Michelins too rough a ride and outside noise is getting worse - what's the best? I hear Continentals?

 

Brace yourself for 100 different opinions. Have a conversation with a LOCAL tire guy that has been around awhile. Even within the Michelin brand there will be choices depending on budget and your own personal hot buttons such as wet traction, snow or ice, dry handling, ride quality, etc. I personally value wet and snow traction enough to put up with a harsher ride and road noise, so I run Goodyear Assurance Triple Treds, but you might prefer a softer, quieter ride and opt for the Goodyear Assurance Comfort Treds. Of course there are many other brands and models to choose from. Tire Rack is a great place for researching lots of different brands and models, but there are some that aren't on there too.

 

First opinion: Conti's get slammed by the VW community. They came OEM on VW CCs and are prone to cupping due to the CC's suspension geometry (yes I also own a CC with horrid tire noise). Truth is,these are for the lower priced all seasons, Conti's higher priced models fare better. One key trade off will be your expectations on tire mileage. Agree on using Tire Rack to compare, I also find tiresavings.com has great prices (they are in Rhode Island I think). I've had good luck with General Tires (owned by Bridgestone) on my S40 and Toyota Highlander. Tried Kumho's on the 850T but they wore fast and wound up going to Falkan Ziex's which were similar but lasted longer. It may also depend where you live... do you change over to snows? do you need all seasons for occasional driving in snow?

 

A lot will depend on where you live and your climate. Here in San Diego, I put Michelin A/S 3s on our 2007 V70 2.5T and we love them. However, I have no idea how they would perform in heavy rain and/or snow conditions. Performance and tread wear are great; only complaint is that they're a bit noisy, but I'm willing to overlook that.