DWS 06 Question

[Fourcircle]

Anyone with the new model Conti DWS 06 who can give feedback on the tire's steering and handling response? I love my Pilot Super Sports, and thinking of replacing with the new DWS 06 for increased tread wear, but not if they handle anything like the old DWS. Thanks.

(snow not a concern in GA)

[justr0]

I have no complaints with mine, haven't had them for long, under 10k miles, but the tread is holding up nicely and the ride comfort and steering response is excellent in dry n wet condition, haven't really tested them in snow. They aren't noisy at all either so that's a plus too.

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[JoshDub]

Above average for all sessions.

[sacandagaD]

Have 2k on mine here in the continuing to be mild CT/upstate NY winter so no snow experience yet, but so far so good. Very quiet and predictable handling even while cornering at speed. Still going back to UHP Summer tires in the Spring anyway.

[XLR8 Craig]

They perform great, but from what we have seen from mounting a ton of them is that they do not roadforce well.

[14S4GWM]

Mine are great in wet and dry conditions. No snow yet and hopefully it doesn't come.

[jomama229]

They perform great, but from what we have seen from mounting a ton of them is that they do not roadforce well.

is this "roadforce" that you speak of the tire balancing machine? if so, any reason why the dws 06 no "roadforce" well?

[mmm def]

The old ones had horrible sidewall flex, hoping they have improved it with these.

[firstars]

I just mounted a set. They handle fine. Took off PSSs which are obviously in another league and serve a difference purpose. I had a set of DWS (not DWS06) last season and don't notice much of a difference yet with the DWS06. Will see how they do if it ever snows on the east coast this winter.

[Fourcircle]

is this "roadforce" that you speak of the tire balancing machine? if so, any reason why the dws 06 no "roadforce" well?

It's been explained to me that roadforce is different than balancing. When a tire is first mounted on a rim, the roadforce machine is able to read where the high point is on the tire, and from there suggests where to match this up with what it recognizes as the low point on the rim, also called 'indexing'. This helps to mitigate any out of round assemblies (tire and wheel together) for a smoother ride. Tires are rarely perfectly round. A roadforce reading is expressed in terms of lbs of spring rate, and most shops will agree that any match of 24 lbs or under is acceptable. Anything over needs to be re-indexed. Once indexed, balancing fine tunes the assembly at speed. You'll notice assemblies that have been road forced to low tolerances will have far fewer weights placed on the rim because the tire and wheel are so well indexed or mated together.

I can't comment on the new DWS 06, however did find that the original DWS was hard to achieve a good balanced ride. Always seemed a tad out of balance, and I attribute this to the tire being out of round. Could be this gremlin still exists..?

[firstars]

I don't want to blow this out of proportion but my newly mounted DWS06 do have a very very slight vibration where my Michelins were smooth like butter.

[XLR8 Craig]

is this "roadforce" that you speak of the tire balancing machine? if so, any reason why the dws 06 no "roadforce" well?

See Below!

It's been explained to me that roadforce is different than balancing. When a tire is first mounted on a rim, the roadforce machine is able to read where the high point is on the tire, and from there suggests where to match this up with what it recognizes as the low point on the rim, also called 'indexing'. This helps to mitigate any out of round assemblies (tire and wheel together) for a smoother ride. Tires are rarely perfectly round. A roadforce reading is expressed in terms of lbs of spring rate, and most shops will agree that any match of 24 lbs or under is acceptable. Anything over needs to be re-indexed. Once indexed, balancing fine tunes the assembly at speed. You'll notice assemblies that have been road forced to low tolerances will have far fewer weights placed on the rim because the tire and wheel are so well indexed or mated together.

I can't comment on the new DWS 06, however did find that the original DWS was hard to achieve a good balanced ride. Always seemed a tad out of balance, and I attribute this to the tire being out of round. Could be this gremlin still exists..?

That is exactly true. But yes, we have seen these tires roadforce in the 30lb range after mount and balance, which is high. Audi Spec for this car I believe is 27 lbs max or so.. someone correct me if I am wrong.

I don't want to blow this out of proportion but my newly mounted DWS06 do have a very very slight vibration where my Michelins were smooth like butter.

We try to recommend Michelin's when we can. The DWS 06 is a great tire, just not consistent from the factory like the Michelin's.

[AnotherJake]

I love mine. No complaints.

[Fourcircle]

That is exactly true.

We try to recommend Michelin's when we can. The DWS 06 is a great tire, just not consistent from the factory like the Michelin's.

I'm the OP of this thread, and decided to install Michelin's Pilot Super Sport for this very reason... consistently more round straight from the factory. My installer was able to get low road force readings and the most weight I have on any one wheel is just 3/4 oz. Most wheels have but 1/4 oz or none at all. I live in GA so the summers can be driven year round save for but a couple of snow days.

[mgiglio]

Work at a dealership and test drove a car with the DWS 06's. Great tire but steering feedback and handling is noticeably worse than the Pilot Sport a/s 3's. Audis have poor steering feedback to begin with, don't want to multiply this effect by using a "sloppy" tire. I went with the pilot sport a/s 3's instead and couldn't be happier. Car is much more responsive, smoother and better handling than the stock summer contis that came on the car. I've heard they're not as good in the deep snow as the DWS' so if your looking to go out in blizzards buy the DWS'. If your looking for something that will make your German sport sedan drive like a German sport sedan and not a Honda Accord, buy the Michelin Pilot Sport a/s 3's and stay home like a normal person in a blizzard.

[youS4]

I took a family member's E70 X5 to get the DWS06s installed over the past summer. My family and I really like how they turned out, especially considering they replaced the stock Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT DSST runflats that BMW put on the car from the factory. Although it did make the ride cushier and softened the steering feedback, this was actually a positive feature since multiple people use this car. Personally, I fell that the confidence in grip exceeds the Dunlops.

[A6AJ]

i live in Iowa and have opted for the DWS06 for my 06 A6 instead of dedicated snow tires. I'll update you on what my thoughts are when I get some miles on them. Getting put on next week.

Removing Goodyear F1 Assymetric 2s.

[miztahsparklez]

I just installed the dws 06 on mine. I'm impressed for an all-season so far. pretty good traction in the rain. I do feel that they are a little out of round, but it's not too bad. tested doing speeds of 120+ and it's smooth.

noise level is acceptable. They do seem to follow the road a little bit. Asymmetric design is awesome so I can at least rotate my tires. One side was taller than the other, causing my car to pull to one side, even with alignment. Alignment shop rotated tires to the other side of the vehicle and the pull is dramatically decreased/almost eliminated.

have not had a chance to take some hard corners yet, but feedback seems decent around town. I do have a pretty stiff suspension setup, so it should be easier to tell the breaking point.

[CarynNJ]

I also wanted to switch to all seasons. An all season like the DWS 06 is probably the best all around tire for the 4 season in terms of traction. But I tested it (the DWS 06) at a local tire shop - back to back with the Stock Conti Sport Contact that comes with the 2015, Michelin Pilot A/S, and Goodyear Asymetric A/S. The handling on the DWS 06 in terms of sidewall / response is better than the prior model DWS. But there is no question that the DWS 06 was still very, very soft and mushy around the turns and kind of a spongy boring ride. It felt like driving a buick. But, overall, it was clear to me that the goodyear definitely performed best - especially in terms of driver engagement - connected steering, without sacrificing too much in terms of ride comfort that was present with the stock Conti. The goodyears were just about impossible to break loose on wet or dry and had a very connected feel. The Michelins were definitely good, and probably the best handling by a small margin over the contis (which handled great but were way too harsh - even for a summer tire) with some harshness over the bumps, but both guys at the shop and the reviews on tire rack say very poor snow performance. It is a personal decision, but definitely consider the Goodyear Asymetric All Season. It also has a built scuff guard that helps prevent against wheel scuffs. Not sure if it works though. Before buying, go to a shop that will let you test a few back to back.

[emnahum]

Work at a dealership and test drove a car with the DWS 06's. Great tire but steering feedback and handling is noticeably worse than the Pilot Sport a/s 3's. Audis have poor steering feedback to begin with, don't want to multiply this effect by using a "sloppy" tire. I went with the pilot sport a/s 3's instead and couldn't be happier. Car is much more responsive, smoother and better handling than the stock summer contis that came on the car. I've heard they're not as good in the deep snow as the DWS' so if your looking to go out in blizzards buy the DWS'. If your looking for something that will make your German sport sedan drive like a German sport sedan and not a Honda Accord, buy the Michelin Pilot Sport a/s 3's and stay home like a normal person in a blizzard.

I'm thinking about getting these as a "3-season" tire. Keep the PA4s for the winter but use these in case of sudden temperature drops.

[CarynNJ]

That is right. The DWS06 turns the S4 into a buick or lexus type ride - very little feedback and soft on turns - that negative is what gives it the decent snow traction. My opinion is that the Goodyear Asymetric is a decent all around all season tradeoff.

[CarynNJ]

FYI - Some of the top rated high performance all seasons which fit the B8 / B8.5 S4 are offering a rebate on tire rack.

[WJN S4]

Anybody look into the bfgoodrich a/s comp 2? Theyre now the highest rated uhp all seasons on tire rack and good price.. Curious to see if anyone has tried those yet

[miztahsparklez]

Hmm so I've been pushing the DWS 06 around town. I can definitely get the traction control to come on during a turn, but it's not noticeable. I'll have to see how canyon runs take these tires. I may have to go back to summer tires after these burn out


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[CarynNJ]

miz - do you find the DWS 06 soft - lacking connection to the steering?

[miztahsparklez]

Not really, but I'm still getting used to how stiff everything is now. I just added bilstein shocks at the same time as the tires and it stiffened everything up a lot more. I have EC sways which made things pretty stiff and the AK. I'm on a road trip at the moment and I don't know if I'd want it any stiffer. Haha

Once I get to go through some back roads, I should be able to see if it's too soft.

I'm running these in 255/35 on a 19x10 wheel.


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[Sailingtime]

Anyone with the new model Conti DWS 06 who can give feedback on the tire's steering and handling response? I love my Pilot Super Sports, and thinking of replacing with the new DWS 06 for increased tread wear, but not if they handle anything like the old DWS. Thanks.

(snow not a concern in GA)

I have owned both dws and dws 06. Just to sum it up go for 06's much better tire overall without going into roadforce etc. My immediate observations dws 06 are quieter, more responsive, better wet traction, without compromising ride quality. I would 100% recommend dws 06 over older dws. It's just better tire at the,same price point.
Cheers

[rexus300]

See Below!



That is exactly true. But yes, we have seen these tires roadforce in the 30lb range after mount and balance, which is high. Audi Spec for this car I believe is 27 lbs max or so.. someone correct me if I am wrong.




We try to recommend Michelin's when we can. The DWS 06 is a great tire, just not consistent from the factory like the Michelin's.

Actually Audi max spec for road force on their cars is 15 lbs. For sensitive customers like me, it needs to be below 10 lbs for glass smooth ride at all speeds which is why I buy Michelins.

[Parz]

DWS06 recently installed and loving them so far. Quiet, solid traction in all conditions and steering response is decent. Highly recommend, especially if you deal with multi seasons like I do in Northern Illinois.

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[onlyaudis]

I am happy with mine as well. pretty good traction for an all season, and I don't really notice any lack of steering response

[doug97gxe]

being that you live in GA .. the small amount of snow you get i wouldn't go with it over the PSS .. well only if when it actually does snow you have no other mean's of transportation

[mojangles69]

I've had the Conti DWS 06's on mine for about 6 months and 3k miles. They have served very well. They grip well, no noise, comfortable and are simply a great all-around tire. I personally could have gone with the Michelin PSS's and used them year-round being that i live in NC. But I decided to go with the Conti's bc i got them at a great deal and they have a 50k tread warranty.

Also important to note that it seems that Conti has solved the soft sidewall issue of the previous DWS model. The DWS 06's sidewall seems stiffer and overall, seems to be a better tire.

I've been very pleased with these tires and would imagine that these are one of the best, if the not the best, all-season tires currently on the market.

So, basically my advice to anyone looking at tires...if you live in an area that has 3/4 seasons but do not require winter/summer set-ups and NEED an all-season tire, I don't think anyone would be disappointed with the DWS 06. If you live in an area where you can get away with running one setup year-round and have minimal snow (like me in NC), you can really go with either DWS 06 or Michelin PSS. The Michelin's are def the best performance tire for our platform.

Ultimately just depends on where you live, what you're looking for, how you like to drive and what you do with your vehicle. If you are looking for an all-season, DWS 06 IMO are a great option and a must consideration!

[cam0719]

Have had DWS06 for 6k - no complaints in handing and wet/dry (fantastic) though in light snow I was mildly disappointed - it was good, though not sure they quite match up here to the old DWS but it could be in my head. Our other AWD car has Pirelli Cinturato All-Season plus and I think has better snow traction than the DWS06. But that's also a less performance oriented all-season so not exactly apples to apples.

[ap610]

I've had DWS06 for abut 6000 miles. Road forced 'em 3 times and they will not balance at all--will consistently vibrates from 75-85 mph. Going back to Michelin PS A/S 3 Plus today--never had any vibrations with the old A/S 3's I had before the DWS06.

[sacandagaD]

I've had DWS06 for abut 6000 miles. Road forced 'em 3 times and they will not balance at all--will consistently vibrates from 75-85 mph. Going back to Michelin PS A/S 3 Plus today--never had any vibrations with the old A/S 3's I had before the DWS06.

That sucks, I guess I got lucky with mine, about 8-10k on them so far with no issues at any speed when I run them in the off season. And they weren't even road forced, just had a Town Fair Tire shop mount and balance them. Go figure,

[Dr GP]

Any all season tire will be a drastic downgrade in dry performance from Michelin Pilot SS which is considered the best UHP summer tire out there. I'm running the DWS tires but not the 06 model. I will buy the DWS 06's when i need new tires. If you are ready to bite the bullet and downgrade performance for the sake of better tread life (like me) , I would recommend the Michelin Pilot A/S 3. They will give you the best Performance you can get on an A/s tire. The DWS06 is my choice because I don't put a priority on performance, The DWS 06 will have a better tread life and be better in snow and ice than the Michelin Pilot A/s 3. Michelin A/s 3 will have better dry handling . Pick your poison. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...jsp?type=UHPAS

EDIT: After looking at this latest rating, it appears the Michelin A/s 3 are superior to the Conti DWS 06s in EVERY catagory. Are about $25 more per tire on Tire Rack. Might be worth the extra price.

[lexcruiser]

EDIT: After looking at this latest rating, it appears the Michelin A/s 3 are superior to the Conti DWS 06s in EVERY catagory. Are about $25 more per tire on Tire Rack. Might be worth the extra price.

Interesting. I've been a Conti DWS guy for the last 15 years. Very curious about the A/S 3+ now. How does TireRack determine the ratings in each category? Is it based on customer feedback or their own independent testing?

[vvenom800tt]

Those rating dont mean much. Theyre based on costumer reviews with no scientific comparisons or benchmarks

The actual tire rack tests are where youll get a better idea about how good tires are

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[Dr GP]

OK then. Check these out: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=216

[Tiluleshpingen]

i have dws06 on mk6 jetta for 40kmiles now (2 years) I dont know where these issues with roadforcing them and vibration is coming from because to me they are great, yes they are not dedicated summer tire but they are one fo the better all-rounders out there.The plus that drove to get dws06 was that they have snow capability although not 100% snow tire it has taken me thru 2 winters.