Many happy owners of Conti DWS here. I had a set on a benz SLK 350 and was very pleased with the performance and wear life, so I took it as a good sign when the seller had installed a set of DWS 255/55/18s on my X5, pre-purchase. Excellent performance in Atlanta's recent snow/ice issues, along with excellent wet/dry performance. I'm hoping for good tread life, as I had on the SLK, but too soon to say.

I agree.

Pointing out those who live in warm climates or run different tires/rims for cold/snow, the DWs are a better year-round/summer choice.

DWs are AA wet traction rated where as the DWSs are only A. Why give up the additional wet traction and hot dry grip of the DW for the lower wet traction/hot dry grip of the DWS if the tires are stored in the garage or the X never sees snow/cold.

DWS is the way to go if you drive one set of tires, all seasons and live where low temps/snow are common. DWs for summer or all year in south/southwest areas.

Many drivers are under the misconception that all-season tire are better in rain then max/extreme summer tires when the opposite is true.

Hard summer drivers should also be aware that the soft rubber of DWS all-season tires (remains pliable at sub-zero temps) can get greasy and shed chunks when driven hard in high heat. Max/extreme rubber compounds don't get greasy or chunk when pushed hard in extreme temps but "glass transition" (non-pliable) at temps below freezing.

I really enjoyed DWS on my Cadillac STS RWD 2006 V6 I had for 2yrs in the harsh winter of NYC. Now I have a BMW X3 M-Sport with oem CheapYear LS-2 that I want to get rid of and replace w/ DWS most likely can't seem to find a RFT as good as the DWS.

I'm with you on the DWS in northern US climes as a year-round if you aren't swapping out for winter tires. Down south, I'm with TiAGX5, the DW Conti would be a better choice. Of course, I'm weird enough to have DWS mounted on my X5's original wheels for 'winter' use in North Georgia, where we have rare but nasty ice storms, with summer high performance Coopers [Zeon Xstas] mounted on brand-new 209 wheels I got as a bargain off of a 2013 E70 ....... For summer use, I like the Coopers, the DWS seemed soft and mushy in GA summer heat.

How often is the winter in North GA ?

FWIW, I sold the brand new Bridgestone RFTs, the OEM tires on the E70 209 rims, to mount the Coopers. Worked out as a reasonable economic deal, and no way would I have run flats .......

If you watched the weather last winter, you saw how Atlanta drivers dealt with the one weekday snowstorm. We had two 'events' last winter, the most in several years. I do drive north occasionally, and when the weather cools the DWS are fine down here, dry, wet, or snow. With swapping out the wheels, I don't anticipate buying new tires for many years ........ I'm probably the only driver south of the VA-NC border [if not the Mason-Dixon line] doing the winter tire swap! :)

I would run the DWSs all season if I lived in the northeast.

:iagree: My opinion exactly :thumbup: