[Camden45]

With the stock tires at about half of their short life, Im starting to research tire options. Since I don't encounter snow here, the clear cut choice would be Michelin PS4S, but the reality is the tire is IMO overkill for my purposes(car also) which is strictly a street car with bursts of speed on freeway onramps and for passing cars.

Looking at the reviews so far from tirerack, dry cornering g's are listed as .98 for the PS4S and .94 for the Contis, wet at .80 and .74 respectively.

Not only will the Contis last about twice as long as the Michelins, it's about 33% cheaper. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go with the Contis? Seems like the gap between high performance summer tires and ultra performance all seasons wasn't as big as I initially thought.

[RideWithDanger]

DWS06+ is an amazing daily tire that still gives you plenty of grip. It wouldn't be the "ideal" track tire or strictly performance tire, but as a daily and how you describe using it, it should be perfect for you.

I don't think the Contis will last twice as long as the Michelins, I think they are actually pretty close in reality. Value wise I think the Contis are better though.

[ColeD]

I had the dsw on a V6 accord and absolutely hated them. The snow part was barely worn off and I was spinning out on dry pavement. My all season Michelins now do good enough, sucks they can't perform like summer tires but if you take exit ramps/cloverleaf's at .7 g's casually like I do contis are a no go imo.

You got a performance car, use performance parts. That's my philosophy anyway

[Camden45]

Originally Posted by ColeD

I had the dsw on a V6 accord and absolutely hated them. The snow part was barely worn off and I was spinning out on dry pavement. My all season Michelins now do good enough, sucks they can't perform like summer tires but if you take exit ramps/cloverleaf's at .7 g's casually like I do contis are a no go imo.

You got a performance car, use performance parts. That's my philosophy anyway

That's no good. I do like to take freeway onramps and interchanges quickly sometimes.

[Msquared]

This is a strange conversation. You live in Cali and don't encounter snow - probably not even freezing temps. So you simply don't need an all-season tire. Period. So why would you shop for one? Both the DWS and the PS All Season 4 are exceptional high-performance all-seasons: the best, in fact. But they are both heavily compromised in the conditions you'll encounter in order to increase their performance in conditions you'll never encounter.

PS4S tires will outperform both those all-seasons in the dry and wet. However, if you don't want to pay the Michelin premium, then why not get the Continental ExtremContact Sport 02? They are virtually identical performers to the PS4S in both wet and dry but they will run about $240 less for a set in 1LE sizes.

[JamesNoBrakes]

PS4S ARE the tire we go to for increased life and still fantastic traction. If you are putting something AS on there, that's maybe for your mild winter, but you surely wouldn't run that all the time...life is too short to handicap a 1LE like that.

[Camden45]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I'll be going with the Michelins when time comes. Maybe even be able to snag the upcoming PS5S if they have our sizes

[ColeD]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

PS4S ARE the tire we go to for increased life and still fantastic traction. If you are putting something AS on there, that's maybe for your mild winter, but you surely wouldn't run that all the time...life is too short to handicap a 1LE like that.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Reeeeally need to get a winter wheel setup so I can go back to something stickier

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

PS4S ARE the tire we go to for increased life and still fantastic traction. If you are putting something AS on there, that's maybe for your mild winter, but you surely wouldn't run that all the time...life is too short to handicap a 1LE like that.

Again, the Continental EC Sport is essentially identical to the PS4S in performance at a lower cost. The OP seemed to indicate that cost is a factor here. In fact, the new "02" version may actually be slightly better than the PS4S, since it's slightly faster in the wet and dry than the previous EC Sport.

[The Chief (tm)]

I only have ~8K miles on my DWS06+ set, so the sample size may be limited, but I would be careful projecting subjectively observed, on-ramp tire performance from an FWD Accord to that of a well-balanced RWD sports car. On the occasions when I've stolen a glance at the HUD's alleged G-meter during hi-zoot maneuvers, I've seen as high as 0.68 and the thing still felt glued to the road.

That said, you cannot argue with ColeD's "You got a performance car, use performance parts", JamesNB's line "life is too short to handicap a 1LE like that", and Msquared's great point with his last sentence of his first paragraph.

"California" is, of course, a big place, and there are many places which do see freezing temps, but if you do not live in or near one of them, then yes, maximize the heck out of the gumballs. Why leave performance on the table that way? Enjoy!

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by ColeD

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Reeeeally need to get a winter wheel setup so I can go back to something stickier

I have a hard time believing you need a separate set of tires for winter in AL. Unless you see sustained temps of 20F or below all day a lot of times or have to drive your car in snow/ice, you just don't. A lot of people have become convinced these "summer" tires will kill you if you drive in temps below 45F, but the fact is they are just fine in temps below freezing. And the PS4S and ECS are both quite grippy down to freezing and excellent in the wet. They should really be considered a "three-season" tire in areas that see true winter (like where I live), but in a Gulf-coast area they are good year-round. If you're seeing sustained temps of 20F or lower, that's when you need to think about a winter tire.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Yep, I agree with the poster above. We are just starting to come out of the winter-tire time where road temps are getting to 40 and above, where we can consider putting our summer tires back on...in AK.

[ColeD]

Originally Posted by Msquared

I have a hard time believing you need a separate set of tires for winter in AL. Unless you see sustained temps of 20F or below all day a lot of times or have to drive your car in snow/ice, you just don't. A lot of people have become convinced these "summer" tires will kill you if you drive in temps below 45F, but the fact is they are just fine in temps below freezing. And the PS4S and ECS are both quite grippy down to freezing and excellent in the wet. They should really be considered a "three-season" tire in areas that see true winter (like where I live), but in a Gulf-coast area they are good year-round. If you're seeing sustained temps of 20F or lower, that's when you need to think about a winter tire.

Ive never had summer tires before this car but the OEM 1le goodyeard felt horribly slick at 30-35 degrees. The interwebs had me believing the rubber would crack etc below (at least a month or two a year it's between 20-32)

This is my only vehicle so that concerned me.

As far as the contis go, the guy mentioning my comparison with my former accord. It was a newer model accord and I used Michelins mainly, noticed a drastic difference in dsw. Cars are apples to oranges sure but I feel Michelin to dws on the same car is still a valid comparison but I could still be wrong

[snicko]

Originally Posted by Camden45

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I'll be going with the Michelins when time comes. Maybe even be able to snag the upcoming PS5S if they have our sizes

I'll chime in here -

I've been a big fan of the Michelin PS series - ran them on Focus ST and an Audi S3 and really really liked them. We just put them on my wife's new (to use) Boxster S - my wife describes them as telepathic in comparison to the OEM Pirelli that were on it. She says she just has to think aobut where she wants to put the car and it goes there.

Something to consider - Costco has the PS4S in 1LE sizes for $2k - out the door mounted and balanced. Just checking Tire Rack they are about $2k shipped - factor in another $20 - 25 per tire for mount balance and dipsoal . .

We ended up getting the PS4S for the P-Car from Costco.