time for me to replace the oem tires on the focus. i really like the performance of the factory eagle f1's. they grip great on the twisties, and it took a lot of balls on my part to get them to break loose for lift off over steer. that being said, they're summer tires. they spin a bit leaving my driveway on a crisp morning, and i have to sadly walk right past the car if there's a hint of snow in favor of the gas guzzling pig that is my explorer.
so i'm looking at all seasons. this is where all the hard core enthusiasts come in and say:
"just get a winter wheel/tire setup and put performance tires on the oem wheels"
or
"get new summers and get winter tires next season and swap them out"
usually followed by
"a performance car needs summer tires because race car/track day bro/whatever"
yeah, no. i'm not interested in any of that. i like to drive my car, but i don't need dedicated performance tires for my driving. i don't track my car. it's my fun dd. good all seasons will do me just fine. if there's a blizzard looming, i still have the option of the explorer, or just not driving. i don't want a freak storm or temperature drop to leave me stranded or making my drive anywhere extra sketchy.
right now my top contenders are:
1. continental extreme contact dws06. my buddy has these on his mazdaspeed3 and really likes them. i've ridden in the car, as well as have driven the car and couldn't notice any faults. but i also haven't spent as much time driving them as he has. he never has issues going through snow. his tread wear is a bit less that advertised, but he drives like a maniac at all times
2. michelin pilot sport as3 (there's also the as3+ but i can't figure out what the difference is. same price). reading reviews online, people with more performance oriented cars seem to like them a lot. although i've read their cold weather capabilities are less than the conti's, but have better fair weather performance.
any other options to look at? i understand that summer performance will decrease, but i'm fine with that. the average focus st owner was getting about 25k miles out of the factory tires. i got 35k out of them. i also understand that they won't be nearly as good in the winter as a dedicated winter tire, but again, i have a back up plan for really bad days.
