well for me i went with the pirelli pzero nero m&s in a stock size 215/45-17.. they perform great.. snow up to about 2 inches, but then again they're not snow tires..

ride, handling, braking, traction.. all excellent.. quiet at highway speeds also.. i wrote a review in tread and rubber.. great tires..

 

ne1?

 

having two OEM mfgs as tire choices is not that unusual and makes good sense. Toyota did the same thing for the MR2 Spyder (which uses max performance summer tires)... they originally shipped with Yokohama Advan A043 tires but then some cars started arriving with Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tires (both tires are 140 treadwear/AA temp/AA traction).

With the MR2 the explanation was that demand for the car was higher than expected at launch so the supply from one mfg was not keeping up with demand, and it was easier for owners to find replacement tires if there were two mfgs to choose from. However, in the MR2's case the Potenzas turned out be much more expensive than the Yokos ($150 vs. $90 each) and there were distinct differences noted between the two tires. The Yokos were softer and wore out faster, but gave better dry traction. The Potenzas lasted longer and had better wet traction. Having tried both on my MR2, I definitely preferred the Yokos. But that is not to say Potenzas cannot be good, I went for the best Potenzas out there, the S03 Pole Positions, and they were so good (in both wet and dry) that I put them on both my MR2s. They are expensive though so I don't think I will be putting them on the tC when the time comes for new rubber.