Thanks to everyone who replied - much appreciated.
For those who mentioned sticking with 15" tires, I wish I could. The 15's don't clear the brakes on the SVT Focus.
I got a price from Deals 4 Wheels in Ottawa on some 205/55/16 snows - Semperit Ice Grip 2's at $99 each installed and balanced.
I couldn't find much of anything on the internet about these tires other than some old Euro reviews. My understanding is that they are old-stock/overstock Euro tires. I might check them out - hopefully the sidewall has the same cryptic info on Euro tires as North American ones so that I can figure out what month & year they were manufactured - don't want to buy 3 or 4 year old "new" tires that have been sitting in a warehouse somewhere drying out.
Now, the Nordic Ice Tracks at Canadian Tire. Store brand, but are they really made by Michelin?? If so, then maybe worth a look.
Right now, I'm on the fence between aggressively trying to seek out some gently used snows and buying a set of my old standbys - BF Goodrich Winter Slaloms. I've had them on 2 of my previous cars and have always been impressed with their capabilities in moderate to deep snow.
Basically, anything is better than ContiSport Contacts come November, and thankfully I still have a little while to figure out what to do!
Thanks again!
P.S. Phil - when you got your hands on my old 15" BFG snows, they had about 18 or 19K on them, winter of 2001-02 and 2002-03. If you only put 5K on them last year, they should be good for at least one more winter.
