I need to stop "enjoying" my torque so much .... New shoes installed!

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Gonna put my .02 in here for all of those considering AS tires for their GT/PEs. We replaced our 4X’s OEM wheel/tires with the 225/55-19 Conti PremiumContact 6 summer tire option with 20”x8.5” OZ Racing wheels and 255/45-20 Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 AS tires. As I’ve stated before, I prefer summer tires myself and that’s what I run on my SS Sedan.

However, the sidewalls and treadblocks on the DWS06 have proven plenty stiff in even very spirited driving. The direct 4X steering is still there with none of the wallowy feeling that was present in the old Conti DW and DWS Gen rubber. I’m sure the DWS06+ have improved things further, but, the DWS06 has proven better than I expected. I’m a tire snob and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them after the current best Michelin and Goodyear UHP AS options.

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[Pushrods&Capacitors]

From my perspective much better. I never liked the soft mushy sidewalls of the original DWS. I found the tire to be awful, despite a smooth and quiet ride. Flat spotting was awful.

DWS06 were much improved in the absolutely horrible mushy feeling but were still not great tires. Their traction in dry, wet and snow was good but the weird feeling in turns where you can actually feel the tire rolling over on itself made for a whole lot of understeer. They also had significant problems with flatspotting still. the first 5 miles of any drive was thump thump thump...though not as bad as the DWS. They were usually gone by the time I hit the highway.

The DWS06+ are much sharper in handling response. Very responsive, very tight feeling, no additional understeer. They are a hair louder, and have a hair more harshness to the ride but absolutely worthy trade offs for all the improvements made. No flat spotting noticed so far. Maybe if I was being REALLY picky I could detect a HAIR after sitting at least a full day...but that's being really picky.

Either you had a bad set of DWS06 rubber or Conti made a running structure/compound change prior to the intro of the DWS06+ Gen. Our regular DWS06 on our 4X exhibit 0 flat spotting, even after 2-3 days of sitting. Additionally, the steering doesn’t have any of the disconnected feeling that I personally experienced in the old DW and DWS gens. And I’m a steering feel, chassis set up geek that enjoys track days.

 

[Davedough]

Gonna put my .02 in here for all of those considering AS tires for their GT/PEs. We replaced our 4X’s OEM wheel/tires with the 225/55-19 Conti PremiumContact 6 summer tire option with 20”x8.5” OZ Racing wheels and 255/45-20 Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 AS tires. As I’ve stated before, I prefer summer tires myself and that’s what I run on my SS Sedan.

However, the sidewalls and treadblocks on the DWS06 have proven plenty stiff in even very spirited driving. The direct 4X steering is still there with none of the wallowy feeling that was present in the old Conti DW and DWS Gen rubber. I’m sure the DWS06+ have improved things further, but, the DWS06 has proven better than I expected. I’m a tire snob and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them after the current best Michelin and Goodyear UHP AS options.

I know its a completely different car with completely different weight, drivetrain and handling but I had DWS06s on my VW GTI that I sold. It was heavily modified but those tires impressed the hell out of me for being an all-season. I found they hooked up very well in many different situations. Finally stopped spinning the fronts through third and the car was like a go kart around the turns.

Aside from that, I'm a little worried that OP is changing tires so soon. I'm coming up on only 3200 miles on my car and he's changing his out at 4800? That's pretty ridiculous. I was hoping to go a little longer. I drive very spirited. I guess I need to go out and monitor my treadwear.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

I know its a completely different car with completely different weight, drivetrain and handling but I had DWS06s on my VW GTI that I sold. It was heavily modified but those tires impressed the hell out of me for being an all-season. I found they hooked up very well in many different situations. Finally stopped spinning the fronts through third and the car was like a go kart around the turns.

Aside from that, I'm a little worried that OP is changing tires so soon. I'm coming up on only 3200 miles on my car and he's changing his out at 4800? That's pretty ridiculous. I was hoping to go a little longer. I drive very spirited. I guess I need to go out and monitor my treadwear.

Yep. Get your tread depth gauge out and be rotating tires every 2-3K if you ask me. 5000lbs of 50/50 weight distribution on soft summer compound isn’t getting anyone good tire life.

 

[Scooby24]

Either you had a bad set of DWS06 rubber or Conti made a running structure/compound change prior to the intro of the DWS06+ Gen. Our regular DWS06 on our 4X exhibit 0 flat spotting, even after 2-3 days of sitting. Additionally, the steering doesn’t have any of the disconnected feeling that I personally experienced in the old DW and DWS gens. And I’m a steering feel, chassis set up geek that enjoys track days.

There are pages and pages of people having problems with flat spotting on the DWS06's. It may have been more prevalent on certain sizes, load ratings, etc....but it was a well known shortcoming of the tire.. Whether mine were bad or not, there were a lot of bad ones. Inversely, that no longer seems to be a problem with the plus. I checked around with a lot of folks prior to getting my current set.

For the steering...the DWS06 won't have the disconnected feel of the initial DWS, but it is a step down from the plus. (big step down imo)

Note Tire Rack's testing statements

DWS06: Slightly more relaxed nature...while not deficient in any way, the steering is not quite as responsive or precise and the slightly softer ride exhibits some excess motion following impact.

DWS06+: Steering was nicely weighted and precise. It felt eager and responded quickly and precisely to all the driver's inputs. The ride was taught and nicely controlled.

 

[Scooby24]

Just a clarifying question: are they more harsh compared to the stock GT tires, or compared to the old DWS tires? I am not ready for new tires yet, but I would like a more comfortable tire, not a more harsh tire.

They are not any more harsh than the GT tires and I found them to actually absorb road impacts better...it better controls the rebound. Full disclosure however, I didn't play with the air pressure in the stock tires.

37 on the 06+ is where I found the best combination of rebound control and responsiveness. 35 started to get lazy.

 

[mkhuffman]

They are not any more harsh than the GT tires and I found them to actually absorb road impacts better...it better controls the rebound. Full disclosure however, I didn't play with the air pressure in the stock tires.

37 on the 06+ is where I found the best combination of rebound control and responsiveness. 35 started to get lazy.

Lazy could be a good countermeasure for the suspension bounce. Did you install stock size or did you go wider?

 

[Scooby24]

Lazy could be a good countermeasure for the suspension bounce. Did you install stock size or did you go wider?

Slightly wider 255/45r20. Edit: But also on a 9" wheel.

 

[scoopman]

I haven't driven the new tires enough yet to give full opinion, but:
(1) my fronts had 4/32 towards the outside, and 5/32 or so in the middle. They were on the wear indicator of the stock tire
(2) I've only driven minimally (no work commute yeeeet!) but the DSW06+ on 37psi cold seemed to have good turn-in, better noise reduction, and I did not in any way feel I was on a mushy wheel of marshmallows as some seemed to indicate the older versions of this tire were like
(3) temps in the Bay Area can get down to low 40s at night or colder (tonight: 44 degrees low) and while I don't need light snow performance, it might not be a bad thing to have a wider temperature range for these tires -- assuming the other compromises are not that bad
(4) I definitely think GTPE owners should pay attention to tire wear. It was insane that the P-Zeros went that fast, I've always driven in a spirited manner, but yikes. I'm willing to give up a little grip for higher durability, not really looking to spend $1000 every 6 mo on tires!

 

[markboris]

I definitely think GTPE owners should pay attention to tire wear. It was insane that the P-Zeros went that fast, I've always driven in a spirited manner, but yikes. I'm willing to give up a little grip for higher durability, not really looking to spend $1000 every 6 mo on tires!

I agree with you that people should pay attention to tire wear on their P-Zeros. When I bought my GTPE, the first thing I did was put the wheels/tires from that car onto my Premium and sold it to a friend in Arizona. That was back in November and he now has a little over 6000 miles on those tires and the tread is getting thin.

He isn't concerned with having a summer performance tire on his car and would rather have a quieter, more comfortable riding tire that lasts longer. He asked what tire I would pick and my first choice was the Pirelli Scorpion All Season Plus 3. It has the highest rating of any tire on the TireRack for quiet and comfort plus a wear rating of 800. Unfortunately it doesn't come in a size that fit the GTPE wheel that keeps a similar OEM diameter. My next choice was the Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season Plus tires. They are Pirelli's ultra high performance all season SUV tire and the one I will be testing out next. They also have a high quiet and comfort rating but a lower 500 wear rating (still much higher than a summer performance tire).

scoopman, in your first post, you asked if anyone had an opinion on the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV. When I had my premium, I put about 10K miles on it before I sold it. During that time, I mainly had two sets of tires on it. First, the Michelin Latitude Sport 3's and then the Pilot Sport 4 SUV's. They are both SUV tires however the Latitudes are low rolling resistant tires and are quieter with a more comfortable ride than the Pilot Sport 4 SUV's. They both have a wear rating of 220 and I can tell you, they will not last much longer than the P-Zeros. Both sets were showing a good amount of wear by the time I got to 5000 miles. However, if you want the highest performance SUV tire, I think the Pilot Sport 4 SUV's are probably it. They not only looked almost identical to the Pilot Sport 4S's I have on the GT500 but handled similar as well. I have 4000 miles on the GT500 and those tires aren't doing too well either as far as wear but I have come to expect that from the 4s's having had them on several previous cars also.

I have to say, I'm kind of hard on my tires and I live in a very mountainous area so rarely on straight roads unless I take a road trip. I now have my second set of Latitude Sport 3's but this time on the GTPE (it is the first set of tires I've had on this car). I have a little over 5000 miles on them and will be replacing them next week. I'm testing out the Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season Plus which is their ultra high performance all season SUV tire. None of the Michelins were very quiet and they rode somewhat harsh so looking for an improvement in that area.

 

[scoopman]

Thanks for the detail @markboris! I'm actually really liking the Conti DSW06+ so far, although I haven't had a chance to do some twisties for a little road test. It keeps raining on weekends :-( But your experience will hopefully be helpful when other owners' GTPE tires start to fade soon ...

 

[Al your Pal]

Getting toward the end on my stock p zero, checked through the forum to see what other guys are doing… $1000+ every six months for tires is brutal.

definitely don’t want to run all seasons, but fear I may have to.

When I had the same problem on my 2015 GT, I switched to Nitto G555 G2 and was very happy. High performance summers and lasted a lot longer than the p zeros. But I’m not seeing that option on tirerack, in fact no results from Nitto. I assume they don’t offer that high load rating or something? Anyone know?

I was leaning towards the Michelin 4S, but it seems those don’t get much better life than the p zero. Can anyone that’s run both offer opinion on tread wear versus the stock p zeros?

someone else mentioned the firestone firehawk indy 500 in another thread, but no detail… I have zero experience with Firestone. Has anyone run these on the GTPE and can offer opinion on performance and tread life? Price is a lot better.

of course any other recommendations would be appreciated, but please summers only.

thanks y’all

 

[Electric Goat]

So I've been running Michelin Pilot 4S on my GT for about 500 miles now. Holy smokes they're, as expected, very very nice.

Also, @Al your Pal they come with a 30,000 mile tread life warranty so, to me, they're well worth the cash.

 

[Al your Pal]

That is great info, yeah I know it’s a great tire and that tread life could make it worth it. Thank you.

also just did some googling and Nitto options weren’t coming up because tirerack doesn’t carry them for some dumb reason. You can still get them at discount tire though, and they have the right specs for GTPE. I had such good experience with those on my 2015 GT that I will probably go this route on this upcoming swap. If no good then will probably bite the bullet and go for the Michelin 4S.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

So I've been running Michelin Pilot 4S on my GT for about 500 miles now. Holy smokes they're, as expected, very very nice.

Also, @Al your Pal they come with a 30,000 mile tread life warranty so, to me, they're well worth the cash.

Pilot 4S and Continental ExtremeContact Sports are the current summer tire champs. The Contis are about 15-20% cheaper for 95-98% of the performance. And both have 30k mile treadwear warranties. Unheard of in max performance summer tire class.

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