Continental ExtremeContact Sports on 16" aftermarket wheels vs Michelin Pilot Super sports on Stock wheels

[vikster101]

I'm approaching 15000 miles and the time has come to replace my stock tires. I love the car's handling and initial turn-in, but the ride really punishes me on long drives and Michigan roads.

First option: Replace the stock wheels with Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires mounted to 16" MSW type 25s or Sparco Asseto Garas. Total cost installed ~$1000-1200. The lighter wheels and larger sidewall should help with ride comfort while providing having enough performance for the twisties and autocross. However, some online reviews complain about road noise and disappointing performance. These are the best tires Tirerack has to offer in 205/45/16. Does anyone have experience with these tires?

Second option, which Matt from theSmokingTire did on his Stage 3 Fiesta, is to install 205/45/17 Michelin PSSs on the stock wheels. They don't come in the stock 40 ratio, which is why I'd need to install them in this size. It'll improve MPG (due to lower effective gearing) and ride comfort, which is a plus. Total cost ~$750. Most forum and Reddit posts seem to point to this as a good setup. However, unlike those posters, I don't have a stage 3 Fiesta so I'm worried that the car will feel sluggish due to more rotating mass.

What do you guys think? Most of my mileage is on long highway drives, but a lot is still from curvy roads in the SE and autocross runs.

 

[felopr]

haven't you look at 205/50/16? they should fit and give you a better range of selection (z2 star spec for example.
https://tires.tirerack.com/search?p...=list&sli_jump=1&af=cat:tires type:all&cnt=60
i guess it comes all down to what you using the car, it would suck imo to run z2 and half of the life of the tire be only highway millage

 

[DaveG99]

I wouldnt do either option. Those MSW's are chinese made and not even that light at 19lbs. And I wouldnt run a 205/45/17.

What I would do is get some Team Dynamics 1.2's in a 15x7 or a 15x8 and run a 205/50/15 or even a 225/45/15.

If you can wait there is a 16x8 konig dekagram coming out in March.

Another option I would consider is a Rota slipstream/titan/grid in either in a 15x7.5 or a 16x8. They are pretty low cost and seem to have lots of options in colors and types of wheels for our car.

 

[Turbo65]

I run the conti’s on sparco’s and I’m more than happy. Ride comfort is improved but not by a massive amount but I could feel the difference in weight reduction from less rotating mass. Swapping the stock suspension to B8/Swift combo made the biggest difference. As far as grip it doesn’t have quite the sharpness of the OEM tires because they are all season and 45 ratio side wall but for the streeet it still has more than enough grip. Any all season tire is a compromise and the bigger the side wall the more flex you’re going to get.

 

[M-Sport fan]

The Extreme Contact Sports vikster is referencing are pure SUMMER tires in the above 300 tread wear category, just like the PSS.

They are NOT the Conti Extreme Contact DWS/DWS06 all seasons you have on your wheels.

 

[neeqness]

I run the conti’s on sparco’s and I’m more than happy. Ride comfort is improved but not by a massive amount but I could feel the difference in weight reduction from less rotating mass. Swapping the stock suspension to B8/Swift combo made the biggest difference. As far as grip it doesn’t have quite the sharpness of the OEM tires because they are all season and 45 ratio side wall but for the streeet it still has more than enough grip. Any all season tire is a compromise and the bigger the side wall the more flex you’re going to get.

Do you feel that your lowered suspension improved the ride significantly?

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[Turbo65]

Do you feel that your lowered suspension improved the ride significantly?

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Yes, the pogo effect bouncing has all but gone and there is less body roll as well

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Do you feel that your lowered suspension improved the ride significantly?

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I will say front strut tower brace and rear trunk brace....definitely toned down the bumpyness and greatly improved the overall rideability of the car...plus...both braces are away from the elements and will last longer...IMO...but I'm also in the rust belt.

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[neeqness]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

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