Tires after OEM

[spookyfrank]

After the stock Michelin I got Conti All Season tires and I'm really happy with them. Was thinking about the Pirelli Scorpio Verde but found the Continental CrossContact LX20 for an even better price. Right now, the Contis are ranked #2 right behind the Pirellis for the non-Aero OEM tire size at Tire Rack. I changed from the much more expensive Michelins at around 45k miles and it feels like going from summer to winter tires - the Contis are much better in the snow. They're also quite but will collect tons of little stones on dirt roads because of the tread pattern.

[kanundrum]

How much was each tire? Last time I checked they were $200+

[Jonathannm]

The Continentals are around $150/tire, the Pirellis around $160, and the Michelins around $205 (Sam's Club is offering a $70 rebate that drops them to ~$185). I'm not too keen on the Continentals since they are not sold by Sam's (we don't have any other *reputable* tire dealers in an hour radius), so I believe I'm still between the Pirellis and Michelins. I've had great luck so far with the Michelins (they still handled great in light snow uphill at 35k... 40k on them now), and have usually used Michelins in the past, so it is hard to break the brand loyalty. The Pirellis have identical ratings however, and are $25 less per tire, even with the rebate. So I'm in between saving $100 for the next time I take mine in for a warranty claim, but risking a bad ride, or pulling out the extra money and playing it safe. I'm gonna do a little more research before I buy, but I'm starting to get down to the warning threads, so I don't have much longer.

[spookyfrank]

I got the Contis for $156 at America's Tire (the brand that Discount Tire uses here in California). Total including installation, lifetime rotation and balancing (kind of the warranty I was looking for) and tax was less than $800 in total for 4 tires - which was my limit. Sometimes the tire brands offer $60 or $70 rebate in form of a prepaid credit card - which lowers the bill, too.
One remark: it looks like there are Conti LX and LX20 - with the LX20 having the much better reviews. Also, the Pirelli comes with a slight difference you should be aware of: All Season and All Season Plus. Looks like a big difference in tire while little difference in name...
For a professional test between the Pirelli and the Contis in the non-Aero size check out this link:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=196
For tire ranking click here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...utoModClar=FWD
You can use that to educate yourself and then buy at your local tire show, whatever that is.