kennedy Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Damnnn b. I used to sell and service tires so I know how absolutely lame this is. I also know that a lot of the probably 100 tires I inspected/serviced/replaced at the shop were underinflated (usually all tires on the car were low) or the owner could recall some pretty serious bumps that could possibly be identified as culprit. Well.. my Continental Extreme Contact DWS remained +-2psi from door placard for the last year and a half that I've owned them, and I haven't popped any curbs or construction, nothin'! Both tires on passenger side have bubbles, the rear one is maybe the diameter of a gumball and sticks out maybe 1/3rd of an inch. The front right is toast, golfball sized sticking out even more. Obviously.. I'm pissed. I knew how to maintain them and avoid this crap and routinely got cursed at by customers when I told them their tire was toast. I still owe like $300 on these damn things and the tread isn't THAT low by any means, I last measured tread depth (with proper tread depth tool) at 8/32 I believe it was.. maybe 6 months ago. I know our shop promoted the whole 'Don't match tires with more of a 4/32nd" tread depth variance on AWD vehicles' but I've read Subaru pushes 2/32. I really can't afford new tires now, especially since I still owe on these (no road hazard, shame on me since I used to sell that with every pair)... and as much as I don't want to give Continental any more of my $, I would love to get just two tires instead of the whole set. What would you guys recommend - anything short of a whole new set? This'll be the last f'n time I buy pricey tires, my crap kumhos lasted for like 50k with zero damage til wire started showing on drivers front. I don't think i've ever had such a kick in the balls with car parts lol. It's a kick in the balls when your original axle needs replacing, or big $ maintenance comes up like timing belt (i need that, too)... but an even bigger kick in the nuts when you were all proud of yourself for being an adult and buying nice tires.. only to find that you may need a whole new set 20k miles later. WEAK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDawg Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 get 2 tires and have them shaved to match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito_b0y Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Man, I just switched over to my summer rubber a couple days ago and inspected my DWS'; no bubbles whatsoever. I've had my set for 2 years/25k miles and I've hit some pretty nasty potholes. When I first had them mounted with factory PSI (34F/32R?) specs, I hit a pothole on the highway and blew out both my driver's side tires. Good thing I had the road hazard insurance. Since then I've been running them at 40F/38R. EDIT: I think it's safe to say the DWS' should be inflated to a PSI higher than stock specs. My stock tire size is 205/50/17 (2.5i) and I have the DWS in 215/45/17. 2006 SWP 3.0R 5EAT VDC BBQ 2008 OBP 2.5i 4EAT BBQ [RIP] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kongzilla Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Tires are everything. Never cheap out on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTDogg MA Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Tires are everything. Never cheap out on them. Problem is the DWS isn't exactly a "cheap out" tire, it's just not a Michelin Pilot Sport. The sidewalls are too soft to be considered a UHPAS from every review I've read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennedy Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 Yeah lol, they were the most expensive tires I've ever owned. I remember reading that bit about DWS and slightly overinflated but never exceeded +2psi, 37 front I guess it was. The tire shaving thing would be cool if it were one tire, with it being two I'm not sure if its saving me that much $. Maybe sell my two good ones on craigslist and get a whole new set. I commute ~130 miles a day for work, 80mph to Denver so it looks like I'll have to make a decision pretty quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Conti DWS's were probably the cheapest tire I've personally purchased and I hated them. Not a day went by that I wished that I had spent the extra money on Pilot Sport A/S plus. Previously I had a set of kumho kh11's on that car. They were ok in the grip and hydro resistance but they roared like M/T truck tires. At this point I'll only buy aftermarket Bridgestones or Michilen tires. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cseagle08 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Sounds like continental is junk. I've always had great luck in BF Goodrich. Which are now made my michelin anyways if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Sounds like continental is junk. I've always had great luck in BF Goodrich. Which are now made my michelin anyways if I remember correctly. Michelin owns BF Goodrich not sure if they are built in the same factory though. I do know the top Michelin tires are made in France. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lingling1337 Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I'm in the same boat here, front drivers tire has a pretty awful bubble. I'd rather not buy a new set of 4, how expensive is it for a shop to measure/shave a tire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Not everyone shaves tires best to call around. I know tire rack offers it but unsure on pricing. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lingling1337 Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Not everyone shaves tires best to call around. I know tire rack offers it but unsure on pricing. Looks like no one in my area does it. I called tire rack and the rep said $35 to shave, site says $25 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennedy Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 ^Yea, that's what I read. $350 for a pair of tires shaved and shipped at least.. then paying to mount and balance which is just robbery if you don't buy the tires at the place you take them to it seems. I don't want to spend more this time around, my previous cheap econoish tires were fine for years. I also will get road haz w/ new set so +$. My car lost it's comfort and quiet ride a long time ago so I really just care about point A to B without phantom sidewall damage. Bubble has increased in size since I first posted two weeks ago. I guess that's obvious huh.. It's pretty soft now too. Needless to say, I'm not driving anywhere until replacements. I may also go back to 215/45/17 to increase selection locallywithout having to order.. and save dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbodog Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I run my DWS at about 42 psi cold and have no problems with winter driving. 225/45-18. 34 psi sounds insane for a tire with such a soft sidewall You do know that subaru under spec's pressures, right.....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 you do know you shouldn't have to over inflate a tire to compensate for its weak construction right? 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbodog Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 you do know you shouldn't have to over inflate a tire to compensate for its weak construction right? I'm also running my re050 at 42psi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 40+ psi is asinine on the street. Stock psi or stock + 2psi is usually just fine on the street, but anything more is just silly, unless your daily commute is Laguna Seca. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbodog Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 40+ psi is asinine on the street. Stock psi or stock + 2psi is usually just fine on the street, but anything more is just silly, unless your daily commute is Laguna Seca. I personally prefer the stiffer ride. A stock lgt rides like a buick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 That's artificial though if you really want a stiffer ride get better struts and springs. Raising tire pressure to abnormal levels is a crutch for something else that isn't right, be it soft sidewalls or soft ride. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbodog Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Sidewalls that flex and roll over are not exactly performance oriented. Mmmkay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalRPM Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 My lovely story about sidewall bubbles goes a little something like this: About a month ago, bought four Kumho AST's and had them mounted and balanced. I don't mind the tire, but I guess I get what I pay for and I'm fine with that. I know they're softer and don't last as long, but alas. Took my 05 LGT into the local dealer for the 60k maintenance, since I'll most likely be selling the vehicle within the year. () Spent way too much money on that, but was happy that most of the major legwork in keeping the car up to par was done. Tires, maintenance, what have you...all done. Local highway is doing a TON of maintenance adding new on-ramps and off-ramps (Delaware Rt 1, I-95 merger plan) and they've decided to whittle down two lanes into one lane. Ok, fine. This construction has been going on for the better part of a year and there has always been little areas where the patchwork has been shitty enough to warrant a huge swerve in ANY vehicle, but it's usually patched up. Except the day after my maintenance, there is an entire section of the highway AS WIDE as the single lane I'm in, sunken down about 4 inches. Since I was behind a 18-wheeler, it was pretty hard to see until it was too late although I did manage to swerve slightly to the side. WHAM huge bubble on my front tire. alignment out of whack. My thinning hair being pulled out of my head. I'm not even sure if there is/was anything I could do, call DelDOT? Call my insurance and bitch? My mindset is to simply look for a spare rim, keep the bubbled tire as a full-size spare, and mount a new tire. The tread difference can't be measurable at this point, I've put barely 1500 miles on the tires, IF that. Never trust a highway under repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Don't follow 18 wheelers that closely at speed. That being said, I've done similar things before, but I've been fortunate and haven't hit anything. *phew* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbodog Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Buy a new tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalRPM Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Yup. That entire section of the highway has now been re-asphalted to the point it's more like a bump than a dip. 4 inches drop now goes to about a 1 inch rise, I guess they're preparing for the heavy traffic to flatten it out. Ahh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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