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[pogi333]

I have a 08 335xi coupe and was running the stock set up with 225/45/17 Continental ContiProContact SSR. These tires are extremely stiff on road imperfections. Impacts on potholes were a nightmare and at times felt like I bent my rim. It sounded like explosions. Also, my rear tires wore to 5/32 and my wet and snow traction diminished.

After being fed up with this tire I decided to get a larger rim (for aesthetics) and for a my quest for a more comfortable ride. I went non-staggered setup (for rotation purposes) with a 19" x 8.5 rim paired with the continental extremecontact DWS size 235/35/19. I needed some snow performance since I'm in the northeast and i was debating between a dedicated winter/summer setup vs an all season. I have not got an alignment yet. I've had this tire for a week now, about 150miles. My initial impression was the steering wheel felt a lot lighter and a little dull, turn response was much slower and less precise. However, the tire a much more comfortable on road imperfections. The harshness on large impacts were gone. The jarring explosions when hitting a large bump disappeared. I didn't notice too much difference on handling on dry, but it was the same or a little worse. Wet traction greatly improved.

I weighed my tires with wheels and here the results. 19" with non run flats are lighter!
OEM 17" with Runflats - 50lbs
19 x 8.5 with Continental DWS - 47lbs

It is most important to me is to have a tight steering feel, precise steering, and car handle well, but at the same time be able to drive in a few inches of snow and in winter weather and be bearable over large bumps. I'm on stock suspension. Here are my questions:

1. Will the turn-in response and steering feel improve after 1000 miles of break in?
2. Do the DWS tires handle worse than the stock setup overall? they feel less responsive in steering, but can't tell for sure on handling and grip on dry.
3. By changing is size of tire/wheel from a 225/45/17 to a 235/35/19 did it worsen my handling? I saw the car and driver article comparing wheel size and it said performance began to demising bigger than 18".
4. My overall diameter increased from 25 to 25.5. The ride height did increase by about an 0.5 inch. How did this overall increase in diameter affect my handling?
5. Any recommendations on another season tire based on my wants?

Thanks for anyone's input!

[BMWE90 ModMaster]

Looks really clean man, good job.

[Fun w/N54]

I ran the DWSs with 245/40/17 square on my old e92 xdrive with no issues. I aired my up to 36-38...improved the response without impacting the ride quality. Wore like iron as I put 30k miles on them and still had plenty of life left when I sold it. Good luck.

[VMRWheels]

It's important to remember that when comparing RFTs to non-RFTs, the steering feel is going to be different. The stock tires are really stiff, which gives you great feedback from the road, especially when turning in. They're quite responsive tires. DWSes are known for being really soft though, so you will probably be disappointed with the way the car feels when turning into a corner. That's not to say the DWS is a bad tire though. It's actually one of the better all-seasons you can buy.

I have plenty of customers that order wheels with these tires in 19" sizing for their E92s, and they are very happy with the way the car looks and feels.