How on earth did you get 15k on the Advans????
I got about 8000 out of mine. I just swapped them to my Michelin Pilot Sport All Seasons. (My winter tire here in Boulder)

BTW - when you get your tires changed, go to the Tire Source -- Ask for Pete. They are by far the best in town.

 

Damn, wish I woulda checked this earlier. Car's over at Great American (I know, I hate 'em too) getting them swapped out as we speak. It's the only place close to my house and it's walking distance so I don't have to sit there.

I coulda probably got another thousand or two, they still had some tread left, but just not enough to warrant the cost of mounting them again. And at almost $90 to mount 'em, it made that decision pretty easy. I'm not real hard on it, only had 2 or 3 canyon carving drives, but overall took it pretty easy. I checked the boards before I bought it so I knew that they would wear out really fast.

 

$90 -- Ouch! I just paid $56 to mount and balance as well as disposal.
If you ever need an alignment or tires then the Tire Source is where to go. I have used them for years for all sorts of cars, including race cars. It also is where everyone in the Porsche club goes.

The shop doesn't look like much but you get to deal directly with Pete, the owner. They have great prices and take the time to do it right.
They are right across the street from Boulder Mitsubishi.

Impressive tire wear! I think 15K is a record!

 

I have an early review on the PZero Neros. I have successfully worn the mold release compound off of them and managed not to stuff my Evo into the side of a mountain. The tires are indeed quieter, softer riding, but much squirmier than the Advans- especially when comparing the last time I went down my favorite mountain road at 70 degrees on my well-broken-in Advans vs. these full depth M+S tires!

I rode up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mount Mitchell. The tires are predictable, and they are more than capable of exceeding the Parkway speed limit around all the curves by about 20 MPH, but they scared me a few times with the wiggling that they do compared to the Advans. I'm sure that they'll get better as they wear, but I can already tell that, as I get used to them over the winter, I'm in for a pleasant surprise when I remount the Advans in the Spring.

The guys at the tire store I used are members of the Carolina DSM club and took good care of my car. They all want wheels and tires like the Evo has stock. I'm glad that I didn't decide to buy new wheels just for winter tires. The difference in tire performance doesn't see worth it to me. Lighter wheels would be wasted on winter tires. I might try to get some in the Spring for the Advans, however.

Thanks to all of you for the input on tires. I'm sure the Continental Contact Extremes would have been a good choice as well.

 

Hey thanks JTB, I'll definitely go there from now on. Yeah, ***kin $90 and that wasn't even with tire repair included... I hate that place. Thanks for the tip! I'll pass it on to my friends too.

 

Did anyone who got winter tires put on have to have wheel weights on the OUTSIDE of the rim? Great American put some on the outside and it looks so crappy, like a truck.

 

Well, here's bringing this thread back from the dead...

I've had the ContiExtremes on for about 6,000 miles now. They have performed very well through the snow. The combination of AWD and these tires made it almost effortless to navigate the white stuff.

These are definitely not on par with the Advans for dry weather performance (what tire is?) and you can reach the limits of their traction pretty easy in a car like the Evo. The grip has gotten a little better after adding a few thousand miles and provide decent enough performance, but clearly not the winner in this category.

However, the All-Season portion of the tire has been outstanding. Neither rain nor snow caused me to lose confidence in my traction during nasty weather. Moderate to agressive driving produced very predictable results. The noise level of this tire is good and certainly less than the Advans. The overall ride quality was improved slightly from the Advans but the ultra stiff suspension of the Evo still shines through.

IMHO... These tires have been a great pick as an alternative to true snow tires and I would gladly choose them again. These tires are a great compromise for people like myself that don't get to enjoy the sunshine all year round.

Once again... kudos to Neal and the TireRack gang for their great service.

 

I have some input, I used the Conti Extream Contact tires this winter and I wasn't impressed, if fact the first snow we got here in the northeast I slid 20' thru an intersection, good thing it was 6am and there was nobody else on the road to hit. That little incident set the tone for the season, the evo felt very loose when snow was on the ground and I didn't have the confidence I was used to with awd in the snow so needless to say I won't be using them again. my 2 cents.

 

Now that it is the end of March, I'll be putting the S03s on today. I must say I was thoroughly impressed with my Dunlop Winter Sport M3s. They went above and beyond the call of duty. Even on icy streets I still had confidence (yes u still have to drive VERY carefully). They also performed pretty well when the streets were dry. I would HIGHLY recommend these to anybody. I've had them on now for about 7k miles, and they show almost no wear at all.

 

Blizzak WS-50 if you don't want to get stuck. The 235/45/17 is hideous in snow so you need all the help you can get.