Brakes

Initial Review, 9,000 Miles on Tires
April 13, 2012

These should be considered a really good budget tire. The noise level is pretty good except for concrete, where they sing. Dry grip is as expected, strong stable braking, wet grip is still good, but tires are still quite new, so not really saying much.
Straight tracking is very good, but steering feel and turn in are what should be expected for a 75 A/R tire. Ride is also generally good except when there is continuous or a combination of sharp bumps, then those 7 inch tall sidewalls can start bouncing and the tires take an extra oscillation or two to settle down. Overall very impressive performance for a relatively low price.

Initial Review, 8,057 Miles on Tires
April 15, 2012

These tires came highly recommended from some other Jeep owners. I purchased them and some 15 inch rims. Absolutely outstanding purchase. I put 2,000 miles on them before I had to make a 3,000 mile round trip from the midwest to the southeast. Ride comfort was what I would term very good for a Jeep making a cross country drive. I've rotated the tires once and have not noticed any appreciable treadwear--I use a 5 tire rotation. Tread is wearing evenly and with the Jeep, find that running 28-30PSI is about a perfect tire pressure, giving me maximum surface contact. I've experienced a variety of different environments, snow, ice, mud and loose soil--the tires offer me a confident grip and more than adequate braking. Overall, I'm thorougly satisfied with these tires. I'm not that concerned about the 2 ply sidewall as I'm not a rock crawler. Everything else about this tire certainly more than meets my needs. I will definitely by another set of these when the time comes.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 13, 2012

What else can be said about these tires that have not been said: They're too expensive, but better than anything else out there available for this car. Just bite the bullet, grin and bear it.
They last, they're quiet, they grip hard when braking, they let go predictably and consistently, they re-grip as smoothly as any tire I've ever had the pleasure of sliding.
Steering feel is excellent, straight tracking is arrow like, turn-in is only slightly above average, but the payoff in ride is more than worth it. All this and its still the quietest tire.
These are not green tires that will gain any mgp, but they're not meant to be. Will I still be willing to pay so much the next time as the car ages, we'll see, but for right now, at 3 years old and 32K miles, yes it is still definitely worth it.

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
April 19, 2012

Got these tires a couple years ago. I had to buy them pretty hastily since the tires I had previous to them exploded on the highway unexpectedly. I was very impressed with the level of traction, steering feel, and stability these tires provided when new. I particularly noticed that the amount of steering input I had to give was dramatically reduced on the highway. Unfortunately, my entire neighborhood was due for some infrastructure work, and I had to spend about a year and a half driving over some extremely rough pavement as the roads in my area were completely ripped out and replaced. I'm not sure how much life I should have expected from these tires in this kind of environment, but they were pretty beat up when I replaced them. They were never particularly quiet, but in the last few months the howling on the highway became almost intolerable, and It was to the point where I was embarrassed to even have passengers in my car. The noise they made when driving over expansion joints was similar to getting beaned in the head with a over-inflated kickball. Not a pleasant experience. I also had major issues with hydroplaning in heavy rain, even on highways with excellent drainage. Anything over 50 mph in a strong storm resulted in a total loss of steering, throttle, and brake function. Not a pleasant experience late at night in rainy traffic when everyone else is still zooming along at 65-70mph. Overall, i'd say these tires performed admirably in the dry, which is something that many people are looking for in a tire. I wouldn't ever purchase these again for my daily driver though.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
April 14, 2012

Bought this tire to replace the stock Bridgestones that came with my car. Though the tires are marketed as all-season tires, these have not held up well for me in the snow conditions, with the car sliding everytime i braked in snowy conditions. Apart from this, the dry/wet performance of these tires and the grip in the dry and wet is very good. Hydroplaning resistance in heavy rain conditions has been very good and there is a good level of assurance in the rain with these tires. The tires are fairly quiet and the ride confort is good as well. Treadwear has been good and i have about 8/32" left after 15K miles. I will recommend these tires to anyone who wants good tires for dry and wet conditions, but not the snow.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
April 11, 2012

The tires are some of the quietest, the cornering grip is very stable and allows me to change lanes on off ramp loops. High speed stability is great, braking grip is great, driver input transfer is immediate. I recommend these tires and you cannot beat the performance for the price. I am not easy on these tires at all...HWY 17 is known for its curves...Now let's hope Sumitomo doesn't discontinue this line!!!

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
April 17, 2012

This snow and ice tire took me to Utah and back for a ski trip and handled all that Wisconsin Winter could muster. I had no problems with this tire. It performs like a snow and ice tire should with no surprises in dry conditions. Obviously this is not a high performance snow tire and some tread squish could be felt during hard cornering in dry conditions. No obvious treadwear. Bumps and pot holes felt smoothed out and non-jarring as compared to summer setup. Stopping, starting, and braking were as expected or better in winter conditions. This tire provides stable and predictable traction in all observed winter conditions of hard pack (wet), fresh Wasatch powder (dry), slush, ice , and dry. ABS doesn't come on very much during braking. I took an off ramp way too fast and a liberal application of throttle and some steering input allowed me to avoid the curb. Traction control was off. The tire cleaned out nicely allowing me to get into middle of lane, but I over corrected and tapped the opposite curb. Minor curb rash was all that resulted but it could have been much worse with as fast as I was going. Climbing and descending Utah passes were no problem as tractor-trailers were on the side of the road. Light snow on Wisconsin back roads were handled with aplomb. Passing was predictable and easy. Overall, this is a good winter tire. No regrets. Too bad Continental doesn't guarantee more snow with winter tire purchase!

Initial Review, 52,000 Miles on Tires
April 01, 2012

These tires are original equipment on my 2007 Acura RL which has AWD. I have found them to be excellent so far, 5 years and 52,000 miles into their life. They probably have at least another 5-10,000 miles of tread life left. I am beginning to see some early "dry rot" on them however. No problems whatsoever with hydroplaning. Excellent wet and dry braking. These are quite tires. Not sure what other reviewers are hearing. I don't drive my car very hard but I've had no problems during cornering. The only negative I see with this tire is the cost; they are expensive. I would buy them again if I can find them at a reasonable cost. By the way, I'm not employed by Michelin nor do I own stock in the company.

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.