Tires Continental or Nokia

Continental DWS. Gave up some responsiveness but rides on clouds now. Much more compliant on the roads now (19 inch wheels)

Winter tires are best in class, their Hakkapeliitta 10 and R3/R5 line is the best in the world right now, their summer tires are very good, up there with the high-end brands maybe not as good as top-end Michelin or Continentals but still very good.

I use Nokian Hakkapelliita R3 winter tires in the winter (in Michigan) and they've worked great.

I previously tried Michelin CrossClimate2 tires, but they didn't provide quite enough snow traction. On packed, compacted snow, I could feel the car just barely sliding if I changed lanes, and I occasionally felt the ABS when braking. With the Nokian winter tires, I never feel either of those phenomena.

I had Nokian WRG2s on my Subaru and loved them. I run blizzaks on my truck now and find them to be better than the nokians were.

For my 2011 Element AWD, switched from the original Goodyears to Continental Control Contact in 235/65/16 (calculated for appropriate aspect ratio). No rubbing in the wheel wells. Better ride and traction.

I have the SL4 with the the 51’s and gp5000 32c”s. I highly recommended, I’m glad i spent the extra for pro’s and I’m also glad I went with the deep rims instead of the 37’s. It’s plenty fast and I’m really pleased with the setup.

If you really want a budget tire I’d recommend the Continental extreme contacts... I have them on my R for daily driving and they’ve been great. I’m right around 494 WHP and they have excellent traction in a straight line and turning. It’s actually pretty hard to get them to spin

Conti Extrem contat DWS 06 + Been using them in several sets on many VW's great water and grip, long lasting with great traction tire rack, 2 year road hazard, cus our roads suck, I took out one in a giant crater on teh NJ Tpk (and ya PAY high tolls for a **** road) tire rack hazard covered it, new tire next day check a wek later, had VW dealer mount and balance $16...all better

My biggest complaint about the Conti DWS's is their softer sidewall. I prefer a stiffer sidewall for a better turn-in. Other than that, I have heard good things about the Conti's.

Every set of Contis and Michelins I have ever seen wear for absolute crap, lose all of their grip after a short amount of mileage, poorly riding, compromised in handling, and are LOUD to the point of distraction....Right up until they are a bare, poorly weathered carcass at less than 20k in mileage. They have never seen worth the price that they charge for them.