The Continentals everyone likes .. questions..

1. They're wider it looks like, great for handling and feel. how's this do for fuel economy (I assume minimal) or noise?
2. Are they mostly for increasing performance or will they also be better in lower temps than the stock dunlops? I don't need a "winter tire" but I don't want a compound or tread pattern than is any WORSE than stock, that's for certain ...

 

I'd recommend Toyo Proxes 4s if they come in the correct size. Those are all-season too.

 

my obc consistently shows 33-34mpg if that's any help and it is not loud. my '12 has better noise control out of the box vs my '09, so im not certain how much 'better' they are over the stock SP7000's the car came with as far as noise.

the DWS works very well in cold wet temps. that's where most summer and cheap tires can't perform well... in cold (40F and below) + wet. in the warmer days it works very well for the car too. it's a tad muffled feel though compared to high performance summer tires from other brands, but that could be a good thing if you're going for comfort and straightline stability.

ive had both the bridgestone turaza(sp?) and dunlop SP7000's on my 09 GE. the DWS is far superior as far as grip and stability.

im not a continental fanboi of any kind, but i can say the DWS are very good tires for what they are.

 

That's good to know. My dad has always been a Michelin fan. I will definitely consider the Continentals though. When it becomes time

It's hard to believe but I have never actually needed to buy tires before!

 

michelin pilots are definitely one of my favorites. ive run many different tires in the past mostly ultra-high perf summers and snow tires, not much all season tires as all seaons were considered 'no seasons' for me. hahahahha.

that said, i was VERY SKEPTICAL about the DWS originally, but it has proved itself functionally.

 

X1000

I got the DWS's as well, about 12k miles on them. Finally got to test them out in the snow yesterday (bout 3" on the ground). They handled great!Well worth the investment. I got my set for under $500 at a local shop, that included the balancing & mounting... and NY taxes.
About 2 months ago when I bought my Kumho's (for my 15" wheels), I saw they had the DWS for about $150 off on Discount tire. You can find them for a steal if you're not in a rush.

Wrt to the 205 increase, it has definitely made the car more stable on the highway, at first I had about a 2-3 mpg hit, but now it's levelled off to maybe ~1mpg loss/basically negligible (as opposed to the OEM tires -185 size).

I too was skeptical about the DWS's, and wasn't a big fan of Continental either, but they have definitely proven to be great tires (the DWS). When I replaced them I was looking at the pro's/con's between the DWS's, and Michelin (Pilot Exalto's I believe), the Pirelli P-Zero's, the Yokohama's (S.Drive & Advans), as well as the Goodyear GT's.

 

There is a pretty extensive test of tires in this month's Consumer Reports. Continental scored well.

 

too bad consumer reports cant tell a difference between a hippo and an elephant...

 

I took the Hankooks over the mountains here in VT today. From Rutland to Newfane and back over some of the country roads. A number of places with little ponds had Ice covering the top and it was snowing on the drive back. The hankooks held great and while there was no accumulation of snow on the road, it was a bit chilly out. I'm debating on whether or not to swap over to the snows this weekend or wait until thanksgiving weekend to do it. Probably Thanksgiving as we ususally don't get any accumulation of any major amount until January. This will be my 3rd winter on the Generals.

~SB

 

I always subscribed to the idea that wider means better traction on tires in snow. I drive a high lift 2WD Colorado in the winter when the snow gets deep enough. I have 2.65 AT tires on it. I also have a 4wd Blazer. The 2wd Colorado seems to do better than the stock 4WD Blazer in most cases.

I keep reading now from reliable sources that narrower is better in the snow. I'm having a hard time reconciling that idea in my mind but I'm listening. People siping tires also claim to add winter traction.

It is hard for me to separate fact from fiction on both of these claims.

 

I've gotta say, that seems really good if you were able to drive without concern in those conditions. How are the tires if there WERE a tiny bit of snow? Because the conditions you describe (wet, at or near freezing) are fairly dangerous and it sounds like had a lot of confidence in your tires so that's a good endorsement
I may not have driven your exact route but I've done 125/100 across the Middlebury gap a bunch of times, or rt 30 to castleton to glens falls .. in all sorts of weather .. so I feel I can picture well the weather you are describing

 

Very similar type of driving except a little higher in elevation than passing Breadloaf; Closer in elevation to the Snowbowl. - I Used to work at the college and have driven across 125/100 (and Route 30 MANY times as I took that to work most days - Most fun little stretch is route 73 from Brandon (Rt 7) heading west along the otter Creek... Banked corners... need I say more?) - The Tires handled very well and I was very comfortable with them on. I haven't yet had them in any snow yet but the tread pattern looks to be pretty good. They also got decent snow ratings. Grip with these tires has been very good on dry. Temps were right around freezing and with a spirited drive over the mountain (both directions) I ended up with 37mpg over & Back. We'll see over the next few weeks if we get any snow how the snow traction is. My snows will be on before Mid December and they won't come off until Mid March probably.

~SB

 

i went with Kuhmo Ecsta 4X. not too bad. i do feel that sometimes i get flat spots in the mornings which is odd. but once i roll about 100ft they smooth and i like em. Also had them on special on Discounttiresdirect.com w/ $50 Visa Card couldnt beat that.

but if you want to spend a little more to get a better tire, you cant go wrong with Conti's or Michellins. I personally thought the Toyo's didnt last long on my previous cars.

 

Totally serious, I was simply stating if he looks at 205/50 vs 185/55 he will have a lot more options in that size and better price points.

It's a .06" diameter change and the car will be traveling .16 mph faster at 60. So virtually the same tire, just .75" more width.

 

I’m assuming that the narrower tire means less rubber in contact with the road, which means more psi of downward force, which pushes through the snow so that the tire can make contact with the pavement. Wider tires are more like snowshoes–they tend to float on top of the snow. But this is just armchair physics on my part, so don’t put too much stock in it.

 

Narrower tires don't mean less contact patch. The contact patch stays the same surface area. You're just changing the shape.

A narrower tire means your contact patch is now longer front-to-back than it is wide. In inclement conditions, some people say a narrow tire is better than a wider tire because the tire gets more forward purchase.

An extreme example is the World Rally Championship. In the Sweden or Finland events, WRC cars have studded snow tires that don't look much more than motorbike tires.

By comparison, a wide tire has a contact patch that is wider side-to-side than it is long...supposedly better in the dry.

Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 3 of 4

 

Agree and I learned to drive in lake snow blowing off east side of Lake Erie some 48 years ago, and still driving on it. Skinny tired dig down for traction while wide tires stay on top and hydroplane.

 

Unless I missed it, he didn't say anything about "high performance" tires. He just wants all-season. No one even cared to ask what he was going for? (MPG, performance, snow, etc.). I certainly don't care about performance from a Fit (no offense to any boy racers here). It's great for hauling a bunch of stuff while getting max MPG, and that's what I use it for.

Since the "performance" suggestions have already been given, I'll add my $0.02. For comfort, noise, treadlife and max MPG, I downsized to 15" tires and got Michelin Defenders. They're around $116/tire on tirerack and I believe there is a $70 rebate from Michelin right now. Cheaper option is something like a Yokohama AVID S, which also has been pretty good for me.

For stock 16" sizes, either Bridgestone Turanza or Yoko AVID's would work.

 

As far as I know all of the suggestions in this thread are all-seasons. People like the DWS because it is pretty good at everything (dry, wet, snow) and from looking at the tread pattern I can see why.

Performance doesn't need to mean "RACECAR!!!", but i'd prefer to have tires that can do more than save me gas and last 100,000 miles in case I ever do get in a situation where I need them to actually turn and stop.

 

So LRR tires can't turn and stop? What's the statisics on crash avoidance with performance vs AS tires? Don't kid yourself--type of tires you run will have less than 1% effect in accidents. Otherwise, let's all run R-comps.