I will admit right off the bat that I am no EVO tire expert. So I wanted to ask you guys on here what would be best in this following senario.

Up here in Canada I am looking to equip Mitsubishi EVO X's with a more capable and durable tire at the Dealership level. Basically an Urban Street tire and not really for Tracking / Super Aggressive Driving. Is it possible to run with a different tire size ratio that can possibly help with the side ways rolling of the tire that has been reported by EVO owners.

I am helping get these tires adopted at Local Dealerships and before I submit my recommendation, I wanted to get a better informed perspective by you guys. Guidelines are that the tire must be able to fit the OEM wheel for the EVO X. And cant throw off the MPH numbers by too much. Must be a reasonable margin.

Can anything be done? If not I may recommend that we bring the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus into the fold and off two tire upgrades.

Spec sizes available for the DWS tire is here
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...m%3D44YR8ECDWS

Cheers

Conti DWS sound like a reasonable choice of tire here. When compared to the stock Advans, the DWS's have less road noise and a softer ride, although they are less grippy. They are comfortable to be used as a daily street driving tire, but still sporty enough to allow you to have a great amount of fun. I just drove them through our first actual snow here in CT today, and I can confidently say that they also have great rain, slush, and light snow traction. Got me unstuck out of about 4 inches of pure snow with just a little slip while backing out of the driveway. They're relatively cheap and they do come in our stock wheel size of 245/40 18. Can't say much about durability though- perhaps somebody else could provide some input in that. In summary, a huge thumbs up for the Conti DWS.

holy crap, 540 treadwear? ugh. Go buy a civic. I will again reiterate that if you want a true performance car, you need to be putting performance tires on it. Putting a crappy OE tire onto a performance vehicle (be it an Evo, 335i, vette, etc.) is just a terrible idea.

But about the tires you linked to... The sidewall spec (93Y) is very soft.

The NT-05 (not a comfort tire by any means) is 97W.

The softer the sidewall the more comfort you will have, at the expense of turn in performance (softer = a turn in that's not as precise). I don't agree that a hard sidewall will actually protect the wheel/car any vs. a soft sidewall. Given the lowish profile of the 245/40, if you hit a pothole or curb, the tire really isn't big enough to cushion the blow and you're going to damage the wheel/suspension either way.

If you're looking for something that will protect the wheels and that sort of thing, I'd also look for a protective rubber flange (for lack of a better term). Some tires I've had have had a bit of a lip that sticks out and protects the wheel against curbing more than some other tires. I can't really say which ones they are (because I can't remember honestly), but I know that that's what I want on my wife's car

heheh, the only reason why the DWS is a good urban street option is because its all season capable for those who brave enough to face winter or rain season head-on.

As goofygrin mentioned this is not a serious dry tire. And it makes comprimises at the expense of dry performance. This is not going to be the primary tire but a substitute for a purchaser. Should the buyer opt for this tire it will have a secondary effect of adding to the Yoko OEM supply up here in Canada at the participating dealerships. Providing lower pricing on the OEM wheel.

thats the hope

There's always a compromise in choosing the right tire. What matters most to you? Comfortable ride? Traction? Tread wear?

What the Pilot Sport A/S does well is that it doesn't do too much in the extreme of each category but suits each one well to balance itself out.

You have to drive the conti DWS fairly hard to notice the difference in dry traction.

I put a set on my X, and as far as winter traction, it's amazing. My other car is a subaru impreza (also awd) with stock tires. The Conti DWS's do way better in snow, hands down.

To the original question, increasing or decreasing the profile of the tire is not going to get the results you want and also keep the MPH in check. It just can't be done that way.

Goofy already mentioned sidewall stiffness and it's advantages/disadvantages.

But, is that really important for what you are trying to do? It sounds like you want to provide Evo X buyers with an alternative tire choice. Something that will be all-season which would be beneficial to you guys up north. No all-season is going to have the type of sidewall you require. It's something you'll simply have to give up to get the all-season traction. From that standpoint, there are plenty of good options of all-season tires. Some have already been suggested.

What might be beneficial is to contact MMNA and ask if there is a specific all-season tire their engineers could recommend as an alternative to the OEM Advans. If anyone would know, it's going to be them.

If MMNA doesn't have a suggestion, than you'll need to invest money to test tires on dry/wet/snow and make the best choice for your customers. You can than leverage the testing as a selling point.

I am not sure where you live in Canada, but here is saskatoon, all season tires are a no go. IMO I think it should be manditory for a car to run a set of of dedicated winter tire especially in regions where you see snow for almost 5 months. Its just worth the extra cost to buy a set of winter rims and tire. Its a huge differance from all seasons and winter tires. To me its like an extra seat belt, it will save your life.

IMO you have to be a true car enthusiest to even consider buying an evo. If your going to sacrifice tire performance on your evo just to save your self some extra cash in the future, then i am sorry, you just bought the wrong car.

I agree 1000%. I'm in Winnipeg, and everyone I have convinced to go to snow tires says they'll never do all-seasons again. Plus with increased driver confidence comes increased driver enjoyment

One point to make here is that the Conti Extreme Contact DWS out perform most snow tires. Look at tirerack. They have tests there that shows this.

the snow performance is a real bonus, the wet traction is what was a real eye catcher. I got one chance to drive with these tires in a track setup and the guy I went around with was shocked by how well it cornered on the wet. What he doesnt like about the tire is that "one side to another" change over when you throw the cars weight around. After things settle down the footing is pretty planted.

I have been looking around to see if there was a way to combat that but its just the nature of the tire. And for the EVO X, its not a deal killer. but it does take away the dry track option for sure.

Mitsubishi USA has been helpful with the Lancer Ralliart / GTS evaluation of a 225/45/18 spec size. The EVO X tire is not an issue. And even if there was I guess a benefit, an alternative size would cause dealers to back out out of concern for other possible issues that may arise.

I wanted to throw it out there to get some feedback, and you guys never let me down. Thanks atombomb33, goofygrin, and everyone else for giving me more perspective

wow, that is hard to believe to be honest...

edit: wow just went ton tirerack and checked them out, these tires seems to be the best all season tires for snow!

With a 2300 mile road trip on the docket for the summer (Colorado to Ohio and back) I wanted to go with something a bit more compliant and quiet for my 2008 EVO X MR.

I opted for the DWS in stock sizing. I loaded the family up and off we went!! What I found after 2300 miles was an amazing touring tire that gave a quiet and stable ride at all highway speeds with three people in the car and with the boot loaded up with our gear. The tire was great at speed and very suitable for all civilized cornering at highway speeds. The gas mileage and speedometer were dead on according to my GPS calculations.

We hit a few heavy rain showers in the middle of Kansas and the tire performed flawlessly tracking through puddles a few inches deep at times. Very stable and secure in the wet.

On my spirited drives up the Canyons outside of my home here in boulder Colorado I could quickly tell the diminished grip on these tires compared to the stock Yoko's and other high performance tires I have run (BFG, Dunlop, Michelin). But then I reminded my self...these are ALL SEASON tires. They really cannot be compared to ultra high performance tires in the categories of grip and sidewall rigidity. They just have to compromise somewhere to give you the more comfortable ride and better traction on variant surface conditions.

One area this tire has proven to be my all time favorite is on high speed dirt road applications. Something about the tread pattern allows me to push this tire very very hard on the dirt and always find the grip I need.
On to winter reviews::
Here in Boulder CO we received our first deep freeze of the year last week. I left the DWS on to test it in the snow. My first impression was positive. The tire bit the snow well on initial take off and held a line reasonably well in cornering applications. Though corner at speed on hardpack did activate some of the ASC features to keep the line.

The tire was the weakest in it's braking applications. It simply did not bite the snow packed roads as a proper winter tire would. ABS went off like mad and the cars stopping distance was unacceptable. I then took my car on a spirited drive in an isolated/dirt road area to test the limits of the tire at speed (surface was complete snow and hardpacked snow). With the ability to drive the car with the ASC off and use the throttle to control the turns I could clearly tell that these tires were not as strong in the snow as dedicated snows I have run. They broke loose and would not respond well to throttle input to straighten out the car. Got scary so I went home

So, tuesday I got my Nokain Hakka R's put back on and took the car through a similar course of exercises. With only one day between the tests I felt I would have enough recall to do an accurate comparison.

I must say that an All Season tire feels good in the snow UNTIL YOU compare it to a a true snow tire like the Nokian. The difference is massive. Accelerating with the Nokian was as though it was dry. The cornering was precise and on line every time. The braking was instant and firm with no intervention from the ABS needed. On my snow packed road/dirt test course with the ASC off and driving the car at speed the Nokian took things to a whole new level. I could push the car through the twisties as hard as my confidence allowed. The car responded very well to throttle modulation and with extreme amount of siping on the tire allowed me to find an edge whenever I needed one. Incredible experience.

SOOOO...all that to say. The Conti DWS is by far my favorite ALL SEASON tire I have used. (I have run high end Michelins, Dunlops and Bridgestone's) And decent in the snow. But it must be said that this is an ALL season tire and will never do what a SNOW TIRE can do in the snow nor what a true performance tire does on the track.

My personal preference is to have three set ups. Snows, Summers/Track and a good Touring set up with All Seasons.

I think selling the EVO with the All seasons is great idea for those who live in climates where there are large portions of the year where the weather changes on a dime.

PLUS it will make the roads much safer for us all since the morons who think that AWD means tires don't matter will have something competent for winter out of the box.

wow awesome review!

my only complaint about the tires is that the car now dances too much on the highway at 50-60+ mph. my old crappy falken i could stay in my lane without worry and wouldn't dance anywhere near as it does now.