New Tires (3rd set)

[KlutzNinja]

Excellent choice with the AS4s! I'm debating between those or the new Conti DWS06+ for the E90. I'm unlikely to hit either tire's performance ceilings so I'm leaning towards the latter for better NVH (based on TireRack testing: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/ch ... p?ttid=280).

I’ve had that set of Contis on my Mazda3 for about a month now (215/45/18). NVH control is good, but it also depends on what tire you’re moving away from. In my case, the OEM Dunlops were fairly noisy, especially on rough pavement and the freeway. The Continentals on rough pavement create the level of noise that the Dunlops did over smooth pavement. That said, because the road noise has quieted so much, wind noise is now more noticeable. This won’t be as much of an issue in the Kizashi (for anyone reading this with a Kizashi), as it contains more sound deadening from the factory, but it is something to keep in mind. I can’t say for sure about an E90, but I’m assuming like a lot of BMWs that it should have at least decent sound deadening?
Bumps and road imperfections don’t drive me nuts anymore lol. The Dunlops basically transmitted every little thing. I wouldn’t say the Contis are “cushy” or anything, though. Just well controlled for the most part. I also went over a nasty patch of potholes last week (in the city, not on a freeway) and somehow didn’t ruin any tires. Not sure the Dunlops would have survived.

Grip is good, especially in the dry. It’s at least as good as the Dunlops’ dry grip, which was one of their only pros. Wet grip is good, too, but I still managed to hydroplane on the freeway once or twice during a really bad recent storm, although that part of the road was probably so flooded that any tire would have hydroplaned; had I been in the Dunlops, I probably would have ended up completely spun around on the side of the road like this one Mercedes. I’m assuming it was hydroplaning - the steering kind of just resisted inputs for a brief moment. Kind of scary when the BMW next to you splashes water right on your windshield at the same time, completely obstructing your view for an instant.
I can’t comment on snow grip because I haven’t driven through it, but as you’ve probably read on TR, it’s not bad, but no actual snow tire, either.

Fuel economy took a bit of a hit. One other good thing about the Dunlops was their decent gas mileage. I noticed a drop right away after switching tires (the Mazda has a fuel economy tracker for each individual drive). I’d say maybe 2-3 MPG? Not horrible in a compact car like a Mazda3, but that kind of drop in a car like a Kizashi with already sub-par fuel economy (for today’s standards) would be quite a hit. As for an E90, I’m reading that fuel economy isn’t great to start with, so do with this what you will lol. That said, it’s also a testament to how grippy the Contis are, as there’s usually an inverse relationship between fuel economy and tire grip. I’ve read the Michelins also often cause a drop in FE because they’re very grippy, too, for what it’s worth.

Perhaps my biggest issue with the Contis is the lack of on-center steering feel. You may have read about this on TR, and it is real. It reminds me of what I experienced in the Kizashi, which I thought at the time was the car. Turns out it must’ve been the bargain tires (Acceleras); I wish I had put some better tires on to get the full Kizashi driving experience. The Dunlops had amazing steering feel, and was their best aspect. The Contis have decent/good feel outside of on-center. Steering effort is a bit lighter than the Dunlops, which is okay, but I liked the heavy effort from the OEMs. I’d say the on-center feel isn’t quite as bad as my old Acceleras, and I’ve mostly gotten used to it. However, I might look into a different tire next time, in search of that better on-center feel.

Overall, I would say the Contis are a great tire, but if fuel economy and on-center steering feel are a priority at all, you might want to look elsewhere. I’m sure there are tires that offer good NVH, good fuel economy, and overall steering feel. I wish we could trial tires like we can test drive cars. Some brands sort of offer that, but it sounds like it could be a hassle.

I’m thinking of Vredestein Quatrac Pro for my next tire, years away. Said to be very quiet and comfortable, but still very grippy. It’s not a UHPAS tire, but it seems to drive like one, with the comfort of a grand touring tire. I’ll have to look into it more, but it’s a very good tire that’s also a good deal compared to Michelin and the other big names. I didn’t get it this time because it’s not as widely available as Continentals are.

[KuroNekko]

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 have been great thus far. Plenty of confident grip in the rain that California has been getting lately. As for the Extra Load rating, I think I figured it out: It's rating for tires that manufacturers intend as OE tires for EVs. It's my hunch but once I learned that the Michelin Pilot series were OE tires on Tesla Model 3's and Model Y's, it made a lot of sense why they were XL rated.

Perhaps my biggest issue with the Contis is the lack of on-center steering feel. You may have read about this on TR, and it is real. It reminds me of what I experienced in the Kizashi, which I thought at the time was the car. Turns out it must’ve been the bargain tires (Acceleras); I wish I had put some better tires on to get the full Kizashi driving experience. The Dunlops had amazing steering feel, and were their best aspect. The Contis have decent/good feel outside of on-center. Steering effort is a bit lighter than the Dunlops, which is okay, but I liked the heavy effort from the OEMs. I’d say the on-center feel isn’t quite as bad as my old Acceleras, and I’ve mostly gotten used to it. However, I might look into a different tire next time, in search of that better on-center feel.

Did you get an alignment after getting new tires? I strongly recommend this even if your vehicle tracks straight. I need to do this too for my Kizashi as I have not yet since the new Michelins. Pros generally advise alignment after new tires are installed and balanced. Perhaps this can help with the on-center steering feel.

[KlutzNinja]

Did you get an alignment after getting new tires? I strongly recommend this even if your vehicle tracks straight. I need to do this too for my Kizashi as I have not yet since the new Michelins. Pros generally advise alignment after new tires are installed and balanced. Perhaps this can help with the on-center steering feel.

The tires and alignment were done together; it's just a quirk of the Contis.
The dealer I got the Mazda from somehow missed that it needed an alignment (pulled to one side), but it still provided amazing feedback with the Dunlops throughout. I stayed with it like that for more than half a year lol, because I wanted to get the tires and alignment together, and kept putting off the tires. Considering the inclement weather we've had here in SoCal, I'm glad I didn't wait any longer. Also, the Dunlops had micro cracks in them all over, like the floor of Death Valley or something. My tire guy looked at them and said they were done. Again, glad I finally got around to it. Tread was okay on rear tires, but probably near finished on fronts. Something tells me the putz of a previous owner didn't rotate their rubber for a while.

As for the Acceleras on my Kizashi, the used car dealer had the mechanic they use do an alignment before I bought the car, after I pointed out on the test drive that the car pulled to one direction pretty badly. I was thinking of getting an alignment for the first time since then, right before the crash. Some tires are just more vague on-center than others. With a bargain brand like Accelera, where the tires my Kizashi had were like $100 apiece, compromises like that are to be expected. I didn't really care or know much about tires until the Mazda and its road noise issues came along, but now I wish that I had.

Have you noticed any change in fuel economy with your Michelins? I'd consider them as a candidate for future tires, but I've read that they can be about as noisy as my old Dunlops, and they're a pretty penny, too. Otherwise, they seem great.

[KlutzNinja]

Thanks for the feedback. It's quite disheartening to hear that they still have poor on-center feel. I've read that it was a common problem with the DWS06 and was hoping it would be improved with the Plus update, but I guess that is how it is when the tread has no center rib. This may be a deal breaker as steering feel is the best thing about the E90. They may even be a step back from my current Pzero AS+, which feel very sporty yet refined. They're an older model but still seem to hold up well against current competitors: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/te ... p?ttid=266

Sorry the feedback wasn’t better in that particular area. I had this in mind when I drove home tonight, and yes, there is a bit of vagueness on-center, but that vague spot isn’t too big, and otherwise everything feels nice. I got used to it pretty quickly, even though I lived with the uber-communicative Dunlops for seven months. The Contis are a tire that will satisfy almost everyone in almost every car. I hope you can find some way to test drive these tires, because they really are a good combo of comfort and grip, for less money than a Michelin equivalent. The DWS 06+ seems to be pretty popular among BMW owners on TR, although I’m not sure their cars are of the caliber of an E90, as far as driving excellence goes.

Also, for what it’s worth, before I got my tires, I asked Continental the differences between the old DWS 06 and the newer Plus, and according to them it’s a 10% improvement in wet handling and an 11% improvement in winter traction. If there’s more to it than that, the rep didn’t mention it in the email reply. I thought they improved other aspects of the tire besides inclement weather handling, at least from what I’ve read in reviews and feedback, but now with that response from them, I’m not sure.

Fun fact: the old DWS 06 is basically the same as the slightly cheaper SureContact RX UHPAS tire sold at PepBoys and some other stores (and not TR).

Apologies for writing another near-novel, but I was thinking more about the Bridgestone Potenza 980AS+; it’s a newer updated tire that drives very well, supposedly, with a slight compromise in traction in wet/winter conditions. Depending on where you live and what your seasons are like, that may or may not be crucial. I’d like to think wet traction is probably still better than the average UHPAS tire or just your average Joe Schmoe tire.
According to this tire-focused site, it has the best on-center feel of the UHPAS tires
https://tireer.com/best-all-season-performance-tires/
And in this TR test video, which seemed to use the same sort of car for the test in your link, they also had good things to say. Although they did note steering was a bit lighter, but nonetheless very precise.

And apparently the Bridgestones have a 3-month “buy and try” trial of sorts. They’re priced between the Continentals and Michelins, at least for my car’s size. Furthermore, Bridgestone offers rebates more often than Continental does. Part of why I took so long in getting my set was waiting for another rebate drop, but in the end I had to get the tires when there wasn’t a rebate for the DWS06+ lol.

[KuroNekko]

Have you noticed any change in fuel economy with your Michelins? I'd consider them as a candidate for future tires, but I've read that they can be about as noisy as my old Dunlops, and they're a pretty penny, too. Otherwise, they seem great.

Noise-wise, they aren't like Grand Touring tires in quietness but they aren't excessive either. As for the fuel economy, it's hard to measure because most of my driving these days is city driving. My office is three miles away on surface roads and I don't get on the freeways for long distances compared to the past. My average MPG is closer to 20 due to the majority city driving (EPA rating for my specific Kizashi is 20 City, 29 Hwy). Hence, it's been hard to really measure the impact of the new tires on fuel efficiency.
I also considered the Potenzas but most reviews seemed to favor the Pilot Sport A/S 4. In the end, I was going to buy from Costco so went with the Michelins when they offered the $150 instant rebate.

[KlutzNinja]

TireRack got some Continental SureContact RX UHP/AS tires and are selling them at closeout prices. I was surprised to see them on there, because TR was about the last place they’re supposed to be sold. These are basically ExtremeContact DWS 06 tires for less money and under a different name, or in other words, like the current DWS 06+ model that I have, but not quite as good in wet conditions (still good enough for most people).
They’re roughly $145 a pop, which is a very good price for a good tire from a reputable brand in the Kizashi’s 235/45-18 size; a lot of similar quality tires cost around $200/tire. The DWS 06+ and equivalent Michelins are well over $200/tire (before any potential incentives).

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp? ... port+GTS-L

There’s only 24 of these tires available (12 after I finished making this post. Yikes), so the window of opportunity is small. But it’s worth a look if anyone needs new tires soon and wants to go UHP/AS.
My Contis (which, again, are almost the same as the SureContacts) have been very good to me and my Mazda overall, and I’m sure they’d be great on a Kizashi, too. I realized I was still in the break-in period of my tires, so that incident in the storm was probably due to that. I’m not eager to drive in a storm like that again, but I’d be a bit more confident now post-break-in if I had to.
And because it’s TireRack, you can pay in increments over time, which is nice for budgets.

FWIW, Bridgestone currently has an instant rebate for $110 off four tires, which isn’t too shabby, either.