Defective Conti DWS06 Tires

[carguyshu]

So for our cars with the 22" wheels the continental DWS06 tires are the ONLY all season tire option available. I had one set delivered from tire rack and every single tire either required a massive amount of weight or had more than double the allowed amount of road force when put on a road force balance machine. Had tire rack send a second set of tires and all 4 of those were actually worse than the first set! Most road force readings were in the 40s, which is insanely high. The tire shop threw some other random tires they knew were good on and confirmed that the wheels are fine, so its not that. I finally gave up with tire rack as the shipping and extra mount/balance expense each time were getting ridiculous. They forced me to buy a different set of conti tires for a different car in order to get a refund on my original purchase, which sucked. What sucked even more is I told the local tire shop (who originally told me to buy the tires from tire rack as they said that was the only warehouse supplier they show being able to get that tire from, so it would just be cheaper for me to buy them direct) to just go ahead and get a set ordered for me after they told me when the second set failed that they can now get the tires (although at about $120 more a set) from a warehouse that is not tirerack and that if I had been buying the tires from them that they wouldn't keep charging me for mount/balance when a bad tire is found. So a third set arrives from their warehouse and they put the first tire on and it required the most amount of weight to balance and had the highest roadforce numbers yet! I had a specific convo with them and half jokingly said just. keep getting tires from them until you get ones that can balance within spec. Now the tire shop has radically changed their tune and doesn't even want to try and mount/balance the other 3 they got to see if they're good as they likely don't want to eat the labor. They then tried to see if there was some other size that was close that could go on instead and mentioned 2 other tires, which after looking up are truck/SUV all season tires. Not doing that. It sounds like at the very least conti had a bad batch of these tires or maybe something is just screwed up in general with the mold for these. Has anyone else tried to put the conti DWS06 on their 22s and had this issue? I unfortunately just bought a second set of 22s so I could have one set for summer tires and one for all seasons. Had I known this problem was gonna occur I would have just went with 21s and gone with the Michelin all seasons.

[rexus300]

Yep I have always stayed away from the DWS and DWS06 tires. They are junk tbh. Always had excessive road force 25-35 lbs or so many times dating back to 2011 and 2015 and since then I never got those again. I hate vibrations. I am very sensitive and demand my tires to be road force below 10-12 lbs and my tirerack installer here is the best and they have been great. Only sticking with Michelins for summer and have separate winter sets. I never do all seasons anymore in Michigan. You can just do two sets, one for summer and one for winter. I ride the 22s summer and 21s for winter. Best of both worlds. Michelins have much better handling. ride, noise and feeling. Worth the extra price over the Contis.

Tirerack has always been great for me and they understand that certain sets can be a bad batch. I had a set of Michelins from them above 15 lbs causing vibration and that couldnt be road force, they took all of them back and refunded me. I waited few months and got a newer version of that tire set fresh from factory that road forced in single digits. Michelins, Bridgestone, Vredestein are my top tires. I never get Contis or Pirellis since they are usually out of round or require excessive weights etc. Sorry you are dealing with this but you are NOT alone. Try another set say Michelin 4S on the 22s and some winter tires on the other set of 22s. Not sure if you get much snow down where you live in KS.

[The_Capt]

I’ve been running the 22” DWS 06 Plus tires for about 2mo. Zero issues. I have PS4S for summer.

Sorry to hear you’re experiencing differently. I purchased through Discount Tire.


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[jbain2]

I run 21” DWS tires. No issues balancing them and they are as smooth as butter on the highway. I completely disagree with them being junk tires. I’ve run them for years and only had 1 issue.

They aren’t performance tires but I find them extremely adequate in most circumstances.


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[robwrongshoes]

I replaced the Pirrelli’s on my RS6 with DWS06 and have found them to be excellent. In fact, they far exceeded my expectations in the snow, when we recently drive to Sun Valley, Utah from Seattle.

[rainer11]

Same with me. I put them on when I got my car (Feb 2021) and didn't even bother putting the summer Pirelli's back on. Still have them on (other than a few being replaced from drywall screws - tire wheel package paying off) they have been excellent.

[pwdrskr]

Add me to the list of those with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06+ tires without any issues.

FWIW, I was just up in Mammoth driving in a full on blizzard. The DWS 06+ were excellent. Zero traction issues driving on compact snow/ice and through several inches of fresh snow that had fallen on the highway. I never once felt concern. I've driven with all season tires for years on snow/ice as an avid skier. I haven't used, or even owned, chains in 30+ years, though I did order a set to comply with California regulations.

Side note, I raised the car up with the CETE Suspension Control unit I have installed to help with getting over deeper snow drifts. I'd have gotten stuck getting out of a Mammoth Lakes gas station if I'd still been lowered. This is one benefit to a CETE unit over other methods of lowering the RS6. Once I'd dropped down below the snow level I simply used the app to put the car back to my desired ride height and off I went.

[The_Capt]

Add me to the list of those with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06+ tires without any issues.

FWIW, I was just up in Mammoth driving in a full on blizzard. The DWS 06+ were excellent. Zero traction issues driving on compact snow/ice and through several inches of fresh snow that had fallen on the highway. I never once felt concern. I've driven with all season tires for years on snow/ice as an avid skier. I haven't used, or even owned, chains in 30+ years, though I did order a set to comply with California regulations.

Side note, I raised the car up with the CETE Suspension Control unit I have installed to help with getting over deeper snow drifts. I'd have gotten stuck getting out of a Mammoth Lakes gas station if I'd still been lowered. This is one benefit to a CETE unit over other methods of lowering the RS6. Once I'd dropped down below the snow level I simply used the app to put the car back to my desired ride height and off I went.

You can raise/lower on links too, as I’ve also had predicaments where I needed immediate lift. From what I’ve heard raising/lowering via CETE is actually slower than stock air suspension.

That being said, Quattro in snow is fun.


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[pwdrskr]

You can raise/lower on links too, as I’ve also had predicaments where I needed immediate lift. From what I’ve heard raising/lowering via CETE is actually slower than stock air suspension.

That being said, Quattro in snow is fun.


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Wouldn't raising/lowering via links mean getting out of the car and physically adjusting something? I mentioned the CETE as I hadn't planned to be driving in deep snow. Using the CETE was easy and fast enough to make an adjustment before leaving the parking garage. I didn't think of using the native raise option. Wonder how much it would lift the car?

[FBAnder]

Wouldn't raising/lowering via links mean getting out of the car and physically adjusting something? I mentioned the CETE as I hadn't planned to be driving in deep snow. Using the CETE was easy and fast enough to make an adjustment before leaving the parking garage. I didn't think of using the native raise option. Wonder how much it would lift the car?

20mm or 0.8". BUT only at speeds up to about 20mph. If raised to max and exceed that speed, the RS6 will go back down to normal ride height.

[The_Capt]

Wouldn't raising/lowering via links mean getting out of the car and physically adjusting something? I mentioned the CETE as I hadn't planned to be driving in deep snow. Using the CETE was easy and fast enough to make an adjustment before leaving the parking garage. I didn't think of using the native raise option. Wonder how much it would lift the car?

You can still utilize the factory air suspension with lowering links and it raises/lowers pretty quickly. Your baseline height is what changes based on how you set the links.


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[xraycer2012]

Add me to the list of those with Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06+ tires without any issues.

FWIW, I was just up in Mammoth driving in a full on blizzard. The DWS 06+ were excellent. Zero traction issues driving on compact snow/ice and through several inches of fresh snow that had fallen on the highway. I never once felt concern. I've driven with all season tires for years on snow/ice as an avid skier. I haven't used, or even owned, chains in 30+ years, though I did order a set to comply with California regulations.

Side note, I raised the car up with the CETE Suspension Control unit I have installed to help with getting over deeper snow drifts. I'd have gotten stuck getting out of a Mammoth Lakes gas station if I'd still been lowered. This is one benefit to a CETE unit over other methods of lowering the RS6. Once I'd dropped down below the snow level I simply used the app to put the car back to my desired ride height and off I went.

I spotted you street parked at the village last week. I was curious if you also had to deal with that blizzard to get home. I won’t have my RS6 in time for this season, but was wondering how it would do in conditions like that for next season and if the CETE module was helpful. Thanks for posting!

[monugs]

...Had I known this problem was gonna occur I would have just went with 21s and gone with the Michelin all seasons.

I dropped to 21's just to run the Michelin PSAS4. They've been stellar in all conditions.

[Rcalcaide]

I run the Vredestein Wintrac pro in a 295/30/22. Great tire, no issues. My installer was impressed with how little he needed to get the tires in balance.

[rexus300]

I run the Vredestein Wintrac pro in a 295/30/22. Great tire, no issues. My installer was impressed with how little he needed to get the tires in balance.

Agreed I love how they drive and feel. They balanced out nicely and had road force in the single digits like the Michelin 4S summers giving a smooth ride at all speeds.

[pwdrskr]

I wish Michelin would make the AS4 and/or their winter tires in 285/30/22 size. I like the squared off profile compared with Continental's angled profile. I've sent Michelin customer service messages asking why they don't. The response I got said the don't make those tires in that size...Um...right, I knew that, which is why I asked the question.

[[email protected]]

You can still utilize the factory air suspension with lowering links and it raises/lowers pretty quickly. Your baseline height is what changes based on how you set the links.

What Pwdrskr is saying is that with the CETE air suspension setup he can actually lift the car beyond the factory highest ride height setting with the use of the CETE app. There is +30mm of additional lifting available through the app which then tells the modules to change the height and lift up if needed.

When you are using lowering links every single drive select mode will be lowered the same amount, meaning you can't lift the car more than factory ride heights easily like the CETE setup can unless you got out and physically adjusted the links.

Maybe that clarifies what was posted. Anyone with questions on the CETE setups just let me know. We use a CETE setup to keep an A8 D3 lifted over factory ride height all the time

Cheers,

[pwdrskr]

What Pwdrskr is saying is that with the CETE air suspension setup he can actually lift the car beyond the factory highest ride height setting with the use of the CETE app. There is +30mm of additional lifting available through the app which then tells the modules to change the height and lift up if needed.

When you are using lowering links every single drive select mode will be lowered the same amount, meaning you can't lift the car more than factory ride heights easily like the CETE setup can unless you got out and physically adjusted the links.

Maybe that clarifies what was posted. Anyone with questions on the CETE setups just let me know. We use a CETE setup to keep an A8 D3 lifted over factory ride height all the time

Cheers,

Thank you, Alex, you nailed it better than I did. Lowered I was very worried I’d get high centered on a drift or mound/ridge of snow created by the plows. In fact, I very nearly got stuck pulling out of the gas station even with the raised suspension. I was able to put it reverse, back up, then punch out through the deeper drift. The snow was quite light also, and that helped me push through. I actually drove through a deep drift on 395 that partially came up and over the hood/windshield. Didn’t slow me down, though. It was nearly total whiteout conditions at the time and I didn’t see it coming at all. Probably saved me from slowing down and possibly getting stuck. The whole drive down to Bishop was a white knuckle experience, and I say that as a near 40 year veteran of mountain driving getting to and from ski resorts.

Fun fact, up in Tahoe there are metal posts embedded in the road surface on I-70 that snow removal vehicles use to navigate in blizzard conditions. The vehicles have these onboard systems that locate the metal in the roads and drive “safely” by following them. I’ve been on I-80 up there during a storm and had a gust blow so much snow into the air I might as well have closed my eyes. I couldn’t see anything! Good times!

[carguyshu]

as an update, I decided to try a completely different tire shop with a different roardforce machine (the newest model) and a different warehouse supplier of the DWS. All 4 tires roadforced within spec and ranged from 7-17. While double digits aren't ideal, they're way better than 40+. One wheel needed about 4.5 ounces of weight, but other than that things finally went smoothly this time. Am going to put the new wheels on this weekend and see how it rides.

[allenyao09]

I have been running Continental DWS06 tires for the second winter and haven't had any issues. I ran over potholes and damaged 2 tires but the tires themselves didn't cause any trouble. The road noise is a bit louder than Michelin PS4S but the balance feels fine. Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

[Ace22]

Just thought I would throw this out there. I had a nail and metal in 1 tire with a slow leak, also had some metal in another, so decided to just replace all 4 tires. Since the original Conti DSW06 is no longer made, I naturally went with the new DSW06+.
Definitely a noticeable improvement over the original Conti’s…quieter and handles well. I never had an issue with the old, and maybe it’s me just getting new tires (old only had 13k)….but have been pleased so far. Ordered through Discount Tire direct.