Tire Review: Conti DWS on X5M

[airshaq20]

Originally Posted by nachilus

Update, returning the tires for a full refund and will be getting DWS.

Who's your tire vendor? I always thought tires can't be returned.

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by MonacoJoe

def a valid point of view. however, i live in downtown nyc and not like i have my own garage. id say i only lost about 5% performance with the tires, gained a ton of benefits and don't have to figure out how to stash two sets of wheels when seasons change. made sense to me maybe not for others. if i lived in the burbs i'd get two cars anyway

It really depends on climate as well, it's snowing right now and will be in the 60s tomorrow. Personally I'm not going to swap tires and wheels every other day to get the best of both worlds, All Seasons handle a wide temp range and work well in these scenarios.

Originally Posted by airshaq20

Who's your tire vendor? I always thought tires can't be returned.

Most vendors do this, I always use Discount Tire but that's not an option for those on the East Coast.

[dkreidel]

9 months out of the year I have a 20" square DWS set-up on my X5M in NW Montana, but switch to 19" Pirelli Scorpion Winters when it's perpetual snow and ice. I tried to run the stock Bridgestone Duelers here, but the weather is too unpredictable and variable year round.

The DWS seem to be well suited to the truck although I probably wouldn't use them on the Z4 or 650.

[nachilus]

Originally Posted by airshaq20

Who's your tire vendor? I always thought tires can't be returned.

I bought it from a local tire shop in maryland, they are very good people.

They could not get the balance to where I want it so they agreed to do a full refund.

The owner is very cool and a stand up guy.

I bring all my cars there but I guess the X5 was just being a bad child

[dhenry]

i agree with MRMOMO313, the reason we buy these is for the power and the ability to drive them all year round in bad weather. i purchased a set of wheels and winter tires for the winter. it costs me $100 per year to have the dealer store them, worth it. they charge $50 to install. that way i never have to store them or anything. not sure why anyone would not want to have the OEM during the summer the look is much more aggressive, i hate putting on the winter wheels and tires but they plow through the snow with ease. I love spring when i get to install the 20"'s and step on the gas hard again. it is not cheap but if you live where the snow flys you should invest in some winter tires.

[chris s]

I'm picking up my cpo x5 35 with m package tomorrow. Of course we are getting snow today... :/ how bad are the oem bridgestones? Can I manage for the remainder of winter or should I switch to an AS TIRE like the dws ASAP? I was hoping to not have to spend another $1k right now and wanted to wait till the fall.

I know they're summer tires, but just figured get some real thoughts feedback from those that have had to use them.

[nonford]

I recently put the DWS's on my wifes X5 and let me tell yah, she sure appreciates the ride now. I dont even need to clench my jaw anymore to quit my teeth from smashing when i had the bridgestone on. Totally transformed for the better.

[SouthShoreM3]

I have had my DWS on my X5M since I got the car in September 2013. I live in Boston area and also an avid skier making at least 30 trips up north during the winter. These tires have been exceptional good giving their abilities. Drove in several snow storms, icy conditions, etc. also got to use the tires when it was still nice out. These are exceptional for the car and a hell of a lot better than the dueler RFT that came on it when I was first driving it.

For winter time, yes the tires are large in OEM size. The good news is this car (and yes I will call it a car for all intents and purposes) is extremely predictable and has great feedback in the steering wheel from my standpoint. I can feel more of what is going on with the road than I could in an RS4 I owned during winter time.

For those not truly knowledgeable of this vehicles ability and counter steer, weight transfer, rebound from maneuvering, etc. spend some time in a parking lot (empty of course) when it snows and set up some cones as a course or if you feel you are a good enough driver, use the medians in the parking lot to drive and use it as a course. It can be a lot of fun and learn to understand the ability this car has. In my DWS is it the best winter tire around. NO. Is the best summer tire around NO. Does it give me the safety, road handling, comfort, tire longevity (this isnt a big deal at all to me, but contis do hold up pretty well) that I am looking for in my daily driver and for the all season tires I want. Absolutely.

It's a great tire for driver that wants a little bit of everything and certainly does not want RFT. Maybe next season I will try the Michelin AS3/4. You can never go wrong with these two brands in my opinion. They make a lot of great options. Te X5M is a tough size tire to find because of the staggered beefiness... Which I love!!!

Now next season maybe ill join the band wagon and get some beefy 22s and 335 series rears!!! That's what I'm talkin about