So I'm looking for new tires (old ones are all worn out), and I've narrowed my choices down to these two (no real tracking with occasional spirited driving). Does anyone with firsthand experience know which is better, or can say what the differences are? I know Tirerack did a test, but I'm curious how the tires are on our cars.

Thanks!

 

You know those two tires are not in the same performance category, right?
Do you want more grip or longer life?

DW would be an excellent choice Max Performance tire. Dunlop Sport Maxx TT is another great tire to consider.
Looks like there are better choices than S.Drive in the Ultra High Performance category:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresult...ter=16&type=UHP

 

In UHP, there are a million threads. I have Dunlop Star Specs and they are amazing, but the sacrifice on tread life is costly.

I have the Contis on my Acura TLS daily Driver and they work well for daily. I would not expect much from them on a spirited drive or track/autox. The plus is they have 20K and minimal wear.

 

The DWs are ranked top in their category. I'm really shocked more people don't use them. They seem to be fantastic, and aren't that expensive.

 

I'm running the DW's for my everyday tire and for my wet auto-x tire. They work great in the rain, one of the best tires I've ever driven on. Nice and quiet on the road and dont seem to tramline on the highway.

 

^^how many miles do you have on em so far? The one guy on tirerack who had an s2k rated these tires poorly, he musta had a bad batch or something? Im interested to see how many miles people typically average with a max performing tire such as the continental DW

 

Dunlop Sport Maxx TT is another option (doesn't appear in customer survey results though).

Mileage for most Max Perf tires is going to be no better than Extreme Perf, worse than Ultra High Perf.

Grip generally is going to cost you treadwear...

 

I've got about 1500 miles so far. I havent had any issues with these tires at, I think that other guy was smoking crack or something.

 

For some reason, it seems like the continental dw has a higher treadwear rating than the S. Drives. But...it's in the Max Performance Category. So is it just longer-lasting and better performance?

 

^^
you cannot compare two different tires treadwear ratings, the continentals will DEFINITELY wear faster than the s-drives.