anyone NOT like the stock tires?

[vluc]

At 20K, doing mostly highway driving, my Conti's went away. Were pretty good up to that point, but once they had some wear, did not like them in rain at all. Spent too much time controlling them. Probably could have pushed these a few more K's had it been summer, but with fall weather and rain coming in, not worth the risk. I don't think I have gotten more than 24-25K from any OEM tire on a Focus.

Rotated and balanced every 5k, proper inflation, like all the tires I have ever put on any Focus I've owned. Pirelli, Falken, Cooper, Kumho, Yokohama, Conti, when they went away, they went away quick.

So I decided to try the Michelin's. More expensive, but experience with the others showed me that I would be replacing them again sooner than I would have liked. So far the first 500 have been fine. If I end up getting the same mileage off of the Michelin's that I've gotten off the others, then I will go back to the lesser priced tires. If they all only last the same, why waste the money?

[Fresh1]

Originally Posted by spazzboy

I must say that I found the ride harsher on the SE with sports pkg and 16" rims. On my SEL with the same rims, I find it smoother.

This above observation has not been noted in all 12 pages so far, so I just wanted to add that.

Continental, like every other manufacturer out there, makes tires for various applications. Find the one that suits you best, but please refrain from boycotting an entire brand based on one model.

Interesting observation about the SE Sport vs. SEL difference. I found the ride harsh with the stock 16" tires, and I have the regular SE. (It does have the aluminum control arms though, like the Sport, SEL and Titanium.)

I agree 100% that not all Continental tires are bad. I too am considering the ExtremeContact DW on 17" alloys for the spring.

I was actually impressed to see that Continental has kept all the negative reviews of the ContiProContact on their website. In comparison, the average score for the DW is *much* higher.