1/2 setting. My track events are driver schools, not competition events, so stickiness is not a priority; longevity is more important.

[M0nk3y]

I can most definitely get 30k minimum out of tires. My current tires have a lower UTQG rating (400) and have over 30k on them. If my car didn't have a bad alignment for most of the time I had it (and if I didn't spend one of these past Saturdays powersliding around a course) then I would have seen close to 40 on this set. Just so happens that the two fronts are defective (they're very noisy - were replaced recently), the left rear has some tread on it (not a whole lot, but some), and the right rear is corded.

I've had much crappier tires on the track before in my E30 and they handled the track well. I'm not concerned about losing grip whatsoever because I know it'll be difficult to do. I leave the traction control in the 1/2 setting. My track events are driver schools, not competition events, so stickiness is not a priority; longevity is more important.

Even though All-Season tires are good for long DDing, it's not really that easy to make them last on the track. Because they aren't made to heat cycle like that...you'll chew through the tires quicker.

When I ran all-season autocrossing last year on my E46. Every event I had tire chunks on the side rear fenders. Loosing grip is very easy on all-seasons. They drop off VERY quick. You probably never loose grip though because they are so loud you know when to take it easy.

You need to disable DSC completely..that's how you become faster. Spin the car, and you know exactly where that limit is then. You can push it to there then. Without that, you will never be able to drop time. Slightly off-topic but it caught my eye

[danewilson77]

Not gonna happen......safely.

Fixed.

[az3579]

Even though All-Season tires are good for long DDing, it's not really that easy to make them last on the track. Because they aren't made to heat cycle like that...you'll chew through the tires quicker.

They've performed fine with the last 4-5 sets of all-seasons I've ran at the track. They've lasted a while too. I'm not concerned with about their track longevity, especially considering I'm not going to do many track days with them. I expect 3, at the most, before having to replace them due to overall mileage...

I will be running the daily driving tires at the track, so all seasons will be on the track no matter what. I figured I'd put my money on the Conti DWS' as they seem to be the best overall "ultra" high-performance all-season tire available at the moment...

When I ran all-season autocrossing last year on my E46. Every event I had tire chunks on the side rear fenders. Loosing grip is very easy on all-seasons. They drop off VERY quick. You probably never loose grip though because they are so loud you know when to take it easy.

These tires will not see auto-x. Track driving is a different animal, and the loss of grip is much more gradual and more easily controlled IMO. I have never, ever had issues with grip at the track with all-seasons. Any traction issues I had were completely my fault (understeer), which I have since corrected in the last couple of years.

Unfortunately, summer tires aren't an option. I don't want to buy a set of winter wheels and a set of snows because that just adds to the expense, destroying the cost savings of summer tires (they are cheaper than all seasons). I wish it could just be easy and to only have to get summers! You San Diego folks have it really nice weather-wise... lol

You need to disable DSC completely..that's how you become faster. Spin the car, and you know exactly where that limit is then. You can push it to there then. Without that, you will never be able to drop time. Slightly off-topic but it caught my eye

Thanks for the advice, but I am comfortable with the limits of my vehicle on the track and am perfectly able to control it with DSC+DTC off. It is not the reason I leave the DSC off/DTC on.

[Washburn]

I think DWS is a wise choice - i know that a few random positive reviews/tests aren't always meaningful, but the DWS has been consistently getting stellar reviews AND tests for a pretty long time, so I assume there's good reason for that...and that they're very popular among BMW owners, whom i consider to be at least a bit more 'picky' and critical when it comes to buying things like tires ...

[Jon D]

FWIW. put some DSWs on the Audi Avant a week or so ago. Size 235/45ZR - 17 all around. They replace some Perrelli P6s.

Love the tires. Quieter, much more linear response, good grip etc. They are very nice all seasons. Initial reaction is they live up to reviews.

Jon D. Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

[Jorge86]

I just bought two continentals 2154018. Would there be a problem of I run this ones in the front. ?

[az3579]

No problem, sir.


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