I've seen a lot of commentary on the Conti DWS's , but not a lot about the DW's. The Yokohama S Drive's I am currently running are about shot (got 50K on them, so can't complain...) and am looking into replacements. Anyone with impressions/complaints about them you would like to share? Not much snow in the SF Bay Area so I would not need the "s" part...

 

Hello! I actually used to live in Martinez

We have a local Fit club in the Bay Area actually: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HellaFit/

I know of at least 4 people running the 205-50R16 Conti DW tire RIGHT NOW in the club

Less noisy than the S drives, and the DW totally = a Bay Area All Season Tire There may still be some rebates on them through Amerca's Tire/Discount Tire as well...

If you are lowered, and depending on rim specs, you will want to run some negative camber in the front to avoid rubbing. Then again, if you want increased handling you run some negative camber anyway

 

I've got 205/50R16 DW's on my car, which is lowered on H&R springs and the tires are mounted on 16x7 et42 Enkei J10 wheels. There is some rubbing both front and rear with my setup, but only for potholes and not with steady state suspension compression like you might see with an autocross event. A higher offset wheel would likely cure the rubbing. I am running about -2 degrees of camber up front and a bit over -1 degree on the rear.

Ride quality and noise are fine. The tires have only been on the car since February so I can't comment on wear yet. It has been a dry winter and spring too, but reviews (Car and Driver, notably) suggest wet performance with these tires is excellent.

 

^ And that's 1 of 4

My GF's GE has the same on 16x7 +40 offset wheels on Swift lowering springs.

We went to -1.5 camber up front with one set of camber bolts and that eliminated 95% of rubbing issues.

 

Thanks for the info! Not lowered, but I do have new struts/shocks this year (Gotta love our smooth bay area freeways!) My brother in law (in Ohio) has run Conti DWS's on his Protege 5 and now on his Fit, loves them. ( He is a salesman at a Honda dealership out there)
will have to look up the club- if they don't mind stock Fit's!

 

New shocks already? Did you order Honda OEM stuff or aftermarket?

All Fit's and FitFreaks welcome

 

Had 70K on it when I had Ian @ Mekatron set me up with a new set- KYB's. That is about average for me, my old Mazda P 5 needed struts at that mileage too. It's my daily driver; 70 mile round trip to Alameda and back, which is why a just over 4 yrs old I have 82K on it. The wife's 2001 Miata has less than that!

 

Yep, sounds right to me. There's a reason why I believe it's Bilstien that recommends shocks/struts be replaced every 60K or so. Add in Bay Area road conditions, and your right on schedule

 

Actually, the wife's Miata has the optional sports suspension that came with Bilstiens- per Ian, they could last longer than the rest of the car!

 

'01? So an NB with the Sports Package? That's a FUN weekend car for sure!

 

Yes, that is the only option She wanted- otherwise its dead stock.

 

The OEM (Sachs) struts/shocks were replaced at 60k on my 3er. The Konis I replaced them with are going strong, and it sounds like Koni yellows will be available for the GE8s late this year

 

Although if you don't want to wait... you can get a set of them based off of 06+ Civic rears that fit the GE perfectly, now...

 

I've noticed that Tire Rack has the Conti DW's on closeout... I wonder why....

 

I money shifted the 3er at Thunderhill this weekend and that resulted in the failure of the oil pump a few laps later. So it's new engine time. Since my 3er is otherwise nearly perfect I think it's worth buying a new motor for it. While we're in there we'll be taking care of maintenance stuff you do while the engine and tranny are out of the car. To include welding the nut on the oil pump that backed off when I mis-shifted, plus applying the fix for the TSB on the transmission that led to my not finding third and hitting first instead, and some other stuff (motor/tranny mounts, maybe the clutch and related items, etc).

I won't be spending much money on the Fit for a while.

 

Ordered the DW's today, will be installed next week.

 

I just got the 205/50/16 out on my K1's and absolutely love them. Quiet and very grippy, especially in the wet.

 

I have to replace two set of tires purchase my Wife's 2012 Camry XLE and my 2012 Fit Sport in May 2012. Her car with 20k and my with 25k now. She gets 2 years of free maintenance and the Michelin tires on her car will not be good for winter based on the current wear I can imagine how my are. I found Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology for her car decent price and highly rated on TireRack but limited on sizes so can not get for my car either 205/50/16 DWS or chose another tire.


Also found this with questions concerning tires and the fit.

205/50-16 Tires for Your Honda Fit Sport - The Truth About Tires | Tire Rack

 

Interesting, I have used Tire Rack for research & never found that.

 

Would a 205/55/16 or 205/60/16 work on my Fit or will I face issues? Using 12 Sport wheels.

Thanks