Brakes Wheels 1st Gen Tires Replacing Goodyear GS-D3 (205/50/16)

I've been running GS-D3s for several years now, and have really liked them. Now they are not available so I'll need to get something else. (Naturally I really only need to replace 2 of them, but I only bought one extra when Tire Rack was closing them out.)

Anyway, I looked through Tire Rack and the best option looks to be the Continental ExtremeContact DW. It scored well in their testing in the wet and the dry (a dead heat with 3 other tires in 6/09), isn't terribly expensive at $110 each, and even has a wear rating of 340 which is a nice bonus.

I ran that by the guy at Discount Tire and he said it was a good choice, then threw out the option of Nitto Neogens, saying he was on his 2nd set. Their site has them for $2 less than the Continentals, but their wear rating is 280 and I don't remember seeing many people writing about them on Mini forums.

Does anybody have other suggestions? I'm just looking for a good everyday "summer" tire that also performs well in San Diego's occasional rains. Tires need to fit 16x6.5 wheels, so let me know about other sizes to consider.

Oh, and here's the very nice job Discount Tire did to balance a bent wheel for me while I waited for a replacement to arrive:

 

At 205/50 the sidewall is (205*.50) 102.5mm (4.0"). At 205/55 the sidewall is 112.8mm (4.4").

I don't really want to increase the sidewall height, and the .8" difference in diameter is pretty high.

 

I looked at the KDW at some point. What do people say about the tire noise, though? Tire Rack's test included "What We'd Improve: A significant reduction in tread noise"

Also, anyone on Toyos? I tend to forget about them because they aren't on Tire Rack, but the T1R seems like a possibility.

 

Don't like the Continental Extreme Contact DW

Saw this thread show up after The Incident. Good time for an update.

I did get the Continental ExtremeContact DW tires, and I did not like them. Tire Rack mentioned their propensity to follow grooves on the freeway, and boy do they do just that! Even after a 500-mile break-in period, they were still really squirrelly on some sections of freeway. It felt like the car was hydroplaning in the dry. (I will say that on my one drive on fairly wet freeways last weekend they were great - unlike the tires on the Dodge Magnum fishtailing away from the stoplight next to me. They also had a much more forgiving ride than the Goodyears did.)

I went by Discount Tire this afternoon, and despite the clerk's skepticism, Continental had no problem having them returned. I could only hear his end of the conversation, but it seemed to be a "no questions asked" policy, which is good service on Continental's part.

So next week I'm going to Bridgestone RE760 Sports instead. I considered going up to 205/55/16 (2% difference in revs per mile) and sticking with the Goodyear GS-D3, but my suspension is getting stiffened up at AMVIV and I decided the Bridgestone's softer ride (per Tire Rack) will be a better way to go. I imagine my tires will be a weak link compared to what Way is doing to my suspension, but I drive hundreds of highway miles for every fun back-road mile so it seems a good trade for me. I'll let you know.