Conti DW out, Bridgestone Turanza in

[dg_moore]

I had a set of Conti Extreme Contact DW's (not DWS), but in about 15,000 miles they became cupped and extremely noisy - sounded like I was driving on snow tires. My Goodyear dealer (where I bought the tires) examined them and said that they probably had not been rotated frequently enough. My servicing Hyundai dealer *said* the tires had been rotated at each 7500 mile service, but the Goodyear dealer was skeptical, and that in any case they should be rotated at least every 5000 miles (which Goodyear does for free).

In any case, I replaced the Conti's with Bridgestone Turanza Serenity - incredibly quiet. I'll be more vigilant about rotating now also.

 

[Vince2]

Incredibly quiet! Now that's what I like to hear! So dg how else do the Bridgestones and the Contis compare? Which has the better ride? Which has the better handling. If the Contis had not worn so quickly would you recommend them over the the Bridgestones?

 

[dg_moore]

Incredibly quiet! Now that's what I like to hear! So dg how else do the Bridgestones and the Contis compare? Which has the better ride? Which has the better handling. If the Contis had not worn so quickly would you recommend them over the the Bridgestones?

The Conti's had gradually gotten so noisy I couldn't stand them any more. The switch was too recent for me to make any other judgements yet - it's been raining constantly for days and I haven't had a chance to drive on dry pavement yet. My initial impression is that the Bridgestones handle at least as well as the Conti's, and the ride seems to be quite similar. I'll have a better idea after some more miles and in some dry weather.

 

[homeofstone]

The Conti's had gradually gotten so noisy I couldn't stand them any more. The switch was too recent for me to make any other judgements yet - it's been raining constantly for days and I haven't had a chance to drive on dry pavement yet. My initial impression is that the Bridgestones handle at least as well as the Conti's, and the ride seems to be quite similar. I'll have a better idea after some more miles and in some dry weather.

I have about 18,000 miles on a set of Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires and I agree that they are incredibly quiet. In rain the tires are very responsive and stop very quickly. My set required almost no weights when balanced and at 85mph they are super smooth and quiet. They are "W" speed rated like the Conti DW and DWS.

 

[scottdk]

I have about 18,000 miles on a set of Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires and I agree that they are incredibly quiet. In rain the tires are very responsive and stop very quickly. My set required almost no weights when balanced and at 85mph they are super smooth and quiet. They are "W" speed rated like the Conti DW and DWS.

Both are great tires - 1 correction though......The DW's are "Y" rated starting at an 18" size and over. Under 18" is W rated as you mentioned.

 

[homeofstone]

Both are great tires - 1 correction though......The DW's are "Y" rated starting at an 18" size and over. Under 18" is W rated as you mentioned.

Yep, I was only thinking about the 17" std. wheel on the V6. And I agree both are great tires. Another one to consider is the new Cooper Zeon RS3-A, I just put a set of the Coopers on my Mercedes and they are excellent though not as quiet and a little firmer, but man they grip like velcro even in the rain.

 

[scottdk]

Yep, I was only thinking about the 17" std. wheel on the V6. And I agree both are great tires. Another one to consider is the new Cooper Zeon RS3-A, I just put a set on the Coopers on my Mercedes and they are excellent though not as quiet and a little firmer, but man they grip like velcro even in the rain.

What sucks is that TireRack doesn't carry Cooper tires, so there really isn't much for Cooper tires that I have found on the internet for driving reviews. Wonder what's up with that?

 

[homeofstone]

What sucks is that TireRack doesn't carry Cooper tires, so there really isn't much for Cooper tires that I have found on the internet for driving reviews. Wonder what's up with that?

Motor trend recently tested the coopers and there is some info on the Mustang boards. Also Roush uses Coopers on their specialty Mustangs.

 

[037]

I'm sorry, did someone say Max performance summer tires (DW) are performing like Grand Touring All Season (Serenity's)?

I mean...that's not really a comparison.

I drove on DW's after having set after set of all season tires on my cars including Michelin's (MXM4, Pilot Sport A/S, Pilot Saver A/S), Continental (DWS), Bridgestone (950) and none of them came anywhere near the performance of DWs.

Sure if you are afraid to push your car in the wet you won't see anything, but that's where they shine. You can drive them the same as you would in the dry, they hold the road and that's the Summer Performance difference.

For example, there is a nice 35 mile turn that I can take at 60mph with my Conti DWSs but I can take the same turn at 90 on DWs. I can't put them in the same class, as everyone else seems to be suggesting here.

If you don't drive agressively, it's a waste of money buying summer only tires. Otherwise...they are awesome.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[homeofstone]

I'm sorry, did someone say Max performance summer tires (DW) are performing like Grand Touring All Season (Serenity's)?

I mean...that's not really a comparison.

I drove on DW's after having set after set of all season tires on my cars including Michelin's (MXM4, Pilot Sport A/S, Pilot Saver A/S), Continental (DWS), Bridgestone (950) and none of them came anywhere near the performance of DWs.

Sure if you are afraid to push your car in the wet you won't see anything, but that's where they shine. You can drive them the same as you would in the dry, they hold the road and that's the Summer Performance difference.

For example, there is a nice 35 mile turn that I can take at 60mph with my Conti DWSs but I can take the same turn at 90 on DWs. I can't put them in the same class, as everyone else seems to be suggesting here.

If you don't drive agressively, it's a waste of money buying summer only tires. Otherwise...they are awesome.

Just my 2 cents.

I commented that the DW DWS and Serenity were all W speed rated in 17" sizes. The DW handles fantanstic and will pull over 1 g in lateral force.

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[037]

I commented that the DW DWS and Serenity were all W speed rated in 17" sizes. The DW handles fantanstic and will pull over 1 g in lateral force.

in this case, W is a speed rating, not a handling rating. These tires should never be compared directly as they were built with different objective in mind.

 

[homeofstone]

in this case, W is a speed rating, not a handling rating. These tires should never be compared directly as they were built with different objective in mind.

True for the DW, however the DWS and the "original" serenity are very close in perfromace according to tirerack test.

Dry slalom DWS 4.11 Serenity 4.17

Dry lap DWS 29.85 Serenity 30.44

Dry Avg. G force DWS .93 Serenity .92

The DWS is better in performance but not by much in the dry. So its good to compare tires from various performance categories and brands so the buyer can choose the tire that best fits their driving style. One manufacturer's Grand touring tire may perform as well or better than another manufacturer's High performance tire. Manufacturers can classify a tire as performance, touring, ultra high performance, or whatever they wish, there is no industry standard as to what class they call their tire. So a cheap off brand tire classified as a high performance tire may be no better than a W speed rated touring tire from a leading brand. Caveat emptor = Let the buyer beware.

 

[037]

True for the DW, however the DWS and the "original" serenity are very close in perfromace according to tirerack test.

Dry slalom DWS 4.11 Serenity 4.17

Dry lap DWS 29.85 Serenity 30.44

Dry Avg. G force DWS .93 Serenity .92

The DWS is better in performance but not by much in the dry. So its good to compare tires from various performance categories and brands so the buyer can chose the tire that best fits their driving style. One manufacturer's Grand touring tire may perform as well or better than another manufacturer's High performance tire. Manufacturers can classify a tire as performance, touring, ultra high performance, or whatever they wish, there is no industry standard as to what class they call their tire. So a cheap off brand tire classified as a high performance tire may be no better than a W speed rated touring tire from a leading brand. Caveat emptor = Let the buyer beware.

you're missing the bigger picture with DWSs, they are specifically known for excellent wet and snow performance. Would never consider them in the same category as Serenity's unless I lived in a climate that had no rain or snow.