[s-cars] Tires

[Ian Duff]

So, the perpetual can of worms, what's the consensus on tires? I'm in  
the market for something that doesn't exist, good all season tires.

Don't start on me about dedicated snows, or summer tires being OK, as  
neither works for me. What I'd like to find is a tire that works well  
for the 99% of the time when there's no snow or ice on the road, but  
is not dangerous on snow or ice. I also want something with a wear  
index higher than the usual (near R-compound) summer tire.

I started my research at that paragon of tire knowledge, Tire Rack.  
They list, test, compare and offer real-world reviews on a number of  
what they call "ultra high performance all season" tires, http://tinyurl.com/2jc7al 
. The top entries are, in order:
Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position
Yokohama ADVAN S.4.
Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season
Continental ContiExtremeContact
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S
Pirelli PZero Nero M&S

Here's my so-called "thinking" so far:
I had Bridgestones as OEM on my 2000 S4 and hated them, swore never to  
own another set. Should I reconsider?
The Yokohama and Goodyear have too few owner miles miles to have  
credible reviews. Anyone on this list care to chime in?
The Michelins suffer from a weak dollar, are Wicked Expensive, and  
can't be that much better, particularly considering how far down the  
list they fall.

So, at first blush, it looks like I have the cheap Contis or the  
expensive Pirellis to consider. The Contis are not offered with road  
hazard coverage, maybe because they're near their end of life/going  
out of production soon? Any reason I should spend another $43 per tire  
and go with the Pirelli? Are there other tires out there I should  
consider?

-Ian Duff.