well i'm not a tire salesman so to speak, but i sell parts at a honda deakership in salt lake and buy probably 5 sets of tires a week for any car that needs them in our shop, accords, pilots, crv's, civics, etc. i don't think i've ever had to buy tires for a fit besides my own and that was because i was putting lightweight wheels on it (i still have stockies in the garage) the people you talk to are right when they say michelin tires are good, but you pay a priemium price for then (remember buy cheap get cheap!) well if you spend alot you get alot when it come to tires! BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP UP ON THE ROTATION AND BALANCING, i know you know this now
i read your post
i'm partial to bridgestone because i love rallying all the cars i have ever owned, i rarely get over 30,000 miles out of any tires on any of my cars but they make a hell of a potenza tire and i'm sure they make a good touring tire too, they have really good features
UNI-T AQ : DUAL-LAYER TREAD
Our Dual-Layer Tread structure exposes high-grip rubber as wear progresses. We use a hybrid tread structure with two kinds of rubber in the tread.
The two kinds of rubber used in Dual-Layer Tread design both contain EPC. But we employ a higher-grip rubber for the base layer under the cap (shown in red in the diagrams). And we shape the base layer to mound up under each of the tread blocks. So as the tread wears down, the higher grip rubber underneath is exposed. The higher-grip rubber helps minimize the effects of wear. It also helps maintain more consistent wet braking and handling throughout the life of the tire. And it helps prevent the increase in noise levels that tends to occur as tire tread wears away.
After 50% of tread has worn away ...
Wear exposes the higher-grip rubber of the base layer, located under the cap, which helps maintain more consistent wet braking and handling as the tire wears.
After 70% of the tread has worn away ...
The mounded shape of the base layer ensures broader amounts of high-grip rubber become exposed as the tire wears away.
Note: The red coloration of the base layer in these diagrams is for purposes of explanation and illustration only. It does not indicate the actual color of the rubber in the tire.
i love this technology and several ohers they offer in their tires, you also spoke of lower rolling resistance tires, i have bought them for customers but it's still too early to see if the tech pans out, but i will say this"goodyear has a tire called fuelmax and they clain a 4 percent increase in fuel ecomomy" thats an extra 12 miles on a tank of gas if your only getting 30mpg, not a big selling point to me. lower your car an inch and you'd see that kind of gain in my book
any tire you buy will net better wear if you keep up on rotations and stuff, an alignment never hurts either and keeping the air consistant and at around 35psi will help too
wow i rambled there didn't i? hey you also travel thru salt lake alot i see if you drive to WA state, we "UTAH FITS" get together a couple times a month and chit chat , bbq, and work on our cars (mostly wash) if your blowing thru here swing by and say hi, i'd love to see your grey hounds, but i'll never own a strech of land that could support one. but think they are beautiful - here is a link to the crazy utah community
http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/utah-community/