Hi guys,
It's time for a new set of tires for my 07 Mazda 3.

The size is 205/55/16

Currently the factory tires are Bridgestone Turanza ER30.
They had really good grip both dry and wet, but are noisy and didn't roll smoothly as they aged.

What I want:
I want a tire with at least equivalent road holding in the dry and wet as the Bridgestones but ones which are quiet.
I don't care how long they last.

I am looking at the Michelin Pilot Sport 3, but have a 320 treadwear which leads me to believe they won't grip as well as the Bridgestones which are only 140 treadwear (I know treadwear doesn't equal grip but my theory is lower treadwear = softer tire = better grip)

 

Couple of points. While the NHTSA set the standards by which treadwear ratings are made it doesn't necessarily denote actual performance differences between tires. The rating itself is made by the tire manufacturer and is not regulated or standardized by an outside party except in that they're not allowed to overstate it's rating. Even there two manufacturers with equally durable tires may rate them with different numbers. I wouldn't use the treadwear rating as your basis of the rubber compound found in the tires, and therefore the basis of the quality of it's wet/dry traction.

If traction is really your concern then you might want to look at summer or summer performance tires for your car. If you live in an area which doesn't get below 40 all year then that would actually be the best tire performance-wise you could purchase. If it gets cold in your area, then you shouldn't use summers during the winter, and/or you should be rolling with winter tires.

I'm personally using yokohoma yk520's on my OEM 205/50/17 wheels. They're not bad tires and I haven't had any specific problems with them in the past 70k miles I've had them on my car (not the same set that whole time). I wouldn't mind slightly better traction out of them sometimes but overall they do an admirable job for the price. My wife's car uses Michellin MXMV4 Plus tires on 15" rims. I think that model has been phased out now in favor of another one, but I love those tires. They've always had great traction and done equally well in warm/dry/wet/cold/snow. It's just that they cost $180 a piece in the size for my car.