The OEM Conti's get dogged pretty good on here, and they are not good if you want to tear around. They do cruise really nicely though, and I find them excellent in inclement weather. I am clearly going to get at least 60k out of mine minimum, so I'm considering them as replacements as well.
Owner reviews for tires
I went back with Continentals as replacements because I got 80k miles out of them.
I have put General Altimax tires on my older hatchback and think they're pretty good.
I got 4 new Goodyear assurance on my civic for about 450 on some sale, through goodyear's website. The techs fucked up my tpms, but the tires are noticeably better than the old ones.
Nokian (any of their winters), Blizzaks (any of their winters), michelin x-ice or General Artic winter tires are the 4 brands that I stick to for winter tires. Nokian is hands down the best, Blizzaks and Michelin are a real close 2nd and 3rd and the generals are a solid budget tire that I used to run on my 240sx in ottawa way back in day. (I currently run General Grabbers on my pickup and they are better than the bfgoodrich that are nearly 100$ more a tire).
also, no comparo w/the Firestones, but I'm on the Wintrac Pros right now, driving in California, and they're fine in warm/dry conditions. I put them on since I'm going back and forth over the passes back to WA, where I am full time. For a winter/snowbird tire that's not terrible in the dry and good in the wet, I can definitely recommend these.
I have been running a set of Firestone Winterforce 2 UV 235/65R17 on my 4Motion Tiguan for the past two winters. They have been a great winter tire for me. Really great in the snow and I have had no issues on dry pavement while interstate cruising at 80mph.
I have the 225/40-18 Vredesteins on my 7.5R. I can't compare to the Firestones directly, but I'm very happy with the Vredesteins. After breaking them in I'm quite happy with how well they stick in the dry, and their performance in ~8" of snow was outstanding.
I have a set of Nankangs on my Ghia. They are a decent tire, but don't expect tons of grip from them, and they're pretty hard.
I've had 2 failures with Continental tires.. One was the DWS and the other was a ContiSport?.. both were sidewall failures. The ContiSport tire broke its band, and the tire became distorted, while the DWS tires softer sidewall was cut open when my wife hit a pothole.
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