Kevin Scott

Does anyone notice the incredibly strange ride with continental summer tires? I noticed it before the winter, put on my winter tires and it drove totally normal. I put my summer tires back on and it's wild. If I drive over a man hole cover on one side of the car it sways back and forth. That didn't happen with my winter tires. It's really a strange ride. Any thoughts?

2kwik4u

Are the shoulders really worn?

My DWS06's have always become very "darty" when they get really worn down. I'm down to the wear bars on mine now and will be replacing in the coming weeks. They're starting to get very darty/skittish. Especially on roads with grooves, or heavy ruts/shoulders.

If the tires have good tread and shape, then I would start checking ball joints, and tie rods.

niedejb

I'd re-check tire pressure on the summer tires. High/over pressure makes the tires crown and makes the contact pattern smaller. You can always try lower the pressure to see if things improve.

Kevin Scott

thanks for the replies. darty is a good word. I just had winters on for the last four months and it drove beautifully. These tires are about halfway through there extended life according to my local mechanic.

2kwik4u

Run those same tires on my wifes Traverse, and now on her Rogue. We've never had much of the "darty" behavior out of them except for on exceptionally heavily grooved roadways (like fresh concrete, or asphalt that has just been ground and not resurfaced yet). These came stock on my '12 Focus hatchback, and that car was REALLY bad about grooved or rutted pavement pulling the front around seemingly "randomly". I swapped tires and it continued, so I figured it was just something to do with the suspension setup on that car.

I would start checking bushings/balljoints/tie-rods for wear and damage. Maybe you hit something over the winter and the winter tires are more forgiving to a poor alignment, or changing alignment than the continentals are?!?!

JohnnyJ

My previous RS5 with broad tires was extremely sensitive to uneven road surfaces and behaved like you described. I guess your summer tires are wider than your winter such?

Kevin Scott

Thanks, my hak winters were the same size but had a slightly different profile. The truck drove awesome with those. It drives like the tires have a mind of their own with these summer tires. If I drive over a small depression in the road the whole car sways, regardless of which side of the car I drive over the depression in. Everything seems to be exaggerated significantly making for an almost embarrassingly unusually ride. Other tires were great.

PsyQ7

Did not like the contis that came on my 2020. Changed out to Vredestein Quatrac Pros. Different car.

Kevin Scott

thanks. that maybe my play.

PsyQ7

I'll be honest, I'm pretty much evangelical about Vredestein. As a Brit living in the US, the brand is better known in Europe and only just starting to gain prominence over here.

Here's my write up if useful -- https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-.../#post25771843