Tires Pirelli or Nokia

Yup, OEM size on the Bristols. I was honestly just going to get the conti's again as the mileage I got out them was enough reason for me to buy. Then I found the P7s on sale and paid less for them than I would have the conti's. I was also curious to see if the low rolling resistance made any difference. I think it's a slight improvement, but the sound (I mean lack of) you can't compare.

I've been driving on the Pirelli P7 Cinturato's for 18k miles and have nothing but good things to say. There has been little to near visible wear to date and they grip, ride and handle so much better than the OEM Conti Pro contacts that I had...and I really liked them, got 71k miles out of em! The greatest difference so far seems to be the amount of road noise. The P7s are so much quieter it's not funny!

Everybody has their favorites based on dynamic values i.e., cost, grab & release, noise, and/or life of tire. I just completed a modified Cannonball Run with my daughter on her Spring Break from college. Near the end of our 2,300 mile run we arrived one night in Niagara Falls with 34 degrees and slick rain. When we left the following day we cruised south to NYC via Wyoming County NY which was 78 degrees and sunny. We made it to NYC a day later in pouring rain. My Nokian enTyers were superb! Quiet, all weather dominance, and (Subjectively) a slow wear rate. The OEM Continentals had a firmer sidewall and turned in great fuel mileage but the Nokians earned my loyalty with how quiet they are.

I've had P7's on my about to depart 2013 SEL for about 8 months. Really happy with them dry and wet. Amazing improvement over the crappy OEM Hankooks.

Change the stock tires. Trust me. Noise difference is night and day. I have no idea what Subaru was thinking with those particular Yokos. I mean, just read the reviews:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+S34D

I changed mine to some new high quality Pirelli's not even 1k miles after I got the car and holy cow what a difference in traction/stopping-power and noise. Had to do so out of my own pocket since the dealer didn't get convinced by my explanation of the poor tire choice Subaru made. Anyhow it was worth it, I feel a lot safer on the road now and every bump is smoothed out very pleasantly.

Interesting, still doesent change the fact that Nokian makes insane winter-tires, studded or not. Their lifespan is not as good as other brands, but when they're new, damn do they stick well.

All I know is the Hakkapeliitta R2s on my Volvo grip harder than the Michelin all seasons that were on it when I bought the thing in ALL conditions, even in the dry. They're significantly less responsive, but I mean they're winter tires, with those massive gaps between the tread blocks they're gonna feel a bit squidgy. IDGAF what the CEOs are doing, it's still a damn good tire. I got through every bit of snow I attempted that wasn't higher than my actual ground clearance, they're fucking great.

I own a pair of Nokian zLine summer performance tires. Bought them brand new last year, did around 15000~20000km with them and the tread is almost half gone.

They grip magnificently though.

Bought 2012 TDI sport with 18" wheels new at dealer 2 months ago. Vehicle sat on dealer lot for 5 months or so. Test drove vehicle, steering wheel shook enough to see it at any speed over 50 mph. THIS was probably from flat spots on tires from sitting, we bought vehicle and dealer agreed to put new tires on and replaced with exact same Pirelli's that vehicle was equipped with.

My car came with the P-Zeros from the factory and they are the worst tires I've ever owned.