Tires OEM Mazda or Continental

Conti Viking 7 have been best of the three in my opinion. Excllent in winter and I am even running 19 inch. I took my car out for a Sept warm wknd (was forced to) and even in those conditions I had no idea I was rolling on winters. If I had done that in my Blizzaks, you would have felt the softness. Based on their feel and winter performance, I won’t be looking at other winter tires again.

All conditions were great EXCEPT wet root. So I'm also in the 'waiting for enduro super soft' camp.

Compared to Maxxis Assegai(grip) + DHR(terra) both exo+:

\* Conti feel more stable than exo+ but not worlds apart

\* Conti roll significantly faster (prob mainly due to Assegai being very slow)

\* Assegai maxxgrip has WAY more 'chemical' grip vs KR-F enduro soft. (Super soft is roughly the same)

\* Conti have more stability in side knobs and more 'physical' grip in loam

\* KR-R as better breaking traction IMO but is also heavier.

I would recommend a different front if that's your goal - maybe the Vittoria Barzo or the Continental Cross-King. They're both handling-oriented tires rather than pure speed, but don't really give up a lot on the speed front... like the Rekon does.

Conti tires are great on cars. I always get their all-season Continental Extreme Contact DWS06+ for my suv's because they are rated like a 10 on rain and even an 8 in the snow, which is amazing for an all season that's not dedicated to snow. Plus they have a 70k mile warranty.

Some of the best tires I ever ran were a set or Conti Sport Attack's

I got 32k miles out of my OEM Continentals - I could have pushed them for another 5K miles (I’m in the desert so no snow and limited rain). That’s good enough for me, so I got another set about a week ago.

I’m getting the same continentals again. They’re whisper quiet.

I have carbon wheels and ride very rocky trails 6-8 hours/week. I use Kryptotal Fr and Kryptotal Re, both in enduro soft, and I don't use inserts. They are great tires. Excellent grip, fast rolling.

Haven't used them in the snow yet but Discount Tire will match Walmart's $146.00 price on the 235/50/17 Continental Pure Contacts. I've had really good luck with Continentals on my Edge, Taurus and Fusions. They've been OK in Michigan winters but nothing spectacular.

I am still not impressed with these tires. I'm just about to hit 14k miles on these tires and they are some of the worst tires I've had. Definitely going to replace them before winter. We average 6-8 inches of snow every winter and these tires are like race slicks in the snow.