thanks chernmax for the idea to call goodyear. i got them to take care of one tire and all i had to pay for was install, i also bought the road hazard. so 44$ for one tire installed with warranty.

 

Like light did for the SL, I did a check of all tires that fit SE wheels. I then found the 3 best (from tire-rack ratings) and then asked a friend who is a member of SAE (and did some winter tire tests in Canada in 2003) which tire he would recommend for all-round driving -- including snow. He said the only tire to get (of the ones I told him about) was the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. They just got me through a blizzard on the eastern plains of Colorado two days ago after having seen about 22 K miles of wear since they were new. These tires are pricy, but great for general driving and also driving in snow (they are not snow tires, but the next best thing).

I will be posting a new thread here in the next day or so on driving the 6-Gen in snow -- because there have been some posts on this site stating how poor this car is when driving in snow.