Continental DWS 16-50-205 Tire Pressure
 

I got the DWS 2 weeks ago. Discount Tires pumped it to 31 psi. The handling feels funny and I increase it to 34 psi. My old stock tires got more center wear when I pump it to 37psi. What maximum pressure should I put on the new tires without getting excessive center war?

33 or 34 I believe is what Honda recommends. go by the sticker on your door.

~SB

But the sticker on the door is for the stock size tires. 16/205/50 is 10% wider. Should I adjust up or down from the 33psi stock recommended tire pressure for the wider tires?

Why don't you just give it a try?

Go 33 psi, then adjust up or down as needed. Up if it feels too soft and you want a firmer ride. Down, if it's too firm and or you notice a little extra wear (though I doubt it, at least until upper 30s or more).

wider tires does not mean you need higher psi.

for my GE i usually run anywhere from 33-36psi. no center tread wear or any irregular wear. new tires will feel different until the release oil from the mold wears off. they need to be broken in. also new tires have deeper tread so that will give some squirm. continental dw/dws are known for its comfort and quiet ride so this means the rubber is softer and squirms more than say a comparable Bridgestone tire.

you'll get use to it in no time, i think. :)

I agree with this guy is right. give it 500 miles before you come to a conclusion for the release oils, and even so, all new tires will feel a little more squirmy.

I think going at 35 and lower will not result in center wear for you. If that feels the best for you now, go with that for the short term.

Question: I put these tires on my Fit a few months ago and so far am pleased with them except for one issue: the tires squeal a lot more easily while turning and sometimes even going straight from a stop-sign. Is this a common issue? Anything I can do to prevent it, like upping tire pressure, or is it something inherent with their rubber and/or extra width (fewer lbs/in of contact)?

Get yourself a tread depth gauge and check the wear across the width of the tread over time. Adjust the pressure so it wears evenly.

typically higher psi will help squeal. try 35psi when cold (in the morning before you drive it).

every tire has psi ratting on them. some use 50 psi my falkens do. and i pump them to 45-47 psi and no mid wear. gas mpg goes up too!

Thanks for the advice, guys! Warm my tires were 29 psi according to my bike pump and 32 psi according to my old pop-up tire gauage (later testing showed my tires are about 3 psi lower when cold). I pumped 3 psi into all four tires and it's 10x better now -- a particular turn I used to have to always take so gingerly I can now whip around no prob :D

This little car is ridiculously sensitive to tire pressures. A few pounds can make or break the handling dynamics.

Any car on the firmer side of things will have a good driver noticing the differences in tire pressures. Have no idea how some people run tires at 40+ psi, its not optimal for any car that I know of unless your only intent is hyper miling.

Agreed. I have no Idea how some think that maxing out the tire pressure is not only a good Idea, but the best thing to do. The tire itself has a maximum pressure that it can handle itself but that's because the tire could be installed in an infinite number of circumstances (say a small pickup that is hauling something might need much higher pressure). Maxing out the pressure reduces the car's overall stability. It also adds additional mass to the tires which has to be rotated. I run the recommended PSI with maybe a few LBS over to account for fluctuating temps. Honda built the car so they know what's best for the car. This goes for all cars and manufacturers. With some suspension changes, this may change as the overall car changes but it'll be a few lbs higher or lower. No way running max pressure will ever be within that range.

~SB

I lose grip at anything above 35 or so in the front on the stock tires. I have a benchmark exit ramp I use every day for work, and the tires howl when I pump them up, and I don't have as much control mid-corner. For ultimate grip, albeit with some understeer, I lower the rears to 28-29, which for high speed cornering, makes the short wheelbase feel more stable.

I'm with you guys. Pumping up to the 40's range is compromising safety and handling. Here's a link for those who would like to read up on tires, specs, sidewall info, etc. from Tire Rack:

Tire Specs Explained

If one is already familiar with their car's handling characterstics, the tire pressure can be an extension of one's suspension tuning process to suit individual driving styles and road conditions... to a point within limits... Also taking into account the car's drivetrain - FWD, RWD, AWD.

From my experience, recommended tire pressure stickers on the doors of cars lean towards the safe side (handling and comfort) and not max mpg, max tread life or max traction. Just my take. I tend to adjust mine a few psi higher than what's posted on the door sticker. As already mentioned, very critical to check tire pressure only when cold (Before car is driven). And with the same tire gauge so whether accurate or not, you have the same base line.

I have the Conti DWS on my Rex, not on the Fit. But that's a difft. car obviously. Just my take. :)

Dws
 

To clear things up once and for all: The OEM psi doesn't work at all with the Conti's DWS. At that pressure they wiggle around as if they're flat. 37 is getting there but based on wear and handeling they could be put at a higher psi, the ride is still well cushioned (unless you have over 90k on shocks).
The doorjam recommended psi is more of guidelines than set in stone. unless the engineers planned for some of us to jump to a 205 tire size, we're on our own. We have a different weight, construction, size, tred, and tire pressure range.
See it as a road bike tire. Right now I have 125tpi (tpi: threds per square inch) racing slicks, they can get up to 125psi. I used to have 150tpi tires. Due to the heavy duty construction they could sail up to 160psi. It's simular to what we're dealing with here. With the DWS it's all about your comfort. I drove through a torrential downpour here in stl at 70mph ( 37psi) and never once felt a tire detach its grip from the road.
I'd say 50psi would be a bad idea. Some place in the 40's is what I believe is the sweet spot. I'm going to take a time laps shot of the change in sidewall and overall tred pattern when I pump it up. If anyone is interested I can post the link here and put it up to debate, it would help you and I. I'll start it at 33psi and go up to 45psi.

I can't believe all of the differing opinions you're getting for tire pressure.

If it's THAT big of a mystery, you're going to get the best ride/mileage/wear/performance/etc from ANY given tire if you go by the manufacturer's specs, period!

If you can't figure that out, then by all means, please, look on the side of the tire and it will tell you the recommended or [at least] the maximum pressure recommended. They put that on the sides of tires for two reasons (from what I understand):

- It's required by law the pressure or maximum pressure is somewhere on the tire... for safety reasons.

- It's also there to let people know what the manufacturer recommends, all things considered.


If you cannot manage to locate tire or maximum recommended pressure on the tire itself (even though I've never seen a tire without it) then for God's sake go to the Continental site and look up what they recommend for your particular tire and size.

Not trying to be rude in any way, but it's not rocket science or a secret mystery we're talking about here. ALWAYS go by what the manufacturer recommends.

The reply for you to use the pressure on the inside of the door is ridiculous. That's only for stock tire, stock size... period. That has nothing to do with any other tire you may choose to put on that car. It can be close if it's the same tire size that came with the car... but even that can very well be different with a tire from another manufacturer.

Again, manufacturers know their own tires... they created them. LISTEN to them! :thumbups:

i ran 32 then i did 34 front 33 rear cold rides better im on the Dw water is like playing in glue they hug like a boss

If you're talking about OEM, as in the Fit, then of course that psi doesn't work for Contis, or any other [different] tire manufacturer other than what came on the Fit.

If you mean OEM as in OEM Conti tires, then I disagree... Conti and all other manufacturers know their own tires better than anyone else. Like I said in my response... do what the specific tire creator says to do.

I'm sure you meant the Contis are different from the OEM tires that came on the Fit, right?

:yeahthat: