Brake Pads

Initial Review, 12,500 Miles on Tires
April 11, 2012

I am at the end of this set. As the early review posted here, best performance/price ratio ever had. Dry traction, cornering and brake at the track very good. In wet condition, on the road not so bad. After 50% tread left the hydroplaning shows up. I chose to have another set for rainy track days. They remain in good condition though the wear, no vibration, no noise. I finished the rear down to the rope with ESP off on a sunny afternoon....

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
April 12, 2012

The Conti DWS is a great tire for my car for a cold weather tire. I run these tires starting in November and typically through the end of March.
Dry traction is strong if a little squiggy at the limit on the sidewall during hard cornering, the tire is just a tad slow to take a set for how low a profile it is, once there it is very predictable and traction predictable with little or no heat in the tire.
Rain this tire is awesome and instills a high level of confidence regardless of the amount of rain on the road. Great cornering traction, and solid braking in the wet too. An easy tire to drive quickly in the wet, and be very confident with. I have a friend with a 2003 M5 that uses these tires for his wet weather tires during track days and loves them.
Snow is easy with these tires and the Audi's AWD. Very confidence inspiring, awesome traction levels, and very little spinning up of the tires, unless I take the traction control off for 'adhesion exploration', and even then you have to work hard to get the tire out of shape in fresh snow. Packed/compact snow this tire is very capable, easy to feel good about, and communicates well where you are at within the tires limits which are very high. I personally feel this is not a big step down from a studless snow tire, barely a half step really, and for the occasional snow we see in Seattle a perfect tire for my needs.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
April 07, 2012

wet traction is excellent for this car. especially when the roads are wet and slippery in guam. the roads are extra slippery on the roads made out of coral and they gripped better under heavy braking and cornering compared to the cheap chinese tires i had on them previously. the japanese are untouchable in tire design compared to the other asian countries.

Initial Review, 48,000 Miles on Tires
April 04, 2012

Original equipment on my 2004 F150 XLT. The front end of the truck drags a bit because of weight so inside treadwall wears a little quick from hard cornering which any tire would do. When tires were fairly new I had to hit the brakes hard at highway speed in poring and truck stayed straight and no hydroplaning. Traction in mud after 30,000 miles was so so but did get stuck in deep mud. I have over loaded my truck a few times well over the 1500 lbs, more like 2300 lbs, and the sidewalls held up but since a squishy sound comes from tires when you go slowly. (yes, more than recommended amount of weight on any tire may do that) Would I buy them again, Yes since the price is good and could probably get 55,000 miles out of them before they are completely down to wear indicator marks to replace. Pretty happy with the General Ameritrac Tr's and purchasing a new set soon

Initial Review, 22,000 Miles on Tires
April 06, 2012

I drive a 1990 5 speed supercharged T-bird, and have had these Goodyears on for 22,000 miles now. I am pleased with them so far. They do indeed have excellent wet traction as other reviewers have mentioned. They also corner heroically for an "all season" tire in the price range. Only quips: the treadwear, although rated at 440, is mediocre IMO. To their credit, I do drive a nearly two-ton car with 350 ft-lbs of torque, have more aggressive alignment settings, and drive fairly spirited. Perhaps I'm asking too much from them. They are now down to maybe 1/32nd above the wear bars now, and this will be my last summer using them. They are a tad more vague on-center and have less initial response and turn in than the Dunlop's I had before, but braking, cornering, and accelerating grip is just as good, with much better wet traction. I use winter tires during the dark months, so can't comment on ice or deep snow traction but I think you'd have to have a death wish to drive these in such conditions. Light snow they have enough traction as to not be unsafe, but not much beyond that. The confident cornering, stability, and wet and dry weather grip means that it's likely I will ante up for another set next year.

Initial Review, 16,000 Miles on Tires
April 10, 2012

These are the street tires on a Shelby GT. Overall I'm pleased with the KDWS but tread wear is disappointing given my relaxed on road driving style. They are ready to be replaced at 17,000 miles. In the rain it is easy to spin the tires when starting with any more than gentle throttle. The ride is comfortable and quiet and did not change much as the tires wore. The tires were maintained at the proper pressure and wear was uniform. Cornering and braking feel stable and accurate in dry conditions. I never drive this car in snow so I can't add much there but given the wet traction I wouldn't expect much.

Initial Review, 29,000 Miles on Tires
April 09, 2012

My truck is on and off the road often. I am driving on highway with excellent top speed control and braking. I have did improve my ice snow and mud traction in our ozark steep hills and that is why I tryed this tire and will get another set soon; near end of tread. Alot of cornering on hills and curves is above average on wear. I wanted a softer grab for ice and good tread pattern of pavement in grass and dirt and mud. These are very good tires. I would have more tread without a teenage son sharing the truck and revelleing and having a good time as they do. He is done driving it full time now and my new set will last longer without high speed start stop and cornering. I got 30,000 plus miles of safety that I was hoping for and mission accomplished.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
April 02, 2012

Excellent snow tire that exceeds any all-season tire by far. After two winters with these tires they show no wear whatsoever. They are quiet, smooth and go thru snow and deep water like its not there. Excellent grip on ice and superb braking and handling in winter weather. Highly recommend these for winter drivers regardless of your current all-season tires...

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
April 08, 2012

have these tires on my 85.5 Porsche 944na and love them, they look great, not to loud and I am confident in dry turns and braking, I auto cross and did one track day last year and love driving this car the way it was designed to be driven, fast and hard, so far wear is very good. Having never driven on true track tires these feel great for what I need, can't really beat the price.

Initial Review, 0 Miles on Tires
March 07, 2012

I have been looking to put some tires on my truck but i have not decided yet but I have had the Firestone R4S on my other truck and they where a good all around tire on my 1994 chevy k1500 4x4. Also tried the Firestone AT had good handling with both. Firestone should have kept both and corrected the so called caseing problem. As for the person who said his tires where smoking after a long haul probably had too much weight on axle aka overloaded are draging brakes that heated everything up. I drive a 18 wheeler and yes tires do get hot but not smoking unless brakes or draging. As for all the cracks in sidewalls a deeler showed me 4 tires they tested 2 where left alone 2 had tire treatments to sidewalls guess what, the ones being treated had cracks!!! I have had other tires brands but after seeing how much weight it took to ballance the tire made me wish i had stayed with Firestone. after all when you can drive a pickup your dad gave you with 37000 miles on it at 8+ years on the r4s when i got it. and it had over 1/2 the tread left. So yes I will be buying Firestones this Summer to go on truck that i just got.

Initial Review, 150 Miles on Tires
March 28, 2012

These tires replaced ContiProContacts, and they are a step up in all categories except noise. The Eagles are very quiet, but not as quiet as the Contis were. They only make a light hum on concrete highways where the rain grooves are perpendicular to the path of travel. Otherwise, they cannot be heard unless all windows are open.
The only negative I can say is that the tires are 26 pounds compared to 22 pounds on the Contis, which I can feel in acceleration and braking and will also affect fuel mileage. The benefit of the heavier weight is that the sidewalls are reinforced, so no more destroyed tires when I hit a pothole in the spring. Out of the 4 Contis, 3 did not make it to the end of their service life due to sidewall destruction from road hazards. I would prefer to lose some acceleration and braking and not have to replace tires every year.
I'll keep updating this review as I put more miles on. I hope to get the 50k miles out of these, but I'm not holding my breath. They won't be used in the winter as I have dedicated snow tires.

Initial Review, 55,000 Miles on Tires
April 02, 2012

These tires were purchased to replace the original set that came on the vehicle. With my acceleration, cornering, and braking habits, I have never gotten more than 36,000 miles from a set of tires. We have always rotated our tires every other oil change (every 7,000 mile). These tires currently have 55,000 miles on them and they look like they will be good for another 10,000. This is the first set of tires I feel I have definitely gotten my money's worth.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
March 22, 2012

I reviewed this tire based on winter driving conditions such as "steering responsiveness" is based on in snowy conditions along with the rest of the ratings. I bought a new set of these tires for my 07 WRX STI and I had 0 problems this winter. Even when I tried to mess around and test the limits of these tires in the snow it was often hard to try and break traction even when pushed to what I thought was beyond the tires limits in the snow. A few times I came home and my driveway had not been plowed yet and it is very steep before you get up and into the garage, the last storm was a good 8" of un plowed snow and I had no wheel slip or loss of traction. There are other snow tires out there that are higher priced but I would put this tire well ahead of all of those. The traction and stability in the snow is just crazy.

I hope General Tire only makes further improvements to this tire because I would not want to see this tire discontinued as I have withe other snow tires from other companies. The only way I can describe my car in the snow with these tires is like a tank. I have yet to encounter any weather conditions this past winter that even made these tires have to strain to keep traction. These tires do what they were designed to do. The traction in the snow when braking was outstanding as well, in some cases where I had to get on the brakes harder then I wanted to I thought for sure I would have found myself sliding yet these tires just grip so well I had no issues at all. I highly recommend these tires for anyone looking for a winter set of tires especially if you have AWD. I know that no matter what winter throws at us here in Maine next season I wont have any worries about having to drive anywhere.

I am not sure of the exact miles I have put on these but I had them installed in december and taken off on 3-21-12 and the read wear is very low if even noticeable at all.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
March 24, 2012

These Continentals will not disappoint drivers of sport sedans. Quiet, luxurious ride with progressive, linear cornering inspires confidence. Excellent wet/dry traction and high resistance to hydroplaning. While the softer sidewalls reduce immediate turn-in on corners, you are rewarded with aggressive stability. The challenging decreasing radius corners and multiple elevation changes of my commute are easily handled above the advised limit. Braking into corners is a thing of the past - increasing my driving experience and saving fuel to boot! Recommended replacement for the OE Michelin Pilot MXM4's.

Initial Review, 200 Miles on Tires
March 25, 2012

I just purchased these tires and have about 200 miles on them. I put them on my stock Toyota Fj Cruiser and I must say they are a lot different than the stock tires, obviously. Selecting the correct air pressure is essential to the performance, which I'm still tweaking.
The vehicle dives when you hit the brakes hard, therefore I will have to purchase much stiffer shocks all the way around. Remember that under-par shocks will determine the overall performance and safety of the vehicle. If you are willing to spend $300 per tire don't half-------- it and just get some better than stock shocks to match the tire. I have not put many miles on the tires but I can tell that these things are the real deal and are super heavy duty. I had the guys at UPS and the Toyota dealer cursing me because these tires are so heavy and this is without the wheels!! I have spent many years in the middle east driving off road in the most extreme conditions in Afghanistan. These are the tires that are on the HUMMERS!! When you hear other people bad mouthing any tire not just these, it is because the cannot drive! You have to know how to drive on all surfaces and adapt accordingly. These are mud tires not Z rated intended for a Porsche.... Slow down.. Be responsible and upgrade to better shocks for everyone's safety! I love them.. so if you are debating about spending this much.. don't hesitate and get these kick-------- tires!!

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
September 24, 2010

After about 40,000 miles on these tires I am very impressed. These tires hold the road very well in the dry and make a wet road feel as though it is dry. They are great under braking and have kept me out of one or two fender benders. They are slightly rough seeing as they are a higher performance all season tire, but I'm a driver that likes to feel connected to the road. The tire wear is also very good I rotate them every 3,000 with my oil change and there may be another 30,000 to 40,000 miles in them. I highly recommend these tires.

Initial Review, 70,000 Miles on Tires
March 15, 2012

These are some of the best tires I've ever had the pleasure of riding on. The dry traction is amazing and the wet traction is awesome too. They make wet roads feel like dry roads. I've even driven home in 7" of snow after a freak late evening snowstorm back when the tires only had 10k miles on them and not once did they ever hint at losing grip!

The treadwear is just as impressive as the grip. Mine were guaranteed for 40k miles and I'm on the verge of doubling that. The "REPLACEMENT TIRE MONITOR" engraving is just now wearing down to "REPLACE TIRE " which by the way is a great feature for those of us who sometimes forget to keep a check tread depth. The Visual Alignment Indicators on the tires also helped me diagnose a slight misalignment (negative camber) which may have gone unnoticed otherwise.

The dual rubber compounds helped tremendously with road noise over stock tires and hitting the occasional bump in the road was much softer. Grip was also much higher over stock tires with no squeal when cornering at highway speeds. Acceleration and braking also exhibited a noticeable improvement over OEM tires. These tires really came through for me many times when cars and deer alike decided to dart out in front of me.

Overall, these are some of the best all-season tires you can buy in my opinion and the price per performance is unbeatable. Just be sure to buy the correct OEM size for your car and pay attention to the load rating. Any tire is only as good as what it is designed for! Keep them rotated, balanced, aligned, and properly inflated according to manufacturer specifications and these tires will take care of you for years to come!

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
July 21, 2011

A great tire for drivers with crossovers and SUVs looking for excellent cornering stability and feel. Excellent feedback to the driver's inputs and predictable handling at the limit, with a progressive breakaway. Although not necessarily the grippiest tire out there, the handling characteristics overall more than make up. These tires handle wet driving conditions easily with excellent hydroplaning resistance even in the heaviest downpour at highway speeds. Stopping distances are very short for those emergency braking maneuvers. Drawbacks? This probably isn't the tire for those looking for ride comfort or all-season capability (it's a summer tire; I don't use it in the winter). On bad pavement, it doesn't absorb imperfections quite as well as less-performance oriented tires and although they're reasonably quiet, they're not the quietest ones out there. But for driving performance and handling, these Continentals are one of the top SUV tires out there.