That's a really good post, Dezoris.
I'll have to go back and re-read any parts I may have skipped over, but the tire part was very intetresting, and something I can 100% contest to. About a year ago, I did a test drive for Bridgestone, where I got to drive 3 indentically equipped BMW 325i's (with the traction control tunrned OFF) around a test course for 3 laps. Each car was fitted with a different set of tires. What made the test interesting, was the COMPLETE course was watered down to simulate just rained on conditions. One set performed horribly, slidding all over the place, while the other 2 performed outstandingly. It turned out the tires that held best, were a set of new RE950 Bridgestones, the set that performed almost indentically, was a set of 50% worn down RE950s, that had also been oven baked to speed up age wear. The inferior set that slid around, was a set of Michelin XGT-H4's. I was amazed at just how well the Bridgestones stuck to the ground, and with a wet surface at that. It was hard to get them to slid, even if trying, I felt as if the car was on a slot track, it was that good. Yeah the BMW is one of the best handling sedans, but when fitted with certain tires, it gets poor handling performance. The 50% worn RE950's handled almost as good as the brand new set, which shocked the heck out of me as well. I was very impressed.