Well today the bride wanted to take a ride up in the mountains across the river. I mentioned it was supposed to rain later in the day but it was sunny and warm (68*) at 1:00 so we took off. Great ride with top down and till even have the trees in mid and end of color life. About an hour in it started to sprinkle and we could see the front moving in. Pulled over and put the top up and continued on. Mind you we were out in the boondocks and enjoying the scenery and the ride. Then the havens fell and it was high winds and torrential rain. I got on the interstate to get us back home and I gotta say these conti DWS tires were super. 70 mph speeds and no indication of hydroplaning and a good feel of the road and the grip. I couldn't even compare them to the old Dunlops but these felt great. Continued home and enjoyed the rest of the ride. I assume there are other tires with similar properties but I am sold on these for now. Perhaps others can chime in and tell us about their rain experience regardless of the tire brand.

 

Michelin Pilot Super Sports.... totally worthless on anything other than hot, dry and clean pavement. Even then they fly off large chunks of rubber in every direction.
Never tried the Conti DWS. Maybe I will sometime.

 

Based largely on your glowing reviews (and those of others) I have a set of Conti DWS06 waiting for my wheels to come back from a refinisher.

 

My car doesn't know of this "rain" that you speak.

 

LOL

 

Is that because of the drought we're having in Atlanta, or are you like me and only drive your XKR in nice weather?

 

Designed and built in England. I think mine enjoys a bit of soaking every now and then.

 

But not properly tested in the rain!

Biggest rant of mine with Jaguar coupes (I've had 2 XK8's and now the XK) is the rain drips off the bottom edge of the tailgate onto the back of my neck when I'm emptying the shopping.

If I meet Jaguar's much praised design director Ian Callum, I'll throw a bucket of water over him to get my own back.

As for handling in the wet, I've travelled through some torrential rainstorms in Europe and the handling remains positive up to the point the wipers on high speed can't clear the windscreen and I have to ease off.

Graham

 

I have them on my Porsche and you are right...they suck. In one year they got cracks inside the treads all around. Horrible tire.

 

Yet ANOTHER convert after experiencing Michelin's horrible failure.

ANYWAY... about these Conti DWS; Dry is exactly HOW GOOD??? Comparable to Pirelli or Hankook Ventus EVO2? The Wet and Snow don't really affect me much as I park it on those rare days, other than an occasional light rain.

 

Handling is subjective so it depends on what you want . The conti's are a good tire in dry conditions but could be called a little soft. They are not autocross tires but for the daily driver in most weather conditions I would rate them very good. Can't make the comparison because I only had the OEM Dunlops to compare to. The wet performance in my opinion for the conti's is very good and gives you a secure feeling in down pours. As far as snow I didn't buy mine for that although I live in a snow belt. My focus was for enjoyable cruising during 3 out of the 4 seasons in our area.

 

Only aquaplaned once with my P-Zeros - in Wales, during the 2013 floods, when I came around an uphill bend and encountered a river running out of the entrance to a field. Came off the power, stayed off the brakes, and eventually the tyres bit and pulled the nose away from the rapidly approaching stone wall. Frankly, I don't think any road tyre would have coped well with 6 inches of fast-flowing water over a hard surface, so I was most relieved.

 

I had a set of the Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tires installed on my new wheels about a week ago, and I've got to say, I'm not loving them.
They seem smooth, but I can't say they are quieter than Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position tires that the dealer had installed on the car before I bought it.
I guess 'squishy' is the best term I can use to describe them. I'm not an aggressive driver, but when I pull out to pass, or take a tight corner a little fast, they feel like they're folding over and I'll be riding on the wheel rim. These are on 20" wheels, and I had none of that feeling with the Potenza's on 19" wheels.
Another thing, the dry traction seems to be significantly less. Only one time in two years, did I get a wheel 'chirp' when accelerating from a dead stop with my 2007 XK with the Potenza's. So far its happened 3 times in the past week with the Conti's. Don't think the tires gave me more horsepower or torque.
Right now I'm running at 1 pound over the door placard inflation value. I'll up it a couple of pounds and see if that makes a difference.

Guess I was expecting more from a tire that is currently at the number 3 position on the TireRack site, than the tire that sits at the 15th position.

To be fair, I have not had a chance to try them in the rain yet, however I had no complaints about the Potenza's in the rain, they seemed very stable. The Potenza's never saw snow, and it's unlikely the Conti's will either.
It had been my intention to dump the Potenza's from the 19" wheels and get a set of Blizzaks to have on the car for the winter, just incase I needed to drive it, but now it seems unlikely I'll do that. Right now I'm thinking of keeping the Potenza's and put those 19" wheels on for some long summer road trips (the extra sidewall may help when traveling in unfamiliar territory).

 

As I mentioned this is very subjective. It's not the tire it's the expectation of the driver . I like soft squishy comfortable ride with fairly good wet handling. Very rarely will I go in snow so that is not a requirement. Can't judge the Potenza's so I won't comment. Increasing the air pressure will make the ride a little more harsh but that may be what you are looking for.