So I hit a monster pot hole and bent my front right 172 wheel. The OEM Sport Contact2 with limited thread left was completely destroyed.
With three worn tires and one brand new one in the rears, I figured I might as well get some new all seasons at the four corners.

I've been doing extensive reviews of the Continental DWS vs General G-MAX-AS-03, and the only thing holding me back from ordering the DWS is the lack of dry performance, and complaints of a mushy sidewall. For those of you that have the DWS, is the sidewall softness really that bad? The tire shop guy told me to offset the mushy sidewall feel, I can add more psi than recommended, is that really a resolve?

Now on to the General G-Max, which has pretty good reviews on tirerack and they are third in the performance all season category. They do seem to fair better in the dry and steering response category over the DWS, but lack a little in the wet and snow and ice category. What are your thoughts on General G- Max if you have them, or have been looking into them.

The Michelin A/S and Bridgestone Pole Position are great, but they are just not in my budget, too expensive. I know many of you will point in that direction though.

Your incite would be greatly appreciated as I'm looking to buy some new tires ASAP. I'm riding around on the spare and it's not a good look.

 

I kinda got used to the mushiness of the DWS. Drive pretty nicely. No snow this winter, so couldn't really judge that.

 

^^^ What he said, only I don't think they are that mushy, I just think the Sport Pilots are very hard to begin with. Not much snow in Boise this winter either, but when there was, I had great traction. Not as good as dedicated snows, but good enough for snow and ice.

 

Love my DWS's coming from run flats... saw some snow here and while its garaged on bad snow days, the little bit I let it see it handles no problem. With my run flats I was ALL OVER THE PLACE... it was kinda scary. Great in rain as well. They run quiet and have just enough grip for what I would consider spirited driving. I do about 100 miles per day mostly on the highway without traffic and they are wearing nicely so far. I have put on at least 18k miles on them with no issues.

 

To be honest, I'm not a hard driver but I like the DWS. Quiet and comfy.

 

I put the Generals on our Audi allroad about 2 weeks ago. Overall I'm quite pleased - good steering response, good traction and nice in what little rain we've had. No snow experience (Blizzaks in the winter - the allroad will go ANYWHERE in the winter). I would not shy away from them for the 550i. I have no experience with the DWS's but they were under consideration. If an allseason tire is what you're looking for, I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

 

Great feedback so far guys. Glad to know the Generals have been serving you good so far twobeemers.

 

I've had a 3 sets of the DWS for the last few years, on my E39 they where a great all around-er. But I just bought a set on the E60 with the 245/40-18s and I'm having a vibration issues in the morning, it does fade when they warm up a bit. I drive 110 miles daily. The bald rear run flats where smoother, they both were load range. Continental is bumping the load range on these as we speak so if I don't have a slightly bent rear rim, swapping to the higher load range may fix it.
In rain they are fantastic. Had I waited I would have just gone with the summer only Extreme DW.

General's are good they are also going to higher load range soon also, that's the reason both are on closeout at the tire rack. keep in mind Continental owns General tire last i knew. The Conti's look slightly more OE for resale purposes in my opinion.

 

I'd never even consider Generals.


I've driven on the DWS tires in all four seasons and I can attest to their all around complicity. The mushy sidewall is a little scary, BUT!!! the tires just do not. break. traction. Even when you feel the sidewall "slide", the tire stays planted and the car is completely controllable, you can still correct trajectory mid-turn with slight steering nudging, you can stop - and the best part is that 9/10th of tire performance (and hence, your car's performance) is available in the rain AND snow. Add to that the tread wear rating and you have yourself a winner

 

I had DWS on my last car and loved them. That said, it was a passat with much less horsepower. A friend of mine purchased the DWS for his 550 per my recommendation and commented on the mushiness. If you need a good all season tire, I agree with the others above. If you put on a winter set every year, go with the extremecontact DW. FYI I hear they are made in limited quantities and appear to sell out quick from what I've heard.