The only tire on your list that I have experience with is the Falken Azenis. They're a great track tire with very little fall off with heat cycles and wear and they work across a wide range of track temperatures but I wouldn't run them on a daily just because the tread life is pretty poor.
Not on your list but for daily driver tires I really like Pilot Super Sports, my choice on your list would be the conti's
+ whatever on the Conti Extreme Contact Sports.
They're incredible in the rain, nearly on par with a Pilot Super Sport in fast road dry grip (but far better in the wet), and they'll do surprisingly well at a track day or autocross.
I replaced a worn set of Pilot Super Sports on my 135i with a fresh set of Conti Extreme Contact Sports as my daily summer tire last year and did an autocross at Grattan on them as well and I'm now buying them again as my do everything summer tire for my mk2.
xflowgolf said:+ whatever on the Conti Extreme Contact Sports.
They're incredible in the rain, nearly on par with a Pilot Super Sport in fast road dry grip (but far better in the wet), and they'll do surprisingly well at a track day or autocross.
My experience as well. Quiet, work great in all temperate conditions. Really surprising track performance for ‘not a track day tire’ tire. Never got greasy, didn’t chunk. Will buy them again.
Had s.drives on the Mini. They last a long time. I’ve never had a tire that I love which lasts a long time other than Michelin LTX on my pickup.
Advan046 said:I was going to get a new car about two years ago but some more important life came up. The 6 was on the top of my list. How do you like it? Manual or Auto? IF Auto how does the simulated manual shifting function work out for you?.
I like it a lot, but I'll say that comes with a bit of a disclaimer. At 184 hp/185 tq I think it's just fine and delivers enough power to be "fun" but not "fast". However, if you were going from a higher hp and/or FI car like a GTI, Audi, WRX, etc. and going to the 6 I think you'd be disappointed. Other people in that situation on Mazda6 forums have said as much. I'd reiterate again that it's not "slow", but it ain't going to set the world on fire. If you're willing to go for a brand new one instead of used, they are coming out with turbo option to be released later this spring. That's borrowing the 2.5T from the CX-9 and is supposed to have 227 hp/310 tq. IMO that would make this car damn near perfect, the only catch is they are not selling it with a manual trans. 
Regardless I may end up in a showroom next year talking to them about trading in for the Turbo car.
I insisted on a manual and I'm really happy with that. The automatic I test drove wasn't bad, but I prefer to row my own if I can. I didn't screw around with the sport shift mode because frankly it just feels like a "video game" to me vs driving stick.
The areas where the car really shines is gas mileage and handling.
On a pure highway driving trip I average 440-500 miles on one tank! It's anywhere from 33.5 - 36 mpg in real world highway driving for me. I get about 27.5 - 28 City. I mean we are talking damn near diesel numbers on 87 Octane.
The handling is great too. Not a ton of roll, agile, and fun to toss around corners. The second time I came to test drive the 6 at the dealership the salesman was busy with someone else and tossed me the keys and said have at it. I took it to the curviest road I could find on google maps and put it through it's paces and I was sold on it then and there.
The interior is good too and comfortable and you really can fit a 6' tall adult comfortably in the back seat. Trunk space is good and with the seats folded down you have lots of cargo space.
Option B was an Accord Sport but I just feel in love the with Mazda Styling, interior, and handling. I haven't done anything with the suspension but I've heard that a bigger RSB is a good improvement and I'd love to slap on some Koni Yellows and H&R springs on it. I've been dumping money into my 84 GTI like I intended to otherwise I'd make these tweaks.
Overall, it's about the most damn fun you can have with a mid size car and a great daily if you want something fun that you don't intend to mod the hell out of.
fidelity101 said:How much autocrossing you want to do or track days with that car or is it spirited driving?
Not a ton. I also own an 84 GTI that's my real "toy" and the car I've been autocrossing. I won't be getting that out here til sometime this summer though so I may take the Mazda to 3 or 4 events this spring and early summer. I've always kind of wanted to see how it would do though. I guess my criteria is really just a tire that's capable of AX if I want to but is a reasonable daily driven tire.
Thanks for all of the Responses everyone!
This has been very helpful to me. Sounds like I should either go with the Conti XCS or the Yoko S-Drive.
Continentals get my vote. Have DWS's on SWMBO's 350z and they have been very good. Have the DW's on the FRS and they aren't as good below freezing. As stated above, they are great in the wet. Haven't had recent experience with any of the others because I haven't felt the need to switch from the Contis.
I've had two cars with S-Drives, no complaints. BFG SC2's on the MR2 were good.
And just went with Firestone Firehawk Indy500's after endorsements from two friends locally and support from this board.
Not on your list, Sumitomo HTR ZIII Ultra High Performance Summer. Outstanding grip, quiet, and long lasting. I've had them on a couple cars and loved them. BUT, my current choice and recommendation is the Sumitomo HTR AS P/02. Using them as daily driver tires on my 740i Sport, the 330ci ZHP and just put a set on my buddy's Jetta GLI. All season ultra high performance tires. the 255/18s for my 740i are only $116 each and they work as good or better than the Conti DWS.
Here's another vote for the Continental Extreme Contact Sport.
When I bought my 335, it came with Advan AD08Rs, and they were awesomely sticky, but a little old. As they wore, they got painfully noisy, and in my search to replace them, I looked at both the MPSS and ECS. I eventually decided on the ECS because of what reviews I've read, and the price point. I'm extremely happy with my decision. They're sticky, quiet, and ride very nicely, even at 40 PSI. I have no track or autocross experience on them yet, but I doubt I'll be disappointed by them.
In reply to Contradiction :
Hello,
Thanks for the information. I keep wanting to get another sports car, FRS/BRZ, Miata, Fiesta ST, etc. But I need a more family usable car so I am trying to stick with the sporty 6.
Conti DWS06 on Ralliart wagon. Love them, especially since we get such heavy rain here in Florida.
Planning on trying the DWS on the wagon or my Miata.
Chris_V said:Not on your list, Sumitomo HTR ZIII Ultra High Performance Summer. Outstanding grip, quiet, and long lasting. I've had them on a couple cars and loved them. BUT, my current choice and recommendation is the Sumitomo HTR AS P/02. Using them as daily driver tires on my 740i Sport, the 330ci ZHP and just put a set on my buddy's Jetta GLI. All season ultra high performance tires. the 255/18s for my 740i are only $116 each and they work as good or better than the Conti DWS.
“Long lasting” is the only bit I can agree with on the HTRZ’s, as they felt like they were made of concrete on the V.
It hurt to swap out tires with a ton of tread left for Pilots, but I’m glad I did. The Sumitomos were downright dangerous in the rain.
my $.02. YMMV.
I put a set of Bridgestone 960AS Pole Positions on an Accord and was very pleased. This is called an Ultra-high All Season. Excellent rain tire and fine in the dry, too.
And another vote for Continental.
I'm tire shopping for something similar to OP's requirements. So far it looks like Continental extremecontact sport is still the favored tire. I'll be doing mostly DD, want good wet traction, and only do 2-3 HPDE's a year. Is there any other tire that I should look at beside the Conti ECS?
BLRB said:I'm tire shopping for something similar to OP's requirements. So far it looks like Continental extremecontact sport is still the favored tire. I'll be doing mostly DD, want good wet traction, and only do 2-3 HPDE's a year. Is there any other tire that I should look at beside the Conti ECS?
Michelin Pilot Sport PS4 is the other one I'd look at.
My vote is for the BFGOODRICH G-FORCE COMP-2 A/S. Had them through two snow storms in a V8 Mustang and they felt really good. Never felt out of control, quiet and wear quite well.
The Firehawk Indy 500's are generally well regarded as a bang-for-the-buck tire for high performance street and light track use. Kind of the poor man's ECS...Where the ECS are kind of the poor man's PS4S.
I have also been happy with my G-Max RS's for the few months I've been running them on the street, as they are supposed to basically trade a little dry performance vs the Indy 500's for a little better wet performance, although I won't be able to speak to their occasional autox/track use until spring.
Driven5 said:The Firehawk Indy 500's are generally well regarded as a bang-for-the-buck tire for high performance street and light track use. Kind of the poor man's ECS...Where the ECS are kind of the poor man's PS4S.
This feels fairly accurate, but the they are closer together than this post implies. I like the PS4 on my car, but I don't want to spend $$$ to replace them.
ECS comes in a 15" size and the other two do not, which is a win.
In reply to Driven5 :
I've been slapping the Firehawk Indy 500's on my daily driven Prelude for the past several years. I reall enjoy the way they drive, and the price is usually really good.
Which of these is the cheapest?
In reply to Driven5 :
ECS and 500's are the same price on tirerack for 265/35/18 around $808ish. PS4 is about $200 more per set. I've had G-Max RS on my last car and really liked them, but it was a weird size so I would have gone with something else if there were more choices. I'm going to read more tests on ECS vs. PS4 to see if that $200 extra is worth it.
BLRB said:In reply to Driven5 :
ECS and 500's are the same price on tirerack for 265/35/18 around $808ish. PS4 is about $200 more per set. I've had G-Max RS on my last car and really liked them, but it was a weird size so I would have gone with something else if there were more choices. I'm going to read more tests on ECS vs. PS4 to see if that $200 extra is worth it.
Woah. Ill go back to my cheapest tire thread. $800 is out of my league!!
BLRB said:In reply to Driven5 :
ECS and 500's are the same price on tirerack...
Now that you mention it, I do seem to recall hearing about a price increase on them earlier this year...But I didn't realize it was significant. It looks like my size (225/45R17) the 500's are still noticeably cheaper than the ECS, but definitely not as close to the G-Max RS price as I remember them either.
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