Itsme:

Yesterday at lunch I talked to an engineer who is working at this tire/automotive company (my customer) about the discussion of N-rated and DWS tires. He smiled and said: “a heavy modified VW Golf is still a good car. But would you use this Golf for high speed traveling (not only one high speed test) as daily Autobahn driver? It is possible, yes, but there is a reason why a Porsche/BMW/Mercedes is the better car for this use-case and that the chance to get to your destination high speed travelling is bigger. Stay with the N-rated tires even if they are not from my manufacturer, they are different. The smallest car body damage is more expensive than the difference between a good and an optimized tire”

That just does not make any sense to me.  DWS or NON- N tires don't cause accidents - drivers cause accidents.  It is as though you think the DWS tires will somehow fall apart (they have more than double the wear rating!).  What is really expensive is buying an N rated tire, drving in the cold AND wrecking your car into the nearest telephone pole. 

In dry or warm conditions either tire will perform much better than the driver on the street can use reasonably.  In cold or wet I bet anyone here the DWS will be much safer than the summer 'N' tires.

The greatest danger is using tires which have been worn out.  Trust me, the N tires will wear out much faster and given their cost people are much more likely to use them longer than is wise and in conditions they are not designed for.  Note  that much of the discussion here is about the cost of spare rims, extra winter tires etc. - this causes people to run longer on old tires and is far more dangerous.

I drive my DWS all year around, no extra rims, no spare winter tires!  If it is too snowy to use the DWS I doubt it is a good idea to take the 911 out because of all the people who will run into you!  Not the other  way around.

Since they are reasonably priced and last 2-3 times as long they end up costing about 1/5 the price of N tires (not to mention the extra expense of winter tires).  Because of that I am much less likely to drive on a worn out set of expensive (overpriced) tires and much less likely to do 'body damage'.  Do you really think they are 5X as good? Or the DWS are 5x as likely to cause an accident.  In life we need to make informed choices.  Let me help a little with my own observations.

I don't believe for a second that it is safer to use the N1 or N2 - unless you are always in a warm, dry climate and never have more than 10K miles on the tires (6K in the rear is more like it).  IMHO it is safest to have tires which work well when conditions are marginal - in the cold, wet or snow - that is when you and others around you have accidents.  1 or 2 seconds on the track are not worth the trade-off in all weather safety and expense.  To me the N tires are the biggest compromise.  Optimized for conditions we don't see all year around and far more dangerous when conditions are not ideal.  I am not into taking chances or parking my car when the weather is not perfect.

Lastly - Unless you have driven a 911 with the DWS you simply don't know what you are missing.  Some are available for a 30 day 'test' drive - a clear sign that the makers are pretty confident that you will be more than happy.  Clearly I have used all season tires on my 997 for years and I find the DWS to be EXCELLENT.  Even if they cost more than the N tire I would still buy them in a heartbeat!  Try them once yourself else you are doomed to continue to make the tire guys rich with these unfounded fears and keep the body shop much more busy!

DWS Treadwear rating 540 ($872) - Michelin N2 - 220 ($1772). Given the wear rating and price the N tires are 4.98 times more expensive - AND the DWS have a much better warranty (Even the road hazard is included!  I had a flat the other day and Tire Rack sent me a new tire overnight! )

Except for dry traction the DWS exceeds all the other specs of the N2 - compare at the tirerack.com.  The rears even weigh a pound less.

You are paying a huge premium for the letter 'N' and you are in a world of hurt in the cold or rain.  The N is a letter and will not cushion the telephone pole at all.  Nothing replaces driving well.  Bottom line the N tires is  no safer at all and I have not even calculated that with the N tires you really need another set of tires and wheels for the winter.  By the way N rated winter tires are the biggest joke - they will never see the track or be driven at VMAX - the DWS have no such issues.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/CompareTires.jsp

I guess I have better things to spend my money on, like fuel to turn the tires.