Was originally planning on staying home for Thanksgiving, but instead drove to my parent's house in KY yesterday.

Drove the 220 miles to their house on 5.96 gallons of gas for an average of 37 MPG, all the while cruising at a consistent 75 to 80 MPH all the way, and all on my new fantastic 205/50-16 Continental DWS tires (that everyone here says drops your MPG average by 1 to 2).

Was quite pleased.

 

Thanks for posting, that's good info. I'm getting a set for my Fit as well, looking forward to the improvement from the stock Dunlops.

Do you find your handling in dry weather is much better? Just as importantly, any noticeable difference in braking distance?

 

Glad to hear we've got another DWS convert! I had these on my Fit back in the summer of 2010 and couldn't be happier, infact, this is a MUST DO MOD to any Fit out there! My best mileage report on the freeway with them was 43 mpg going 70 mph w/ the cruize on, so there was NO drop in mileage. The overall height when changing from 185/55 to 205/55 is almost a complete wash. These tires:

-work amazing in the rain, you really feel the grip!

-go through the snow like nobody's business, trust me, I know!

-carved up the Dragon last fall with them on the Fit, they didn't talk back one bit, ever!

This tire, with its 540 treadwear, A temp and traction rating, quiet ride and FWIW, awesome tread design and smooth sideall (no stupid ribs everywhere) is THE BEST TIRE YOU CAN BUY ON THE MARKET, PERIOD! Oh yeah, its an all-season high speed rated tire, you just can't beat that and when installed onto the Fit, THE ULTIMATE TIRE!

 

I'm a total convert! In fact, the CONTI DWS 205/50/16 is the tire that should have come stock on the Fit Sport.

Right now I'm at my daughter's home in Maine, 400miles from where I live in NY. I drove up Monday on my new DWS's and saw and average MPG of 36+ over the 400mile traveled at turnpike speeds. The feel and handling of these tires is phenomenal.

Tuesday evening it began to snow here in Maine. It continued on through Wednesday for a total of 10". I was easily able to drive out the 1/4mile un-plowed gravel drive to the main road. The son-in-law did shovel the road side snow plow pile for me to breakout, but I'm thinking the FIT would have handled that as well ;-)

I believe the 205/50/16 DWS is .5# lighter than the stock dun and as Klass says the diameter is dead on giving essentially the same revolutions/mile.

If you live where it snows and you're looking for the best all season for the Fit Sport this IS the choice to make.
It's not dedicated winter snow tire, but is sure is a great winter snow performer and can only be an incredible warm season tire as well and giving a proper MPG return, it is the way to go.

 

Yup Conti DWS definitely... Have them on my Rex... but they don't come in 15's for stockies on my Fit...

 

I like the DWS's so much that I just had a set installed on my son's Lexus IS300 yesterday to replace the Kumho's that were on the car. Have them on my wife's BMW 3 series as well.

They really are FAR superior in every way to the stock OEM Dunlops. I believe the only Ultra High Performance All Season tire on Tirerack's website that's rated better is the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season, but it costs about 50-60% more than the Continental, but it's only rated marginally better.

 

Yeah I'm a happy Conti fan and on my 2nd set. Before the DWS came out, I had a set of Conti Extreme Contact on my WRX. Lasted approx. 45k even wear. Good all around tires and definitely cheaper than Michelins.

 

Anyone have any feedback on braking improvements between the stock Dunlops and the Contis? Might seem rather unimportant, but braking distance and effort seems far too great on the Fit. Probably my biggest complaint (aside from lack of power..but I knew that before buying it )

 

This is all I can attest to.

Check the rating and reviews here:

Stock Dunlop: http://www.mavistire.com/ProductCart...id=22897&frb=B

Conti DWS: http://www.mavistire.com/ProductCart...s.asp?id=26987

 

If it was mostly highway miles that shouldn't be a stretch. I bought I set of Yokohama Avid EnVigors last year in 205/50 and they did great. When you mixed in city, there was a bit of a drop because the extra grip allowed me to drive a lot more aggressively. I actually bought a less aggressive tire this time in hopes of discouraging so much fun! Glad to hear the good report, though.

 

Is there any decent tire at all for the base Fits, which have 15' wheels???!!

 

Sadly I'm past the time of good high MPG trips with my DWS' here for the winter. The darn winter gas is back, and the cold weather and constantly changing wind has been conspiring against me to wreck my mileage. My last few tanks have been down in the low 30s.

Since I got the DWS tires in June, I've had real up-and-down results with my fuel economy. I took a trip from Michigan to Colorado and only averaged about 32 or 33 for the whole trip, but I had the unlucky experience of driving into a west wind on the way there and into a ridiculous east wind storm on the way back (how is that fair??), plus there was that dumb 89 octane E10 gas all through the plains. But my tank in CO with mountains and lots of coasting and high altitude was up around 40.

Overall, I still think the tires have hurt my mileage slightly, though I still like them a lot. If anything, I've just further decided that this car is extremely sensitive to wind and cold. Slight changes in wind at high speed can cause wild fuel economy swings in a Fit.

 

My experiences match huisj's almost exactly. The Fit is a lightweight but, I suspect, not very aerodynamic car, and so will get really good mileage on the highway at high speeds only if there's a tailwind. So I'm not surprised that the OP averaged 37 mpg at 75+ mph, but my guess is that he had a substantial tailwind the whole way. I managed 37 mpg from Baltimore to NYC yesterday, but the winds were blowing from the south. On other trips with a headwind I've struggled to stay in the 30s, especially if I've had the AC running. But the Fit is always great in the city, where aerodynamics doesn't matter, and low weight does. On the whole, of all the 4 cars I've owned, the Fit has the least difference between city and highway gas mileage, as you'd expect with a lightweight but not particularly aerodynamic car.

 

Update on my FIT's MPG on a new set of 205/50/16 DWS's.

I just completed my Maine trip. 921.3miles/27.069gallons=34.07MPG. First tank gave 36.4MPG, second gave 32.12, third was 34.62. 780miles is pure turnpike @ 70mph. Rest are local country and a day was local snow.

I think the winter fuel blend and the snow had an effect on the results. When I bought then two weeks ago my 120mile drive up from down state NY returned 37MPG. That fuel wasn't winter blend I'm sure. I'll see in the next few weeks what my local driving gives me.

 

Just got my set of DWS's installed on Friday night. They're not broken in yet..but so far they feel great. They do bulge out somewhat noticeably on the wheel, though it's not too bad. I'll see how my MPG does and post back after a tank or 2, since I've been uh..driving it a bit more "spiritedly" than normal to test the tires out.

 

climb - interested in hearing your results. After my last trip I'm now seeing 40MPG in my local urban/rural driving. Love those ties. I've got mine set at 36psi all around.

 

Krimson, 40mpg is really impressive. I normally get 32-33 on average with the OEM Dunlops, mixed highway/urban. Will see in a few weeks (I have a fairly short commute) how the Contis do in comparison.

 

The 40MPG surprises me as well. My driving is mainly on rural roads w/ little stop and go and speed limits under 55mph. Probably the ideal conditions for the Fit and MPG. Prior I was seeing 38MPG on the OEM duns.

So many variables go into MPG return. I've tried premium fuel vs regular and settled for the regular. If I can find a Shell station it's my choice, but I'm mainly running a good local fuel at a local convenience shop that drops the price 3 cents a gallon two days a week.

I'm convinced, however, it boils down to how and where you drive it. If I were in an urban setting it wouldn't be 40MPG, more like 36. I'll bet you can return a 36mpg.

On the Fit Sport, those DWS's are the tire to go with, only .5lbs heavier than the dun and a much better performer.

 

Still jealous!

 

After a tank and change since installing the DWSs I seem to be getting about 31mpg on average, as opposed to 32-33mpg. There are probably factors contributing to the mpg drop other than just the tires, as I recall during winter last year I only averaged around 32mpg. Even if it is a 1-2mpg hit, it's totally worth it because these tires ROCK. I've had the chance to drive in wet and dry, and it excels at both. I'm actually somewhat looking forward to snow this year just to see how well they do.

Oh and to answer my own question from earlier, it's hard to tell, but I do believe braking distance has been reduced/improved.

In short: Every positive comment I've read in this thread and on the forum is true about the DWSs. The Fit is so much more fun (and safe) with these.