Tires MICHELIN or OEM Mazda

Michelin on my opinion... Ive had great performance and treadwear from them.

I’m a long-term buyer of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, and prior to that the Pilot Super Sport. I replace them yearly at 15k miles.

Id suggest Michelin, not a car tire but the ltx a/t2 tires for light trucks went 100k miles on one review i saw. I have defenders on my work truck and 16k on them and they look new still.

All Michelin tires are quieter than most brands since they are softer. Even winters.

I do 25,000 a year and for 7 years I have only used all season tires, for the climate we have I think they are perfect!

I finally went and swapped them out for Michelin Defender 2s and it made a huge difference. The road noise is greatly reduced and has a lot less bass in it. The noise from the car moving through the air is now the louder thing, whereas I couldn’t even hear that before. Driving on the same roads as before my watch shows I’m at about 62db which seems like a pretty big improvement. I also feel that the ride has been improved over smaller bumps.

Got them on my 21 Onyx. They’re great in the rain and surprisingly good in the snow. Quiet even at 80+.

I am a evangelist for the Cross Climate 2s. Have had on my Outback for 1 year. Performance in Snow is awesome as expected, but did not expect such a massive improvement overall in handling, breaking distance, and traction in rainy conditions. And the first time I drove on a dirt road, it felt like a Rally car. 55mph on dirt feels as grounded as pavement. Also, have spots on my regular route that get pooling on the road during decent rain, and it simply will not hydroplane at 60mph.

My winters aren't too different, and I've had or have all of them: Pilot Alpin, X-Ice Snow, and CC2 (all North American versions). The CC2 were just too floppy and imprecise for me, and that's on a modified daily driver crossover. On a 986 the steering and handling response would be damaged noticeably over Pilot Alpins imo. If you're a fan of feel (and likely traction overall, honestly), get the UHP winters. They're by far my category of choice because of the sporty feel they maintain on performance cars.

Michelin tires lose more air than any tire I've ever had.