balbs

I have new Continental DWS on. It also did the freeway wavy thing at first, now that the threads settled, it feels okay now.

ukr

When it was time to replace my bridgeston RFT's, I was able to test drive on non RFT tires and it was exactly as you described. The car felt wandering all over the road, not as sure-footed, steering response was delayed, and when taking turns the rear end would swing or wiggle sort of speak. I decided to buy PS2 RFT and they have exceeded my expectations. The ride is much smoother and quieter without any of the wandering feeling and lack of response. Basically, there is no way of getting around the ultra stiff sidewalls of RFT's. As far as your tires settling in, there is no such thing... you just get used it.

balbs

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...e.jsp?techid=5

KAF

The less a sidewall flexes, the sharper the steering feel, but at the expense of comfort and often noise.

It is why performance cars have ultra low profile tires, the less height the sidewall has the less it can flex so the steering will feel sharper as there is no 'lost motion' through the tyre.

Because the sidewall of a RFT are so stiff to support the car in the event of a deflation, it follows that there will be less lateral flex, giving the steering a much sharper feel. But ride comfort is compromised and the direct transfer of force to the rims can make rim damage more likely.

It follows that changing from RFT to non RFT will lose you a bit of steering precision and allow a little more tyre flex in cornering, this is what you are feeling.

It is a matter of personal choice if you want this as a trade off for comfort or not, as we say on this side of the pond 'you pays your money and you takes your choice'

Diamond

Your prolem is crystal clear folks come on! I 100 percent promise you that your tires are relatively under inflated. Unfortunately there is no perfect guide to go from run flats to non-runflats but your door jam is for sport package to have 36 rear and 32 fronts WITH your run flats. I bet your ps2's are probably filled with 32 all around (typical tire shop) and you need to put about 42rear and 38 front to have the same feeling as 36rear and 32 front with the RFT. Like people say the stiff sidewalls require less tire pressure to keep them feeling tight on turn in and smooth. With non-runflats you have to stiffen up the side-walls with more air (depending on brands, some are stiffer than others, but 42 rear/36 front should be about right-you can adjust up a couple psi.

Tell me if this worked-if it does not Ill buy you a new set of dunlops

bjsbuds

I totally understand your disappointment. I had a set of cheap General Exclaim tires on my 550i, but they wore out after just 20,000 miles. So after reading all the reviews it was apparent that I should purchase either Michelin Pilot Sports or Continental DWS. I went for the lesser costing of the two, which were still twice what I paid for the Generals, the Continental DWS, staggered 19".

Ugh, what a disappointment, a mushy ride. Really disappointed that this is what I got for buying a high rated tire, as the Generals were much more sporty.

ukr

We're not discussing traction here. Internal structure of the tire dose not change over time.

balbs

The OP was complaining about brand new tires swaying all over the road. The article mentions breaking in tires to get rid of tread squirm so I thought it would apply.

kushane

I had a similar experience with the DWS's. They would squirm to a point where I had no confidence loading the tires even at medium speeds. Swapped them out for Pilot Sport A/S's and was much better, but still unstable braking from high speeds. Went back to OEM ContiTouringContact's and couldn't be happier. Less overall grip them the Pilot Sport A/S, but more stable and therefore confidence inspiring. Glad I went with Discount Tire where there let me swap the tires out and just pay the price difference.

A tech at Discount had me feel the sidewalls of the DWS vs the Pilot sports while it was off the rim and I could deform the DWS sidewall with a single finger, not so with the Pliot's or the Conti's.

Diamond

Well that is what you get for being a dope. the Generals are a summer only compounded tire and you replaced them with DWS which is an all-season tire. The dws is great for what it is for, which is awesome snow traction for the amount of dry traction it also provides. You cannot compare a summer only general exclaim uhp with the dws as they are a totally different type of tire.

Beyond apples to oranges.