Looks Like Continental Has a New Performance Tire!

"Luken10" (luken10)
11/12/2013 at 00:29 • Filed to: Tires

"The idea behind ContiForceContact emerged at the Nürburgring."

I definitely wouldn't count that against a track/performance orientated tire. Seem to be in the same class as the Pilot SuperSports. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! let us know how they are!

I was hoping Continental would make a sportier tire than the ExtremeContact DWs I am currently using. I get a decent discount from Coninental for being part of the "Conti-Club" so I keep within the brand. Too bad it looks like they only come in five different sizes right now!

DISCUSSION (36)

All Motor Is Best Motor > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 01:13

I can't find any of the really good all season tires in a size that fits my car. It has a funky wheel size. The best I can get is Continental Extreme Contact.

GhostZ > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 01:44

I should drive across the country in a lincoln on those tires.

So I could call them transcontinental continental continentals.

His Stigness > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 02:49

These look more like Pilot Sport Cup 2 competitors than Super Sports since the DW's are already the Super Sports competion. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Cup tires are still better because Michelin makes the best tires in multiple categories.

And what's the Conti-Club and how would one join?

Edit: After a quick Google search looks like they are Pilot Sport Cup competitors since Continental used the phrase cup tires. And you can tell from the huge shoulder and low tread.

Luken10 > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/12/2013 at 03:16

From what I have read the Continental ExtremeContact DWS are some of the best all seasons you can buy.

Luken10 > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 03:22

That sounds about right. I was getting a bit lost searching through all the different Michelin performance tires earlier.

Conti Club is a company program where you get a rebate in the form of a prepaid credit card for buying Continental tires. You have to be invited by a representative to join, however I found my contact through some Mazda forums. If you are interested I could see if he is still around and giving out invitation codes.

Luken10 > GhostZ
11/12/2013 at 03:27

Yes, yes you should! Transcontinental Continental on Continental ContiForceContact Tires. Say that five times fast!

All Motor Is Best Motor > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/12/2013 at 03:30

Total derp, ignore this comment, I drunkely made this a response to my initial comment instead of the response to my comment.

All Motor Is Best Motor > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 03:31

I was mainly basing it off of Consumer Reports' reviews on tires. Despite the illogical hatred of them here on Jalopnik, I find their consumer advice practical and relatively trustworthy. I love how because they're so popular and completely independent from the payroll of any big product-making corporation that they say absolutely whatever they want to about a product. I'd like to believe it's because of them (at least in large part) that the Civic got it's redesign so quickly. And with their recent removal of the Camry off their "Recommended" list of cars, it's likely that Toyota's going to rush a chassis redesign of the Camry to make it perform better in the partial offset crash test. It's companies like Consumer Reports that help drive positive product development for consumers.

Sorry for the slightly off topic rant, I'm kind of on the cusp of drunk, believe it or not. I'm just a really lucid drunk who's always been a grammar nazi, so type-o's don't easily get passed me.

As for the tires, I need tires that are going to handle well, ride well, and importantly, perform well (for an all season tire) in snow, ice, and rain. Minnesota is hard on cars and I need tires that can handle it. I can't afford a new set of wheels to use for snow tires, or rather use my old wheels as snow tire wheels.

His Stigness > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 03:40

If you have Michelin questions I'm your guy. Michelins are my favorite tire brand and I used to work at America's Tire, so I also know about other brands, but I geek out on Michelins.

Yeah I'd be really interested cause I like Continentals, and if I can get them cheaper than Michelins that would be nice for racing.

Luken10 > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/12/2013 at 03:47

I totally didn't even think to check Consumer Reports for tire reviews. I will definitely have to check that out.

Rant away my friend. You are probably correct about the outcome of the Camry. Although some of their qualms seem to be blown out of proportion. A buddy owned a civic right before the refresh, and their review was a tad picky from my viewpoint. But hey, everyone has the right to their own opinion!

Luken10 > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 03:53

What would you recommend for a tire equal or better than the Continental DW? Michelins seem to be a bit on the expensive side of things. Are they worth the extra money? Also curious if they hold up better/longer to spirited driving.

I'll shoot the guy a PM and see what the deal is. I did it about 6 months ago, so hopefully he can still get you in!

All Motor Is Best Motor > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 04:08

My general rule of thumb with Consumer Reports product reviews is that you probably can't go too wrong with a "Recommended" or "Best buy" rated product, but you should always back up your decision with independent research on the product, its' features, and reviews from other sources. I tend to use CR to "weed out" the better products. It helps when buying things like televisions and car tires. CR has rates tires for ice braking, snow handling, wet braking, wet handling, overall handling, treadlife, ride comfort, rolling resistance, and road noise. Last time I checked, their overall most highly rated all season tires were Michellins, if I'm not mistaken.

His Stigness > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 04:43

Pilot Super Sports are in the same category as the DW's but not in the same league. The Super Sports are consistently ranked number one in the summer to category. They're also not the most expensive and they're the only high performance summer tire with a warranty (30,000 miles). Besides the superior performance they are extremely comfortable compared to other summer tires, they're not loud, they have extreme levels of grip, and in heavy rain they do there job as long as you don't try and break them loose.

When it comes to spirited driving the tires don't even get phased. They hold up well enough that people use them on the track and then drive home on them, and I'm one of those people. There performance on track is phenomenal: They grip (they're very good at gripping) and they reach their limits very progressively. They're very good tires to track on your daily driver.

In terms of tread life they always meet Michelin's expectations and exceed them on a regular basis. There were many customers at my America's Tire store that kept buying them and they always came back wearing super even and no chucking or any other issues. If you have a staggered setup the warranty for the rears is 15000 and I never saw them drop below that. All the salesman kn the store, including the manager all recommend the tire, and they've been to tire tests with other manufacturers. Other tires might do marginally better in one category, but the Michelin's are consistent in every category.

And as I've already said, they're not that expensive, and they keep getting cheaper. When I bought my first set when they came out they were about $50 more than the Contis on tire rack, but I think the warranty more than makes up for that. Michelin also has rebates all the time. In other categories Michelin is usually competitive. One specific example is touring tires: my sister needed some tires and I had her get Defenders which had a 90,000 mile warranty, the largest in the industry, and they were less than $10 more than the next tire which might have only had a 70,000 mile warranty, so Michelin's are almost always worth the money.

Sorry for the long sales pitch lol.

His Stigness > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 05:38

*COUGH* Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 *COUGH* *COUGH*

His Stigness > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/12/2013 at 05:41

I'd recommend getting some Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3's, but I'm partial to Michelin's, but it's not unfounded; I used to work at America's Tire so I learned a lot about tires and what people think of them. The Continentals were rare but the Michelin's were not, deduce from that what you please.

Anon > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/12/2013 at 08:21

I have Yokohama Avid Envigors. They don't have a very long durability 25,000-30,000 miles, they also aren't the most durable on louisiana roads. (I've had to get a tires patched up twice on this set.) But when you drive, so worth it, the damn things are like superglue to the ground. It's almost like obama's running platform. You don't think you can take a corner that fast? Yes we can! You don't think you'll have grip there? Yes we can! Also another upside for me is that they only run about $60 a tire in my size. Also they may make the steering heavier.

Makoyouidiot > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 12:31

Tires for my MSP, 215/45-17. I can run summer tires all year where I live. What top 3 tires would you recommend? I prefer the stickiest ones I can get, but limited to 160ish a tire by wife's decree.

All Motor Is Best Motor > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 13:05

Sadly there aren't any Pilot Sports made for a 2001 Acura CL Type S wheel that I can find.

All Motor Is Best Motor > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 13:48

I can't seem to edit my most recent post, but I just checked Tire Rack again (the last time I looked was a month ago) and they just got them in for the size I need (215/50ZR17). It's a smallish, narrow wheel, unfortunately (for a "sports coupe" anyway). They're on the pricey side, though. Here's a TireRack.com search for tires for my car . There's a better selection now than there was a while back, but all of the "good" performance tires are pricey. The Michellins are definitely out of my price range, and I might be able to make the Pirelli's work, but I can't find a listed speed rating for this tire size. I'm leaning towards those or the Conti Extreme Contacts because of both of their supposed snow performance in this review . Good snow and ice performance is a must, but so is good handling and treadlife. I also would rather not have a tire that rides like a rock.

His Stigness > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/12/2013 at 15:29

Ok I've got the tire size but what specific category of tire are you looking for? Are you looking in the high performance all season tire (that would be the Conti DWS and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3)? And what's the most you want to pay for a set of tires not including instalation. And the main thing your looking for is performance in freezing conditions? And if that's your top priority what comes after it - wet performance, dry performance, noise, comfort, things like that.

Give me this info and I can recommend you a set of tires and I'll get input from my salesman at America's Tire if I need it.

Luken10 > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 15:57

Some good info right there! I do my tire shopping with America's Tire, so it seems like you know exactly what goes on in there. The 30,000 mile warranty is pretty solid for a tire of that caliber. However, my plan is to run an all season season set for a better ride and longevity and put on the summer set whenever I am going to do some spirited driving, or track days. I hate knowing I am wearing through sticky rubber on commuting roads.

Anyways, how would a warranty work if I don't keep the tires on the car 100% of the time? Would I have to have America's Tire remount the new set every time in order to have a record of how long the Michelins were on the car? Also, I know the wear has to be even across the tire in order to still be eligible for the warranty. Did you have customers that drove their car fairly hard to see how evenly the tread wore? I just don't want to have false hope for a warranty that really won't apply to me.

Luken10 > Makoyouidiot
11/12/2013 at 15:58

Hey! I am shopping the same exact size for my P5!

All Motor Is Best Motor > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 16:07

I'm looking for high performance all season tires. I want sporty handling in the dry and good snow traction. The tires also need at least decent tread life, and I don't want a punishing ride. I already upgraded my struts to Koni Yellows so it does ride more firmly to begin with. Keeping tire noise to a minimum would also be nice. I don't drive like an idiot in rain so I'm not ESPECIALLY concerned with wet performance, but again ideally better is, well, better. Obviously there is no perfect tire, so my top concerns are dry handling and snow/ice performance, plus tread life. Price is also an issue. I'm not 100% sure on my price range (I won't be buying new tires until my current tires wear out anyhow) is probably capped around $150 a tire. And that's pushing it.

My current tires are Falken Ziex ZE512's. They are "meh". Snow traction is quite poor, ice braking is bad, wet handling actually seems alright. They aren't very responsive and the ride is just OK. Dry grip leaves much to be desired. You can definitely feel these move around under you. Noise is good/average. I think they're V rated. Not sure about the tread life. I drive my car a little bit hard, and they don't seem to be lasting. I haven't tracked my car ever.

His Stigness > Makoyouidiot
11/12/2013 at 17:12

Okay so my first choice is Michelin Pilot Super Sports and on Tire Rack they're $154 before the $70 mail in rebate. While these are the most expensive tire they are also the best, and it's not just me who thinks this. They are consistently ranked #1 in comparison tests and they are also ranked highest on Tire Rack by consumer reviews. They were also one of the most popular high performance summer tires at my America's Tire store. All the customers that bought them were extremely happy and always bought them again, I never saw anyone unhappy with them. The Super Sports are also the only tire to come with a mileage warranty (30,000 miles). That alone says a lot that Michelin is so confident in them that they warranty them. I also never saw customers come back with the tires worn before the mileage warranty was out. They always wore evenly and lasted longer than expected. You said you wanted grippy tires and these are some of the grippiest. They're also one of the most comfortable summer tires, one of the quietest, and the best all rounder. I highly recommend these and I'm on my second set, I have never regretted buying them, they're excellent to use on a daily driver and I've even taken them to the track and they performed beautifully.

My second choice for you would be Continental ExtremeContact DW's for $110 a tire. I saw a few customers with these and they wore evenly just like the Michelin's and people were generally positive about them, but I didn't encounter too many of them. Continental is my second choice when buying tires and I've bought a few sets from them in the past and I've been pretty happy with them.

I think these are your best two choices because I won't recommend Bridgestones because they tend to be more or about the same price as Michelin's, and we never sold them at my store. In fact I never see Bridgestone tires anymore. OEM's are going with either Michelin's, Pirelli's, or Conti's. I also won't recommend Pirelli's because they're also usually more expensive and they don't perform nearly as well as the Michelin's or Conti's. Pirellis tend to be very hard and noisy, and they never last as long as their warranty claims, when they have one.

I think the Super Sports will be best for you and they're in your price range, even before the mail in rebate. If you go to America's Tire you should be able to get them even cheaper because Tire Rack is almost always more expensive from what I've seen.

Let me know if you've got any more questions.

His Stigness > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 18:00

Well I was just looking for tires for Makoyouidiot and in High Performance Summer Tire category the Super Sports are the only tire with a tread-life warranty, and that's actually what convinced me to buy my first set when I was researching them. They were more expensive than the Conti's but the tread warranty is what convinced me.

I'm not sure what you're budget is but for all season tires I'd recommend getting Michelin Pilot Sport A/3's if you want to still be able to drive in a spirited manner. On Tire Rack they're $135 a tire for the lower speed rating - H or V. I recommend getting the lower speed rating because it's cheaper but there is no difference in performance. According to Michelin the A/S 3's actually have more dry grip than leading competitors, and I don't think they're lying because the A/S 3 is actually based off of the Super Sport. I also think it will do excellent in the snow (if you have any) and I can tell by the tread because there are tons of biting edges, and those matter for snow traction. They also use a helio compound with sunflower seed oil that enhances wet grip. The previous tires, the Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires were great, and these should be even better since they're based off the Super Sports. The Super Sports were so successful that the new Sport Cup 2 tires are also based off it. And the Cup 2 tires are used on cars like the Porsche 918, the 911 GT3, and the Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series.

And what kind of track driving do you plan on doing? If you're just going to stick to actual tracks then the Super Sports should be perfect because they'll last longer and I've had several customers use them on the track and they did great. If you're planning on doing Autocross though then you should get something like Yokohama's ADVAN Neova AD08's . These tires are great at autocross but they're not as good as all rounders like Super Sports are; they're wet handling leaves some to be desired and they're noisier. I would only get the Yoko's if you plan on doing autocross, otherwise get the Super Sports.

On the warranty: All the customers I saw come in with worn Super Sports wore very evenly. The same goes for my tires, and I drive the shit out of my cars, and as I've already told you I took them to the track. Unless you're running super high levels of negative camber when you shouldn't be I would not worry at all. The only thing that you have to worry about is excessive track use at high temperatures. If you run the front tires too hard and too quickly without time to cool down, and the track is super tight, like an autocross, you can melt the shoulders and void the warranty, but this is an extreme case and I'm only telling you to give you all the facts. If you only use the tires for the occasional track day, a lot of back-roads driving, your camber isn't super negative and your toe is correct, then the tires should wear evenly.

On your question of how to properly track the mileage this is something you should direct to your America's Tire store. But I'll give you my advice. If you have the Super Sports on their own set of wheels then you can take them into your store and have them mount them and it should be free as it's essentially a rotation. This way if you bring them it's documented by them so they can't try and screw with you. If it were me I don't have to worry about this only because I used to work at my store and I'm a long time customer. But if you're also a long time customer and you're on a first name basis with your salesman and store manager then you shouldn't have a problem swapping out the tires on your own, just document the mileage if you can. But I would go talk to your local store and see what they say.

Makoyouidiot > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 19:43

Thanks much! I was leaning in the direction of the super sports, and that was without noticing they had the mail in rebate as well. Sounds sweet to me.

Makoyouidiot > Luken10
11/12/2013 at 19:44

Sounds like the super sports are our best bet

Luken10 > His Stigness
11/12/2013 at 20:15

The A/3's look like solid performing tires. I technically don't need anything performance orientated for the all-season set, but for the right price it certainly wouldn't hurt. I was really trying to keep the all-seasons on the cheaper side of things. Preferably less than 100 before rebates. Honestly I just need a set that rides good, long tread life and won't send me under-steering off a mountain if I decide to drive briskly. Maybe this is too much to ask for? The size of my all-seasons would be 205/50-16.

The financially conscience side of myself doesn't want to spend more than 125 for each summer tire. But the hoon in me wants more performance! If I can honestly get 30,000 miles out of the tires, or get prorated if I don't, that right there would pay the premium over a different tire. And as of right now I am really not digging the sidewall flex on my 205/50-16 ExtremeContact DW's.

I am on a first name basis with one of the sales guys. Totally fantastic customer service from him. So I could probably talk over the situation with him.

Also, all this has me thinking. I would basically be spending 1000 dollars on tires with this two set idea. Being a college student right now that is a huge chunk of cash. I have to commute 45 miles 4 days a week. Plus I was thinking I could drive up the the mountains (Big Bear) during the winter. Probably only a handful of times if that much. My logic is that all-seasons will give me more freedom to road trip during the winter months, as well as be cheaper in the long run because they will wear less quickly compared to DD'ing summer tires. Am I over thinking this? Should I just save my money and stick with the Super Sport?

Thanks for your overwhelming help His Stigness!

His Stigness > Makoyouidiot
11/13/2013 at 01:16

Sweet I hope you enjoy them!

His Stigness > Luken10
11/13/2013 at 01:50

If you want to spend less than $100 then more than likely they'll send you into the brush in a fit of understeer. Even really good all seasons don't match up to summer tires, really only the A/S 3's do. But if you're looking to spend less money the Yokohama YK580 is an excellent choice. I looked at America's Tire website and they're $110 right now and have a 60,000 mile tread life warranty, but I didn't see them meet it that often, but America's Tire will pro-rate them. They were also on a lot of normal cars driven by normal people. I'm not trying to talk you out of them but I cannot guarantee their performance like the Michelin's, but in a crunch I think they'll be fine.

If you go with a different size for the A/S 3's it's cheaper though. If you go with a slightly larger sidewall - 205/55 16 then they're $120, and if you go wider (which will give you better grip) then they're only $128 for 215/55 16. Your normal 205/50 16 would be $138. But all these prices are Tire Rack which is usually more expensive.

With your 16" wheels the A/S 3's are the only option because there are no Super Sports smaller than 205/45 17. If you don't like the idea of spending $1,000 for tires then I would recommend spending a little more and get the A/S 3's; you'll get 45,000 miles out of them, you'll get summer tire levels of grip while still being able to go to Big Bear when it snows.

In pure financial terms the A/S 3's make the most sense because they have the best warranty to grip ratio. The A/S 3's will also save you money by keeping you from racing your car, which is a bad idea for a college student, trust me, I know from personal experience. I'm in college and I already spend more money on my car than I should, and I haven't gotten into racing yet but I will very soon. Racing is a rabbit hole you don't want to go down unless you know you can afford it. If I had bought all season tires instead of my Super Sports I would not have raced last year and been infected with the racing bug.

The Super Sports are great tires but I think you may be happier with the A/S 3's because you'll feel better about the money you spent because they'll last longer. I say get the A/S 3's now and save up for the Super Sports.

By the way are you in Southern California? And what car are these tires for?

His Stigness > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/13/2013 at 02:56

Ok so essentially you want the best dry grip coupled with the best winter grip possible. By stepping up into the High Performance All Season category you should be satisfied in all areas considering your current tire, which can be classified as a cheaper tire. Falkens are bargain tires, and they're good bargain tires, but they're far from the best tire you can get, obviously.

The A/S 3's are kind of pricey due to your weird ass tire size, but you're not tied to that tire size, so here are some options. Just for reference the A/S 3's are $174 before the $70 mail in rebate in stock size. The reason they're more expensive is because they have a higher speed rating, which you don't need.

To get the A/S 3's cheaper you go with a slightly smaller sidewall, and by slightly smaller I mean you probably won't even be able to tell. The size is 215/45 17 and the Michelin's in this size only cost $135 a tire. You could also go a bit wider and at 225/45 17 the Michelin's are $146.

The other tire I would recommend would be the Conti DWS. I looked at Tire Racks test and I think at the price it would be your best bet. In your stock size they're $139 but they don't have a rebate. You could also go wider with the DWS at 225/45 17 and they're $137.

The Michelin's are the best all round tire (with winter performance theoretical but I'll get to that) and has the highest levels of dry grip coupled with the best dry grip. While it hasn't been tested in the snow by Tire Rack I have the utmost confidence in it due to the technologies in it. The A/S 3's feature a Helio compound with sunflower seed oil that enhances grip in very cold weather. The tread also features many variable thickness sipes with with biting edges. You'll notice the Conti's also have a lot of biting sipes and it performed the best in the winter, that's why I think the Michelin will do as well as the DWS, if not better due to the Helio Compound. As a side note, the Helio compound was developed at Le Mans with Audi and other top teams, and Michelin continues to kick ass at Le Mans with Audi.

But you buying the A/S 3's is predicated on you willing to change sizes, which I recommend you do because it will allow you to buy cheaper tires while getting more grip. But if you want to keep the stock size then I think you will be very happy with the Conti's, especially coming from the Falkens. As you might have read in the Tire Rack test the Conti's were the most comfortable and were more than capable in the wet and dry, although the Michelin's did do better in those categories.

But before you make any final decisions though go to a local America's Tire store and have them show you options for changing tire sizes to get the best grip while saving money on more economical tire sizes.

All Motor Is Best Motor > His Stigness
11/13/2013 at 03:26

I got the Falkens because they were something like 89 dollars a tire, and all the more expensive tires I tried were even worse in the snow and had very poor tread life. At the time the Falkens were supposed to be good in the snow. I wasn't aware the Michelins had any rebates, but my experience with rebates is that they never go through. I don't really want anything more than a V rated tire simply because I don't want a punishing ride. Are you positive those sizes will fit my wheels? I don't know anything about stretching/etc tires. As long as it will fit safely without problems I'm fine with changing sizes. I know my car uses funky sizes. They're kinda skinny 17's. I would change if I could, but I just can't afford a decent set of new wheels. I haven't found any that I like the look of on my car and are lighter than the heavy-ass OE ones. My current OE's have the worst case of aluminum/rot road rash you'll ever see. They're all corroded underneath the clearcoat. I need to take a picture tomorrow for all of Oppo to laugh and ridicule.

Thanks for all your help. Like I said, I won't be buying anything any time soon, and if I can figure out how to make new wheels work in my budget I'll probably have a different size to choose from as well. It depends on finding a wheel I think is going to look good on my car and that is lighter and will fit without issues.

His Stigness > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/13/2013 at 04:09

I've never had a problem with Michelin rebates or any other rebate through America's Tire. If you have an issue you can always go to them and they'll help you.

I am almost 100% positive they will fit because you have a stock size on a stock wheel, so going 10mm wider won't hurt at all, and going with a smaller sidewall won't hurt either. But if you got an America's Tire store the salesman can you show to the specific tire sizes that can fit, might fit, and won't fit. Looking at the fitment guide will also tell you what sizes to look for in wheels, specifically how large you can go, how wide you can go, and what the offset should be.

It's no problem. Do you know what tread depth your tires are currently at and I can give you an idea when they need to be replaced.

All Motor Is Best Motor > His Stigness
11/13/2013 at 04:24

I was talking about rebates in general. Here in Minnesota we have Discount Tire instead of America's Tire. They are who I use for my tire buying and installation, but the guys that work there always seem to push cheap off-brand tires and feel shady overall (like car salesmen). I always feel like they are trying to work me over with a quick sale for shit I don't want or need. Still, I feel like I get reasonable prices, which is why I keep using them. I don't have a tread depth gauge, but I know my tires are about 1.5 or so years old now. Through a lot of unfortunate occurrences I ended up with brand new fronts and rears about a year older than that.

Luken10 > His Stigness
11/13/2013 at 21:45

I like the idea of just having the A/S 3's. How would they compare to the DW's on the car right now? Not sure if I would be okay with losing grip. I am in Southern California! The tires are for a 2003 Mazda Protege5.

Honestly I would probably only be doing the HPDEs, so not necessarily all out racing or track days. I agree that it can be a money pit, but I think it can be done fairly cheaply. Not looking to build a race car. Just have some fun with what I have now and get some hooning out of my system. That's why I want some capable tires to really exploit the car's dynamics. However, I realize there is a point of diminishing returns, especially on a 135 hp FWD hatchback.

Another question for you. How much room does America's Tire have on their prices? Is it possible to negotiate, or is it a price match only type thing?

His Stigness > Luken10
11/14/2013 at 00:03

According to Michelin's own testing (which I believe) the A/S 3s have more dry grip than the Contis, so you would be getting a better tire in every category.

What city are you? I'm in Ventura which is about an hour north of LA.

I think your best bet with racing would be HPDE and autocross. But both of those require a special tire like the Yokohama AD08s I mentioned. Falken also makes a good autocross tire that might be a good option too. But if your looking for the best (which I always am) then the Yokos will be best. But because I'm a Michelin Man I'm going to get the Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires and hopefully they do well in autocross, although I know they're designed for track driving.

You can probe the salesman and see if he'll give you a better deal, but it won't be a crazy amount, maybe a few dollars off a tire, but even as an employee I didn't get huge discounts. On my Super Sports I only would have saved $75 or so. It's buying wheels where I'd save money, and I hope I still can because I was some TSW wheels for racing.