037

I think Conti DWS are the best all around tire for the price. Michelin Pilots A/S Plus will beat it in dry, as well as the price!

In all seasons with a heavy emphasis on wet and snow, there is no equal to DWS among all season tires.

I have 12k on them now and I got nothing but praise. If you want one tire that can do it all and do it well, this is your choice.

If you value dry traction more, Pilot Sport A/S Plus is definitely the best choice.

vuuha05

iTrader: (5)

^+1...enough said

gt101

I've had both the ContiExtreme DWS & the Pilot + A/S in the last 3 months. The Conti's were smooth, quiet and rode quite nicely. I even noticed a slight improvement in MPG over the stock tires. Unfortunately after 4 trips to the tire dealer and 6 attempts, they could never get them to balance. Replaced them with the Pilots. They don't ride as smoothly and the MPG is down 1-2 vs stock, but they stick like glue and even handled ice and 4" of snow well.

white05rl

Holy smoke gt101, that's EXACTLY what happened to me. Of course NTB made it sound like it was all in my head. Eventually they replaced the DWS with new Michellins (I paid the difference).

I was visiting the store about every 2 weeks for a balance and each time it was WAY OFF. Not anymore!

037

I got my allignment done recently at the dealer and the tires drive fine. Dare I say I drove 11k without an allignment and they were fine too?

Dunno if it's just the 2Gs that have a problem with them but 2.5G is fine...

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

I had to re-balance my Conti DWS only once since i installed them . For 20k+ miles on them, this is not that bad, i guess.

They ride fine, not the smoothest tire i ever had, but very acceptable. The seem very durable - i still have 85%+ rubber left on them and i drive pretty aggressively.
My biggest concern with them is that on SOME cold mornings, they seem to flat-spot a lot. The first 3-4miles of driving on the freeway could be very rough and after that everything goes back to normal (as they warm up). Funny thing is.... this does not happen every morning. I haven't seen this issue for more than a week and the weather has been pretty cold. Go figure.

baboya96

I'm going to bite the bullet and order a set of Conti tomorrow. I'll be ordering 245/40/19 so hopefully all these issues previously mentioned are on the stock wheel size. Let's see what happens.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Digging up an old thread here because my Versados have been EXTREMELY great tires and I wanted to see if anything could compare.

I have been on these tires for a little over 3 years and ~60k with no issues. Now at the end of their life my last tire rotation left them a little noisy. I believe this is mostly due to the feathering on the inside of rear tires being moved to the front.

Thanks for all of your feedback but it looks like I may be going back with them again this time around.

To follow suite:
There is a little drift in the tires as they wear, but nothing noticeable in the first 30k
The pot hole/road reflector noise is a little loud, and worsens with wear but not near the Michelin's noise IMO
Over all road noise is quiet, I haven't had any issues until the last rotation
Wet traction is great and dry traction rivals most sport tires I've owned
Light snow was no problem, I do not drive this car in heavy snow so no comparison there
Ice, no problem... I never broke traction. I'm sure the AWD helps as well.
Fuel mileage averages 22-23 in the city and on road trips I have seen 25-28 on the mid.

037

for the record, DWS are crazy in the rain and do not lose grip, do not hydroplan and do not even slow down when going through deep water.

I found my self taking some roads faster than I do in the dry, crazy.

mtnvu

Just completed one week on new set of Bridgestone Serenity tires. Fantastic replacement to the OEM MXM4s. Amazingly sticky on expressway ramps. So quiet that now I am bothered by engine noise which I never noticed previously with the OEMs. For the last 15 years I've always replaced OEMs with Bridgestones and have never been disappointed.

kssod

someone try the new General G-Max AS-03 yet?

VQPower37

i have the same issue ... in fact i feel like they can flat spot within 45 mins or so if the car is sitting ... however when they warm up they are very smooth for me. car driver just as good if not better than stock IMO

lsbuffs

I've got about a month or so on my Bridgestone Serenity tires and couldn't be more pleased. I've had the OEM and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S over the years and think these may be my favorite. Very quiet and smooth. Plus just received my $70 rebate check, which I had forgotten about, so I'm really on the Serenity bandwagon today.

JRock80

Thank you all for posting your feedback regarding the tires. While it is not time for me to buy tires yet, I am preparing as there are not many tires available for our cars.

I previously owned a 2004 Maxima a ran with BS Potenza RE960's and they were great, even after they wore. Very quiet for a performance tire. My previous set were Potenza's were BS 760's, but they got very loud toward the end of their life. I got about 25k on them. Both tire sets handled like champs. Based on prior experience, I am leaning toward the Turanza's, but the arguments regarding the DWS are compelling.

One thing to note, you can always negotiate at a Firestone store. They will do buy 3 get one free all day long, which sometimes beats the $100 mail in rebate.

Hope this helps someone.

04black RL

I can't wait to get these tires off my 04 RL. I've had nothing but problems with these tires. I too got sucked into the reveiws at TR.com......me thinks Conti may be paying peeps to write good reviews for the Extremem Contact DWS......because I too ahve pull to the right, steeringwheel vibrations at 65mph or better.

When several people, driving the same car, have the same exact problems, this would point directly toward the DWS. Especially given that I didn't have any of these problems while running worn out Michellins!

I'm hoping the store at which I bought these tires will stand behind them. Im going to ask for credit towards 4 BS Serenity.

037

judging by your review I should be getting a nice fat check from Conti as I have nothing but great things to say about them. Excellent dry traction, excellection wet traction, and hell, I went through the winter with them and they were GREAT!

maybe it's the car model thing, they are the best A/S tire I've bought to date and I've driven on Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (same car) and Bridgestone 960's (TL).

home4sale2

TampaRL, what's your latest experience with the Serenity? I am ready to pull the trigger once Costco puts a promotion out again, currently on Michelin only.

037

^

mtnvu

Finished the first month on the new set of Serenities. They continue to be outstanding, but I have noticed a 5-6% drop in mpg versus the OEMs. Still, the drive is worth it.

gdevine

Thanks to all the reviews on Acurazine pertaining to the BS Serenity's VS the Continental Contac's, I decided to go with the Serenity's.

First impression is a huge reduction in road noise. Of course worn tires will increase road noise but I do remember when the RL was brand new, road noise was a bit of an irritant.

I never owned a Honda vehicle until this Rl, so I figured the road noise was a trait of Honda's. Wrong! The MXM4's were a great tire but they were loud: or is it that the Serenity's are really quiet?

Bottom line: so far very smooth, and very quiet. I'll see how sticky they are this weekend when I take the beast into the mountains for a ride.

SSjTrunks112O

Heavy, Where did you purchase your Versados & for how much.. I think that will wind up being my next choice as well.. How would you compare them versus the Conti DWS for snow/ice/fuel mpg??

JRock80

@Gdevine,

Do you have an updated review regarding your Serenity's? It is almost time for me to get some new tires and I am leaning towards the Serenity's. Also do you remember how much you paid for them?

Thanking you in advance.

JRock

bronx1480

The michelin primacy are great tires way better than oem michelin's. i just brought some last week and i love them

jmlaser

Last year I had the DWS, put on about this time of year or a little before, got my 25-30k out of them and they are done. My impression was they were squirmy but sticky (soft sidewall), GREAT in the wet and snow. I did experience the flat spotting others had mentioned when cold. Not that big of a deal as it came out as the tire warmed up in a few minutes driving. Never had to rebalance them as others did. I rotated them on time and ran them at 38psi to compensate for the squishy ride factor, and had a fresh alignment when I put them on. I did experience quite a bit of road noise this summer toward the end of thier usable life. My impression is its a good tire, but you get what you pay for. I thought about getting them again but went to the VERSADOS

Now I have been on the Versados lxii for about a month. I absolutely love these so far. Have seen some wet but no snow yet. I think they are a better balanced tire all around.
In the areas where I would have rated the DWS a 6 the Toyos get 8s. the only place the DWS is gonna win is wet/snow. But honestly I will live with slighly less snow/wet performance for the all around balance and good nature of the versados in the other respects.

just my 2c

jedinyte120

alright fellas,
here is my experience with the DWS tires. i bought them thursday and I mounted and balanced them myself at my brothers shop. i lubed the rim of the tires and mounted and balanced them and went on my way. drove on the highway and the steering wheel vibrated and my butt vibrated between 50-65 mph. i was annoyed thinking i had the dreadful "out of round" tires. friday i then rebalanced the fronts at my brothers shop. and drove on the highway, but there was less of a vibration but still there and annoyed.
tonight, my brother told me to dismount the tires and lube the rim of the tires along with lubing around all over the wheel itself. he mentioned that it would help for the tires to seat properly on the rim. i did so and filled up the tires with air and the tires popped on both the inner and outer of the tire very easily. when i originally put air in the tires, i had a hard time getting that popping for the tires to seat properly.
i also apparently use the balance machine wrong. when calibrating the balance machine, i put in the correct wheel dimensions except for the little lever that you have to push against the lip of the rim. i think that lever helps to set the offset or something. but its a step that has to be done in order to confirm your wheel settings. my original use of that lever, i pushed it up against the inner lip of the inside of the rim and got a number of 61. my brother told me i had to actually put it against the outter lip itself and that gave me a confirmation beep of 54.
so tonight i rushed cuz they were closing and i only did my passenger side wheels and the steering wheel vibrations were almost completely gone! there still a slight to almost none vibration on the wheel and my butt. mind you i also rebalanced my driver front wheel before he told me about the calibration issue. when i rebalanced the front driver side, i just added .50 ounce of weight instead of removing the other 1.25 ounce.
but the steering wheel is like night and day! the tires do have that tramlining feel to it compared to the michelin pilot sports i had on before. the michelins were def better at cornering but my ride is much smoother now and less road noise. cant wait to do my driver side later this week i hope this post helps some of you.

Roger

boredazngirl13

I have a 2008 RL, I need new tires. Does anyone know how the BS Turanza w/ Serenity runs? Is that the same as BS Serenity?

gbriank

Yes, this is the same tire. "Turanza" is the name for the family of tires Bridgestone offers. Serenity points to a design/formulation of the tire. This one is a Grand Touring All-Season tire formulated for smooth and quiet ride. Is that what you are looking for, or maybe something more performance oriented? How much are you looking to spend, or is that not a factor?

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Welcome... Good on you for searching.

home4sale2

+1 for the Bridgestone Serenities. 1 month, so far so good. Hard to compare against Michelin OEM's that had close to 50K on them (it would be unfair) but these were cheaper and I like the feel and the way they drive.

BDoggPrelude

Thank you. I must commend you for understanding that you can't compare a new tire against the worn out tires it just replaced. Too many people on this forum are quick to bash the Pilot HX MXM4. Most of them forget when they are riding on a new set of tires they feel like a million bucks compared to the old bologna skins they just replaced.

TampaRLX-SH

Just an update on my Serenities:

I have had them nearly two years now. They show virtually no wear although I have only put 12K miles on them. I am very impressed how smooth, quiet and sticky theses tires are, particularly when roads are wet with Florida downpours. They have been trouble free with no vibrations or mounting issues. I only had to add air once, after a winter cold snap and they were rotated once when MID service was performed on my RL. I run mine at 37psi as it seems to be my sweet spot for my ride preference while eliminating any minor flat spotting as my RL is regularly parked for several days between drives.

The only negative I could report is a penalty in avg mpg. From the OEM Michelins, my city mpg dropped 1.5-2mpg average and 1mpg average on highway mileage.

Michelins are noted to deliver better mpg on average, and likely why they are a favorite for Honda models. But I have found that equates to more roads noise, especially when worn halfway+ and lessened traction. Michelin has upgraded / replaced the OEM MXM4s with a new model called Primacy MXM4 (?). From what I read, this new model tire offers comparable comfort / quiet to the Serenities without the avg mpg penalty.

BDoggPrelude

Michelins are all manufactured using a segmented mold design. This creates a more truly round tire which is the first and biggest reason they typically return better fuel mileage than competitors. This has nothing to do with increased road noise later on in life. All tires get louder as they wear more, even the Serenities will. As you said before, your Serenities are not even showing wear so it's not fair to compare them to a 50%+ worn tire. Michelin continually scores top marks for fuel mileage, ride comfort and low noise because many of these attributes are all effected by the internal design of the tire...the segmented design. Yes, overall tread design plays a huge part in tire noise as well. Noise cancelling tread design, particularly variable pitched shoulder tread blocks are a must for a quiet tire.

The Serenity is a fantastic tire. I think it's amazing that it has taken Bridgestone this long to finally start marketing it, (Super Bowl commercials, continued TV spots, etc). The Turanza Serenity has been out for years and during the Super Bowl was the first time I ever saw a commercial for it.

TampaRLX-SH

Agreed. However I was not comparing the Serenities to the worn Michelins.

The Serenities were far more quiet and smoother to the Michelins comparing both tires when new.

Again, I expect the new Michelin Primacy MXM4s will be smoother and quieter when new, from what I read. I am a fan of Michelins as I generally get good wear from them, and typically better mileage.

However the OEM Michelins were acceptable when new, the Serenties are superior for my taste and brought the ride and smoothness to a level better than when the car was factory new (with OEM MIchelins).

BDoggPrelude

I am a huge fan of Michelin...but I would take the Serenities over the Pilot MXM4's any day. I would probably take them over the new Primacy MXM4 too.

tisucka

I have yet to hear negative reviews on the much cheaper Kumho Ecsta 4x tires. However, no one really compares them to the higher end tires of the Serenity, DWS, or Toyos. Anyone here can compare the Kumho's to the more expensive tires?

sonny@tirerack

More responsive than the DWS in the dry. Not quite as good in the wet. Better in the wet than the Serenity but not as quiet and comfortable. have not tested against any Toyos

BDoggPrelude

Not surprising in the least. I have the Conti DW which, as far as I know, employs the same overall carcass design just different tread and rubber compounds. They could definitely use a bit more turn-in response. Once you get them pointed the right way and settled in they have great lateral grip...it's just getting them there. Kumho's have always had a stiff build which typically gives good steering response.

It's kind of tough to compare the Turanza Serenity against UHP AS tires. The DWS, Pilot Sport A/S Plus and Ecsta 4X are all designed for higher dry weather performance. Doing this reduces a good deal of quietness and ride quality. The Serenity is more of an all-season touring tire, and probably the best one out there for quasi-performance sedans like ours. If you don't drive your car hard I would strongly steer you away from the UHP AS category and looking for something more like the Turanza Serenity. You will get a quiter, smoother riding and longer lasting tire that suits your needs much better.

tisucka

How would you compare the Ecsta 4X road noise versus the stock Michelin?

BDoggPrelude

I can only make an educated guess as I have not had either one on the RL. Our TL still had the stock Michelins on it when we bought it. Despite what reviews say, the Pilot HX MXM4 is an incredibly smooth riding and quiet tire. That is why Acura uses them on so many vehicles. I actually have numerous customers that buy set after set of them.

I road in a friend's car that had the Kumho 4X. They seemed okay but to give an accurate comparison review on a tire one needs to have experience in the same car with each tire. I can tell you there was no noticeable amount of tread noise but it was an RSX and not the quietest car to begin with.

I can almost guarantee that if you drive the two back to back you would find the Michelin has a better ride and is quieter. The Kumho should handle better since it is more performance oriented where the MXM4 is a touring tire.

shaselai

after reading this thread a couple of times... it seems either DWS or Serenity plus will be great tires? I am in need of 4 and there is a 100$ difference out the door between serenity plus and dws... is the 100$ more worth it to get the serenity? I have a 2003 TLs ~135K miles. I did read the serenity has a very high mileage warranty as well.... thanks!